Hi - your advice would be appreciated please. We have been using a Bosch PSR 960 for lowering the legs but find that it always seems to need charging. Is there a better but still lightweight piece of equipment out there apart from the brace!
Cordless Drill for Lowering Legs
- Thread starter lee2
- Start date
Depends on the drill. The cheaper Ni-cad battery drills suffer 'memory effect' when recharged if not complete run down first, whereas the more expensive li-ion drills are less prone, Former are much cheaper than latter. After several years of the former, pushed the boat out for the latter which comes with two batteries, is nice and light and is, according to it's main user, wonderful.
It's main user is SWMBO who has received various such over the years as presents. Her complaint is, surprisingly, not about the cost but why I didn't get this type of drill before. Looking back,she is (again) absolutely right.
It's main user is SWMBO who has received various such over the years as presents. Her complaint is, surprisingly, not about the cost but why I didn't get this type of drill before. Looking back,she is (again) absolutely right.
I had a drill just like the above ,charged the night before going away , wound up the legs and on arrrival at site flat battery
this drill was replaced by a Draper Redline 14.4 volts Ive just checked it a minute ago been stood since September and still has a good charge in it.
I hope this helps
Sir Roger
this drill was replaced by a Draper Redline 14.4 volts Ive just checked it a minute ago been stood since September and still has a good charge in it.
I hope this helps
Sir Roger
Hi Sproket
Its a lot cheaper to buy a new Bosch drill with batteries than amazingly to buy a battery on its own
I have the Bosch 18V and it has worked well for several yeras
Recently I bought a similar Bosch drill with 2 batteries for £45 but the batteries on their own cost a lot more
Here is sample price for the same battery
http://www.batterytrader.com/bosch-volt-power-tool-battery-replacement-p-145.html
The trader I bought it from remarked that at one time B & Q had the drills on offer and they were a lot cheaper with 2 batteries than they wanted for one battery replacement
Really good customer care !!
I also bought a new Bosch Li ion battery drill with one battery for my grandson's Christmas for £40 from the same trader
On Ebay there are often bare drills minus batteries for sale as the batteries are then sold for less than the Bosch list price and the vendor makes a profit
Its a lot cheaper to buy a new Bosch drill with batteries than amazingly to buy a battery on its own
I have the Bosch 18V and it has worked well for several yeras
Recently I bought a similar Bosch drill with 2 batteries for £45 but the batteries on their own cost a lot more
Here is sample price for the same battery
http://www.batterytrader.com/bosch-volt-power-tool-battery-replacement-p-145.html
The trader I bought it from remarked that at one time B & Q had the drills on offer and they were a lot cheaper with 2 batteries than they wanted for one battery replacement
Really good customer care !!
I also bought a new Bosch Li ion battery drill with one battery for my grandson's Christmas for £40 from the same trader
On Ebay there are often bare drills minus batteries for sale as the batteries are then sold for less than the Bosch list price and the vendor makes a profit
We had a break from caravanning, as returnees we soon ended up with a caravan full of gadgets.
The battery drill needs a high torque rating, good torque and battery longevity are more likely to come with a minimum of 18volt battery power. Clean free moving well lubricated (lithium grease) steady screws will help.
Our battery drill is now left at home along with other needless weight, we just use a brace that has a swivel point that gives good leverage. Less weight, no battery's or charger to carry and store and even my wife can easily use it compared to regular style caravan brace. You still need a brace for wheel bolts and it works easily on them
The battery drill needs a high torque rating, good torque and battery longevity are more likely to come with a minimum of 18volt battery power. Clean free moving well lubricated (lithium grease) steady screws will help.
Our battery drill is now left at home along with other needless weight, we just use a brace that has a swivel point that gives good leverage. Less weight, no battery's or charger to carry and store and even my wife can easily use it compared to regular style caravan brace. You still need a brace for wheel bolts and it works easily on them
WatsonJohnG said:
Thank's John.
Not everybody want to spend a lot of money on a drill, but when the battery goes you always wish that you had spent a bit more & got a good one first time.........
I have had one of these since they came out a few years ago they are very good with li iron batteries, strong loads of torque, two speed with mechanical gear box & light enough for the wife to use at just less than 1kg complete with two batterys & 1/2 hour charger....
I use mine for the steadies, & the screw pegs & other things at home...........
There is this one from screwfix that would be suitable for the OP & it is li iron with two batterys, charger & case..........
Always use the low gear when doing the steadies............
ZeGecko said:We had a break from caravanning, as returnees we soon ended up with a caravan full of gadgets.
The battery drill needs a high torque rating, good torque and battery longevity are more likely to come with a minimum of 18volt battery power. Clean free moving well lubricated (lithium grease) steady screws will help.
Our battery drill is now left at home along with other needless weight, we just use a brace that has a swivel point that gives good leverage. Less weight, no battery's or charger to carry and store and even my wife can easily use it compared to regular style caravan brace. You still need a brace for wheel bolts and it works easily on them
Hmm ............. thirty plus scew pegs to come out with a brace ...........
You can't put a price on earache
I was fed up with batteries going flat after a short workout so I purchased a Dewalt one a few years back and I sometimes dont use it for weeks and still the batteries have a lot of power left in them.
Trevor
Trevor
£140 for a peg remover gawd man you must have money to burnSproket said:Hmm ............. thirty plus scew pegs to come out with a brace ...........
You can't put a price on earache
I'm surprised that no one has made the obvious comment that perhaps battery powered drills are more trouble then they're worth when it comes to their occasional use to lower/raise corner steadies? I tried using cordless drills a couple of times but had the issues the OP mentions, so went back to using a brace. The brace is lightweight, space saving, inexpensive, and never needs charging !
Sometimes perhaps less is more...
Sometimes perhaps less is more...
Maybe like me they don't think that they are more trouble than they are worthTony_5041742 said:
I find Bosch drills very reliable and often find other uses like putting in/out screwpegs and DIY on the van
A charged up drill lasts a long time if its not been misused etc
Maybe also as people are living longer or are disabled they don't have the dexterity to operate a wheelbrace
Hi
I've been using a Ryobi I bought as an offer from B & Q, for a couple of years. Have had no problems with the battery but carry a spare anyway.
I bought the Ryobi because although I'd love a Bosch cordless (I use my 110v SDS one at work), it was a cheaper deal but still a nice piece of kit.
Actually set the torque for the steadies by checking one with a brace then doing all the others to that torque and have had no trouble, also used the drill for running the hard standing screw pegs in for the awning. Still on one battery.
I used an Aldi drill before until the battery required replacing and as John says it's probably more economical to get a new drill.
As for too much trouble I'm afraid I don't subscribe to that. Just carry the drill and spare battery in the back of the car.
When I started work as an apprentice nearly everything was by hand, cordless wasn't dreamt of and winding the steadies was purely a brace job. That's what inconvenient is to me.
I've been using a Ryobi I bought as an offer from B & Q, for a couple of years. Have had no problems with the battery but carry a spare anyway.
I bought the Ryobi because although I'd love a Bosch cordless (I use my 110v SDS one at work), it was a cheaper deal but still a nice piece of kit.
Actually set the torque for the steadies by checking one with a brace then doing all the others to that torque and have had no trouble, also used the drill for running the hard standing screw pegs in for the awning. Still on one battery.
I used an Aldi drill before until the battery required replacing and as John says it's probably more economical to get a new drill.
As for too much trouble I'm afraid I don't subscribe to that. Just carry the drill and spare battery in the back of the car.
When I started work as an apprentice nearly everything was by hand, cordless wasn't dreamt of and winding the steadies was purely a brace job. That's what inconvenient is to me.
34 years ago we bought a budget family frame tent and some extra tent pegs and a ligtweight mallet with peg remover. The pegs have outlived the tent and are back in use again on their third awning. Used throughout UK and Europe and some have even been used on some of my expeditiontrip tents as extra extreme weather security.Sproket said:Hmm ............. thirty plus scew pegs to come out with a brace ...........
You can't put a price on earache
Our tents and awnings have never blown down and we've never needed to screw a peg in or out. We've not spent a penny more on pegs in 34 years and with luck they'll see us through our sixties to our eighties when hopefully we'll still be camping and caravanning.
I have a selection of quality pro work battery drills, with just my boss and I we enjoy clutter free caravanning. Caravan steps as a seat help my creaky knees and the brace works perfectly for both of us and lives on two clips in the front locker.
It's what we call "green" caravanning
On a serious note, a battery drill and using it as a caravan steady or peg winder is just plain lazy in most cases, there is nothing eco friendly about the use of such a gadget.
Get the kids away from the PlayStation and Ipad and get them out in the healthy open air on a campsite where lazy adults can't even wind a brace or hit a tent peg as it takes a little effort
Parksy
Moderator
On an even more 'serious note' we are lucky enough to live in a country where we are allowed to have freedom of choice.ZeGecko said:Hee hee hee
On a serious note, a battery drill and using it as a caravan steady or peg winder is just plain lazy in most cases, there is nothing eco friendly about the use of such a gadget.
Get the kids away from the PlayStation and Ipad and get them out in the healthy open air on a campsite where lazy adults can't even wind a brace or hit a tent peg as it takes a little effort
Caravanners excersise their freedom of choice regularly and if they want to use a battery drill as a steady winder they have the freedom to choose to do so without being called 'plain lazy' on a caravan forum.
Critisism of the methods chosen by fellow forum members is not the best way to win friends and influence people, so kindly stick to winding corner steadies and stop trying to wind up forum members by flame baiting
I've got a Bosch drill with an Li-ion battery which seems to last forever - also a spare battery. Previously used Aldi drills with a spare battery but found that the battery life was poor so invested in a better drill. I find that's it's invaluable not only for quickly winding the steadies, but also use it on the screw pegs for my sunshade and it's saved the day a few times to repair things that go wrong - which given the build quality of British caravans, seems to be most of the time. Took off and repaired the flyscreen door in Brittany a couple of years ago - would have been impossible without the drill as screw head was rounded by factory fitter and had to be drilled out. Personally, I can't see the attraction in manually winding steadies up & down - they have to be low-geared to work properly and the drill does the job in a fraction of the time - got nothing to do with being lazy, just sensible.
John M
John M
What a wonderful world where kids are available to do jobs
Chimneys can be cleaned at no effort to adults
Not everyone has such useful skivvies available and some of the more experienced have disabilities or partners who are unable to help
My wife stays in the car until everything is set up as she has had Parkinsons for 30 years and now cancer
I use every aid I can including drills and can see nothing to do with it being green or not green using a drill unless it be in the sense of being green in terms of experience of life and what it throws at you and unaware of others and their problems
Hee hee
This could be going too far though
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_23301.htm
Chimneys can be cleaned at no effort to adults
Not everyone has such useful skivvies available and some of the more experienced have disabilities or partners who are unable to help
My wife stays in the car until everything is set up as she has had Parkinsons for 30 years and now cancer
I use every aid I can including drills and can see nothing to do with it being green or not green using a drill unless it be in the sense of being green in terms of experience of life and what it throws at you and unaware of others and their problems
Hee hee
This could be going too far though
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_23301.htm
I'm SORRY Moderator.Parksy said:
Many users of battery drills on campsites that I've seen are perfectly fit and able, by the time they have dug out the battery drill attached the drive head and then found the battery is dead or dying I've normally got my steadies down and set with a brace at my advanced age and with creaky knees and back. Quite a few battery driver users still seem to use a brace for a few last turns.
I've a choice of quality battery drills as they are part of my work tool collection, when buyingt our new caravan a salesman tried to sell us a battery drill and steady attachment amongst many other gadgets and accessories. We got the wrench attachment thrown in as I have drills. We just found it to be extra clutter in either the car or caravan.
My exprience of commercial quality battery drills is that they all need a regular charge to keep them at the ready, If you want something that works well and is reliable that costs little, many budget range drills have inferior nylon-plastic types gears and drive components that are likely to fail under pressure even if the battery can cope. Cheap may work in the short term, in my experience 'sods law' will lead have cheap budget range failing at the most inconvenient time.
I seem to have been mistaken in believing that in the UK we also accept the freedom to express our own views and speak freely. There are far better alternative hand operated braces-wrenches instead of the regular caravan braces that provide little leverage. May be I'm permitted to say that it could be worth considering an inexpensive alternative 100% reliable hand operated tool before spending out on a power tool that may or may not provide reliabilty.
Having seen a Dutch wheelchair user caravanner use a long handled rachet as he couldn't reach down to use a drill, an alternative to power might better suit individual need or budget
Parksy
Moderator
You are definitely mistaken if you think that you have the freedom to join this forum and insult those who also use it by branding them 'plain lazy'.ZeGecko said:
Of course I'm lazy, even have power steering and hydraulic brakes on the truck. Now that is lazy. And a motor mover - even lazier??!!!
hi all,
while I would not knock anyones choice of gadgets they use to help them carry on caravanning or indeed what gadgets are available to help fellow vanners set up more quickly, and yes my comment to Sprocket was tounge in cheek about the cost.
there is no doubt that a cordless drill has to be fit for purpose the cheap ones are next to useless, but the good ones are fairly expensive. if you really need one they are probably worth it but for me I will continue to use the brace.
while Zegecko's comments may be a little OTT in there are a few good points, we have never in 40+ years of caravanning ever needed screwpegs to hold down the awning and yes we still have some pegs that are 30years old and still work fine.
Iam all for labour saving devices and some of them are essential for us like the mover but a £140 drill to wind the legs down is not one of them, I do have a dewalt 24v hammer drill at home for general use and it will and has drilled 124 holes in brickwork (for the dampcourse) on one battery charge but it weighes a ton, so taking it to wind down the legs once and up again makes no sense.to me. when the alluminum brace weighes only 350gramms.
I can be setup completely on my own in 1hr from arriving on site with the brace and wooden mallet so the 2mins saved using the drill is not worth the hassle.
Parksy's view is just about right though, if you need one or want one go ahead it's your choice but while I am still fit enough to do it the old way I will.
while I would not knock anyones choice of gadgets they use to help them carry on caravanning or indeed what gadgets are available to help fellow vanners set up more quickly, and yes my comment to Sprocket was tounge in cheek about the cost.
there is no doubt that a cordless drill has to be fit for purpose the cheap ones are next to useless, but the good ones are fairly expensive. if you really need one they are probably worth it but for me I will continue to use the brace.
while Zegecko's comments may be a little OTT in there are a few good points, we have never in 40+ years of caravanning ever needed screwpegs to hold down the awning and yes we still have some pegs that are 30years old and still work fine.
Iam all for labour saving devices and some of them are essential for us like the mover but a £140 drill to wind the legs down is not one of them, I do have a dewalt 24v hammer drill at home for general use and it will and has drilled 124 holes in brickwork (for the dampcourse) on one battery charge but it weighes a ton, so taking it to wind down the legs once and up again makes no sense.to me. when the alluminum brace weighes only 350gramms.
I can be setup completely on my own in 1hr from arriving on site with the brace and wooden mallet so the 2mins saved using the drill is not worth the hassle.
Parksy's view is just about right though, if you need one or want one go ahead it's your choice but while I am still fit enough to do it the old way I will.
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