Dead battery; can't raise jack

[flyingfishy]

Hi all,

I'm at a remote retreat in the texas hill country. I ran my frig for 4 days and my battery is now dead. So, I can't raise my jack to hitch up. Does anyone know if I can plug into my truck and use it's power to raise the jack?

Thanks all!

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by flyingfishy

Hi all,

I'm at a remote retreat in the texas hill country. I ran my frig for 4 days and my battery is now dead. So, I can't raise my jack to hitch up. Does anyone know if I can plug into my truck and use it's power to raise the jack?

Thanks all!

You should just be able to connect the umbilical cord to the tow vehicle, start the truck and then raise the jack. It should get 12v from the truck.

If that doesn't work, you should be able to use the emergency crank that goes into the top of the jack and crank it up.

[CRH]

Plugging in the trailer umbilical and running the truck should charge your battery, but it will take a long time.

My jack has a manual crack. I have to take the top cover off the jack the use it.

[flyingfishy]

I don't have the manual crank with me. Doh!
Hopefully connecting it to the truck will work!
Fingers crossed 🤓

[JMynes]

If the fuse for your umbilical charge line blows, spin the truck around and put jumper cables from the truck to the trailer.
I think my umbilical has a 30 amp fuse. Raising the tongue and/or hooking up weight distribution might draw more than that.
I never noticed the amp rating of the jack’s inline fuse.

[Camano20]

My in line fuse is a 30 amp. had an issue with the fuse after my batteries went bad. replaced the batteries and still no power to the jack. had to bypass the fuse(thermal circuit breaker) and the jack worked fine. replaced the in line breaker and the batteries now everything is good again. If the breaker is good you should be able to raise and lower the jack with the truck plugged in.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by Camano20

My in line fuse is a 30 amp. had an issue with the fuse after my batteries went bad. replaced the batteries and still no power to the jack. had to bypass the fuse(thermal circuit breaker) and the jack worked fine. replaced the in line breaker and the batteries now everything is good again. If the breaker is good you should be able to raise and lower the jack with the truck plugged in.

All manual cranks are NOT created equal. I had one that would work with a rarchet wrench & socket (12 mm I think) But most have a shaft with a cross piece that locks into slots on top of the jack. For one of those a big screw driver or a quarter secured in locking pliers might work. "Girl tool kit" would suggest ckecking the silver ware drawer for suspected McGuyver fixes too.

Paula

[flyingfishy]

Thanks all!

[CruizinDux]

I have a barker jack and had to use the hand crank once. The hand crank has the cotter pin that fits the jack's post drive under the top cover.

I wanted a back up so I fished around in the tool chest for a long socket...what worked was a 7/16" but it was a 12 point. Another 7/16 6- point didn't work..so try +/- of the 7/16. I keep it attached to a 6" extension (3/8 drive) where my TV's lug wrench is stored.

Good luck

Bob

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Just in case a similar issue pops up, some trucks only put the power on the 7 pin when the truck is put in gear. Getting the battery up to the point the jack will work should not take a very long time. I ...errr... have practical experience ...

Bob

[CharlieSK]

A couple of years ago, we stripped the gears on our jack and did not have a crank. The solution (thanks to my DW) was to use a 1" speed wood bit in an electric drill. We had to break the point of the bit off to allow it to fit in the top of the jack. We have saved the bit for future use and purchased the hand crank as well.

Good luck.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by flyingfishy

Hi all,

I'm at a remote retreat in the texas hill country. I ran my frig for 4 days and my battery is now dead. So, I can't raise my jack to hitch up. Does anyone know if I can plug into my truck and use it's power to raise the jack?

Thanks all!

Been there, feel your pain.

Tricks to try:

1) With late model Ford trucks you have to apply the brakes for a few seconds and maybe put the truck in gear, with the trailer connected, to turn on the trailer power circuit. Once it's on, it stays on as long as the engine is running.

2) An alternative to consider is to swap batteries between your truck and trailer. Sometimes this is less work than the other available alternatives.

3) You can try charging with jumper cables as described upthread.

4) You can raise the tongue with some other jack. If you are trying to lower the tongue, you may be able to get away with just removing the foot of the jack while the tongue is raised with some other jack.

5) You can raise the tongue with some other jack and remove the built-in jack as an alternative to lowering it. It is held on by only 3 bolts.

Good luck.

[mimiandrews]

If you have to take the head off a Barker jack to use the manual crank, be sure to follow the timing procedure when you put the jack head back on. It has to be set up so that the limit switches stop the motor before the jack reaches the mechanical stops--otherwise the gears will strip.

You can download the instructions if you don't have them.

[NevadaGeo]

Or, take the trailer battery out and charge it with your truck running and jumper cables while you have breakfast.

[JCWDCW]

Connect the umbilical and try it. If the battery is not fully flat, it should work; mine always did.
If the house battery is drawing down the truck supply, then you may have to simply disconnect one terminal of the house battery and feed the jack through the umbilical. If you have jumper cables then pull the House battery out of its enclosure and mainline the truck battery directly onto the house battery. This is also the fastest way to charge a dead house battery, because you can get so many amps through the Jumpers
JCW

[wavelength]

Plug your truck in leave it running and go on with your life

[Glenn T]

Originally Posted by CruizinDux

I have a barker jack and had to use the hand crank once. The hand crank has the cotter pin that fits the jack's post drive under the top cover.

The switch on my barker jack stopped working on my way to Glacier NP. That's when I discovered that I didn't get a manual crank with my camper...

Fortunately, I figured out that the jack handle that came with my Toyota pickup truck was EXACTLY the perfect fit for the barker jack! So if you or anyone near you has a Toyota vehicle, there's a good chance you'll be able to use their jack handle and be on your way.

Glenn

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by Glenn T

The switch on my barker jack stopped working on my way to Glacier NP. That's when I discovered that I didn't get a manual crank with my camper...

Fortunately, I figured out that the jack handle that came with my Toyota pickup truck was EXACTLY the perfect fit for the barker jack! So if you or anyone near you has a Toyota vehicle, there's a good chance you'll be able to use their jack handle and be on your way.

Glenn

Glenn, Well, I'll be. I've never even had the jack handle out yet, so I'll have to check this out. Thanks


bob

[4riveteers]

Just a thought to look into a NOCO Genius Boost with lithium batteries. This little pup packs a wallop for all sorts of dead battery scenarios. Hook the NOCO straight up to one of the trailer batteries like jump starting a car. Voila!

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by CruizinDux

Glenn, Well, I'll be. I've never even had the jack handle out yet, so I'll have to check this out. Thanks


bob

Didn't pull it all out but it looks different on mine. However the jack head is the same size as the drive end of a 3/8" ratchet which is what I used when I was looking for a deep socket to fit.

Bob