I want to put a POWER TONGUE JACK on my 21 foot BIGFOOT trailer and am looking for some input on what I need.

I've searched and can't find any info on this and either I don't know how to do it properly or the info got wiped out by the hackers. I know some of you have done it and I would welcome your experience.

My BF tongue weight is around 350 lbs.

Does the up & down travel vary on these and what's a minimum travel needed.

They are rated at different weights but all of them seem way too much to me. You're not lifting the whole dang trailer so why do you need the higher capacities?

Are the bolt patterns all standard?

What about the different tube sizes? I see some are 2 inch and some are larger.

Where are the best prices found?

I hate asking these seemingly ''simple'' questions but I know there's a lot of experience out there on these.

Thanks in advance.

EKW

Check this out, Keith.

Legacy post

Thanks Morgan; I'll check it out and I'll also post whatever I end up with here.

EKW

There is a place in Fontana CA. called Walt's RV thats got a bunch of them , new but surplus from the trailer factorys Wayne

Here's a topic I started back in February...I'm interested in putting one on my Scamp...and no I haven't done it YET.

Electric Tongue Jack, Ever installed one?

I've found one that is white and has the built in light at RV Parts Outlet for <$150 (Looks like it's still on sale: ADTH 3000 lb Tongue Jack) and then of course there's always eBay....saw a couple that went for less than $100 and they were brand new.

I had an Atwood 2000 lb tongue jack, which I recently replaced with an Atwood 2,500 lb electric jack. I think it has about 10 inches of travel, which has been adequate for all conditions I have experienced

I am very pleased with it. It was a simple install, as the bolt pattern was identical, and they even supplied new bolts, unpainted, as the jack grounds to the frame. The only mod I made was installing a marine off-on switch in a front lockable access door, as the unit is designed to connect directly to a positive battery cable.

It has been very handy for hooking up the stabilizer bars, and really handy the few times that the hitch coupler got stuck on the ball (uneven parking). I had to pay about $400 taxes included, here in Canada.

Thanks so much to all of you for your great input. I really appreciate it. I'm going to order something today. That $150 special that Donna D shared looks real good.

Rick, I'm curious as to why you replaced the 2000 with the 2500?

Later,

EKW

I have no experience with them, however I know one person that had a slight dip in the driveway. The trailer backed in fine until the jack was changed. The electric one rode lower and it dragged when backed in. I think a simple 2x board placed in the dip would probably be enough to get it by.

Just thought I'd mention it, FWIW.

The jack could also be blocked up a couple inches at the mount so it sits higher when not used....they have a fairly long travel back down again so shouldn`t be a problem....of course it depends on your jack......Benny

Here's what we plan to do instead.....
We already have a pair of small non permenantly mounted car jacks that we use for stabilizing the back of the Trillium. I have cut the part off the jacks where you would install the crank to jack the car up and welded a 3/4 bolt onto the end of the screw jack. I use a portable batt/powered drill to raise n lower the jacks.

We also plan to cut the crank handle off of the front jack/stabilizer and weld on another 3/4 bolt so I can also use the drill for the front as well.....

Sounds like a good plan, Jack, but I'm talking about just the Tongue jack that you crank / run up and down to hook and unhook the trailer from the tow ball. You're on the right track with what you're doing, though.

EKW

GREAT IDEA, "a sorta" electric tongue jack. I like it! The problem I see, is definitely how far down the electric ones hang even in the UP position. The tongue jack on my Scamp is the swivel kind and really gets out of the way for towing. I wonder if it's possible to mount an electric tongue jack so it swivels

Regarding the weight capacity; you don't just lift the trailer tongue's weight... when you raise the tongue to ensure that the coupler spoon will hold the ball, you also lift some of the tow vehicle's weight with the tongue jack. The heavier the tow vehicle, the more important it is to have extra lifting capability in the jack. As was also mentioned, most of us who use weight distributing hitches also use the tongue jack to raise the tongue and tow vehicle sufficiently to connect the trunnion bars.

And under most circumstances a fixed manual tongue jack and a fixed power jack shouldn't have any different dimensions under the trailer. Before you buy one, make sure you know the distance from the flange to the end of the jack when the jack is retracted on your old manual jack and match it with the new jack. That distance will vary a bit from brand to brand.

Roger

BINGO!

Roger, I knew there had to be something to the weight thing and I think you just explained it. I know when I'm hand cranking the tongue, if the spoon gets caught on the ball you can end up lifting a heck of a lot of weight in trying to get it off. Also, the WD Hitch issue is very valid.

So, with that said, I'm going to go with at least the 3000 pound rating.

Thanks for your input Roger.

EKW

Just for info`s sake, the Reese jack on my 17' Boler retracts flush with the bottom of my trailer tongue and has 19" of travel down from there....if need be, and I always use it anyway, I put a piece of 2x6 board as a pad under the jack so it doesn`t sink into the campground base as I don`t have a pad welded onto the bottom of my jack and more pads like this could be added if needed.....for sure mine won`t scrape the pavement when it`s travelling in the up position........Benny

I just ordered an Electric Power Tongue Jack today. It's the ULTRA 3500 and the price was $219.95 plus $20 shipping. I did a lot of research and decided that this was probably the best bang for my buck. I ordered it from Bluegrass Trailer Sales in Kentucky and found this unit on Ebay.

With the WD Hitch that I have and the heavier trailer, I decided that the 3500 lb unit was the best thing to do. It also has an adjustable foot that should help a lot since my trailer has the high lift axle. We'll see!

Here's a picture of the unit. BTW, the ULTRA is the brand that Camping World carries (for a lot more money, too)

EKW

Let us know how the mounting to the tongue work goes Keith

Here's a tip I've been given about these things...the housing is plastic and effected by UV rays. Make (or buy) some sort of cover for the "head" when the trailer is parked and this unit will last a lifetime. If you don't keep it covered, the "head" will start cracking in a year or two...

Thanks, Donna, for the tip. I've wondered about that and, in fact, some of the units have a metal Head so that wouldn't be a problem. I can't remember if this one does or not but I'll find out in a couple of days. But, if it's plastic, that sure would be a good idea.

EKW

I ran into these today--no experience with them.

http://www.barkermfg.com/product_pages/hi_power_jacks.html