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Old 11-20-2019, 04:33 AM   #1
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Brand: DRV
Model: 38 RSB3
State: South Dakota
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THOR #1658
Arrow Rebuilding front jacks, West Coast

Do you need your front jacks rebuilt?
The most recommended place to have the jacks rebuilt has been Roberts in Indiana. We are on the West Coast, so that would have been quite a drive.
I was referred to Les from a friend and fellow DRV owner. Les is located in Mount Vernon, Washington. Les is a machinist and fabricator. When rebuilding the jacks he does the following:
1. Removes and installs the jacks (he has a pit)
2. Replaces the seals with beefier, higher grade seals.
3. Checks the alignment of the foot pad and corrects it to true straight, if needed.
4. Inspects the jack housing for any defects.
I know Roberts does all of the above when they rebuild the jacks.
Les takes it one step further and machines an offset protective ring and attaches it to the ram. This does two things - it protects the small outer
bypass/pressure tube from rubbing on the jack’s outer housing and helps the jacks have less lateral travel/movement.
The entire process takes several days at this time. He caps the front hydraulic lines that go to the front jacks. This is so you can leave your truck connected and use the other 4 jacks and slide outs. He has a 50 amp service, water and a clean out so you can use your portable dump tank to empty your tanks. Not to mention the Bald Eagles that perch on the telephone pole right next to your coach. ����
Les is a very knowledgeable and nice guy. He is able to do other things besides rebuilding front jacks.
The total cost is $1750, but contact him to confirm as it might change over time.
Les can be reached at lesarendse@hotmail.com or (360) 708-7499.
I would even think that he could repair non DRV rigs, but the purpose for this post is to inform DRV owners.
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Old 11-20-2019, 01:23 PM   #2
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Thank you for that information Ryan!! I’m glad you have your jack problem resolved!! Now you can NOT worry about the jacks, it’s a great feeling huh??

Dan
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Old 11-20-2019, 02:10 PM   #3
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I am a lifelong friend of Les. He is a top quality guy!

We did my front rams to see what was involved so he could determine a fair price. The protective ring is a BIG bonus as this eliminates the wear on the return line that WILL eventually fail. Roberts will simply charge you for a new Ram outer tube instead of fixing this issue. As mentioned this option makes these jacks MUCH more stable when moving around inside of the rig.

He recently worked on another friends Toy Hauler that had a broken shackle. Come to find out his entire suspension was shot! He also had structural damage that allowed the entire axle system move side to side. Brakes were shot also! He is an expert at fixing Factory suspensions and frame flaws.

He is a professional trailer fabricator also. He can add a trailer hitch to the back of the RV or???

Add him to your contact list. May come in handy for you or one of your friends.
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Old 11-20-2019, 02:53 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rynosback View Post
but the purpose for this post is to inform DRV owners.

Thanks for the info. Although I don't expect to get that far west again it is good to find knowledgeable people working their craft.


The second picture does have me puzzled, is that a rub/wear area shown?
Clay 2016 MS 38PS3/Dallas
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:32 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dapperdan View Post
Thank you for that information Ryan!! I’m glad you have your jack problem resolved!! Now you can NOT worry about the jacks, it’s a great feeling huh??

Dan
I’m so much more confident and my truck is much happier. As the rig has been attached for about a month.
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:38 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MS60ocb View Post
Thanks for the info. Although I don't expect to get that far west again it is good to find knowledgeable people working their craft.


The second picture does have me puzzled, is that a rub/wear area shown?
Clay 2016 MS 38PS3/Dallas
Yes that is the rub wear. It was minor and will not get any worse because of the offset protective ring keeping it from contacting the inside of the front jacks housing.
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:39 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cummins12V98 View Post
I am a lifelong friend of Les. He is a top quality guy!

We did my front rams to see what was involved so he could determine a fair price. The protective ring is a BIG bonus as this eliminates the wear on the return line that WILL eventually fail. Roberts will simply charge you for a new Ram outer tube instead of fixing this issue. As mentioned this option makes these jacks MUCH more stable when moving around inside of the rig.

He recently worked on another friends Toy Hauler that had a broken shackle. Come to find out his entire suspension was shot! He also had structural damage that allowed the entire axle system move side to side. Brakes were shot also! He is an expert at fixing Factory suspensions and frame flaws.

He is a professional trailer fabricator also. He can add a trailer hitch to the back of the RV or???

Add him to your contact list. May come in handy for you or one of your friends.
Thanks for hooking me up with Les Ron.

A picture of Les working on my rig.
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Old 11-21-2019, 03:31 PM   #8
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Indeed, it is good to know of another source for a solution to this irritating, costly DRV flaw. Saw a couple of posts that might indicate Robert's in IN is out of business? Or moved? Or....?
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:51 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by wingnut60 View Post
Indeed, it is good to know of another source for a solution to this irritating, costly DRV flaw. Saw a couple of posts that might indicate Robert's in IN is out of business? Or moved? Or....?

When I spoke to Roberts a couple months ago he was in the process of closing down, this was confirmed by another friend that has his rebuilt there about three months ago.
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:55 PM   #10
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"Thanks for hooking me up with Les Ron."

Ryan took a big risk based on my word that Les was the real deal! He drove all the way from San Francisco to MtVernon, WA and now heading back all based on my recommendation. Thanks for trusting me and I am VERY happy that he did the job I told you he would.
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Old 11-21-2019, 07:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wingnut60 View Post
Indeed, it is good to know of another source for a solution to this irritating, costly DRV flaw. Saw a couple of posts that might indicate Robert's in IN is out of business? Or moved? Or....?
I saw the same thing on FB. He is in His 70’s and his hydraulic guy has cancer. And I believe that there is no one in line to take over the business.
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Old 11-22-2019, 03:24 PM   #12
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"And I believe that there is no one in line to take over the business." I have heard the same!
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Old 11-27-2019, 07:45 PM   #13
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Hi everyone. I just wanted to make a couple of clarifications on Bob's RV repair business. He is definitely cutting back. He is taking the winter off to work on his projects. I think come spring he will see what comes along and take care of fellow RVer's and DRV owners when possible. While Bob is at retirement age, he is not yet 70 or in his 70's. No, there is no one to take over the business. If you want to contact Bob feel free to email him at
robertsqualityrv@gmail.com. We will be checking messages on the phone (812) 655-2583 periodically so email is the best route.
We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving a happy holiday season and a great winter. Hope to see you on the road. Take care and travel safe.

Bob and Cherri
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Old 11-27-2019, 11:04 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by cherriandbob View Post
Hi everyone. I just wanted to make a couple of clarifications on Bob's RV repair business. He is definitely cutting back. He is taking the winter off to work on his projects. I think come spring he will see what comes along and take care of fellow RVer's and DRV owners when possible. While Bob is at retirement age, he is not yet 70 or in his 70's. No, there is no one to take over the business. If you want to contact Bob feel free to email him at
robertsqualityrv@gmail.com. We will be checking messages on the phone (812) 655-2583 periodically so email is the best route.
We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving a happy holiday season and a great winter. Hope to see you on the road. Take care and travel safe.

Bob and Cherri
Thanks for clarifying this up. You have a great reputation in rebuilding these front jacks. Happy Thanksgiving and have a well deserved break over the winter.
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Old 09-15-2020, 06:00 AM   #15
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A bump for Les.
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Old 07-08-2021, 03:21 AM   #16
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**** UPDATE****
From what I have heard, Roberts has closed the business for good. He was an older gentleman and retired.
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Old 08-28-2021, 02:51 PM   #17
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Talking

More Kudos to LES had my jacks done at Roberts in 2019 and they started leaking ( return bypass line ) Les r&r them -- rebuilt and ADDED the offset ring so that the bypass line is now protected !! WORKING like a CHAMP !!!! Thanks again to LES and Ron, always great to meet CRAFTMEN and concerned fellow RV'ers
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Old 08-28-2021, 02:57 PM   #18
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Happy it worked out!!!
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Old 08-28-2021, 06:54 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by ARCliz View Post
More Kudos to LES had my jacks done at Roberts in 2019 and they started leaking ( return bypass line ) Les r&r them -- rebuilt and ADDED the offset ring so that the bypass line is now protected !! WORKING like a CHAMP !!!! Thanks again to LES and Ron, always great to meet CRAFTMEN and concerned fellow RV'ers
Glad to hear that you got it all worked out.
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Old 09-05-2021, 03:50 PM   #20
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For the last year my front jacks would slowly drop down after retracting them to travel. I added a screw to hold them while traveling.

In my mine I knew that the rams that Les had rebuilt could not be the cause. I contacted Lippert the they said rams of solenoid were to blame. I replaced the solenoid that's attached to the front ram on the drivers side, same problem. Still I did not believe his ram repair had failed.

I contacted Lippert again and they suggested doing the front ram leak test. I did and both rams failed but it seemed different than when I had done on my original rams. Still not convinced I got a different tech. Let me add one more thing, I replaced my pump right at the time this condition happened. Not one of the techs thought the pump could be the problem until the last tech I spoke to. He said ram, solenoid or pump could cause my issue. HMMMM, I spoke more to this guy and he suggested isolating my return line that all the slides and rear jacks are tied to and then retracting my front rams. I did this test as first as it would wither confirm the bypass was happening on one of the front jacks or the rear of my RV.

I separated the return line from the front block on the pump and caped and plugged the two exposed ends. I hit retract and I could hear the pump dog down when they were fully retracted and WA-LA the rams stayed up!!!

So now I know for a fACT my front rams are good! If that test did not change anything I would have separated and capped one front ram at a time.

Now I know I have bi pass going on with one or more of my rear rams or slide rams. I now need to call the Lippert tech and see if there is a way to isolate the problem so I can remove and have Les rebuild it.

To be continued!!!

Pic #1 return line from rear I separated for the test. Pressure gauge is a must for diagnostics.

Pic #2 Cap and plug

Pic #3 coupling that works great to attach new line and pull thru when changing out a bad hose.



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