Jacking & moving without installing trailer battery

[Teoma]

Hi, I have a couple of quick questions. I need to move my trailer a short distance in my yard. The trailer battery is out of the trailer and I am temporarily unable to physically reinstall it back into my trailer. I have a electric tongue jack and I want to use it to hook the trailer up to my truck. If I plug my 7 pin trailer cable into my truck hitch receptacle will I be able to operate the electric tongue jack without the trailer battery? In other words will the truck battery operate the trailer tongue jack? Will I cause any electrical damage to the trailer or truck if I do this? Thanks in advance.
Ambrose

[Teoma]

It turned out with my trailer just plugging the trailer cable into the hitch receiver didn't provide power to the jack motor. However there was a removable rubber cap on top of tongue jack motor. The nut inside the motor housing was the same size as my stabilizer crank. I used it to extend/retract the jack.
Thanks

[opnspaces]

It depends on how the jack is wired. On some the power wire is separate from the other positive wires at the battery. On some all the wires are crimped together. Easiest thing to do is try it with the engine running and see what happens.

[camperdave]

stevemorris wrote:
play it safe and use the manual override

i dont know how many amps a powerjack uses, but the wire in the tow vehicle to the 7 pin may not be big enough

x2.

[afidel]

If you're moving the trailer around your own property then go ahead, but if you're actually planning to take it anywhere then do not do this. Have a neighbor or friend reinstall the battery. The battery is required to activate the brakes in case of a breakaway. In most states it is legally required for most travel trailers (weight limit varies for brakes being required but most states have a low enough limit that all but the smallest of trailers qualify). Having been behind someone who lost a trailer and had it go flying across multiple lanes of traffic because they did not have electric brakes let me tell you it is scary!

[GrandpaKip]

If going the manual route, use a regular drill, not an impact drill. That hammering could damage the internals of the jack. At least, I wouldn’t chance it.

[stevemorris]

play it safe and use the manual override

i dont know how many amps a powerjack uses, but the wire in the tow vehicle to the 7 pin may not be big enough

[SoundGuy]

Teoma wrote:
If I plug my 7 pin trailer cable into my truck hitch receptacle will I be able to operate the electric tongue jack without the trailer battery?

Yes, as long as the charge line on the truck's 7-pin Bargman connector is active - i.e. Pin 4 is +12vdc, Pin 1 is ground. On GM trucks the charge line is always hot regardless of whether the ignition is on or not, on other brands the charge line may only be hot when the ignition is on.

[midnightsadie]

how about doing it with a portable impact drill .there should be a square slot in the top of the jack for manual operation.

[enblethen]

You should be able to use the trailer connector. Make sure you isolate the positive battery cable.
It may move slow!
Could use a battery pack to operate jack!

[nickthehunter]

Try it and see, mine will work off the 7 Pin with no battery.

[Boon_Docker]

Use the truck battery and booster cables to connect to the trailer battery cables.

[DutchmenSport]

The electric jack on my previous travel trailer was wired into the battery terminal directly with it's own fuse. If there was no battery, the jack wire was just dangling in air. If this is the case with your's in question, then you could jump the jack easily with a pair of jumper cables, which would run only the jack.

Most electric jacks have a manual override. The rubber seal on the top pops off and then there is an end for a heavy duty Allen Wrench style jack to insert so it can manually be raised and lowered. At least mine did.

Check it out, either one of these methods will work to operate the tongue jack.

[USAFBILL]

My understanding is you can't as the hot 12 volt leads from the 7 pin connector are all dedicated to brakes, and lights.

[rbpru]

Interesting question. It was my understanding the 12 volt line is fused and relay activated. But that is on my 2011 F-150.

Does your jack have a manual operating option?