Caravan Stay Adjustment

Mr H
Mr H Forum Participant Posts: 356
100 Comments
edited December 2015 in Parts & Accessories #1

I cannot use the spanner to lower and raise the stays, due to a back condition. I bought a cheap cordless drill (£20) to do it, but this quickly started to wobble due to poor bearing surface wear. It also took an eternity to charge. So can you recommend
a lightweight cordless with a quick recharge rate I can store in the caravan. I do not need it for any other use. Having made one mistake I do not want to compound it. Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments

  • TheAdmiral
    TheAdmiral Forum Participant Posts: 506
    edited December 2015 #2

    MrH, I have tried a few cheapy ones over the years, and as the saying goes  "buy cheap,buy twice" so I would recommend an 18 volt De Walt. Suggest you put in on your Christmas list pronto !!

    Admiral

  • Mr H
    Mr H Forum Participant Posts: 356
    100 Comments
    edited December 2015 #3

    My natural tendancy is to buy the best, as I believe De Walt is, but just think it is such an expense to do such a simple job. My home drill is a De Walt and it does anything I throw at it. Was hoping to spend £50 - 60 or so. Unfortunately, I have been reliably
    informed, Santa has all ready got his 'delight' for me for this year.Surprised

  • Spriddler
    Spriddler Forum Participant Posts: 646
    500 Comments
    edited December 2015 #4

    After much research I bought a Wickes brand cordless on special offer yesterday reduced from £89 to £49.

    I can't say it's Lightweight but to generalise and all other things being equal a light one will be less robust than a heavier one.

    Before retiring I used several major brands for my work which were fine but own-brand items are often rebadged major brand with slight cosmetic changes. Almost all of them are made in China.

    The Wickes has the same spec'n as similar Bosch and De Walt drills costing well over £100.

    E.g:

    18 Volt

    35Nm torque

    1.3Ah battery capacity

    2 x Li ion batteries

    1 hour recharge period.

    2 Speed g/box

    Fwd and Reverse

    etc.

    Have a look on Wickes website.

     

  • Mr H
    Mr H Forum Participant Posts: 356
    100 Comments
    edited December 2015 #5

    Thanks for that I will compare both the Dewalt and Wickes.

  • rjb
    rjb Forum Participant Posts: 118
    edited December 2015 #6

    Ihave just bought a Bosch 18 volt 2x li ion batteries very small and compact from amazon hammer drill £65 

  • Vicmallows
    Vicmallows Forum Participant Posts: 580
    500 Comments
    edited December 2015 #7

    My experience has been that the cheap (c. £20) drills from the likes of Aldi are fine  ..... but the batteries are so poor that they self-discharge in a week!.  I replace the batteries (usually sub-C size) with decent NiMH cells bought from China. My oldest/lowest-power/lightest drill is now dedicated to caravan steady duty and holds ample charge for months.

  • Mr H
    Mr H Forum Participant Posts: 356
    100 Comments
    edited December 2015 #8

    Whilst at Wickes I saw the Bosch 10.8  with the battery in the handle. It has a 35 minute recharge time and only weighs 1 kg. So I bought one. Will try it tomorrow. I price matched the B&Q price (£57) against the Wickes price of £79.99  so hopefully I got
    a bargain. Time will tell. Thanks everyone for your responses.

  • Spriddler
    Spriddler Forum Participant Posts: 646
    500 Comments
    edited December 2015 #9

    Should be fine Mr H.

    I went for one with two batteries as most User Manuals advise that for best battery life recharge it only when almost discharged which isn't ideal when you only use it for short bursts winding the 'van legs. With two batteries I can completely discharge one but still have a fully charged second battery to finish the job.

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,585
    1000 Comments 250 Likes Photogenic
    edited December 2015 #10

    I got an 18 volt Stanley from Argos. You need to check the working voltage to get an idea of the power and ignore the lower power ones.