Tongue Jack / Cordless Drill Mod on my FBS 189

Ed Venture

Advanced Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
73
Location
United States
Here is my tongue jack / cordless drill mod on my FBS 189. Again, I am not the first to do this type of install, but it seems to work pretty well.

I wanted to try two different techniques to see which would work best for me. The first was to use a standard bolt that would work with any socket or wrench, and the second was to modify a bolt to fit the crank for my stabilizer jacks so that I could use the same adapter for my drill that works for those. If I could get the second method to work, that would be much better because I wouldn't have to change the socket adapter when switching between the jacks and I would have the existing hand crank in case of drill failure.


I started with a couple of 6" x 1/2" grade 8 Hex Cap Bolt from my local hardware:
Jack%20Mod1.jpg


For the first method, I measured the distance from the end of the original jack crank to where the pin was installed, which was 3". I then drilled a corresponding hole 3 inches up from the thread on the bolt:
Jack%20Mod2.jpg


For the second method, I did the same, but this time I drilled an additional hole to insert a hardened steel pin to receive the drill crank adapter.
Jack%20Mod3.jpg


I then cut the bolt thread off and filed it clean on both. I then cut the bolt head off for the one that has the hardened steel pin so the crank drill adapter could fit over the bolt.
Jack%20Mod4.jpg


I then took the 4 screws of the jack cover plate, removed the pin from the jack handle, inserted my bolt and reinserted the pin. (I forgot to take a picture, but you can see that I tacked a couple of welds on the bolt to make sure that my hardened steel pin would not fall out. You shouldn't need to do that if you hammer it in good).
Jack%20Mod5.jpg


I re-installed the cover plate and tested with the drill. It worked like a champ!
Jack%20Mod6.jpg


It also works quite will with the hand crank for the stabilizer jacks so if I don't have access to a drill, I can still operate the crank.
Jack%20Mod7.jpg


Ed
 
Ed Venture said:
Here is my tongue jack / cordless drill mod on my FBS 189. Again, I am not the first to do this type of install, but it seems to work pretty well.

I have been searching for this type of modification on my T@B tongue jack and appreciate your detailed instructions.

Q. If the hex head is left on, will the adapter shown in the drill (I have one like it) fit over the bolt head?

I was thinking of using a socket set as my backup.

Ray B
 
Thanks for the tip

Ed Venture-
I finally got around to using your great instructions to modify my tongue jack so I can use the cordless drill/driver to power it up and down. I used the 3/4" hex head option. It worked perfectly. Thanks for the idea!
 

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