Dead Jack

[dlenloe]

Well, as many have discussed, the jack battery was dead after only 2 weeks in storage. We have a drill and the attachment socket as a backup but the drill did not have enough amperage to do the job. So we got out the hand crank. Worked great until while lowering the hitch until the hand crank was unable to turn because the bumper of our TV, a Tahoe, blocked the ability to turn the hand crank.
Now with all of that being said, we have a stand alone portable battery charger that we purchased at Auto Zone to take with us on trips long before we bought a travel trailer. As a last resort, we hooked up the battery charger to the AS batteries and to our relief it worked like a charm. Probably you seasoned RVer's already knew that, but for a newbie it was like a major revelation.
All of this while trying to hook up for our first adventure with our FC 23FB.

[AWCHIEF]

I have a really old 12 volt Craftsmen drill that I converted to a cord and battery clips back in my boat days. 20 plus years old and still words perfectly. Seems the batteries on most new portable drills crap out in a couple of years.

[joshjack]

Originally Posted by dlenloe

Well, as many have discussed, the jack battery was dead after only 2 weeks in storage. We have a drill and the attachment socket as a backup but the drill did not have enough amperage to do the job. So we got out the hand crank. Worked great until while lowering the hitch until the hand crank was unable to turn because the bumper of our TV, a Tahoe, blocked the ability to turn the hand crank.
Now with all of that being said, we have a stand alone portable battery charger that we purchased at Auto Zone to take with us on trips long before we bought a travel trailer. As a last resort, we hooked up the battery charger to the AS batteries and to our relief it worked like a charm. Probably you seasoned RVer's already knew that, but for a newbie it was like a major revelation.
All of this while trying to hook up for our first adventure with our FC 23FB.

Did you disconnect the batteries for during storage using the inside battery disconnect?

[Caffeinated]

Originally Posted by joshjack

Did you disconnect the batteries for during storage using the inside battery disconnect?

Using the the "use/store" switch won't really disconnect the battery.

Mike

[joshjack]

Originally Posted by Caffeinated

Using the the "use/store" switch won't really disconnect the battery.



Mike

No, but it disconnects the majority of the parasitic loads that drain the batteries during storage.

[Caffeinated]

Originally Posted by joshjack

No, but it disconnects the majority of the parasitic loads that drain the batteries during storage.

Depends on what is in the trailer. Which may point to why the OPs battery was dead after two weeks.

In my 27 FC, both batteries will be dead after 10 days on "store" if I don't physically disconnect them.

Mike

[Rocinante]

So, the other sad thing about dead "jack" batteries (which are really your Airstream's coach batteries) is that every time this happens, your lead-acid betteries are damaged a little bit and will hold less charge in the future. It's definitely worth your while to find a way to ensure this doesn't happen while your baby is in storage. My preference is to find a way to keep them charged up, happy, and in tip-top shape while in storage (perhaps via a battery tender), but I realize this isn't always possible. In the latter case, maybe disconnect the negative terminal once you're certain the batteries are fully charged.

[cabinetmaker]

Be careful using a battery charger to power the front jack...low amps / voltage will do serious harm to the motor.

Use the hand crank to raise the trailer...then back truck under it and use the drill to lower it onto the ball. A good 18 Volt cordless will run it both ways.

When in storage either use a battery tender if you have access to 120 v power or make sure the batteries are fully charged and then remove a cable.

Don't depend on the store / use switch to keep the batteries from draining in storage. There are gas / co2 detectors in the trailer that stay on all the time and will drain the batteries even when switched to store.

[dlenloe]

I had only used the store switch when we put our AS in storage. Did not know about disconnecting the negative terminal. I do not have access to power where I'm storing, so the disconnect will be my best option at this point. Thank you for your input. You are all a great help.
DL