Tongue Jack Locked Up

[TxTravelingRN]

On trip from Dallas to Minnesota started having issues with electric tongue jack. It took multiple attempts to get it to engage and seemed to struggle raising/lowering. Light works ok. It quit 2 days ago and had to manually raise and lower. Now that I've arrived at my destination I can't get it to move even manually. Still hitched to truck because I can't get it to raise. Product is still under warranty as it is only 8 months old.
How do you get it to lower when you can't it to turn manually. Doubtful there are many FR dealers close by. Looks like I'll have to sleep with front up about a foot high.
Any suggestions appreciated.

[TxTravelingRN]

Found out the problem.

Removed the top to find the gear chamber full of water so I'm sure the shaft is rusted solid. I guess the resistance is tripping the breaker as the small gear on the electric part turns slowly for 3-4 seconds and stops when the shaft gear is removed.
I'll call FR tomorrow to see about getting a replacement. I'll just take the unit off the TT as I don't want to tow it to Fargo just for a jack replacement .

I'm not sure how water got in as it's a sealed unit. Guess I'll buy a cover for the jack so this doesn't recur.

[sdelam]

Had the same problem. I used a breaker bar and socket to get it to break free. Dealer repalced under warrenty and the new unit has an oring under the cap on top. I keep it covered now so hopefully I get more than a year from this one.

[Capt. Mike]

We had exactly the same jack and exactly the same problem. Our sinally gave up the ghost in a campground in Vicksburg, MS. On some of those jacks, there was no gasket or rubber O ring under the cap on top, and water got in pretty easily, doing exactly what you found yours to do: rusting and freezing up all the gears inside.

Ours was replaced under warranty. Our dealer knew all about the problem. The new one that went on is identical, except there is now a seal under that cap on the top. Nonetheless, we bought a head cover for ours and keep in on all the time.

Good luck finding a dealer close to where you are. If not, call your dealer at home and see if they can have one drop-shipped to you. Installation is not hard, but maybe FR would approve having an independent repair shop replace it for you. After all, it is a pretty big inconvenience not to be able to unhook as it is now.

(BTW, we used a bottle jack to lift ours off the hitch ball and stacked 4"X4" blocks under the tongue while we were in Vicksburg, then hooked it up and pulled it home for repairs.)

Good luck!

[harpman]

Got the exact same jack ...same problem...just recently took it into the dealership...they lubed it ...thats it..said they can't replace it under warranty as long as it still works....I dont know if mine has a gasket or o ring...but I'm sure going to check

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[sdelam]

When I first started having problems with mine, being fairly handy, I decided to take it apart and fix it my self. Found the motor housing full of water and the two brushes on the bottom of the motor corroded. Cleanded it up and got it back together and it worked great. Two weeks later, it was back to crap and locked up.

So if the dealership only lubed the top gears they didnt do anything. The problem is the motor housing filling with water.

[John4th]

I put a 5-gallon bucket over mine when stored. Not only keeps it dry, but let's air circulate up through. Also protects it from hail.

When traveling and camping, I have a fabric cover I use. Has a drawstring to hold it on.

[TxTravelingRN]

Thanks for all of the input. RV Park owner saw me working on it and was kind enough to bring a jack and large concrete bricks for me to rest tongue on together we disassembled the unit to look at it. Definite rust in housing.
Will call dealer in Texas tomorrow and get instructions on how to get this exchanged. Nearest city is Fargo... 2 1/2 hrs away.
Doesn't look too difficult to replace as it looks like the unit is probably pre-assembled and just needs to be wired to the battery.
Wonder why FR and dealerships don't warn customers about potential for water getting I'm the unit? And supply covering? And O-ring? Seems like it would be cheaper than having to replace under warranty.
Is FR taking lessons from GM?

[TxTravelingRN]

Traveled 2 hours today to get replacement for defective electric tongue jack. Closest dealership did not have the Jack Quick HH 3500 and wasn't familiar with it. They called Rockwood for warranty information and it was going to take 2-3 weeks to get replacement. I wasn't willing to wait that long. Dealership had a Lippert 3500 available so we made an even swap. I was charged $ 147 for QJ when I purchased TT. The Lippert is listed @ $299. Dealership would charge $50 to install jack so that was discounted from cost. $100 round trip diesel cost to pick up new jack. I think it's a pretty fair trade considering I did all the driving and installation and got a much better tongue jack.




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[Capt. Mike]

[QUOTE=TxTravelingRN;643009]Traveled 2 hours today to get replacement for defective electric tongue jack. Closest dealership did not have the Jack Quick HH 3500 and wasn't familiar with it. They called Rockwood for warranty information and it was going to take 2-3 weeks to get replacement. I wasn't willing to wait that long. Dealership had a Lippert 3500 available so we made an even swap. I was charged $ 147 for QJ when I purchased TT. The Lippert is listed @ $299. Dealership would charge $50 to install jack so that was discounted from cost. $100 round trip diesel cost to pick up new jack. I think it's a pretty fair trade considering I did all the driving and installation and got a much better tongue jack.
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Good for you. Glad things worked out and you can raise and lower your trailer again without the use of a bottle jack and cinder blocks.

I'd still get a head cover for in, just "because".

[Weezer]

We had the same problem with the same jack on our former V-Lite. That hole in the top held a round level, but there was no gasket or o-ring under it.

YEP, water intrusion.

[TxTravelingRN]

Already ordered from CW. : )
Will also put wiring harness and chains in cover to delay onset of rust.


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[TxTravelingRN]

Had the bubble as well (not shown in pic) and no O-ring. I lost that with the replacement but never found it to be accurate anyway ? due to frame flexing. Using a level inside both doors seems to be more accurate. I also drop a marble to see what direction it rolls.


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[sdelam]

Id say you made out. I had to wait nearly a month for my replacement and they wouldnt give it to me until I brought the old one in.

[TxTravelingRN]

I took mine off the TT and took it with me to exchange. Had a witness to the frozen gear problem and took plenty of pics and video of problem.
I'm a 1000 miles from home (Texas ) in Minnesota and have a lot of places to travel to ( Chief Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore, Old Faithful, etc. in addition to my work contract so waiting wasn't an option I was going to give FR Rockwood.
Don't want to get into a p^ss^ng contest with FR but will stick to my guns when it's a warranty issue. Otherwise I take my business elsewhere when I upgrade to 5er in 2 years.
I had suffered 3 nights with no heat in mid-winter when furnace module went out 3 months after buying TT so I don't think they will give me much grief.
Still wondering why they put this cheap JQ tongue jack on when it has Lippert stabilizing jacks. Makes no sense to me.


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[Timex]

After seeing the pic in post #9, the sticker on the jack says to support vehicle when crawling under it. Having read other threads about the jack unexpectedly collapsing, how many people crawl under the TT without supporting it? I haven't thought of it before, might put some jack stands under the frame next time. Wouldn't be a pretty sight for the DW to find the DH pinned under the TT!

[TxTravelingRN]

Haven't really had to crawl under it as I was able to replace wire from jack to frame easily. Probably is a good practice to add non-collapsible supports under frame when under there. Who knows how well these Chinese-made products are inspected.
It's a real shame that most of our camping and fishing products now come from China. That's just so unAmerican IMO.


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[raspivey]

Just had to throw my two cents in there....just had my HH-3500 crater (1 week out of warranty, btw). Same exact issue. Motor seized up from water leaking into the gear box. Wiring was all completely dry. Luckily, I had enough tools with me to disengage the gears from the motor shaft...was easier than pulling the motor off, and it works fine as a manual jack. Now to see if it's cheaper to replace the motor or just spend a little more and replace the whole jack.