Need electric jack help....stuck.

[ohwally]

please advise.....2005 28' safari electric jack is stuck at top height......will not retract. is there a special tool available to lower the jack ? (i bought the camper used and have not found anything onboard that looks like it would work).
thank you........yes i am scared the camper will suddenly fall

[wkerfoot]

I doubt that the trailer will fall. What is the name and model of your jack? There should be a cap on the top that you pry off and you will see the top of the shaft to determine the wrench needed to manually lower the jack.

Bill

Originally Posted by ohwally

please advise.....2005 28' safari electric jack is stuck at top height......will not retract. is there a special tool available to lower the jack ? (i bought the camper used and have not found anything onboard that looks like it would work).
thank you........yes i am scared the camper will suddenly fall

[thecatsandi]

A Crank Handle should be in your trailer somewhere. If it is stuck fully extended then the jack needs to be re-synced. Instructions are on the manufactures web site. It may also be jammed by a lateral load.
Can you get the weight of it?

[clancy_boy]

This model has a cap with a bubble level on it - pry that off - it should pop off with little problem. Under the cap is a hex nut that is on the shaft drive to the jack. There should be a tool that has a small hex nut drive on one end - it is very easy to overlook, mine is silver. If you do not have the tool or just want to get this over with, use an appropriate sized deep socket and ratchet on the nut to lower the jack. I forget which direction to turn to lower but if you ar eall the way up it probably will only turn one way. DO NOT APPLY to much torque - the gears are pop metal if you are lucky and probably plastic if you ar not. Once at the maximum height, sometimes they stick at the end of their maximum extension.

Good Luck, BTW - it will not tip over but it is hard on the frame and axles to be out of level for an extended period of time.

Mike

[Goal15]

While we are talking about electric jacks . . . does the electric jack run only off the AS batteries, or if the 7 pin is connected to TV will it run off TV power? Just wondered what happens if AS batteries were to go dead in storage for whatever reason.

[clancy_boy]

Originally Posted by Goal15

While we are talking about electric jacks . . . does the electric jack run only off the AS batteries, or if the 7 pin is connected to TV will it run off TV power? Just wondered what happens if AS batteries were to go dead in storage for whatever reason.

They are typically directly connected to the on board 12V battery. That said, there is a power boost in mine when connected to the tow vehicle. Remember, the ground to the 12V circuit from the truck is through the physical connection of the TV to the AS at the hitch. Just using the 7 pin plug to get "power" when the AS battery is dead will not work unless you are hooked up to tow or you use a ground jumper between the two. Ask me how I know this....

[Wingeezer]

I'm guessing that since your trailer is the same year as mine, it will be equipped with a "Barker Superjack."

If so, that model does not have the removeable level bubble that newer models have.

Instead, to be able t crank the jack manually, you need to remove the powerhead from the jack - there are two allen head set screws. Very easy to remove.

You can then see the top of the jack screw. Mine does not have a hex head drive, but has a hole in the centre and a cross-ways slot cut in the screw.

You should have an emergency crank handle that has a pin across the end of the shaft of the crank that will engage the slot and allow you to operate the jack.

If you don't have the crank, it should be easy to fabricate something - I made an extra one that will fit in the 18v cordless drill that I use for my Hensley and for my stabilizers.

Incidentally, I had a similar problem with my jack last time I brought our trailer home from a trip. (reported in another thread) Mine would not extend so I could not release the trailer from the truck.

I initially suspected either a blown fuse or a limit switch problem, but it turned out to be a very weak connection in the 12v feed wire.

I could still get a 12v reading with a meter but the connection was badly corroded and would not pass enough current to operate the jack - an easy fix once I found the problem!

Good luck ............. Brian.



PS - as someone else mentioned, if you remove the powerhead to manually crank the jack, then once you get the jack working, you must re-synch the powerhead with the jack screw before refitting the power head or your limit switches will be all out of whack!

It is actually ver easy to do - if you don't have your jack manual, you can find a copy on line,

Barker_Home

If for some reason you cannot find it, I can provide detail.








.

[Goal15]

So what you are saying is, before I try this, make sure i've got the trailer hitch connected to the truck . . . I hope to never have to depend on TV battery to make the jack work, but when I hear the electric jack winding away with its little motor it doesn't inspire great confidence in lifting the tongue weight of the AS . . .

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by clancy_boy

They are typically directly connected to the on board 12V battery. That said, there is a power boost in mine when connected to the tow vehicle. Remember, the ground to the 12V circuit from the truck is through the physical connection of the TV to the AS at the hitch. Just using the 7 pin plug to get "power" when the AS battery is dead will not work unless you are hooked up to tow or you use a ground jumper between the two. Ask me how I know this....

I didn't realize that, isn't the white wire used in teh seven pic connector a ground wire?

Brian.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Goal15

So what you are saying is, before I try this, make sure i've got the trailer hitch connected to the truck . . . I hope to never have to depend on TV battery to make the jack work, but when I hear the electric jack winding away with its little motor it doesn't inspire great confidence in lifting the tongue weight of the AS . . .

The jack, if wired as mine is, will operate just off the trailer batteries with no problem.

Brian

[ohwally]

thank you all so much for the responses and instructions. this site is the best...

long story but we keep the camper 200 miles from home (near grandchildren) and had to leave it jacked up in our storage facility until the next trip in 2 weeks. the motor runs but nothing moves...however, i will try to hand crank as suggested and hope for the best.

another story.....late sunday night my wife noticed a 'drip' coming from the overhead air conditioner (never happened before)....panic time..after removing the interior air cond. cover water poured down on top of me ! to cut a long story short i determined that the drain line from the a/c was clogged and the water backed up. miracle of miracles at 11 pm on a sunday night at the campground my neighbor camper suggested blowing out the line with his air compressor........perfect.....whatever was clogged unclogged and all ended well. (next day electric jack got stuck).

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ohwally

thank you all so much for the responses and instructions. this site is the best...

long story but we keep the camper 200 miles from home (near grandchildren) and had to leave it jacked up in our storage facility until the next trip in 2 weeks. the motor runs but nothing moves...however, i will try to hand crank as suggested and hope for the best.

another story.....late sunday night my wife noticed a 'drip' coming from the overhead air conditioner (never happened before)....panic time..after removing the interior air cond. cover water poured down on top of me ! to cut a long story short i determined that the drain line from the a/c was clogged and the water backed up. miracle of miracles at 11 pm on a sunday night at the campground my neighbor camper suggested blowing out the line with his air compressor........perfect.....whatever was clogged unclogged and all ended well. (next day electric jack got stuck).

I didn't realize that your jack motor would still run. Sounds to me like maybe a stripped gear or perhaps a pin has sheared. I would think that most likely you should still be able to manually crank it.

This link should take you to a schematic of the guts of the jack if it is the same as mine (2005 Classic 30 AS).

http://www.barkermfg.com/superjackpg4.pdf

Great tip about blowing dirt from the air conditioner drain hose - mine seems to come out in the trailer wheel well - is that where you blew the hose from?


Brian.

[altamont]

We went through 2 Barker units, both replaced under warranty. The motor would run, but nothing happened. The fix was to replace the motor "head" and re-synch. Dealer didn't know how to re-synch so I showed them how . I was using the jack too harshly and jacking up the back of the truck when attached to the trailer to make the equalizer hitch easy to hook up (purchasing dealer taught me this dumb trick!). Now know how to do it without putting stress on jack.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by altamont

We went through 2 Barker units, both replaced under warranty. The motor would run, but nothing happened. The fix was to replace the motor "head" and re-synch. Dealer didn't know how to re-synch so I showed them how . I was using the jack too harshly and jacking up the back of the truck when attached to the trailer to make the equalizer hitch easy to hook up (purchasing dealer taught me this dumb trick!). Now know how to do it without putting stress on jack.

Uh-oh, I do that too (ie lift the truck somewhat with the jack to make hookup easier) I wonder if that means I am predisposed for jack failure!

The jack motor never sounds to be working hard, and since the jack is rated at 3500#, it never occurred to me that this might not be a wise thing to do, but now I'm wondering!

Brian.

[clancy_boy]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

I didn't realize that, isn't the white wire used in teh seven pic connector a ground wire?

Brian.

That guage wire is for the ground to the electrical systems but is not sufficiant in current draw capacity to power the motor on the jack. Mine will not even make the motor humm when there is not a good ground connection between the TV and trailer when I have had to use the TV for ower (low charge in AS battery).

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by clancy_boy

That guage wire is for the ground to the electrical systems but is not sufficiant in current draw capacity to power the motor on the jack. Mine will not even make the motor humm when there is not a good ground connection between the TV and trailer when I have had to use the TV for ower (low charge in AS battery).

Well, live and learn! I didn't realize that!

I did find out recently that you cannot blindly believe what a multimeter tells you! My jack wouldn't work and yet the feed wire with a multimeter showed
12 volts.

Turned out that I had a bad connector in the feed line. It would pass enough current (negligeable) to give a reading on the voltmeter,but not enough t power the jack.

Brian.

Thanks ........ Brian.

[Gene]

When you get the head apart, you'll see some grease around the plastic gears—the gears look weak, but are pretty strong. Make sure the grease is on the gears—over time it flies off, but to work well the gears need grease on them.

Make sure you have extra fuses too. I have only been able to find them in an RV store since they are high amperage and not used for electronics. The in-line fuse is located under the tongue.

For some reason the gears may have come loose and that's why you can hear whirring but nothing happens. If you are lucky you will be able to get them together, but something may be stripped (maybe no grease) and then you are not lucky. You should still be able to crank the jack up manually with some sort of tool—you may have to jack up the tongue to take weight off the electric jack and maybe it will crank easier.

I too have raised the end of the truck up in the air, then I blew a fuse. 3,500 lbs isn't much when you count in the back of the truck and the front of the trailer. It puts a lot of stress on the hitch receiver and the trailer tongue. It is best to use the lever supplied with the Equalizer to lever the bars on and off, or whatever other hitches have if that is necessary.

My jack works when not attached to the truck. If it didn't, I would look for a bad ground for the jack on the trailer.

Gene

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by Goal15

While we are talking about electric jacks . . . does the electric jack run only off the AS batteries, or if the 7 pin is connected to TV will it run off TV power? Just wondered what happens if AS batteries were to go dead in storage for whatever reason.

If the Coach batteries are low. It can blow the fuse in the Tow Vehicle.

[Wsmith]

Originally Posted by altamont

We went through 2 Barker units, both replaced under warranty. The motor would run, but nothing happened. The fix was to replace the motor "head" and re-synch. Dealer didn't know how to re-synch so I showed them how . I was using the jack too harshly and jacking up the back of the truck when attached to the trailer to make the equalizer hitch easy to hook up (purchasing dealer taught me this dumb trick!). Now know how to do it without putting stress on jack.

Guess its true that they don't build things like they used too. I have an old original Super Jack and always use it to take the tension off the torsion bars when hooking up. The only problem I have ever had was with a limit switch once. I think the Jack is going on about 27 years now. I probably use it between 40 and 60 times a year. Guess when it goes out may have to find a place to rewind the motor. Think there is a place in Tampa that can do small D/C motors.

[Wsmith]

Sounds like it may have broke a tooth of the micarta fiber gear inside. If they are still building them like the older ones. I had that happen on a '79 Excella. Its usually a gear that is about 2 to 2-1/2" in diameter.