June 20, 2015 at 09:07PM by advodna_dave

Okay, it seems like there have been a rash of electric tongue jack issues going around lately. A couple weeks ago, ours made a screeching sound instead of retracting. With the help of the great customer service at Barker Manufacturing, we figured out it was a stripped "idler gear" which they sent us and we were able to replace ourselves. Others have run into problems with burnt out fuses. It's a 40 amp blade fuse. Take yours into an auto parts store and grab a spare, or in a pinch, wrap your blown one in tin foil and reinsert. Then ours quit again the other day, this time with no response when pushing the toggle down, but it worked in the up direction. By switching the wires on the switch around, I was able to determine that the motor still worked in both directions and that I could even get the toggle to work in the other direction (but not both at the same time). That meant the switch was okay, though they are known to fail and are available from the manufacturer. By manually flipping the white plastic paddle to activate the small black plastic switches that prevent over extension or retraction, I figured out that the right one wasn't working. While my personal approach was to futilely ask blank-faced clerks at Radio Shacks and auto parts counters around Fairbanks for a replacement switch since we don't have time to have a new one sent from Barker Manufacturing in Battle Creek, Michigan, Jason from Bodeswell opened up the tiny dead switch, located the crumbling connection inside and was able to solder a short piece of wire between the contacts to bypass it. Let me know if you ever need details on this hotwire. And of course, make sure you didn't toss that one extra metal crank thing you found in the storage compartment of your trailer when you bought it. It's probably the manual handle that fits on the square silver head on the right after you pop off the bubble level. Seems like it's just a matter of time for all of us! #airstream #tonguejack #toomuchtongue #jackedup