Crank up Front jack failed

[RTRT94]

Not sure if proper name for it, but the jack at the front that we crank up to hitch to truck wouldn't move today when we got home. We had to go get neighbor to help with his big lift jack or something to lift camper to unhook from truck. He deals with trailers and hitches and says that it is broke already! We have only had the camper since may and do not feel this should be broke already...anyone else had this problem. Calling dealer tomorrow...hoping i dont have to battle with them to get it covered.
Thanks Terri

 

[danemayer]

Hi Terri,

Sorry you're having a problem. Things do break and the good news is that if you're the original owner, you should have a 1 year warranty. The dealer should be able to fix you up.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Terri, is the jack that failed a manual crank or electric power jack? Just curious cause I've never heard of a manual type jack fail before. Not to say I don't believe you, it's just not something you hear of very often.

 

[gasman]

I had that happen on a manual jack. I removed the top cover and found that a pin had come out and got lodged in the pinion gear. I removed it and replaced the pin and everything worked fine.

 

[RTRT94]

It is a crankup. We cant believe it broke either. Our old camper was 8 years old and never had any
Problems with it. The thing is we have only had it since early may! Calling dealer today, hoping
No troubles!

 

[RTRT94]

Neighbor helped DH get it off truck and took it apart and the part that makes it goes up and down
Is broke. Not happy about how soon it broke. Not sure if it has something to do with the fact it
Has set on lot since 2011. It is brand new new, but hold over
Will find out in few hours when I call if i have a battle or not

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Terri, since you have the jack removed, it might be a good time to go electric. I know I would.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Ray has a good idea. Get your dealer to make the swap and pay the difference. They have to remove the old one and the new one bolts in the same way. The only difference is the cost of the electric one and the manual one and hooking up the wires. Hooking to 12V power is easy. An electric jack is the BOMB. BTW, the jack was probably made in China.

 

[RTRT94]

They did replace the jack for us with no issues. Was ready for a fight, glad i didn't have to. We are having other issues now, not sure if it is because it was a holder over 2011 and sitting on lot for so long or what. caulking cracking, window leaking, shower leaking, now on one side of camper we noticed that it looks like the fiberglass(or whatever outside coating is) is bubbling away from the wall. so dissappointed....was so excited about getting a new camper with a slide out! Not even sure what they can do about that....

 

[TravelTiger]

Caulking cracks, it's inevitable. You have to stay vigilant and keep after it. heartland recommends every three months.

If the unit was truly new, (not used), the warranty should cover fixing leaks. And possibly the bubble. If you get pushback from the dealer, contact HL directly.

 

[brlr2000]

Yeah,
I had a manual crank-up jack fail on my prior trailer (Nash). One day, it just decided it didn't want to move. Bought another one at Camping World for a very reasonable price...it just bolted on. Regarding the caulking, cracking, etc., it's a pain in the !#$%. But it seems that there is constant upkeep on these rigs-just part of life on the road. It's a small price to pay for all the fun and freedom.