K, so, long story short, needed to move the truck n camper today. Camper is already on the truck, and I have the jacks down to take some of the load off the tires/springs.It's cold out here, like most places right now. I go to pull the jacks up, one is froze and (I'm guessing) blows the fuse. I have to break it free and crank it up by hand.I can't check the individual fuses in the controller for each jack because the jack controller is located in a storage area that is directly against the front wall of the bed.So another words, I can run the other three jacks down by electric, but I have to manually jack the last one down to get the camper off the truck, unload it from the truck, all so I can just check a fuse.Eagle Cap--- What were you thinking when you decided to mount the jack controller there???

If you can run the other three wouldn't it be jack specific? Is there a reset on the outside on the jack?While we are on the topic, why is the access to the water pump at the front of the bed of the truck on my Host. :) I didn't have to unload to Winterize, but I did have to raise it and put forward a bit to gain access through my pickup window.

Boaty, when 3/4 of the walls you own move, they were forced to pick the only one that doesn't. LOL!

jimh425 wrote:If you can run the other three wouldn't it be jack specific? Is there a reset on the outside on the jack?On Rieco's and CrappiJacks, each motor has a fuse on the controller itself, usually a 20 or 25amp. I have CrappiJacks.To solve it...My thought here is to move the fuse to the outside jumper wire where the wire exits the wall and goes into the motor, then put a wire jumper inside the controller where the fuses are currently. Doesn't matter where the fuse is in the motor circuit, so long as it's fused.Of course, I won't know it's the fuse till I get the camper off the truck. Might be the relay on the board for that leg.

Open up that little outside junction box where the wire enters the jack housing and look for 12 volts when you turn the jack motor on with the controller. On our camper that little plactic junction box has marrette type twist connectors, easy to test with a voltmeter...

"Who's stupid idea was this???" :S I got the answer, it was an engineer's idea. :B Every body knows engineers design the Truck Campers. :RForgive me, I just had to post that.Wayne

Who's stupid idea was this??? | Good Sam Community

21 Replies

wnjj
Explorer II
Nov 18, 2014
tony lee wrote:
Doesn't matter where the fuse is in the motor circuit, so long as it's fused.

It does matter because the fuse is there to protect the wiring rather than the appliance so moving the fuses leave a fair bit of wiring unprotected.

True but most likely the protection will be needed due to a stalled or dead motor at the end of the line instead of a wire that wears through.

I would put one fuse/breaker at the source of the wire and a smaller one where you could access it so it would blow first when the motors have issues.
tony_lee
Explorer
Nov 17, 2014
Doesn't matter where the fuse is in the motor circuit, so long as it's fused.

It does matter because the fuse is there to protect the wiring rather than the appliance so moving the fuses leave a fair bit of wiring unprotected.
TommerW
Explorer
Nov 17, 2014
Boatycall, for what its worth it looks like Adventurer learned that the control board placement on the 2012 was a bad idea. I have a 2013 1160 and I had the very same issue with one of my jacks this past weekend. The control board is now located on the ceiling of the storage campartment at the rear of the camper, very accessible now. My issue is; why does one jack freeze and the other three work fine at 20 and below:h Good luck.
sonuvabug
Explorer
Nov 17, 2014
Bedlam wrote:
My controller board sits under the sink, so it is easily accessible. If your jacks do not have a manual crank backup, it would be big hassle if one of those fuses blew while offloading the TC from the truck.

Boatycall, we have an Adventurer .... same manufacturer as the Eagle Cap. Like bedlam's set-up, our HJ panel is under the sink in the lower cabinet area and easily accessible unless I back up and park the TC right against a wall and can't get inside of it.

You might consider an Option 2 to be relocating the panel to the same place or a more convenient/accessible place.
AnEv942
Nomad
Nov 17, 2014
Resetting fuse replacement is a very good idea. Still think id want access to it. Whats directly on the other side of wall. If there was space "looks" like it would be easy enough to move inside.
Powerdude
Explorer
Nov 17, 2014
Boatycall wrote:
Fisherman wrote:
It wouldn't have been a problem if the one jack hadn't froze,(onto the ground) I'd call that's an operator fault.

Who said anything about froze to the ground??? It's in a large covered parking with on a concrete pad. I hit the button, it didn't move, it was 19 degrees out, it blew the fuse, ergo, I assumed some condensation/moisture in the mechanism had froze.

You obviously didn't get the memo about your truck camper requesting an enclosed, heated and cooled RV building, along with a sauna and massage parlor.

If you had built that as requested, before winter started, you would not have these problems.

:B
Boatycall
Explorer
Nov 17, 2014
Fisherman wrote:
It wouldn't have been a problem if the one jack hadn't froze,(onto the ground) I'd call that's an operator fault.

Who said anything about froze to the ground??? It's in a large covered parking with on a concrete pad. I hit the button, it didn't move, it was 19 degrees out, it blew the fuse, ergo, I assumed some condensation/moisture in the mechanism had froze.
billtex
Explorer II
Nov 17, 2014
boaty...if your jack is blowing fuses you likely have one of the bad motors. They were produced 2012-2013. Give HJ a call, they should send you a new motor.

B
Fisherman
Explorer
Nov 16, 2014
It wouldn't have been a problem if the one jack hadn't froze,(onto the ground) I'd call that's an operator fault.
Marshfly
Explorer
Nov 16, 2014
The first thing that I did when I bought my Lance was to make sure that I had two manual crank handles as a backup.