Forum Discussion

Spyder2U2's avatar
Spyder2U2
Explorer
May 29, 2014

Barker Jack Kudos

Just wanted to give BARKER an A for service on my Barker Jack 3500.

I had the switch failure after a few years of use. Jack ran up or down intermitedly. Read a few threads like this one here.

Barker Jack Thread

I decided it was the switch and gave Barker a call. Spoke to Gary and he gave me a few details to check out and to call him back. Pulled the jack apart, ran a few tests, sure enough the switch. Motor and battery were fine. Called Barker back and Gary decided to send me a new switch at no cost. I should have at this point ordered a new plastic housing as mine had discolored (ugly) just to give them some business for the freebie. But I had bought a can of Krylon Pastic Paint to redo it already. (Turned out great)

A few days later popped the switch in and it worked great again. Jack looks new minus the decals. This jack was covered for half it life. This makes a huge difference. Sun damage and water takes it toll on this jack. Get or make a simple cover of some kind. You will be glad you did for the long run.

Again, Barker made this easy to take care of....

Just a few notes.
Used steel wool on the the plastic housing to rough out for paint prep. The area where the decals were applied needed a bit more attention than the rest of the housing. Sun really degrades plastic in SO Cal.
Take pictures with a crappy phone as you go so you can 'remember' where the wires go.
Krylon Pstic Red is basically fluorescent red! Ugh! Went to boring white.
Metion again. Use a cover.

Spyder

Love my Barker Dump Tank too!
  • LarryJM's avatar
    LarryJM
    Explorer II
    May 30, 2014
    Spyder2U2 wrote:
    Just wanted to give BARKER an A for service on my Barker Jack 3500.

    I had the switch failure after a few years of use. Jack ran up or down intermitedly. Read a few threads like this one here.

    http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25418401/gotomsg/25425908.cfm#25425908

    I decided it was the switch and gave Barker a call. Spoke to Gary and he gave me a few details to check out and to call him back. Pulled the jack apart, ran a few tests, sure enough the switch. Motor and battery were fine. Called Barker back and Gary decided to send me a new switch at no cost. I should have at this point ordered a new plastic housing as mine had discolored (ugly) just to give them some business for the freebie. But I had bought a can of Krylon Pastic Paint to redo it already. (Turned out great)

    A few days later popped the switch in and it worked great again. Jack looks new minus the decals. This jack was covered for half it life. This makes a huge difference. Sun damage and water takes it toll on this jack. Get or make a simple cover of some kind. You will be glad you did for the long run.

    Again, Barker made this easy to take care of....

    Just a few notes.
    Used steel wool on the the plastic housing to rough out for paint prep. The area where the decals were applied needed a bit more attention than the rest of the housing. Sun really degrades plastic in SO Cal.
    Take pictures with a crappy phone as you go so you can 'remember' where the wires go.
    Krylon Pstic Red is basically fluorescent red! Ugh! Went to boring white.
    Metion again. Use a cover.

    Spyder

    Love my Barker Dump Tank too!


    I'm the OP that made the somewhat long post on the micro switches in the thread you referenced and if your Barker has them and you plan to keep the jack for a long time I would recommend getting a couple of replacement switches and put them in a small plastic bag and put them inside the motor cover (they will fit there) so you have an immediate replacement and know where it is should when you develop a problem. As I mentioned in my post in the referenced thread these micro switches are not really sealed for outside use and depending on the environment will eventually fail and with this type jack you are dead in the water w/o them. Yes you have the manual option of operation, but for under $15 you can have a set of spare switches on hand when you need them and it's a 5 min job to swap one out.

    Larry
  • old_guy's avatar
    old_guy
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    we have used Barker Jacks in the past and they are excellent jacks. had one for 20 years and only had to replace one switch. I also used a plastic bucket for a weather cover. it was a costco dish washer soap container. used it on the beach as a sand pain for the kids and collecting sea shells.
  • thib2722's avatar
    thib2722
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    Awesome cleaner from Dollar Tree will take away that ugly yellow haze and make the plastic white again. Spray it on and watch the junk run right off.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    May 29, 2014
    Barker sells a nice vinyl cover for its jacks for about $15 IIRC. I had one for years but the sun finally killed it. Barker was kind enough to just send me a replacement free of charge.

    I'm really happy with this jack. I have abused it for ten years without ever doing the lube maint. called out in the manual.
    If it failed tomorrow I would replace it with the same make no matter the cost.
  • goducks10's avatar
    goducks10
    Explorer
    May 29, 2014
    Had the same switch issue when we had our TT. Barker sent me a free switch also. Hard to be that. Lippert could take a few cues from Barker.

    I also used a small plastic garbage can for a cover. I put two small u-bolts on the sides so I could hang my safety chains on them. That keeps the garbage can on the jack. I even tucked my 7 pin cord up in there to keep it out of the rain.
  • LeBout's avatar
    LeBout
    Explorer
    May 29, 2014
    You can make a "hood" for your jack out of just about anything. Just remember to remove it when you're traveling. :) I love my Barker 3500 but it's still great to hear about the excellent service from the company. Thanks for posting.
  • gtkato's avatar
    gtkato
    Explorer
    May 29, 2014
    To keep your power jack looking new, I use a small plastic garbage can turned upside down over the jack head, cut two holes on the lower lip area and hang the safety chains in the holes. Keeps rain, sun, dirt off the jack head and still looking new. (slso deters any small children from playing with the power switch)

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