Electric Rear Jacks

Canucklehead · 07-20-2011, 10:41 AM

Has anyone tried installing aftermarket electric rear jacks? A friend has them on his new trailer and I am jealous. I would enjoy not having to hand crank them.
It seems that you can get a kit from BAL that basically adds a motor to the standard scissor jacks, or you could replace the scissor jacks with a C jack with the integrated motor.

gossamar · 07-20-2011, 12:47 PM

Or...get an adapter for an electric drill...starting to see this become more common...

fixit5561 · 07-20-2011, 02:17 PM

I have a 3/4" socketfor my jacks and I keep a cordless impact from Harbor freight in the trailer for it. the jacks are down in no time with it.

sleepyT · 07-20-2011, 08:06 PM

With the electric impact drill do you have to finish with the hand crank when your extending the jacks?

cwit · 07-20-2011, 09:20 PM

They should be tight with the drill, I sometimes have to tighten with a socket more but not often.

KennyB · 07-20-2011, 09:47 PM

Yep, been using an electric drill for years and works great. Remember the jacks are for stabilizing your trailer and not leveling it.
I too have been seeing more and more people using drill motors.

fixit5561 · 07-21-2011, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepyT

With the electric impact drill do you have to finish with the hand crank when your extending the jacks?

With my impact , no, I dont have to finish cranking down the jacks using the wrench to tighten them at all. I only use the impact and actually forgot where my wrench is. Im sure it is in the side compartment some where.

mbinohio · 07-21-2011, 02:31 AM

my PP came with standard non power jacks and I didn't want them so I had the dealer install big foot electric jacks, they are independent from eachother and they put the switches inside the the compartment that the battery is in, they work great and after the camper has sat for abit you just touch the switch and it tightens up the jacks...well worth the money

CruiserJoe · 07-21-2011, 03:53 AM

I have the 18 volt electric jacks by Dewalt. Runs them down good and tight.

joescuba · 07-21-2011, 06:11 AM

on my last camper i just cut the end off one of my hand cranks and used a porter cable 18v drill from lowes,no more standing in the sun and sweating. I first tried one of those 20 dollar ones from tXrgXt but it was not strong enough,dewalt is a step up from mine

sleepyT · 07-21-2011, 07:12 AM

Next trip at the end of Aug. I'll have to give the 19.2 volt Craftsman a shot.

cwit · 07-21-2011, 08:54 AM

Craftsman is what I use.

Hamops · 07-21-2011, 09:44 AM

I'm a power tool junkie and believe that if I can get a power tool to dothe work for me,then the better for me. I have a 18V battery operated impact wrench and a 3/4 in socket that crank down and snug up the rear supports lickety split .

The power operated rear supports are a nice to have, but can be expensive, and require a whole lot of work to install. An battery operated impact wrench is cheap and can be used elsewhere when the need arises.

dalemac377 · 07-21-2011, 02:18 PM

One of the big pluses to the rear electric jacks that Crossroads is now offering is that they make the trailer much more stable than the sissor jacks.

salda01 · 07-21-2011, 02:40 PM

18V Lithium Snap-On driver for me.The drill even has a smart battery, that will tell you the battery level at the press of a button.

WoodcarvingGypsy · 07-22-2011, 12:52 AM

When I was in the Crossroads Service Center this past week, there was a flyer with special pricing for the Crossroads Owners Rally on various items, one being the Electric Stabilizer Jacks. MSRP is $525, Rally pricing is $325 with installation @ $50/hour for rally attendees.

For information on the jacks and other accessories, I'd suggest calling the service center. It would be nice for the list to be up somewhere but at this point, I've not found it.

MaxSurveyor · 07-22-2011, 06:29 AM

Dewalt 18v, socket & adapter works for me. I always have my Dewalt bag in the truck for emergencies. I built a set of stabilizers like the Eliminator Strut Stabilizer system for the front & rear jacks a couple of years ago for about $40 in materials.

Canucklehead · 08-21-2011, 01:02 PM

Thanks for all of your replies. While I have used the cordless drill in the past, I became concerned that it might not be so good for the jacks. I may have been correct with my concern as one of my jacks no longer will hold any weight. If you tighten it up, it will immediately unwind as soon as you take the ratchet off.

Too bad it is not in the cards to travel to the factory for the rally. That seemed like a pretty good deal to have the electric jacks installed. I will have to look around closer to home to see if I can get a decent price on either a new set of scissor jacks, or the fancy new electric ones.

fhenn · 08-21-2011, 01:10 PM

Do not lube those jacks, if lubed they will do what you have described. if you have lube them clean them with brake cleaner

KennyB · 08-22-2011, 01:46 AM

Frank, are you serious? Mine were getting to where they were difficult to run up or down so I lubed them and they have worked perfect ever since. I've not seen any "unwinding", at least not yet and I've run them up and down about twenty five times in the past two months.

You may also like: