What size of power drill for scissor jack socket?

1/2" 18 volt impact, And I'm only 56 years old but last Jan. had 3 low back surgeries, so I'm happy that your 80 and can do it by hand. I didn't hurt my back by being lazy. If I pull into a campground I don't even unhook because we only stay one night in camp grounds with other rv's 5' away from me. We're boondocking and I find that if a little thing like a power tool saves me from a painful back, then I'm using it.

Keep some replacement 1/8" split pins. That's all that holds that nut to the shaft. When it breaks, ball bearings fall out when the nut unscrews from the shaft. I drilled mine out to 3/16.

NMDriver wrote:
Bigger is better in this case. 1/2 in. drive and 18 plus volts.

Disagree completely. For years I've been using a small, lightweight 12 volt Ridgid lithium ion cordless drill rated at a mere 120 in/lbs ... came as a set of 2 drills, charger, bag, and batteries. As long as the stab drive screws are clean & properly lubricated it takes very little torque at all to turn the drive screw.



The current version of this drill is rated at a whopping 400 in/lbs of torque and would easily handle the stabs on any trailer. :B

Oasisbob wrote:
Why? Just turn the crank. Why complicate such a simple task?

Because turning the crank takes more physical effort and time that I would want to expend if it were me. Further, it provides one more reason to buy a new tool.:)

Cobra21 wrote:
If you are going to buy a new drill, you want a 1/2" 20 volt lithium drill. Get the 2 speed model, Slow speed for your needs, fast speed for drilling. No hammer drills as they are hard on winches and the screw jacks. They cost
around $80 - $100.
Brian

Note that 18V and 20V Lithium Ion battery packs are actually the same voltage (they have the same number of cells). 20V is the maximum charged voltage, and 18V the nominal voltage. Companies that advertise 20V systems are doing so only because they sound like they're more powerful and advanced than their competitors' 18V systems.

I do agree completely about hammer drills/impact drivers (which are different tools). Most hammer drills can be set to non-hammer mode. Most impact drivers, which generally have a hex screwdriver bit chuck rather than an adjustable drill chuck, cannot be set to non-impact mode. For drilling in masonry, or for driving screws in tough materials, the hammer/impact modes are fantastic; but for operating jacks they are inappropriate.

If you are going to buy a new drill, you want a 1/2" 20 volt lithium drill. Get the 2 speed model, Slow speed for your needs, fast speed for drilling. No hammer drills as they are hard on winches and the screw jacks. They cost
around $80 - $100.
Brian

I'll take a few quick shots from an impact gun over listening to (and smelling) someone's modified diesel idling to "air up" or "warm up" for the hour it takes them make or break camp.

Thank you all for your replies and commentaries - some of them are at the opposite ends, but that's fine! That helps us make a better personal decision.

All my previous RVs had the single leg stabilizers. I've always said that I would keep using the manual crank if I were to get an RV with scissor jacks. Well, our 1st week-end with our new to us Breeze & scissors jacks proved that I was wrong. Our campsite was very uneven (provincial park), and I had to to lower the jacks quite a lot to make them touch the wooden blocks on the ground. That's when my lower back - acting up again - sent the message that I should reconsider my opinion on the drill/socket combo. In my case, the drill combo will not be complicating this simple task, but rather save me for a week-end of lower back pain.

No worries: I don't use the stabs to jack up the trailer!

Thanks for your input, and happy camping everyone!

PS: with this new to us trailer, I will be posting more questions in the coming days. Help is always appreciated.

schlep1967 wrote:
Get one big enough to work that is not a hammer drill. I don't mind hearing screaming kids playing and having a good time but I hate hearing the hammer drills banging across the campground because somebody is too lazy to bend down and turn a crank.

Now I'll go back to pushing my button quietly to raise and lower my stabilizers on my trailer. It's not lazy when it comes with the trailer!!!

Love the sounds of hammer drills at midnight Friday arrivals...sounds like AK fire...probably uses napalm for a fire starter too. :) :)

schlep1967 wrote:
Get one big enough to work that is not a hammer drill. I don't mind hearing screaming kids playing and having a good time but I hate hearing the hammer drills banging across the campground because somebody is too lazy to bend down and turn a crank.

Now I'll go back to pushing my button quietly to raise and lower my stabilizers on my trailer. It's not lazy when it comes with the trailer!!!

X10
Impact guns should be banned from CG's. I had a guy pull in next to me around 11:00 at night and used an impact gun to level. What a jerk.