
Broken Bolts and Electric Jack
Camper jacks are not very notable or fun items to update; unless you are the person hand cranking a manual jack. This is the only picture we have of our camper’s original manual jack.
After the first camping trip we decided we needed an electric jack. This was Josh a few weeks later when it arrived.
We purchased a pretty standard Best Choice Electric Jack and it is quite possibly the second best camper related purchase we have made. The best purchase was this handy little stud extractor.
To install the new jack we first prepped the camper by making sure the wheels were chocked and on level ground. We had all four leveling jacks down as well. It may not have been needed, but we also put a car jack under the tongue of the camper as a thankfully unnecessary safety net.
The process is supposed to be simple. Once the camper is secured and all the weight is off the jack you are replacing, remove the three silver bolts you see below.
Unfortunately the three original bolts placed here to hold the manual jack in place were thoroughly rusted and one’s head was sheared off.
As you can see on the broken bolt above, the top portion is gnarled and shiny. Prior to purchasing our favorite attachment, we tried to remove the bolt with pliers, which just stripped it. Our next idea was to try a propane torch to see if heat would loosen it up; nope. Third attempt involved purchasing a bolt extractor driver bit; still nope. We tried a plethora of different sprays; more nope. Finally on a whim, thinking it was gimmicky but getting desperate; the stud extractor. It works like the chuck of a drill that clamps down on the bolt. Worked on the first try with almost zero effort. I wish we had known about this long ago.
The next jack replacement step is to place the new jack into the existing hole, and replace the same bolts you took out. Since our old bolts were toast, we choose to purchase new ones at Home Depot. They cost about $1 per for grade 8 bolts and we look forward to never removing them again.
Once the new jack is in place, there is only one more step. Running the single wire that comes from the jack to the positive terminal of the battery. It does not need a second wire to ground, as the unit is internally grounded and the bolts to the frame make the ground connection required. You might consider a quick disconnect to unplug the jack when not in use incase it drains any power.
We know it’s not top of the line but it sure beats hand cranking any day.
Even our girls can use it.