I have owned my EC camper for six and one half years and overall it has performed exceptional well considering I full-time in it at White Pass ski area during the winter. One thing that is suspect though is the entire HappiJac system. During my term of ownership I have had the following problems with HappiJacs.- All 4 jacks replaced at the 4 year mark. Two of them seized and all 4 were very rusted.- Motherboard failure at the 5 year mark, replaced remote too- Replaced all jack motors at the 6 year mark. 3 failed within a few months of each other.- New jacks that are 2 years old are starting to rust and squeal. The factory has been very good at helping me out, but enough is enough.

I have had 2 TC's with CrappiJac's. Hated them on both... One older AF, and my current Eagle Cap. My EC is a little heavier than yours, but I was forced to replace the jacks on a 2012 camper. The CrappiJacs just couldn't take the weight. I went with Rieco-Titans. They have been awesome.. I did a complete swap out to Rieco Titans, and did a write up here--My Rieco-Titan / CrappiJac swap outI bought the kit from Dyers, they had the best price, and thier service after the sale has been excellent - had a minor problem with one motor, and no questions asked was sent another one.Dyer's link to Rieco Titans

You wouldn't be living very near the ocean, would you? I saw a 2008 Jeep TJ, used as a lifeguard jeep on the beach for sale, for almost nothing. There was no part on it that wasn't corroded beyond use. To me, your plight seems like environmental issues more than anything else. There are anti-corrosion paints and coatings that address those issues.My 17 year old Happy Jacks are holding up well. A little corrosion on a couple of the inner tubes, the base, but the mechanical parts are O.K. One little deviation: mine are mechanical screw jacks with pinion action screws. Pulling the upper plastic cap cover, I keep lubbing them with a corrosion resistant white lithium grease used in boat trailer axles. So far, so good. When i lived in Long Beach, within a block of the bay, the salt air just ate my old Chevy 2 door.jefe

One other note - One thing I did to prevent rust and make lube'ing easier on my former CrappiJacs - (Disclaimer--if you don't like my idea don't blast me too horribly bad, it worked for me.)I drilled an 1/8" hole right in the eyeball of the CrappiJac sticker on each jack, then regularly doused it with WD40. That helped A LOT. I would squirt until I saw it come out the bottom of the leg. They would run much smoother and quieter after that. Then covered the hole with one of those tin-roof type screws with the built-in little gasket on 'em to seal the hole.

jefe 4x4 wrote:You wouldn't be living very near the ocean, would you? I saw a 2008 Jeep TJ, used as a lifeguard jeep on the beach for sale, for almost nothing. There was no part on it that wasn't corroded beyond use. To me, your plight seems like environmental issues more than anything else. There are anti-corrosion paints and coatings that address those issues.My 17 year old Happy Jacks are holding up well. A little corrosion on a couple of the inner tubes, the base, but the mechanical parts are O.K. One little deviation: mine are mechanical screw jacks with pinion action screws. Pulling the upper plastic cap cover, I keep lubbing them with a corrosion resistant white lithium grease used in boat trailer axles. So far, so good. When i lived in Long Beach, within a block of the bay, the salt air just ate my old Chevy 2 door.jefeDon't live near the ocean, but they do salt the roads in the mountain passes. I understand what your saying, but the motors are sealed and the motherboard is inside the camper so they are not exposed to corrosion. The jacks just don't hold up, period. I have friends with campers up there that use Atwoods and Rieco Titans and they are not experiencing any of these problems.

Just to add. I have Rieco Titans. These are also not without their problems although I have been very pleased with them overall. Now over 5yrs old I have had a few problems.1.5 yrs old - one jack motor died. Replaced free even though it was out of warranty thx Rieco.3yrs old. - ribbon cable inside Remote control came loose causing one jack to deploy by itself as soon as I turned jack on/off switch on. Diagnosed and fixed myself.5yrs old - another jack motor died. Replaced for $400I would not trade my electric jacks for anything though!!

What do you think of your HappiJacs? | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

RamTC
Explorer
Apr 12, 2015
When the HJ motors become noisy, its time to replace the bearings. If you're handy, it's not too complicated and only costs a few dollars for each motor. I've done all four of mine already and they run like new.

Also, I recently replaced one rear jack new for $250 as it actually failed while raising the camper, seems the worm gear nut rusts and no longer held under load. Made for a very dangerous situation, had it been a front jack I'm sure my TC would have rolled. I believe HJ wrote me and said jack life expectancy is 6 yrs. My jacks are now 10 yrs. old.
Glacier_D
Explorer II
Apr 11, 2015
I had Atwoods on my old S&S and never a problem. My friend has Atwoods on his 2008 Lance and just had outer tube rust, but that was the only problem. He uses his camper full-time at the ski area also. Overall they are a more reliable system considering he has owned his camper a year longer than mine and zero mechanical or electrical problems with his jacks.
iwon415
Explorer
Apr 11, 2015
I had Atwoods for 7 years and they performed flawlessly.
Have Happijacs on my EC850 and do not like them. They wobble more than the Atwoods. They are much slower than the Atwoods. They are noisier than the Atwoods. They are shorter than the Atwoods and covered in caution labels...

I wish EC would switch to Atwoods.
bigfootford
Nomad III
Apr 11, 2015
My HJ's are 15 years old.

I have serviced the fronts 3 times, disassembly and lube.
Have not touched the rears.

I was a bit dismayed that the jacks were dragging after about 3 years but after servicing and them lasting all these years I like my HJ's. They get used a lot for final leveling and storage if needed.

I have some rust on the outer tubes that I sand and touch up with Rustoleum. Rust caused by rocks hitting the jacks in the 160,000+ miles the camper has traveled.

When I got the camper I installed a cut out switch in the 12vdc wire going to the controller. I did not want 12vdc being applied to the controller, forever, 24/7 .... You should not either.

The switch needs to handle at least 50 amps.

This is like the one I installed, 75 amp:

I was lucky to have my battery and the jack power wire near the rear door. I installed the switch where I can reach it when outside the camper.

Jim
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Apr 11, 2015
Boatycall wrote:
bighatnohorse wrote:
I was hoping that the NEWER model Happijacs would be discussed.
Instead, these threads are missing the Happijac model, frequency of use and weight of camper.

Actually, most of the members do have their TC's in their sig's. Most replies are coming from 9-10'ers.

As far as newer, how new? Mine's a 2012... Hopefully for CrappiJac's sake we're not seeing people with TC's newer than mine having issues. Brand new jacks failing... that would be bad.

Hi.

In fact the
"The 4800-HD began shipping in late 2012 for testing at Adventurer Manufacturing on their Eagle Cap 1160 double-slide and 1165 triple-slide truck camper models."
Truck Camper Magazine - April 2014

That would be the Happijac 4800 Heavy Duty Jack System
It is well known that the older models have proven troublesome.
But I am curious about the reliability of the 4800 models.
Geewizard
Explorer
Apr 11, 2015
My Happijacks are now 11 years old. I had one motor rebuilt by Happijack about 4 years ago. Their service at that time was excellent.

Otherwise, they've performed quite well without any maintenance. I'd better do that this spring. :W
Boatycall
Explorer
Apr 11, 2015
bighatnohorse wrote:
I was hoping that the NEWER model Happijacs would be discussed.
Instead, these threads are missing the Happijac model, frequency of use and weight of camper.

Actually, most of the members do have their TC's in their sig's. Most replies are coming from 9-10'ers.

As far as newer, how new? Mine's a 2012... Hopefully for CrappiJac's sake we're not seeing people with TC's newer than mine having issues. Brand new jacks failing... that would be bad.
Oldtymeflyr
Explorer
Apr 11, 2015
Ours are eight years old. The mother board went a couple of weeks ago, due in part to it being a wired system and the electric connection gave out. $60 to repair or $300 for the wireless, I went wireless and really like it. The wireless controller also works the electric lift for the roof as well.

We load and unload maybe 50-60 times a year.
I have received good service from Happijac. Overall, I am very satisfied with the happijac system.
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Apr 11, 2015
I was hoping that the NEWER model Happijacs would be discussed.
Instead, these threads are missing the Happijac model, frequency of use and weight of camper.
hbski
Explorer
Apr 11, 2015
I have 9 yo Happijacs on my 2007 Okanagan and have neglected them horribly.....not done ANY maintenance on them and they are still going strong.

Sorry to hear that others are having problems. Not extolling their virtues as I've not had any other jacks.....just relaying my experiences.