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cantdrv55 · 01-11-2015, 10:03 PM

My tongue jack switch doesn't work to move the tongue up so now I have to manually jack it until I can replace the switch. What tool do you use to manually move the jack?

rmkrum · 01-11-2015, 10:06 PM

There should be a crank with a fitting on the bottom that fits a shaft under a cover on the motor housing. It varies a bit but you should be able to crank it.

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Craig Schrader · 01-12-2015, 05:48 AM

My Jack is a Barker 3000. There is a bubble level on top of it, it unscrews and there is a square shaft that you can put a 12 pt socket on or if your trailer came with the wrench for it goes on the square shaft.
Check your fuse and connection before ordering a new switch. I replaced my switch last year. Here are a couple of pics. The complete cap is off in one of the pics, but you can see the square shaft that will turn the jack.

cantdrv55 · 01-12-2015, 08:49 AM

Thanks. I will look for the crank wrench but I don't think my trailer came with it. If not, I will find a 12pt socket the fits.

Alphonse · 01-12-2015, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Schrader

My Jack is a Barker 3000. There is a bubble level on top of it, it unscrews and there is a square shaft that you can put a 12 pt socket on or if your trailer came with the wrench for it goes on the square shaft.
Check your fuse and connection before ordering a new switch. I replaced my switch last year. Here are a couple of pics. The complete cap is off in one of the pics, but you can see the square shaft that will turn the jack.

Craig,
Where did you get the switch? Did you get it fronm Barker? The "down" function on mine blew out yesterday!
Thanks

MaineStreamer · 01-12-2015, 11:23 AM

Are you sure that the problem isn't simply that the battery is discharged now in the cold weather?

grwalk · 01-12-2015, 11:37 AM

Check the two diode at the top inside of jack. I had one of these go bad and could only operate the jack in one direction. The way to check in swap the two little black diodes and see if this changes the direction that the Jack will go.

iowaroots · 01-12-2015, 12:00 PM

It may be a simple wire break or switch or???? Wire around the 12volt switch to see, especially if you are missing the crank.

radargeek · 01-12-2015, 12:13 PM

I called Barker and they authorized a new jack since it was under the 2010's extended 5 year warranty we purchased. Got one installed at Windish in Denver. Paid for installation, Windish reimbursed me when insurance paid them. Then last year the replacement failed when the telescoping portion of the jack suddenly gave way! Called Barker direct; they UPS'd a replacement to me; we were in Tucson, got a local RV guy to install it. Still works.

vhaalen · 01-12-2015, 07:59 PM

Barker is customer service king! My switch failed, so I called Barker. They talked me through switch replacement, sent new switch with manual crank tool and cover for the housing. Haven't needed the manual crank tool yet, but the best part was the cover. If the cover had been in place since dealership, you probably wouldn't need to replace your switch.

B_Pi · 01-12-2015, 09:03 PM

Reading about the failures of the electric jacks, it sure makes me glad that mine is simply a manually operated one. Besides the reliability, I get some exercise when coupling/decoupling. Fortunately there are manual overrides on the electric jacks for those who have that type. It is kind of like electric seats and windows in automobiles. While nice and convenient, when the motors and/or controls fail - you are screwed until an electrical repair can be made. With the mechanical ones, often a simple fix will do until a permanent repair can be made. Maybe simpler systems have their advantages after all, even though less flashy and convenient. I miss the wing windows that used to be common on vehicles too. I'm no Luddite, but as life gets more complex it seems that our inability to address many of the complications which arise when systems fail only makes it worse in the end.
Best wishes all.

Craig Schrader · 01-13-2015, 06:48 AM

Got the switch from Barker, shipping and all was about $30.00. Take digital pics before disconnecting, it was actually easy to change out and I wanted to check the grease inside the Head anyway. Plenty of grease was left after five years.

Craig Schrader · 01-13-2015, 06:55 AM

Best friend when traveling is a 4-8 ton hydraulic bottle jack and several pieces of 4x4 0r 4x6 treated lumber. Jack the coupler off the ball, then it is easier to lower the tongue jack with no weight on it to the desired position. And can use it to fix flats on trailer or TV.
If your electrics fail on the tongue jack, use the bottle jack.

Wingeezer · 01-13-2015, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

Thanks. I will look for the crank wrench but I don't think my trailer came with it. If not, I will find a 12pt socket the fits.

It might not work with a socket. I believe my jack is a Barker, and the the "business end" of the emergency handle for is is just a steel rod with a cross pin that engages with a matching groove in the end of the jack screw shaft.

I made up an adapter to duplicate the drive and to be suitable to use in a cordless drill. So far - thankfully - I have not had to use it!

Incidentally, our previous SOB trailer had a different make of jack that had no means to manually operate the jack screw as far as I could see.

We did have problems early one morning when wanting to leave a campground in the pouring rain. Jack wouldn't work and I could not hook up to the truck. I took the top off the jack thinking I would surely find some way to wind it manually - but not so.

Luckily I was able to find the problem - bad ground connection.

On that trailer, the mounting flange of the jack was welded to the A frame so a bottle jack wouldn't have helped - unless I also had an angle grinder as well to cut off the defective jack.

Perhaps though, once I took the weight off the tongue jack using the bottle jack I might have been able turn the tongue jack gear just by finger in order to retract it.

These days, in addition to a bottle jack and good supply of tools of all types, 110v air compressor and gennie, I often do take an angle grinder as well on our RV trips - never know when it might be handy

Brian.

radargeek · 01-24-2015, 02:47 PM

Just yesterday, Jan 23rd, as we were attempting to lift our Airstream off the hitch ball on our F-250, our Barker 3000 VIP jack suddenly quit. I checked the fuse and it was fine, and then I measured the voltage on the business side of the fuse and it was a solid +12 VDC. Called Barker, explained problem. CSR at Barker felt 99.9% it WAS the switch. I told her the light didn't work, either. She's sending two switches and a replacement lamp. She also said they had had considerable trouble with the switches on the 3000 VIP jack. Stay tuned...I expect switch next week!
Tom Scanlan

Gene · 01-24-2015, 02:58 PM

We haven't heard from the OP for a while.

Other things to check are the jack fuse—located under the tongue—and whether the grease inside the head has disappeared. It doesn't really disappear, but as the gears spin, the grease is slowly blasted away and the gear seize. Take the head off and spread the grease back on the gears. The fuse cannot be easily found in electronic stores—it is only used by RV jacks, so you have to go to an RV store.

As I recall, there was a plastic bag with instructions and the crank with the trailer. Once you take the head off, you have to reset the jack and I believe the crank is necessary for that. Instructions can usually be found on the manufacturers website; crank probably has to be ordered.

Gene

Jim Flower · 01-24-2015, 05:10 PM

When my Barker 3000 decided not to work, I used the crank to move the motor a little bit while operating the switch. This caused the motor to work with a great deal of spirit and spun the crank, slicing my arm in the process. Bad idea. Do not do this. The switch still works intermittently so I will have to order a new one before spring. I should have known better given my history of trying to crank the Morris in my Avatar. Given the outcome, I think the motor in the Barker 3000 is a lot stronger than the motor in my old Morris. Jim

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16595 · 06-05-2015, 07:56 PM

So I gather that I remove the jack head (allen screws) to get at the gears and check lubrication. Probably well overdue at 10 years!

Does the tongue need to be supported when removing the jack head?

Dwight

Gene · 06-08-2015, 05:20 PM

The grease only stayed on for about 2 years, but since I smeared it back on the gears, 6 years without a problem. I guess I did a better job than the factory did (whose factory? Jack factory or Airstream?).

Hitch the trailer to the tow vehicle to remove any stress from the parts inside. My impression is those small plastic gears are all that holds the jack up and I wouldn't want them popping off with the cover off. Safer to hitch it than prop it up with something like scrap wood or your front steps. You have to recalibrate the jack after lubbing it, so it needs to move up and down in a way you can see just how far it goes in both directions. I don't think I explained that very well, but the instructions should help.

Gene

Skater · 06-08-2015, 06:05 PM

No, the jack post will hold the weight of the trailer even with the head completely off without spinning loose.

Note, if you do remove the head and adjust the height or spin the gears, you'll have to re-index (Gene said "calibrate") it. Basically you run the jack and motor all the way up or down, back off a half turn on the jack, then put the motor on. The motor should stop electrically before it hits one of the physical stops on the post.

But with mine, you can pull the top off the jack head without removing the head from the post (thus preserving the indexing). On mine, there are four screws under the head that you can remove. Other models are likely different.