Can't unhitch! Need help.

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by LawChick

This is Ray, the problem seems to be that the jack just runs out of power and won't lift the tongue off the hitch with only the umbilical powering it. It sometimes will only rise an inch or less when under load (trying to lift trailer off hitch). I plan to first attach to shore power to see if that will give enough power to lift the trailer off the ball, if not, then I plan to use my truck's hydraulic jack to get it hopefully off the ball. The electric jack rises when assisted by the truck jack. Either way, I WILL GET THAT SUCKER OFF!!! I'm frustrated at this point because the jack just doesn't seem to be able to do the job like I think it should. Luckily, we're not at a campground somewhere off from home and having this problem. I really appreciate any and all suggestions because I am a newbie and maybe just don't understand what I may be doing wrong. I even stood on the truck hitch and tried the jack to lift the tongue off the ball, but even that didn't work. I was able to force the anti-sway torsion bars off the hitch. BTW the hitch is an equalizer e2 with round bars. Please give me any and all ideas - I am done for tonight, but will be working hard tomorrow to get this rig apart, if we're not snowed out!!

I had same problem with my 77. The latch is a bit diff than I was use to. You have to slide it forward then pull up. Your jack is running low because it can't pick up the back of your truck and the front of the airstream. Just check the latch. On the airstream. Remember slide it then pull!

[BillTex]

Try rocking back/forth an inch or two...also open the coupler and jump up/down on the bumper.

This is not unusual...a little kick to unload the coupler should do it...

(put down the sledge hammer..that will do more damage than good)

Keep the umbilical plugged to the TV if you need extra juice.

Consider yourself lucky...your first lesson happened while static.

Bill

[JFScheck]

Just remember to Be Safe as this is how accidents can occur...

I'm sure when you come back to it in the morning you will be successful - please don't forget to post how you solved your issues so it can be added to this forums database of knowledge for others to search!!!

Good Luck!!!

[Matt Kline]

I've found it sometimes helps to have someone sit in the truck and put it in neutral, being ready to put on the brake if the truck rolls.
Putting the TV in neutral takes the tension off if it's jammed tight in park against the ball.

[LawChick]

Ray has resumed his seat in front of the TV!
I cannot wait to get to know some of you. What a great bunch of people!

We're going to try everything ya'll suggested. Melody, you're a gal after my own heart. I was about to unhook everything and get in that big ole
Red truck and YANK it out from under 'er! LOL.. The truck is on gravel, so I would have made quite a stir with my diesel and my gravel. They'd know I was there.

I'm not shy. Ray is very quiet. Opposites attract, they say. Oh, well.

First thing in the morning, if it isn't snowing like crazy, we're going out there and with all ya'll's experience and ideas, get that trailer off.

We will definitely post how it came out, because I looked and couldn't find anyone else who got stuck to their trailer. LOL It is a little funny, and we are lucky we were home and not out in the campground with no groceries!

[Fyrzowt]

Don't the electric jacks also have a manual back-up handle? (In case it's a battery power issue. I've never had electric lift)

[JFScheck]

Originally Posted by Fyrzowt

Don't the electric jacks also have a manual back-up handle? (In case it's a battery power issue. I've never had electric lift)

Yes they do...

[LawChick]

Where is it?

[Melody Ranch]

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

[TBRich]

Good luck with it...and above all, as several have said...BE CAREFUL...this could lead to more than a bruised ego ... By the way, we all have situations we can't figure out right away once in a while...you'll get it done eventually and you'll know what the reason was...the main thing is to keep yourself safe.

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by LawChick

Where is it?

They all don't have a manual crank.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, you have been given some good information. I will explain it a bit differently. But first you must have power to the tongue jack. Lift the trailer high enough for the spring bars to easily come off. Remove the spring bars. Then lower the jack all the way down until the jack foot starts to come off of the ground or where you see there isn't any pressure on the hitch. Now you can slide the latch foreward and lift the handle upward to release the ball. If you have upward pressure on the ball and coupler, you won't be able to release the coupler latch. Now raise the tongue jack again and it should lift off of the ball.

I know that on my set up, if there is pressure towards the front or rear on the ball because of the trailer or tow vehicle, the ball will bind and not want to disconnect. Also if there is pressure from the tongue jack, in a lifted form, the latch will not move.

[NevadaGeo]

Sounds like the ball is binding up or the safty latch is hanging up. It might be possible to have the trailer set at a good height, pull the pin on the truck hitch and pull the truck off the receiver. Not recommended, Pretty scary but doable if you study where the truck will rebound to. Then study why the ball is stuck to the trailer. Might be a good trick to know if you need to abandon the trailer in a real quick situation.

[mimiandrews]

When we brought our Airstream home for the first time, we found that the power jack had stripped the gears inside the power head and would not raise the trailer. There were obvious noises from the powerhead that sounded like gears missing a tooth or three or four.

If yours is a Barker jack like ours, taking the power head off the jack gives access to the manual crank. The link Melody Ranch send you is the instructions for everything associated with that jack. Makeshift tool can be used to turn the mechanism, if the original crank isn't with the trailer. It took me a couple of days to find ours; it isn't very big.

Good news is that the gears are available to fix the powerhead, and they're not hard to replace. Do the "timing" instructions carefully when you put the powerhead back on the jack. The gears strip if the jack reaches its mechanical stop before the limit switches stop the electrical motor. It's supposed to reach the electrical limits first.

Good luck.

[LawChick]

This is Ray, well - it came apart finally (actually rather easily too). The trick was to attach the shore power and use a concrete block to gain a little height. I also made sure to push the latch forward before pivoting it up. The jack made that wonderful whir/whir/whir sound all the way up (on the umbilical it would just go silent after a moment or two). The jack lifted the trailer a lot faster on shore power too. The ball came loose with a sort of pop noise, maybe due to a little friction or too much grease on the ball? Anyway, I now have my truck home, the trailer is level and attached to shore power and the world is bright and sunny again (even though it's overcast and ready to snow here) !! This newbie wants to thank everyone for their suggestions and I look forward to meeting each of you at some rally eventually.

[LawChick]

Ray again - I suggested to my wife that our quote on the signature line might be better phrased as: "Not all those who are lost wander." LOL

[Splitrock]

On my Haulmark trailer, the hitch hangs up sometimes if I have back pressure on the ball. I might have to pull the truck ahead just a bit to get the ball away from the ball wedge that's located at the rear of the ball cup. I haven't looked at the Airstream hitch because I haven't had any problems unhitching it. With my utility trailers, it's not enough to lube the ball (which I do). I also lube the ball wedge and the release mechanism.

I use this on the ball.

I get it from Rockler.

I tend to like Marvel oil on the hitch ball wedge.

My remote location plan for the electric tongue jack / dead battery scenario, is to jack the tongue off with a bottle jack. I have the bottle jack in the tool kit. If I'm near my shop with a failed electric jack, I'd just jack it up with a floor jack. I'm not a real big fan of electric jacks. I might just replace my travel trailer electric jack with a hand crank jack. I have hand cranks on both of my other tandem trailers and I like their never fail reliability.

Gary

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by LawChick

This is Ray, well - it came apart finally (actually rather easily too). The trick was to attach the shore power and use a concrete block to gain a little height...

good follow up ray

i'm no elec'pert but my understanding is...

the jack is powered by the trailer 12v system...

so the battery/ies was/were probably low.

typically there isn't enough juice via the 7 pin to power the jack fully OR recharge the batteries quickly.

this is why leaving it plugged in to shore power over night helps or using shore power real time helps.

if the charger/converter is working and the batteries healthy, getting them fully juiced may be the solution.

of course the wiring to the jack could be pinched/frayed and not suppling full power,

or the battery/s may be weak, dry, sulfated or otherwise inadequate.

hopefully u r correct it's just a juice issue or something very simple.

congrats and welcome to the lost, wandering and wondering masses.

cheers
2air'

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by LawChick

This is Ray, well - it came apart finally (actually rather easily too). The trick was to attach the shore power and use a concrete block to gain a little height. I also made sure to push the latch forward before pivoting it up. The jack made that wonderful whir/whir/whir sound all the way up (on the umbilical it would just go silent after a moment or two). The jack lifted the trailer a lot faster on shore power too. The ball came loose with a sort of pop noise, maybe due to a little friction or too much grease on the ball? Anyway, I now have my truck home, the trailer is level and attached to shore power and the world is bright and sunny again (even though it's overcast and ready to snow here) !! This newbie wants to thank everyone for their suggestions and I look forward to meeting each of you at some rally eventually.

Yea!

Things definitely work better when there is enough power. Glad you got everthing taken care of before the snow started. It's 3:20 now and it is building up here in SE Little Rock. It started here about an hour or so ago and is seriously coming down.

[Bill M.]

Glad you got it loose. Is your truck a 2W or 4W drive. We had to have about a 6" drop on our hitch for our Dodge 4w. I think if you get hitched level and get a new batteries for the camper it will work fine. The jack really has to have good power because you are lifting the truck also. Our truck only settles about 1/2 inch when we hitch. So to attach the bars, etc. we have to actually lift the suspension at the back of the truck also with the jack.