Electric Jack failure - what now?

[dbradhstream]

Please let me know what your next step would be.

This past weekend my Barker Super Power Jack failed - wouldn't go up, wouldn't go down, I couldn't crank it by hand, nothing. I called a mobile RV service and eventually got a manual jack installed after a full day of hassle. Trailer is a 2006 still under warranty. I have Good Sam which would have covered towing but didn't call them b/c didn't want to be towed anywhere.

Son of a ...!! The bill, with mileage to and from, parts, service call charge, etc. came to over $300 - all to install a jack worth about $50. If only I'd known I could probably have done it myself, but I'm supposed to be under warranty so why should I have to??

Acc'd to RV tech, the Barker jack is shot - worm gear stripped or some such. Dead. Kaput. Seized up.

RV tech called my A/S dealer twice during the day to see if they'd foot the repair bill but calls were not returned.

Question: I think between Good Sam, my AS dealer and Airstream corporate, I should get reimbursed for what I spent. Who should I call first? Do you think I will be able to get reimbursed?

[Airhog1]

if you have had your unit less than a year you should be able to get reimbursed......but I'm not sure...Barker might send you another jack...make sure you fax a copy of your bill...you will also need your original purchase order from the dealer that shows your date of purchase...the warranty on the Barker Jack is 1 year from the date of purchase...you should have a Barker warranty card in your owner's manual.

Barker's address is:
730 East Michigan AVe
Battle Creek, MI 49014

Phone is 269-965-2371

G

[bobkelly]

Given the cronology of events, read your Airstream warranty, determine which provisions, if any, cover this case, and then write a letter to airstream asking for reimbursement of the enclosed bills. Good Luck.

[halimer]

I recently purchased a new 2006, Classic 25. My electric jack broke down one week after purchasing the camper and prior to going to the Metro NY Area WBCCI 50th Anniversary rallie. I used a small 5 ton floor jacket to get the camper on and off my hitch. I called Barker Industries the next day and they sent me a new one.

[Doctorpolish]

IF YOU GOT ANYTHING out of Barker I tried for three months to get them on the phone could not get customer service any one time I now use a house jack. Go buy a real jack!!!! Jim

[Silvertwinkie]

I never, and I mean, never (ok, rarely) leave home without a small hydraulic jack. Cost is maybe $25, but in that situation, would have saved you some time and $$$. Have used it many times both for the jack blowing fuses (due to short that is normal for these) and several other events that made me rethink why I didn't carry one.

Also carry some fuses!

When I was at the factory for service, one of my long list of items was the power jack keeps stopping. The tech told me, before he even opened it that it's common and had it fixed in a matter of minutes. Problem is that it still happens from time to time. A fuse and hydraulic jack saved the day at least 3x since spring of 2005.

[Safari-Rick]

Silvertwinkie:
I just want to say that you make a good point for those of us that have the electronic jacks. I will from this day forward carry a small hydraulic jack!

This is something you just don't think about until it happens!

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by Safari-Rick

Silvertwinkie:
I just want to say that you make a good point for those of us that have the electronic jacks. I will from this day forward carry a small hydraulic jack!

This is something you just don't think about until it happens!

Tell me about it... I learnt that lesson when mine failed and I was up s** creek. I was so desprate, boondocking, in the middle of nowhere, I broke out the tow vehicle jack and managed to get 'er going (without the power jack) after some trial and error, but after that event, found the jack I left home all the time was my new best friend.

Glad folks find it useful, it's pulled me out of a few jams since that first time....of course, back then I didn't even carry extra fuses which in my first case would have solved my problem, so, I bring both now.

[JStanley]

I had a similar problem and I though my jack shaft was jammed in the post assembly. I sent it back to Barker and they fixed it under warranty.
It appears that in the winter when I move my trailer, I did it without using the DC power to jack it up/down. I manually used the hand crank. That is a no no unless you manually re-sync the shaft with the timing system. It stripped the fiber gears too. The shaft does not know how high or how low it is in relation to the tube assembly. You must re-sync it if you adjust the shaft and not the motor at the same time.
Since your unit is new, read the label on the shaft and read carefully the last page of the Power Jack instructions. This is not an unusual problem that we learn the hard way. And the warnning instructions should be in RED ink.
Good luck.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Safari-Rick

Silvertwinkie:
I just want to say that you make a good point for those of us that have the electronic jacks. I will from this day forward carry a small hydraulic jack!

This is something you just don't think about until it happens!

It is also useful for jacking to change tires on the single axle trailers. You can also use the old crank-around and around bottle jack-looking OEM truck jacks in an emergency.

[ScottW]

Don't recall off hand which jack is on my 2007, but I called the mfg and had them send me a few spare 'slo-blow' fuses for the jack...just in case. This is one major cause of jack failure. FWIW.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Doctorpolish

IF YOU GOT ANYTHING out of Barker I tried for three months to get them on the phone could not get customer service any one time I now use a house jack. Go buy a real jack!!!! Jim

I have called Barker three times over the course of three trailers and more than a decade. The last time was last year when I actually emailed them because I had lost the parts bag for the jack that I bought brand new to install on my Argosy. Funny thing is, the other two times were for parts that I misplaced too.
Each time I called I talked to someone. My email was answered within one business day. Each time I explained what a boneheaded thing I had done and asked if there was some way I could pay for what I lost. Each time I was told that it was not necessary and they mailed it out that day. I live in MI so it takes one business day to get something mailed from Battle Creek.
I figure it beats what I have gotten out of Airstream. My brother-in-law took his 31 footer into them last year and one guy told him one thing and just as soon as he was gone another guy told him the exact opposite. Oh brother....

[altamont]

While on the last night of our 23 night trip (4000 miles) our Barker jack went south on us. I found a blown fuse but putting another one in just caused that to blow also. I called Barker today and without any hesitation they said they are sending another head unit at no charge. She just asked if the old one (6 months old) shorted out. I think that this might be an ongoing problem and they are making good on a design defect. Any ideas? Should I plan on replacing this jack in the future?

[Jaxon]

Had the same problem a couple of years ago - contacted Jim Parrett @ Airstream and he gave me this:

"Barker at 1-800-537-9940 ext 314. This will bring you to Greg. He has told me that he would be happy to repair your jack head and send it back to you."

Had just drove in to our destination and was ready to set up but no powerlift (wheels were a'turning but no vertical motion). Had to take the top off and crank it manually (a godsend). Wondered what that little crank handle was for. My initial conversation with Barker was not too productive. Jim intervened and made it work - way to go Airstream. Didn't cost me a nickle.

[jcanavera]

Well your jack is under Airstream's 2 year warranty so even though Barker states one year, Airstream will cover it. Probably in retrospect I would have called Good Sam to get a tow to a facility that could either repair or sell you manual jack that could get you by. That would have saved you a lot over the mobile service call.

Rather than call my dealer I probably would have called Airstream since the warranty cost is paid by them, and dependent upon where you are, they probably would have given you some directives and help in getting you on the road again. Dealer's probably aren't the best folks to call when you are out of state since they aren't aware of the closest facilities that can help you nor can they approve your use of those facilities for warranty purposes.

My hitch jack just failed about 3 weeks ago before leaving my home. Caught me off guard and I wasn't prepared to handle the problem. I completely failed to remember that I carry a bottle jack in my tow vehicle. I've had that bottle jack over 30 years but in my case the problem was the fact that I couldn't retract the Superjack, thus I wasn't able to hitch up. I did call my dealer who said my problem sounded like the jack needed to be resynchronized. Again after 14 years of towing this trailer, I completely forgot that the crank for the jack was stored in a below floor tray in my closet. Did my first resync of a jack ever and thought everything was fine, when the jack again failed to lower (even though it did lower about 10 times after testing). After doing multiple resync's with failures after successful testing, I decided to dump the Superjack and bought a 5,000 lb lift Husky Super Brute jack. It will arrive Monday and uses a ball bearing screw shaft lift system. The best part is that it retails on Amazon for about $100 less than the Barker 3,500 lb replacement. I've gotten some good reviews of this jack and it is 100% compatible with my Classic and the Brute and Super Brute Husky's are used by some owners on this forum. The best part is that in case of electrical failure you can pop a plug open on the head and insert a crank. No need to resync or take the head off to crank. Pulling that head and having to resync is the Achilies heel of the Barker Superjack.

Jack