We’ve recently bought a new caravan accessory to make set up and pack down a little less manual labour intensive.

The Black Jack, powered caravan jack means that when we are ready to unhitch, it will take just the touch of a button to level the caravan with ease.

After having tried many different types of manual jacks over the years, the appeal of this jack has to be the ease of use in setting up and levelling the van, all at the push of a button on the jack.

Some of the issues we’ve had in the past have included the wind up jockey wheel not being able to wind up high enough to get the van off the car easily, and sometimes not being able to get the van level enough, once it was unhitched, which can happen on uneven ground when off grid caravanning. We’ve also had the hydraulic style jack which failed when seals eventually wore out and hydraulic fluid leaked.

So now it’s time to try a new system with the electric powered jack. We’ve seen a few of them in use in our travels, and after speaking to people who have been very happy using them, we went ahead and bought the Black Jack Mini.

The mini is suitable for caravans up to 3,500kg and with a lifting capacity of 1,000 kg. There are also larger models for heavier vans, but they also increase in weight and price.

The mini jack fits into a standard 50mm jockey wheel clamp and connects via an Anderson plug which we have fitted to the drawbar of the caravan. Then it’s simply a matter of plugging in and it’s ready to use. The jack has three different mounting notches for optimal lift and storage of the jack when not in use. It also has its own spirit level built in, a light for operating in lower light conditions and it comes with an all-weather cover, a soft ground foot pad and a manual handle to ensure you’re never stuck, even without power.

It also has a Safety Auto Stop which automatically cuts power off when the jack is fully extended or retracted. Another good point is that Black Jack Trailer jacks are a division of Titan RV, an Australian owned family business located in Brisbane.

The Black Jack mini weighs in at 8.5kg, retails for around $375 and comes with a 3 year warranty. With no more manual work to jack up the van, this simple touch of a button operation, should be a winner.

We look forward to testing it out in the field soon.

Cheers

Glenys