HappiJac #5

[Glacier_D]

Well, HappiJac strikes again! Raised the camper today so I could put it on the truck, the left front jack made a loud squelching sound and took off some big chunks of the powder coat on the inner tube. Bought this jack new 3 years ago, in fact all jacks were replaced 3 years ago and maintenance has been maintained on these jacks.

Pure garbage in my opinion! Guess I'll replace with their supposedly improved version. This will be my 5th HappiJac on a 6 & 1/2 year old camper.







All of that missing powder coating came off all at the same time.

[Glacier_D]

3 tons wrote:
HJ's are no more 'prone to failure' than any other brand (recall other brands sudden jack failures) but since there are more HJ's out there they get far more press (typically unobjective).I use Leggos under mine to gain additional height ( truck bed is raised) and the jacks DO occasionally slip on the leggos. Call Gary at HJ and he'll probably fix it for free...

3 tons, Yes I know Gary, he's cut me some sweet deals and he's an awesome guy, but just how many times do I have to go through this?

There might be more HJs out there, but why did AF and Host switch from HJ to another brand? Price? Maybe, but I suspect complaints from customers. Lance the largest builder by volume uses Atwood, Adventurer threatened to go to another brand of jack if HJ didn't fix the issues with their jacks. HJ supposedly did upgrade their jacks in 2013 to address those issues, however, the jacks you and I have are the old style prone to corrosion and lubrications problems.

I can only go by what I see. Those that have Atwoods or Rieco Titans have no corrosion or lubrication problems (inner tube), those of us that have HJs have numerous problems. Trust me, I've worked full time and camped in my campers full time for 9 years now and I know dozens of truck camping people at the ski area (White Pass) and those who have HJs have all kinds of problems, those with Atwoods and Rieco Titans do not. Trend analysis here, something I learned on submarines. Just sayin.

[Glacier_D]

Moose10 wrote:

Glacier D wrote:

bigfootford wrote:


When you say you did maintenance... did you fully disassemble them and lube the worm shaft and Nut/ball?

Jim

No I did not disassemble the jacks, did the maintenance stated in the manual. That is wax the jacks, put a few drops of oil in the capped hole near the top of the jack and fully extend the jacks once a year.

Glacier D,
What happened to your jack does sound like what some others have said in that the inner tube had some lateral stress on it causing it to bind.
After removing one of my HJ's due to water intrusion causing rust in the motor and blowing the fuse, I can say with confidence that the drops of oil in the capped hole does absolutely nothing to increase longevity of the jack....stop wasting your oil;)
When I rebuilt mine I completely sealed the housing with silicone before re-mounting the jack. The main place for water to enter the housing is where the two wires enter.
There's also an excellent write-up in the forums detailing proper HJ maintenance....can't remember who posted it so just do a search.

Thanks Moose. Yes, understand the water in the motor issue. I sealed mine too (where the wires come in) and took the top of the motor case off and lubed the gears with white lithium grease (did this a few years ago). I never blew any fuses, but last year my motors just started to run slower and sloooower until they wouldn't turn anymore. Got rebuilt motors this last year and last 2 rebuilt motors arrived with the sealant where the wires enter the motor peeling back and not holding to the wires. Just poor quality control there. I sealed up all my wires with sealant that is working a lot better than the stuff HJ used.

Agree with you on the inner tube, however, the powder coat was scrapped off on multiple sides (3) so I think its another defect on the Jack. Just wondering, why haven't we seen pictures and procedures for taking apart and rebuilding the other 2 brands of camper jacks? Got to question that!

I leave for Boise next week for fire season (private contractor) I can use the owners shop and hopefully rebuild that jack. I still think they are pure garbage though.

[wnjj]

Moose10 wrote:
There's also an excellent write-up in the forums detailing proper HJ maintenance....can't remember who posted it so just do a search.

KKELLER14K: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22881036

[Moose10]

Glacier D wrote:

bigfootford wrote:


When you say you did maintenance... did you fully disassemble them and lube the worm shaft and Nut/ball?

Jim

No I did not disassemble the jacks, did the maintenance stated in the manual. That is wax the jacks, put a few drops of oil in the capped hole near the top of the jack and fully extend the jacks once a year.

Glacier D,
What happened to your jack does sound like what some others have said in that the inner tube had some lateral stress on it causing it to bind.
After removing one of my HJ's due to water intrusion causing rust in the motor and blowing the fuse, I can say with confidence that the drops of oil in the capped hole does absolutely nothing to increase longevity of the jack....stop wasting your oil;)
When I rebuilt mine I completely sealed the housing with silicone before re-mounting the jack. The main place for water to enter the housing is where the two wires enter.
There's also an excellent write-up in the forums detailing proper HJ maintenance....can't remember who posted it so just do a search.

[Bedlam]

Sure enough, I have the plugs on top of my jacks too. I had to stand on the rear step to see them even though I am not height challenged (only observation challenged). That means I have no complaints with my RT's!

[MORSNOW]

Bedlam wrote:
Unless I'm totally oblivious to that insert, they must have upgraded in 2013. ASFAIK, mine have solid covers with no holes. Now you have me doubting myself and possible nothing bad to say about these jacks.

Bedlam, my 2014 has the same jacks as yours (look the same), there is a vinyl plug on the top giving access to the manual function. One of mine was stuck in the up position after raising it too high, a quick turn with a ratchet freed it.

[jmckelvy]

Bedlam wrote:
Unless I'm totally oblivious to that insert, they must have upgraded in 2013. ASFAIK, mine have solid covers with no holes. Now you have me doubting myself and possible nothing bad to say about these jacks......

Actually I made the earlier comment wrt my 2008 Northstar 8.5 Arrow (sold). I had Rex put Reico Titans on instead of the HJ after reading about all the issues.

So I just ran down to the AF990 and checked. It has the same design jacks. The manual drive is under the plastic plug directly above and in line with the main tube.

It is not necessary to remove the powerhead although that is easy to do.

[Jaxom]

Bedlam, I think you can loosen the set screws and remove the motor. Perhaps then the drive bolt will be visible???

[Bedlam]

Unless I'm totally oblivious to that insert, they must have upgraded in 2013. ASFAIK, mine have solid covers with no holes. Now you have me doubting myself and possible nothing bad to say about these jacks.

[jmckelvy]

Bedlam wrote:
My Rieco Titans are now going into their fourth year. They are used about dozen times a year with no problems yet to report on my 4000 lb Arctic Fox. They do not have a manual jack mode for backup which is about the the negative I have about them so far.........

Yours must be different from mine! If you remove the rubber insert on top of the jack it will expose a 3/8 drive socket. Simply insert a 3/8 ratchet in the socket and viola!

[Super_Dave]

I think one just has to be smarter than the jack. If it starts to groan, take the measures to get the camper square again and take the jack out of the binding condition. With all 4 jack motors operating at slightly different speeds, it isn't uncommon to put a jack in a bind. I raise that jack completely off the ground and re-true itself.

[Bedlam]

Other jacks can be used with the current controller. You may need to drill mounting holes for proper spacing and switch out the wire plugs going to the camper.

[Jaxom]

Glacier D wrote:
I would have to buy new wiring, motherboard, remote, jack motors, jacks and mounting brackets. Probably around $2000.00 or more if I do the work myself, who knows what an RV shop would charge.
I would also have to put a wall mounted switch in for my slide since that is operated by the HJ remote.

Would it not be possible to simply splice in the power leads of new jacks to the old wiring? Then you could leave everything else the as is. You could even use the same remote controls.
I might not understand all the ramifications, but that seems like a good way to go to me.

[poriggity]

Glacier D wrote:

poriggity wrote:
If you're not happy with your current happijacs, why would you buy another set from that brand? There has to be other brands out there.

Scott

Guess it comes down to money. I would have to buy new wiring, motherboard, remote, jack motors, jacks and mounting brackets. Probably around $2000.00 or more if I do the work myself, who knows what an RV shop would charge.
I would also have to put a wall mounted switch in for my slide since that is operated by the HJ remote.
Lots of money that could be spent on other things. Do you get the idea?

I do understand your quandry, however, to me, if I'm not satisfied with a particular brand of product, I won't buy an upgraded version of the same brand name, I'll spend the extra money for a supposed better brand.

Scott