Steadies
- Thread starter Robstar
- Start date
Intially we had a cheap B&Q 14v drill for our steadies which eventually packed up. We then bought a Makita 18v drill which had no issues raising the steadies and using to fit the screw pegs for the awning.
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Hi.
The thought that immediately springs to mind is that the steadies have become coroded and stiff. Either the drive shaft, which is really just a long, threaded bolt and/or the hinges. Try WD40 or similar to see if that will free them off. If it does then a dollop of grease on the drive screw and hinges should stop it happening in future. This should be done as part of a routine service plan anyway.
There shouldn't really be any resistance when winding the steadies up or down. I've only got a cheapo drill but it works fine and I have no problem at all winding the steadies by hand if the drill goes flat.
I hope this helps.
The thought that immediately springs to mind is that the steadies have become coroded and stiff. Either the drive shaft, which is really just a long, threaded bolt and/or the hinges. Try WD40 or similar to see if that will free them off. If it does then a dollop of grease on the drive screw and hinges should stop it happening in future. This should be done as part of a routine service plan anyway.
There shouldn't really be any resistance when winding the steadies up or down. I've only got a cheapo drill but it works fine and I have no problem at all winding the steadies by hand if the drill goes flat.
I hope this helps.
It possibly depends how stiff they are if the drill is a fairly modest one. Greasing the threads may help, but if not then you need a more powerful drill. We use a Stanley Fat Max which does the job with plenty of power to spare. It is hard work for the drill so you do need a good one.
I also use the Fat Max. But have used cheap drills in the past with no problem so I would agree with others and have the mechanism serviced.
As a slight aside. Please be careful and use the torque setting and low speed. A good drill on full power could break your wrist if it comes to a quick stop.
John
I Have a drill called Hypo Tough 18v. Special offer from Aldi, so cheepo it is!
Have no problems at all. As others have said, maybe the steadies need servicing.
At service my engineer, sprays and wipes them clean, before lightly re-greasing
Have no problems at all. As others have said, maybe the steadies need servicing.
At service my engineer, sprays and wipes them clean, before lightly re-greasing
Take care using a drill for the corner steadies. On some caravans (Swift for example) The floor panel does not sit under the side wall, so if you apply too much upwards force to the floor you can destroy the screwed joint, lifting the floor and have a real problem. Most drills have enough power to destroy the caravan body with repeated pressure.
I agree that care is needed. I do slow the drill right down as the leg approaches the ground for better control.
We had a very smart Pilot motor caravan parked next door to us. It had wind down steadies at the rear like a caravan. The elderly man driving it couldn't wind the legs down because they were seized. I went to help and found that winding was slightly stiff for the first bit, but then abruptly stopped moving well before the legs were down to the ground. The threaded rod was absolutely clogged with dried and solid dirty grease. It actually looked and felt like concrete. He said he knew that, but it was usually OK as he wound the legs down onto 2 blocks, and he had left the blocks at home to save weight. He said the vehicle had never had a habitation service since new, over 10 years ago. Apparently the vehicle service did not cover the rear steadies.
An old 18 v Hitachi is still working for me. I tend to use engine oil sparingly rather than grease on the steady threads . Whilst the grease is good I found it attracted a lot of dirt and dust causing stiff problems😉
I agree that grease is not very good. Our service guy uses clear silicon spray, and it seems to work fine without further attention for the year.
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