Troubleshooting Trailer Jack That Won't Raise Up

Updated 03/10/2025 | Published 10/15/2019

Question:

My camper jack will go down but will not raise. The battery is fully charged. I changed the switch thinking that would fix it. No dice. Stumped with this as this is a 2019 camper.

asked by: Kenneth

Helpful Expert Reply:

If your electric jack, like part # EJ-3520-BBX, isn't able to raise your trailer then either your battery needs to be charged (which you ruled out), you have a bad ground, or something is going on with your trailer jack motor. Since you ruled out inadequate power the next step is to check your trailer ground to make sure it is securely connected to a clean, bare-metal surface. Sometimes the ground is on a wire while other times the jack grounds through the mounting hardware so you need to check both options.

If that looks good then my next suggestion is to manually lift your trailer so that the jack is lifted off of the ground and see if it will extend without any weight on it. If it does then the power wire might need replacing but if it doesn't that means the motor is in need of replacement.

Let me know if this is the case for you and I can help you take the next steps so that you can utilize a jack for your trailer.

expert reply by: Jon G

Jamie

3/7/2025

Our electric jack on our horse trailer will raise and lower when the foot of the jack maintains constant contact such as while on the ground. However when we hook it to our truck and the pressure is released off of the jack foot, it will not raise it off of our trailer. The stand will extend to the ground but will not maintain pressure to actually lift it off the truck. A new motor was just put on it. We have bled the lines, we have also checked the seal at the cylinder, and it doesn’t leak down so we don’t believe it is the cylinder.

Jon G.

3/10/2025

@Jamie In your case, I would take the setup to a local shop to take a look at. It could be something internally going on with the jack itself, but the jack would need to be taken apart in order to determine that. You've done a lot of great troubleshooting so far which is why I'm recommend talking to someone local at this point.