ssthrd
Vancouver Island
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Joined: 03/23/2016
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It seems to me that you have checked all of your systems except for the jacks. I am definitely not an electrical expert, but it looks like they are the common denominator. Can you check the draw on each one individually?
You mentioned that you have exclusively used a drill to raise and lower the jacks, and you still have the same problem. Do you unplug the jacks when you use them manually? Do you have something else running all the time without you knowing it?
You have had the batteries load tested, and a shop expert (?) says that your converter is working as it should. What's left to check?
I'll let the ones here way smarter than me respond to my questions.
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bigfootford
Fair Oaks, California
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Depending on the weight of your camper the amps needed for a 4500lb camera will be between 35-40 amps to raise the camper.. That requires a GOOD battery that has over 80% charge.
Easy way to check your battery while under load is with a DVM.
Read the voltage while raising the camper with no shore power.
If you see the voltage drop below 12.1 then your batter needs to be fully charged and try it again while measuring the voltage!
Another way is to measure the specific gravity of the battery cells if you can get to them.
https://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternative-energy/battery-state-of-charge-chart/
Jim
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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$20 says it’s not the jacks and it’s weak batteries combined with poor charging performance/technique/past damage due to over/under charging, if the batteries themselves aren’t just shot.
Example. I could start a good starting big block engine probably 10x in a row off of a battery that wouldn’t lift a full size camper all the way up.
Just because they have enough capacity to do some things seemingly fine, doesn’t mean they are fine for their full capacity.
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wnjj
Cornelius, Oregon
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bigfootford wrote:Depending on the weight of your camper the amps needed for a 4500lb camera will be between 35-40 amps to raise the camper..
The OP said the batteries are drained from removing the camper, which makes even less sense. Other than the initial lift off the truck bed, most of the time the motors aren't even loaded when running to remove it.
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3 tons
NV.
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Regardless of the seemingly recent shelf date on your batteries or the voltage readout (at best, a marginal estimator of true battery condition…) using only the principle of Occam's Razor (from afar…) I’d say (from same issue past experience…) the root problem is that your batteries are near dead, yet ostensibly appearing satisfactory per voltage readout - Try as you might, wet-cells can act like this - this very situation is NOT unique or uncommon, and is a precursor to an internal cell or post connector failure.
The fact that the batteries ‘appear’ satisfactory yet are not (“say it ain’t so”!!) is from my perspective the true source of your dreaded frustration…JMHO
3 tons
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Dupa
Colorado
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Joined: 01/19/2023
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3 tons wrote:Regardless of the seemingly recent shelf date on your batteries or the voltage readout (at best, a marginal estimator of true battery condition…) using only the principle of Occam's Razor (from afar…) I’d say (from same issue past experience…) the root problem is that your batteries are near dead, yet ostensibly appearing satisfactory per voltage readout - Try as you might, wet-cells can act like this - this very situation is NOT unique or uncommon, and is a precursor to an internal cell or post connector failure.
The fact that the batteries ‘appear’ satisfactory yet are not (“say it ain’t so”!!) is from my perspective the true source of your dreaded frustration…JMHO
3 tons
This would certainly be the easiest solution, but I can't help thinking (perhaps because I'm a little out of my element on some of this) that if they were "near dead" this would/should somehow show up, at least a little bit, on either the load test or the specific gravity (both were fine)?
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Dupa
Colorado
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wnjj wrote:bigfootford wrote:Depending on the weight of your camper the amps needed for a 4500lb camera will be between 35-40 amps to raise the camper..
The OP said the batteries are drained from removing the camper, which makes even less sense. Other than the initial lift off the truck bed, most of the time the motors aren't even loaded when running to remove it.
I over simplified when I wrote that the issue was from removing the camper from the truck. More specifically/accurately, it's the round trip unload/load...then by the time we move to another camp site and unload again, it's toast.
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Dupa
Colorado
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3 tons wrote:I’m definitely with Bigfootford, but my question is this..Are you using all four jacks simultaneously or just two at a time? Also, it’s not a common practice to use an electric drill unless your batteries are low or failing…Be advised that a Auto-Zone type carbon-pile load test is not always to be relied upon as a true representation of actual loading…If possible you could try measuring battery output (while under load) using a clamp-on ac-dc volt-current meter - make sure that your meter is ‘truly dc current capable’ and of sufficient amperage…A meter of this type is still cheaper than new batteries and should readily tell you what you need to know..
Also, when using meter in ‘dc mode’, be certain to position the meter in the proper current direction - follow carefully the meter’s instructions …
3 tons
I am using all 4 jacks simultaneously. Maybe a little overly simplistic way of thinking about it (and also maybe a little out of my element here) but it seems like the same amount of power/energy is needed to raise/lower the camper, so whether you break it into pieces (1 or 2 at a time) or do it all at the same time (all 4 jacks) shouldn't matter all that much. If I'm wrong, and doing 1 or 2 at a time would help solve my problem, please let me know.
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3 tons
NV.
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Dupa wrote:3 tons wrote:I’m definitely with Bigfootford, but my question is this..Are you using all four jacks simultaneously or just two at a time? Also, it’s not a common practice to use an electric drill unless your batteries are low or failing…Be advised that a Auto-Zone type carbon-pile load test is not always to be relied upon as a true representation of actual loading…If possible you could try measuring battery output (while under load) using a clamp-on ac-dc volt-current meter - make sure that your meter is ‘truly dc current capable’ and of sufficient amperage…A meter of this type is still cheaper than new batteries and should readily tell you what you need to know..
Also, when using meter in ‘dc mode’, be certain to position the meter in the proper current direction - follow carefully the meter’s instructions …
3 tons
I am using all 4 jacks simultaneously. Maybe a little overly simplistic way of thinking about it (and also maybe a little out of my element here) but it seems like the same amount of power/energy is needed to raise/lower the camper, so whether you break it into pieces (1 or 2 at a time) or do it all at the same time (all 4 jacks) shouldn't matter all that much. If I'm wrong, and doing 1 or 2 at a time would help solve my problem, please let me know.
I only asked the question to aid with diagnostics from a distance (available current supplied…). Having said that, my personal preference (due to TC weight) is to operate only two jacks at time per each end (say, inch by inch…) - JMO
Sorry for any confusion ![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
3 tons
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3 tons
NV.
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Dupa wrote:3 tons wrote:Regardless of the seemingly recent shelf date on your batteries or the voltage readout (at best, a marginal estimator of true battery condition…) using only the principle of Occam's Razor (from afar…) I’d say (from same issue past experience…) the root problem is that your batteries are near dead, yet ostensibly appearing satisfactory per voltage readout - Try as you might, wet-cells can act like this - this very situation is NOT unique or uncommon, and is a precursor to an internal cell or post connector failure.
The fact that the batteries ‘appear’ satisfactory yet are not (“say it ain’t so”!!) is from my perspective the true source of your dreaded frustration…JMHO
3 tons
This would certainly be the easiest solution, but I can't help thinking (perhaps because I'm a little out of my element on some of this) that if they were "near dead" this would/should somehow show up, at least a little bit, on either the load test or the specific gravity (both were fine)?
Specific gravity no, carbon-pile load test ‘maybe’ but not always - this is why in my previous I suggested (assuming you are slightly handy…) acquiring a clamp-on ac-dc type meter of sufficient amperage capacity (say, from HD or similar)…Note that not all clamp-on meters are dc capable, and ‘for dc’ service be sure to follow the meter’s clamp-on directional orientation instructions…Clamping it around one of the battery cables (while under load…) will tell the tale - but first try to locate jack motor amperage specs…Worse case scenario is that you’ll end up with a relatively decent meter for future use, yea!! (or maybe return it - I donno??)…
Note: the meter can also be used to determine receptive charge amps into the battery…No substitute for solid data…
3 tons
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