Front lift wheel on a 17

[Herb P]

On my 1300, I replaced the stock tongue jack with a side mounted wheel which I found to be quite invaluable for rolling the trailer around on the driveway and on a few occasions, to change its orientation in camp (why are some campsites arranged so that the only way to back into them is so that your door/awning want to open into a pine tree?).. I now have a Boler 1700 and the lift jack that came with it interferes with the tire carrier on my truck. ie: the handle hits my spare tire and I can't open the tire carrier to get the tire out of the way. So the jack needs to be replaced. I bought one from princess auto but it doesn't have enough lift so I need to return it.. My question is, do I spend the extra money getting one with a wheel or is the 17 simply too heavy to move around the way I moved the 1300 around?

Does anyone else have a wheel on the tongue of their 17? Is it useful?

[Gina D.]

I am about to take the wheel OFF of mine.

See all the fun I had LAST weekend HERE.

[Suz]

Mine came with a removeable wheel. In the beginning, it was helpful in moving it around, but it eventually became more of a hindrance than a help. Espcially when the mods I made resulted in a little more weight in the trailer. When I replaced my top-winding jack for a front winding one, I never bothered to make the necessary changes to allow it to work. I use a metal stand that I can still ooch an inch or two if needed to hitch up.

[Chris Z]

Had a wheel on the tongue jack of my 17 Casita. Worked nice for rolling it around the drive but I worried about it at campsites and made sure my tires were chalked well. Even tried to clamp the wheel to make sure it didn't move sometimes when we were on a hill. Also, I needed to get my trailer through some grass to store it. The little wheel didn't work there. My solution was to put a pad where the wheel was and use a dolly to move it into storage.

[Brian B-P]

I suppose my stock B1700 jack had a wheel or foot at some point, but it came to me with just a plain tube end. I have considered a wheel, but I think it would need to be removable to have enough ground clearance, although a pivoting side-mounted jack would also work.

I actually prefer not having the wheel, because it doesn't need chocking; when the tongue is supported by the jack, the trailer tends not to move (of course, wheel chocks are needed for real security and on any significant slope).

I bought a dolly this winter, planning to use it for various trailers, but not expecting to be able to move the B1700 readily by hand. I haven't tried it yet, as the trailer's parking area is just drying up enough to consider it. I think the dolly has a major advantage of steering control: with the wheel on the jack it might be difficult to control the direction of movement of such an awkward and massive object. Also, the dolly has a handle for pushing or pulling, while the trailer on a jack wheel does not: do you push on the body shell? In the end, I still don't expect to take the dolly with me to campsites.

People who casually move their eggs around by hand and think I must be a complete wimp should note that a B1700 is double the weight of a Boler 13', and my driveway is neither level nor paved...

[Sean Janusheske]

Herb,
After reading the previous posts, it seems some folks have had some problems.
As with anything on wheels there are always precautions that must be adhered too, and not anything is failsafe.
If you purchase a tongue lift with a removable wheel, as with many, then you always have the option. Steady without or mobility on a hard, flat surface with.
Myself I like to have the options as needed.
Just my thoughts.

[Benny K]

I replaced the jack on my 13' Boler with a jack with a wheel....would be fine on a flat surface but on asphalt with a slight slope you can`t just leave the trailer to chock the wheels...I feel at times that it was a mistake getting that jack.....with the 13' I move it around usually by just pushing on the body....I also use a dolly at home....at least with the dolly I can jack knife the dolly to keep the trailer from rolling away down a slope....on the 17' Boler I put on a power tongue jack with no wheel and if need be use the dolly to move it around.....I have a couple more power jacks and am considering one on the 13'....The problem with the power jack is that if you don't have a battery in the trailer at home or a dead one and you just want to jack up the tongue a bit, you have to remove the motor and use a crank anyway....in campsites, I don`t think that I`ve ever had to move either trailer around by hand.....just park it with the tug... ....Benny

[Gina D.]

They do actually make a "ChocK" for your jack wheel. Looks like a donut.

I have one, it does work nicely for stopping the rolling, but you have to position the wheel in it just right.

[Herb P]

Well, based on the responses, I guess I'll return the wheel jack today and get one with a pad...

I wonder how much a motorized one is. :-)

Benny: Generally I park the trailer with the TV but there's one campground we like to go to where some of the sites are situated such that the only way to back a trailer in (based on the position of trees and angle of the driveway) has the trailer with its doorway facing out of the campsite. I like to think I'm a fairly accomplished trailer backer upper, but there was no way no how to do this one. I even tried driving straight in and coming around the firepit but the room just wasn't there... That was with my 1300 too. Ultimately, I think it was probably a tenting site. Anyhow, I unhooked the boler and we spun it around on its lift wheel. I guess I'll just have to make sure not to get those sites next time.

I guess it's just another reason not to buy anything bigger than a 13.

[Pete Dumbleton]

If you have a metal wheel, just drill three or four holes thru it of the right size to stick in an old Phillips screwdriver or something like that so the wheel can't rotate far. Dunno if I would want to do that with one of the composite wheels, however.