canudad
Virginia
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Joined: 05/01/2022
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Excellent post. I bought a secondhand truck camper with these jacks. The previous owner had printed this post and put it with the documentation. I just spent a full day cleaning the dirty grease out of one. A previous owner had put grease fittings on it. Seems like a good idea but grease gathers dirt and sand. It is like trying to clean a square closed breach cannon. No fun. Since the Happijac doesn’t have any scrapers the dirt gets pulled up between the square tubes and jams them up. The Happijac instructions say to use car wax. I suspect any dry lube would be ok. If you use grease be sure to clean the inner tube before retracting.
I guess another option would be to put fittings near the top on all 4 sides and force enough grease through to force out the grime.
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devildog1971
Rome
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Joined: 12/07/2003
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I have the happy jacks with the motor on top not the side
* This post was
edited 03/20/21 09:54pm by devildog1971 *
2019 Northern Lite 10-2 EXCDSE Dry Bath 2007 G M C dually crew cab and 2018 Harley Davidson Limited Low
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Artum Snowbird
Campbell River, B.C., Canada
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Most likely you have examined the suspect stuck jack with a good straightedge, but using a four foot level might indicate a tiny bend in the tube.
You could certainly try putting the tube into a clamped holder, and apply a minimal amount of pressure with a hydraulic jack while you attempt to move it. If you do manage to move it then, at least you will know which way the bend might be.
Mike
2012 Winnebago Impulse Silver 26QP
2005 16.6 Double Eagle
2018 Jeep Wrangler JK
previously Snowbird Campers,
Triple E Motorhome and Fifth Wheel
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goshawk
wyoming
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Cannon, you could be right. I bought the camper used with the jacks on it. Previous owner did indeed back into something, damaging the mounting plate on the back corner of the camper -- fixing that corner is one of the jobs on my list.
On the other hand, 3 of the jacks work fine, and the jack in question was on the front right side, which shows no sign of damage. And I can't detect any deflection in the stuck jack. But yes, with tolerances so tight, that could certainly be the problem. And previous owner might have swapped it around.
Glad to hear JimK got 18 years out of his. That would do me.
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Cannon George
Ojai, CA
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Joined: 07/28/2004
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Goshawk
Regarding Exterior Finish: (for others) - there was a period of time where Happijac tubes were rusting badly via small exterior corrosion cells, I believe due to bad coating, I had to disassemble the jacks and take the tubes in to be sandblasted and powder coated. This fixed the problem. I wrote to Happijac but they did not answer me.
Regarding Bound-up tubes: I'm sorry for your trouble. Need to ask, is this just one tube or all 4? Is it at all possible you backed into/hit something and may have bent the tube(s)? (It wouldn't take much deflection to mess this up).
Regarding motors and water entry: It supposedly never rains in So Cal but I've had to rebuild several motors for this. Can't explain why, but motors were seized up solid with clear signs of water entry and damage. FYI, the little "drill motor" size bearings were readily available on Amazon for as low as 10qty/$12.99; (Same size as used in kid's "spinners") - the local NAPA store wanted $70 for just one bearing! It is my experience that years ago you could send in motors for exchange/rebuild but nowadays they will only sell you a complete replacement motorhead assembly, no exchange possible.
I'm overall happy with Happijac; but I'd be happy paying a little more for some extra Zerk grease nipples or oil lubrication ports, if that would assure longer life/ease of maintenance.
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JimK-NY
NY
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Several years ago I was about ready to take an extended trip. I went to put the camper on the truck and one of the Happijacs was stuck. It would not work with the motor or the manual crank. I took it off the truck and still could not get it to work. I had to buy a new one. In fact I bought 2 just in case I have this happen again. Considering they lasted 18 years I don't feel too bad. I am more upset that I lost 2 motors because the seals leaked and they got wet.
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goshawk
wyoming
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Update: still stuck, but I've learned a couple things. With the gears removed, at the point where the inner tube should slip out of the outer tube (but mine doesn't) I find I can turn the shaft easily. Smooth and nice. I figure that means the inner mechanism, the worm drive and all, is in good shape.
Because it's no longer held in place at the top (and no longer trying to move the stuck inner tube) I can crank it down about an inch, so there's free space between the top of the inner worm drive mechanism and the welded plate that serves as a stop when everything is properly assembled. Which in turn means that I can tap on the foot end and move the inner tube upwards about an inch. Then crank at the top again, make room, tap at the bottom... and so on, gradually compressing the whole rig, pouring in penetrating oil as I go. I'm hoping to free it up with the movement and the oil.
So: I can move it in, but can't pull it out. I'm thinking of trying a come-along on the pulling end if it stays stubborn. Maybe donate it to a tractor-pulling competition, LOL
For what it's worth, the inner tube -- the 30 inches or so that I've had out -- is clean, smooth, in good shape, no rust. That outer tube must be a mess inside.
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KKELLER14K
BEAVERTON OREGON
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My fix? They need to dip the outer tube and coat that tube with a layer of galvanization and the foot to. Do yo know that they put 4 small plastic discs at the bottom of the tube? I know that this can scrape off the paint from the leg and bind it up when a lot of pressure is leaning to one side...another fail.
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54suds
adk mts.
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Ill say it they've been producing junk for years its about time they repair some at no charge look at their history of so called improvements all of which only raised their prices and barely improved quality
* This post was
edited 03/06/21 11:20am by 54suds *
2021 Chev 6.6 duramax ltz DBL cab,drw,4x/torklift tdn's,
1999 Bigfoot 1011
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650cent
Madras, OR
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I've heard Happijack has a fast turn around time, why not send it back to them?
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