Tired of cranking and CRANKING on levelling jacks? Check this out:

[Greywolf]

At work I have two toys I use a lot to save time and effort. One is an air ratchet (3/8ths drive) but most people don't bring a compressor on the road with them. The other... I have an 18 volt cordless drill (screw gun) that I use a lot. It has a high and a low speed. AT A LOCAL HARDWARE STORE I FOUND a bit that fits in the drill chuck - it has six sides for a drill chuck at one end, and a square 3/8ths drive socket end at the other. My solution to runing levelling jacks up and down is to put a three quarter drive socket on my drill and USE THAT! It also helps to spray the dickens out of the pivots and screws on the jacks with white lithium spray lubricant to keep them freed up nicely.... IF there is rust already on the jacks - I have one answer that works like a champion: PB BLASTER!!! THAT STUFF is worth ten times whatever it may cost you... NOTE: "HUBBARDS HARDWARE" on Watkins St. in Memphis has those bits. Say hello for me if you go there... (this is not an advertisement for a local business. It's a heads up for our own people)

[jake00]

yea, Ace hardware has em too, got 3/8 and 1/4 drive, but i mainly use em to drive lags

[Greywolf]

- Sure is a good way to at least get them CLOSE to down...

[mitchntx]

At your local welding supply shops there is a product used to prevent thread galling and seizing.

It has a ceramic base and won't rust. It's heat resistant and dries on when it is s[rayed on.

PBB is great if you let the threads rust. Ceramic anti-seize helps prevent the the effects.

DeWalt makes a great 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive impact guns that are great for doing all kinds of things like removing lugs when that tire goes flat.

[smokestone52]

Hey Greywolf, I too use a drill for my stabilizer jacks. But the thing that is a pain is the tonge jack. It takes ten turns just to move that thing 1/2 inch. I hate to spend the money on a electric tonge jack, so here is what I was thinking. What if I cut the handle off and welded a bolt head the same size as my stablizers. Then I could use the drill to raise and lower the tonge jack. Have you ever seen anything like that?

[Greywolf]

Yes I have, I've got one.

To spare wear and tear on the crank handle it has to be made of something softer.

Take a piece of PVC pipe with a threaded end, and screw a nut on it (cap screw). Use pipe cement on the threads.

Slot the tube of PVC with a saw and you have it.

It will fit around the UNMODIFIED jack crank, and spin it.

I think it's a seven eights socket or so, might be one inch...

All the parts are at LOWES.

TIP: Drill or grind a half round detent at the top of the slot so the crank won't slip.

IT WON'T stand up to final lifting torque, but it will spin it close to there. After that it's your own grunt labor.

[smokestone52]

Now that is a good invention. Maybe you need a patent! I am going to fix one up for myself, and give it a try. I assume staying out of the way of the handle is prudent here? Thanks for the info.

[rclarke]

If your stabilizer drive is the tube with a hole in one side use a 3/8" allen wrench chucked in your drill and use the short arm of the wrench to engage the hole in the stablizer.

[Greywolf]

Qua?

PREGUNTA?

[borcht warrior]

Originally Posted by Greywolf

Yes I have, I've got one.

To spare wear and tear on the crank handle it has to be made of something softer.

Take a piece of PVC pipe with a threaded end, and screw a nut on it (cap screw). Use pipe cement on the threads.

Slot the tube of PVC with a saw and you have it.

It will fit around the UNMODIFIED jack crank, and spin it.

I think it's a seven eights socket or so, might be one inch...

All the parts are at LOWES.

Hey greywolf can you take a couple pictures of this in action? You know a picture is worth a thousand words

TIP: Drill or grind a half round detent at the top of the slot so the crank won't slip.

IT WON'T stand up to final lifting torque, but it will spin it close to there. After that it's your own grunt labor.

Hey greywolf, can you take a picture of this in action? A picture is worth a thousand words.

[JOE-M]

smokestone52, buy you an electric jack. It's the best money I've spent on my TT.
Joe

[Rod L]

I made a ram extension out of a peice of pipe that slipped over the ram with a series of holes every inch also drilled a hole 1 1/2 in from bottom of ram I slide it up or down and pin it gets me within 1/2 in fo my jack block

[mudmaker]

I had a jayco once that the slide out motor went south and had to hand crank the thing in. After a few minutes of barely moving it I ran to the shop and got a milwaulkee hole hawg and made quick work of it. My 18v cordless didnt have enough torque.

[borcht warrior]

Greywolf,

After reading this thread I went out to the shop and cut the crank handle off my stabilizer jack wrench. The one that was supplied was a cheap one made of 1/4" - 3/8" rod. After the handle was cut off, I ground down three flat spots to let the chuck bite better. (I went to the local RV shop and bought a spare wrench, incase I forget to bring my drill.)

Other uses for the drill after my first year of camping,

1. Cranking in the slideout after it mysteriously did not want to work. Then it start to work again 3 days later and never had problems again.
2. Reattach the cupboard doors, after a little too aggressive driving in the mountains.
3. cranking up the tongue jack after building the tool greywolf mentioned above.

[GwizRC]

I use a Ryobi 18v impact. It came with my drill. It is noisy but it works better than the drill does.