I had an extra cordless drill laying around here and thought I'd put it in the TT. I also took the bit out of my socket set thinking I could just use that to move the stabilizer jacks. I soon realized that I had no way to mount the bit onto the drill. Any thoughts or suggestions? I realize that I could just cut the bit off the handle that came with the TT, but I thought I'd try to make this work before damaging the handle. If any of you guys have done that with no problems, I suppose I'll do the same.

I bought an adapter that fits into the chuck and allows you to attach your sockets. I've seen them at many tool stores.

You can get an adapter that goes into the drill and takes a socket, but they are fairly light duty and could break if you torqued on it with a socket that size. I had a spare crank so I just cut one off and ground 3 flats into the shank so the drill chuck would hold. Works like a charm and I can run my jacks up and down in a very short time.I have never even once used the handle since then, always the drill

Never seen the drill adapters before. I just ordered some. They're fairly cheap, so if I break a few, that'll be fine. Thanks for responding.

I bought mine at Lowes and use it every time we camp.Here's one at Amazon:Camco 57363 Leveling Scissor Jack Socket

Any hardware store will have a socket adaptor for a drill, then buy the appropriate sized socket. I bought my socket and adaptor together from a local RV store.

Manual stabilizer jacks with a drill | Good Sam Community

Campinfan
Explorer III
May 20, 2014
coolbreeze01 wrote:
Anyone using a drill/socket on their BAL stabilizers?

No for two reasons....a couple of mine are hard to reach with a drill and 2) I only need to snug them a bit....no need to turn them much.
wthibeaux
Explorer
May 19, 2014
If your stabilizers are like mine, I use a large allen wrench in my drill. Had to cut off the end to fit in the stabilizer hole.
camperpaul
Explorer
May 19, 2014
BobsYourUncle wrote:

Only challenge with the lube on the threads is that it attracts dirt. I don't lube mine for that reason, even though it would help a lot, until they get covered with dirt. Then they would be harder to turn.
If I have to I put a little oil on the nut part of the jack, but not the threaded rod.

Not a problem if you use dry silicone lube.
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
May 19, 2014
CincyGus wrote:
Spray the stabilizer screws with lubricant before I go each trip and don't get into a hurry. It's not a pit stop. If you go too fast, sometimes it will jam and about break a wrist. Keep two hands on the drill and face clear if you like your teeth ;-)

Only challenge with the lube on the threads is that it attracts dirt. I don't lube mine for that reason, even though it would help a lot, until they get covered with dirt. Then they would be harder to turn.
If I have to I put a little oil on the nut part of the jack, but not the threaded rod.

As for the break a wrist deal, yup, you have that right - I have twanged my wrist several times by letting it get tight too fast.
coolbreeze01
Explorer
May 19, 2014
Anyone using a drill/socket on their BAL stabilizers?
CincyGus
Explorer II
May 19, 2014
Spray the stabilizer screws with lubricant before I go each trip and don't get into a hurry. It's not a pit stop. If you go too fast, sometimes it will jam and about break a wrist. Keep two hands on the drill and face clear if you like your teeth ;-)
beemerphile1
Explorer
May 19, 2014
I went even further with my pop up tongue jack. I took the handle off the manual jack and modified a socket to fit. Now I use the drill to run the tongue up and down. Probably wouldn't work with a heavy tongue, mine is around 300#.
SpoiledRotten
Explorer
May 19, 2014
jmcgsd wrote:
I've got the Camco adapter and it works fine with my 18v Dewalt, but just be certain that the stabilizers are all the way up when you are done raising them with the drill. One time my battery was not well charged, I used the drill to raise the stabilizers and didn't look carefully. The front right was still a ways down and I wacked it off when coming out of a driveway. I now double check with the manual crank.

One little tip that will keep you from having to pull out your hand crank is to have your 5er (or TT, whichever the case may be) fairly level side to side. Get it close to level front and back. Lower the front end just a slight amount then run your rear jacks down to the ground. Snug them with your drill, then extend your auto front jack back down to level front to back and tighten the rig for the duration of your stay.

Reverse the steps to let them back up.
grampachet
Explorer
May 19, 2014
Just remember they are stabilizers not jacks meant for lifting.
bigorange
Explorer
May 19, 2014
JoeTampa wrote:
I bought mine at Lowes and use it every time we camp.

Here's one at Amazon:

Camco 57363 Leveling Scissor Jack Socket

+1 bought same one from Amazon and use it every time we camp. still have manual crank if needed or to crank them just a little tighter if desired.

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Manual stabilizer jacks with a drill

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