Choosing a power tongue jack
I'm thinking of asking Mrs. Clause for a power jack for Christmas. I have a 28f TT, sticker weight: 5000 UVW I have no idea what the tongue weight or the loaded weight is. (Shame on me) * ar...
Forum Discussion
This is a common question, and there are many threads on this. The common theme seems to be that the Barker owners are very attached to their jacks, almost all of them rave about the fantastic customer service. My take on that is that it can't be all that reliable if customer service is needed so much. That said, there are two basic designs. The front side mounted motor ie: Barker, Ultrafab etc. And the top mounted motor ie: Atwood. Most of the front side mounted motors offer a built in level on the top, which at least on some of them doubles as the plug for the backup hand crank. The front side mounts have many drawbacks. On many TTs using the backup hand crank will require either removing the propane tanks, or turning the crank 1/2 turn, removing it, turning it 180 degrees, reinserting it and repeat this process. Very inconvenient. My concern here is not the need to use the handcrank due to a jack failure so much as a dead battery Due to the motor being mounted on the front side it almost always will result in interference with the tailgate. A common solution is to rotate the jack so that the motor is on the side. But then the hitch light points in the wrong direction. The front side mounts also have several penetrations (holes) in the housing for the switches and backup crank that is a common source of water intrusion into the motor. This is so common that many have posted here that Barker has supplied them with a free cover for the jack. This style of jack really needs to be covered, to eliminate the risk of water intrusion. Owners report that they can operate the jack without removing the cover by feeling the switch through it. But then the light is useless. Owners report that they don't use the light anyway. Probably because most of them have rotated the jack for tailgate clearance, so it points in the wrong direction. I would have a concern that the light switch would get turned on accidently and since it was under the cover go unnoticed and drain the battery. Then the hand crank would need to be used. See previous concern. If your TT has a front slide, then you may have to use a front side mounted motor as they are a little shorter and less likely to interfere with the slide. The top mounted motor, (Atwood) has no pentrations in the housing for water intrusion. So it doesn't need covering. The backup crank inserts in the front, so there is no propane tank interference. And the motor will not interfere with the tailgate. So the jack can point the light at the hitch where it is needed. The only complaints some have is they don't like the sound of the motor as much as some of the others. That's got to be a personal thing, as mine sounds like music everytime I press the button and it does it's work without me breaking a sweat. And I cannot attest to Atwoods customer service as in 14 years of use, I haven't needed any. I also haven't read about it here either. At any rate, look the features of both styles over closely and decide which one makes sense for you. Spend the money. Then enjoy it. I hope this helps.
