Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Quadra Bigfoot Jack Maintenance

January 19, 2021, 09:34:24 am

All -

I'll start this off with a brief exchange that I just had with Ken Fears.  It would be great to hear about experiences that others have had with this system, and with other jack systems as well.

Thanks,

Tim

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My question:

Mr. Fears,

From reading a number of your posts over the years, I'm aware that you have the Quadra Bigfoot jacks on your rig.

We had ours installed in 2014 (in Yuma, AZ, by Major Wingfield), and have loved them - they work very well, and make leveling a snap.

Now that I'm retired and have more time, I've begun to worry about how to properly maintain them.  I've really done nothing over the years other than wipe the rams clean and occasionally add ATF to the reservoirs, but I'm wondering whether there is other regular maintenance I should perform.

I really want to prevent operational problems, including the one that scares me the most - failure to raise the jacks, leaving me dead in the water.

Has this ever happened to you?  If so, how did you resolve it?  I would like to have a procedure at the ready, in advance.

I've talked with Larry Wade about this.  At various caravan events, he has helped unfortunate folks manually raise their jacks, which he says is a real pain, as it involves draining the hydraulic fluid, and then finding restraints to hold them in their raised position.  This is why he sticks with using scrap wood for leveling.

I would very much like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thank You,

Tim Reeve

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Ken's Reply:

Tim, my levelers were installed in Florida in January, 2009.  Since then, I have not needed to add any fluid.  I have had almost no issues.  I have had sticking switches that tell the controller when a pad is up.  To deal with that, I put the pads down, use a stiff brush to remove any accumulated dirt from the switch pin, spray some dry silicone lube on the switch, and manually cycle it several times until it moves with no catching.

Very occasionally I will have a pad that either does not retract or, more often, partially retracts.  When that happens, I manually fully extend the pad, being careful not to torque the rig's frame.  I give the shaft a generous shot of dry silicone lube, then do an "Emergency Retract".  Once the pad is up, I cycle it again with the Auto control.  So far, that has always worked for me.  I have never had to drain the system to raise a pad.

I should note that the only times I have had trouble retracting a pad is when it has been run out to its maximum, then has sat in that position for a while. When I run to the max, that means I am on very unlevel ground.  I suspect that the ram is experiencing some lateral loading due to the uneven surface, and this contributes to the sticking.

Ken

Re: Quadra Bigfoot Jack Maintenance

Reply #2 – January 19, 2021, 01:32:28 pm

Hydraulic systems are usually very dependable.
Periodic inspection of the hydrauic fluid is advisable to make sure it is still clear and clean. While not common, seals can leak allowing water to contaminate the fluid.  Any signs of contamination shoud be grounds to change the fluid or at least send a sample of the fluid out for testing. Look for leaks in the hose ends and from the rams themselves.
Wiping the rams with a light oil and spraying the springs (if equipped) with a light oil will help prevent rust, the true enemy of hydraulics. Broken return springs are common with kick-up rams, usually caused by rusting.

Learn what it takes to lift a non-fuctioning ram, one that refuses to come up, stranding the rig inplace.
On some system, the electric hydraulic solenoids can be manually activated, others are totally sealed. In this case, the hydraulic line(s) need to be loosened on the bad cylinder and the cylinder manually lifted up, allowing draining the oil to drain out.
Once up, tie into position with bailing wire or zip ties. It is dirty, nasty work, done under the rig. Check with the lift’s owner’s manual for details, if they bothered to include such information.
Reserve a set of old clothes for these activities, you are going to get filthy.

Larry

Re: Quadra Bigfoot Jack Maintenance

Reply #4 – January 19, 2021, 04:09:54 pm

Check the manual for maintenance schedule. “Use silicone spray only.” White lithium grease on limit pins. I recently had one foot fail to retract fully. Spraying the ram with silicone corrected the problem.
Malcolm
2002 MidBath

Re: Quadra Bigfoot Jack Maintenance

Reply #6 – January 19, 2021, 05:18:43 pm

We acquired our 2011 27’ Mid Bath in June of 2017.  It came with a four-pump Bigfoot system.  In the three and a half years we’ve had Sidra, the levelers have been very reliable.  However, we have had a few problems. 

After a trip that included a lot of rain, we discovered that the fluid in one of the reservoirs had been contaminated with water.  For a complete description of the problem and the remedy, see Water Contamination in Bigfoot Leveler reservoir

Early on we had three instances where a cylinder failed to retract.  Servicing the limit switches and keeping them cleaned and lubed seems to have eliminated the problem.  The procedure is well described in the User Manual.  Anyone can download a copy here: Bigfoot Hydraulic Leveling System Product Manuals  Click on the green button with the text “Operator’s Manual for Motorized Applications”

The hydraulic pumps suck a whole bunch of power and if the batteries are depleted, the voltage can drop so low that the pumps stop running.  (Each pump can consume as much as 25 amps.  When all four pumps run at the same time, as is always the case when the cylinders are being retracted, that’s 100 amps, even if for only a minute.)  Remedy: If the battery charge is at all questionable, start the generator before retracting the levelers.  We have made this standard practice.

Also as a matter of standard practice, we inspect, clean, and lubricate (where applicable) every pump assembly, cylinder, and limit switch before any trip that takes us far from home.  In multi-month stretches between trips, we exercise the levelers every few months at home.

Our interactions with Bigfoot support have been good.  Below is some Q&A we've had via email with a support tech.

Question 1:  What would cause a piston to fail to retract and what action should I take to minimize the chances of it happening?

There are a couple different reasons that a jack will not retract. The fact that you were able to eventually get the jack retracted with emergency retract and by putting the controller in manual mode tells me that it's a limit switch issue. If the control panel is giving you the all up indicator light yet there is a jack (or more than one) that isn't fully retracted, then that is for sure a faulty limit switch on the jack that isn't fully retracted.

The second issue that you had with all four jacks retracting fully yet the pump motors would not shut off is indeed caused by a limit switch not being triggered (again, it could be more than one). The cause of this is usually a bent limit switch pin. If the pin is bent then the foot won't be able to push it into the switch.

Question 2:  What is the manual procedure to retract a piston if I can’t cajole the system into doing it?

Should the situation ever arise that a jack does not retract by using all the options through the control panel, then it may be necessary to go directly to the pump assembly and "jump" the solenoid. The solenoids can be accessed by removing the cover of the tank assembly. Touching the two posts of the top solenoid together with a wrench or a screwdriver (sometimes I even use my pocket knife) should engage the retract function of the pump motor. In the event that this does not work (this would be worse case scenario) due to a dead house battery or some other sort of major failure, the jack can be retracted by removing the hose connected to the top of the cylinder. This will relieve the pressure allowing the shaft of the jack to be pushed back in by hand. Again, please note that this is worst case scenario and will make quite a mess from the fluid leaving the cylinder as the shaft is pushed back into the retract position.

Question 3:  Would we benefit from moving up to the latest controller?  The thought being that the controller logic has probably been improved since our system was installed in 2011.

Replacing the controller doesn't sound necessary at this point. It sounds to me that your current control system is functioning properly.

Jim