What do you think of your HappiJacs?

[Glacier_D]

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.

[RamTC]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[ejfranz]

My happiJacs are 10 years old, but the motors may be 5 or six.
I did pull them apart 2 years ago to clean and re-lube as describe on this forum.
The outside are quite pitted and the inner tubes are rusting. I did refinish them last year, but the gravel roads are hard on them.
I have had no real issues with them.

[PRodacy]

Mine are about 9 years old and gave worked flawlessly the entire time. There are a couple of small rust spots where rocks chipped the paint and I didn't touch it up, but that would be expected.

[campn4walleye]

We've had trouble with ours from the beginning. We removed them and returned them for servicing (under warranty) at our expense for $180 in shipping. They worked a bit better but still have issues with a loud ratcheting noise. The clutch continuously slips.

DH takes them apart and lubes them annually but they are not all they're purported to be. We too, are considering upgrading to Reico-Titan, if it's possible.

The HJs are so loud and grinding it's embarrassing.

[ISBRAM]

No problems with mine so far, they came on the camper we bought in early 2011. But they have had a very sheltered life as the camper is stored inside when we are not camping in it.
I did have the outside of the jacks recoated in white Rino Liner before they were installed to prevent rock chips and rust. They still look like new.