Harbor Frt Cordless Drill or Impact

canoe on top wrote:
Bought a cheap HF 1/2 drill for the jacks. Went back a few months later to get a second battery and they still sold the drill but no batteries. It barely would run the jacks up and down so, I gave it away and got a Ryobi, 18v on sale with two batteries and a nice carrying case. It is also two speed so, has a low speed higher torque setting.

Seems like whenever I buy something cheap, I end up having to buy the right one anyway and have wasted money on the cheap one.

the best part about owning one of the HF cheapies, is that when somebody wants to borrow a drill, voila.
bumpy

Bought a cheap HF 1/2 drill for the jacks. Went back a few months later to get a second battery and they still sold the drill but no batteries. It barely would run the jacks up and down so, I gave it away and got a Ryobi, 18v on sale with two batteries and a nice carrying case. It is also two speed so, has a low speed higher torque setting.

Seems like whenever I buy something cheap, I end up having to buy the right one anyway and have wasted money on the cheap one.

I use a Craftsman 19.2 volt on a low torque setting. Not sure why some posters say you need lots of torque. You DO NOT need lots of torque for stabilizer jacks. If you torque them too much, you will mess up your frame. They should only be snugged up a bit which does not take very much torque to a accomplish.

Dewalt Impact

I carry this one. Why? It will knock loose and take the lug nuts off the tow vehicle and camper in the case of a flat and run the jacks up and down without effort. I have used it on a number of campers not my own because someone could not get their wheel off to change a flat.

Caution: It is capable of OVER torquing the lug nuts with 300 ft-lbs.
Jack stands are run only to touch the blocks and set to correct tension by hand crank.
Lug nuts are started on by hand and short burst for run up with wrench. Same here torqued only by hand.

You will need impact capable sockets---the standard ones it will split open. Also another advantage the wheel does not have to be in contact with the ground when knocking the lug nuts loose.

I have a 10v Bosch that has been my "go to" tool for the last 6 years. It has done a fine job with the jacks, but the batteries now barely hold charge for one trip...I remember, when new, they held for a crazy long time. The new batteries are about $50 a piece and I'm wondering if it's worth it for a $120 drill. I've gotten my money out of it already...think I'd get another 6 years off a new battery?

I like the ryobi one drills, have some of the cheap HF ones and yes, they are not "industrial grade". :) if you have the HF drill, do NOT leave the charger plugged in overnight, fried mine.
bumpy

We use a Rigid that came with 2 battery packs. Have been using it around the house for a number of years and now we have used it to lower our stabilizer jacks for the last 18 months. One of the battery packs isn't holding a charge like it use to so I think it may be getting time to buy another drill. Seems the battery packs are almost as much as the drill.

Harbor Freight Has one for less then $20.00 and in the specs it says 84 ft lb of torque WOW. You won't like it when you try to run the jacks with it.

I use a 1/2inch corded impact I usually go to campgrounds so when I get ther I hook up to power and then use the impact to lower my stabalizers. When we dont have power I do it with the manual tool. I also have a 15 yr old son who I make do this. I can ususally get him to crank them down manually by saying I bet you cant do it faster than me and he proves me wrong and thinks he did something great as I sit back and watch.:)

This is our second year with the HF 18 volt drill and works fine for jacks plus light drilling around the trailer. It has plenty of torque and serves well for this function. however its a big drill with big battery and you also need to carry the charger so takes up a lot of room in the toolbox. i love high end tools like everyone else but for under $20, it does the job and can leave more expensive drills at home.