Check the hole in the hitch coupler, that should be your only problem. But you will have to run a 12V line to the jack. I have a Barker on my Safari, probably the original jack and the trailer is 26 years old. I did have to call Barker regarding a problem I was having and found their customer service to be first rate.
Bill
__________________
Bill Kerfoot, WBCCI/VAC/CAC/El Camino Real Unit #5223
Just my personal opinion
1973 Dodge W200 PowerWagon, 1977 Lincoln Continental
1979 23' Safari, and 1954 29' Double Door Liner Orange, CA
The hole should be universal and any electric jack should work but Airstream has used Barker for as long as I can remember. They are awesome and available direct from the manufacture. http://www.barkermfg.com/
Devoman,
From what I've seen mounted on many of the 2005/2006 Airstream, the " Hi-Power Jack, as listed, is both a great product and excellent price.
Installation should be a snap. Plus factor is the "bubble float" on top for leveling also opens up for access to the manual crank. The only down side that I've seen is the inline fuse that Airstream has installed. IMHO, this feature just adds another thingie to go bad, and cause you some grief down the road when you least expect it. (If I had a choice, I'd leave the fuse out..)
ciao
53FC
Devoman, I just installed a new jack on our trailer. It is very easy. The 3000 lb. is good, you want enough power to pick up the back of your tow vehicle to hook up your chains and if you need to run a wire for it use a 8 or 10 gauge wire. They do come in 2" and 2 1/2" tubes so check your crank one and see what it is. Marvin
The only down side that I've seen is the inline fuse that Airstream has installed. IMHO, this feature just adds another thingie to go bad, and cause you some grief down the road when you least expect it. (If I had a choice, I'd leave the fuse out..)
ciao
53FC
That is BAD. First the fuse is inline to protect the motor from excess current draw. A blown fuse will show you that your motor might be out of sync. Without it, you will likely cause the motor to burn out if you do have such a problem.
Also, the fuse should be placed CLOSER to the battery than it currently is. At some point in my trailers past, the line leading directly from the battery shorted between the battery and the fuse. The result? A melted wire that in turn melted into the top of the battery. Unchecked, it could have caused a fire. Do you really want a fire inside your coach or directly under your propane tanks?
Personally, I'll take the five cent fuse and a dozen spares.
__________________ Chris - Evergreen, CO
2008 27'FB Int'l Signature CCD - Thank You Airstream of Arkansas! 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 6.7 CTD Mega Cab 1977 VW Westfalia Camper, hardtop 'Weekender'::Pictures
"Keeping an open mind is important, but not so open that your brain falls out."
I purchased and installed the 3500 from Camping World last week. Installation was a snap - the new one fit perfectly in the old spot - and my 97 Safari even had a wire waiting for me near the brake cut-off. I installed a fuse- I agree with Westfalia on that.
That is BAD. First the fuse is inline to protect the motor from excess current draw. A blown fuse will show you that your motor might be out of sync. Without it, you will likely cause the motor to burn out if you do have such a problem.
Also, the fuse should be placed CLOSER to the battery than it currently is. At some point in my trailers past, the line leading directly from the battery shorted between the battery and the fuse. The result? A melted wire that in turn melted into the top of the battery. Unchecked, it could have caused a fire. Do you really want a fire inside your coach or directly under your propane tanks?
Personally, I'll take the five cent fuse and a dozen spares.
Westfalia,
IMHO:
Your statements are in contradiction of one another.
First, you say that the fuse is there to protect the motor from burning up due to excessive current when it's out of sync.
The motor is driven by 12 Volts DC, not AC. The only way the motor is gonna get hot, and thus burn up, is excessive heat caused by a short in the motor's windings or the gears getting jammed up. Which, by the way, are nylon fiber gears in all electric jack.
Second, I fail to see where this second statement about the wire from the battery to the fuse (Here I took you to mean literally, the fuse panel within the couch) shorted and melted, has anything at all to do with the usage of the electric jack. As I read your second paragraph, it reads (from your statement) that this melting of the wires was caused by the leads from the battery being shorted within the battery compartment. I suggest that this was most likely caused by an error on your part when pushing the battery back into the battery compartment. Right?
As for the wires under the propane tanks scenerio.
On my unit, the battery leads pass within the battery compartment to a cutoff switch, which is mounted just outside the battery compartment area.
Now, let's get back to the electric jack. If you want a peace of mind, then by all means, put a fuse inline with the electric jack.
As for a fire in the couch, your past experience would be the perfect example of why one might have gotten started in the first place. Otherwise, I don't think you have the statistics to back up this fire causing scenerio as you described.
ciao
53FC
I looked under the Tounge where the jack is and I see 2 blue wires there that are taped off.I looked closer but it looks like the 2 are tied together with one of those translucent twist tops.Am i wrong?What are these two wires for.Thanks.
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1) Excessive current is exactly what pops fuses, and what a fuse or circuit breaker is designed to protect equipment and wiring against. My electric jack has begun popping 30A fuses when it reaches the end of its travel when retracting. While it didn't occur to me that the nylon gear would break first, thus saving the motor from burnout or damage, I'd rather replace a cheap fuse then replace the gear. Of course, something is wrong with my jack; it shouldn't be popping fuses at all.
2-3) I am not talking about a main lead from the battery. I'm talking about the positive lead for the power jack that attaches to the battery (thumb screw terminal). The batteries on my coach sit in a tongue mounted battery box, not under the couch. The wire runs forward from the battery box up the tongue to the jack, right next to and underneath the propane tanks (on my coach). At this time, the wire is zip tied to the main plug harness, but it is not inside any sheathing and is exposed to the weather. Over time, the wire jacket will become brittle and crack, exposing the copper wiring, or the jacket will eventually rub through. Both instances open the wire open to the possibility of a full short to ground on the frame. With no fuse to pop, the wire will quickly heat up, and catch fire or melt, possibly taking with it the main wiring harness. Or, in my previous example, it will heat up and melt thru the top of the battery.
This scenario didn't happen to me, since I am the second owner of the trailer, but I did inherit a battery with a melted top that is suspiciously in the shape of a 10 gauge wire. I can only guess that the wire shorted on on a suspiciously sharp edge in the battery box. A fuse close to the battery terminal would have prevented this.
I mentioned the possibility of shorting inside the coach since I knew that several coaches did have single or dual battery inside and under the couch.
Will you have a fire with a direct short? Maybe not, but things are going to get hot in the process. To me, it's not worth the risk to run a direct battery line without a fuse.
__________________ Chris - Evergreen, CO
2008 27'FB Int'l Signature CCD - Thank You Airstream of Arkansas! 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 6.7 CTD Mega Cab 1977 VW Westfalia Camper, hardtop 'Weekender'::Pictures
"Keeping an open mind is important, but not so open that your brain falls out."
OK, I'll try again.
1) Excessive current is exactly what pops fuses, and what a fuse or circuit breaker is designed to protect equipment and wiring against. My electric jack has begun popping 30A fuses when it reaches the end of its travel when retracting. While it didn't occur to me that the nylon gear would break first, thus saving the motor from burnout or damage, I'd rather replace a cheap fuse then replace the gear. Of course, something is wrong with my jack; it shouldn't be popping fuses at all.
2-3) I am not talking about a main lead from the battery. I'm talking about the positive lead for the power jack that attaches to the battery (thumb screw terminal). The batteries on my coach sit in a tongue mounted battery box, not under the couch. The wire runs forward from the battery box up the tongue to the jack, right next to and underneath the propane tanks (on my coach). At this time, the wire is zip tied to the main plug harness, but it is not inside any sheathing and is exposed to the weather. Over time, the wire jacket will become brittle and crack, exposing the copper wiring, or the jacket will eventually rub through. Both instances open the wire open to the possibility of a full short to ground on the frame. With no fuse to pop, the wire will quickly heat up, and catch fire or melt, possibly taking with it the main wiring harness. Or, in my previous example, it will heat up and melt thru the top of the battery.
This scenario didn't happen to me, since I am the second owner of the trailer, but I did inherit a battery with a melted top that is suspiciously in the shape of a 10 gauge wire. I can only guess that the wire shorted on on a suspiciously sharp edge in the battery box. A fuse close to the battery terminal would have prevented this.
I mentioned the possibility of shorting inside the coach since I knew that several coaches did have single or dual battery inside and under the couch.
Will you have a fire with a direct short? Maybe not, but things are going to get hot in the process. To me, it's not worth the risk to run a direct battery line without a fuse.
Westfalia,
1) You may very well have one of two things going on here.. (Or, even both)
First, as you say..it could be the electric jack with a minor defect, of sorts, that only shows up as you are retracting the stand. You should call the factory that made the electric jack on this one. Secondly, are you positive that you're using the correct 30A fuse? Not all 30A fuses are the same.
I'm assuming that you replaced the original blown fuse with a like kind, "glass type", and not "ceramic type".
My mistake for not thinking outside the box..In your case, the battery is mounted outside of the unit on the tongue. I can envisions more clearly from where your concerns originate.
For the wire running to the power jack, you might consider this:Reroute it inside a sleeve design for greater protection and, as you stated earlier, use a fuse mounted closer to the battery box.
Some of the older rigs, like mine, mounted their battery within a battery compartment and, within short distance of all fuses, univolter, disconnect switch, etc.
I do believe anything is possible but I do think your concern for a fire would be more realistic if you included the water heater, furnace or refrig as your source for that concern. (We should include smoking and candles as well..)
Wondering mind..I, for the life of me, can't figure out what/where Airstream was thinking when they came up with the design for the positioning of the battery box out on the tongue. Saving a buck or two..
Off the subject:
I just upgraded my older unit to include a propane, CO, AND smoke detector.
This is for Devoman~
I'll look into this for you and let you know what I come up with..
ciao
53FC
Our new 2005 Bambi has a 2-1/4" hole both top and bottom, but our stock jack is 2" diameter. The top has the three bolts and the bottom has a 2" diameter collar that was pop-riveted to the frame (now it's bolted after an aborted installation of a malfunctioning electric jack).
I'm looking at the 3,000 lb Hi-Power, but wondered if there are opinions on whether the bigger model is the way to go? I suppose larger diameter is going to be better for strength reasons. Any other thoughts?
I can't help you too much with brands or prices, since I don't know the weight of your trailer; however, we just got an electric jack for our 24ft, 1978 Argosy. My husband loves it. He says it is the best investment we have made on this trailer. I think we got a 1500, for about $123.00. You may want something more powerful, but this trailer has a tongue weight of 510 lbs, so it works for us. Good luck.
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