Sometimes I have a really good idea. If that happens again, I’ll be sure to blog about it.
Far more often I’m fortunate enough to come across someone else’s really good idea and run with it.
First, this happened:
On the day I was taking the trailer to be cleaned and coated, the handle on the jack broke off. Not the end of the world, I just stuck a screwdriver in the hole and cranked away.
A couple days later I had time to hammer the stupid thing into submission:
Using a ball peen hammer I was able to mushroom the end of handle to stay in the hole again.
Then I ordered another one from Amazon. The reviews indicated it works for the Fulton jack event though it’s a Curt handle, and it did. It’s maybe a little nicer.
The great idea is from Tom Griebe in the Casita Life facebook group. He showed how a long socket with slots cut off could be used to spin a “manual” jack with a drill.
For historical reasons I have way more spark plug sockets than I would ever need, so I took one down to the workshop, donned face, ear and hand protection, and went to town with an angle grinder.
In order to give the socket something to grab, I removed the handle and bought a lynch pin from the local hardware store. I think it was 1/4 inch. It was just a fraction too big for the holes in the handle and jack stem, so I enlarged them slightly with a 1/4 drill.
To raise or lower the jack, I can use a cordless drill. Until it stalls, at least.
The drill socket adapter also came from Amazon.
Around this time I discovered that if the lynch pin comes out while the jack is lower the screw mechanism will fall out the bottom. So clearly it would be bad if the pin vibrated out while towing.
So time to install the cool Jack-E-Up kit from Little House Customs. In addition to the stock Jack-E-Up, they add a plate that bolts on the bottom of the frame to stabilize the jack a bit more. I had bought it before the Casita arrived in case the van lift gate banged in the jack. (It doesn’t, so I had not gotten around to installing the Jack-E-Up sooner).
So now the whole jack goes into the back of the van while towing.
Since the first trip using just the portable drill, I realized that:
- I had an extra 120 V electric drill from the boat days.
- There’s a 120 V on the side of the trailer.
So if I have shore power I’ll used the 120 V drill, carefully. It doesn’t stall but it does generate a lot of torque. Definitely a brace yourself and put two hands on the drill affair.