I'm thinking of asking Mrs. Clause for a power jack for Christmas. I have a 28f TT, sticker weight: 5000 UVWI have no idea what the tongue weight or the loaded weight is. (Shame on me)* are the jacks rated at tongue weight? ie: 3500, 4500* recommendation on modelsThanks for any input.

I have one of these & it is one of the better priced jacks on the market. The reviews are accurate, it is a very good tongue jack. The jacks are rated for "lift" capacity, not your tongue weight.link attached:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9J21QW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3500lb is fairly standard with differing opinions on all. One of the things that can have a large impact on your install is the size of the head and proximity to you propane tanks. Make sure there is enough room.

Don't forget that the tongue jack is also used to raise the back of the truck to ease installation of the weight distribution bars. This is an additional load on top of the hitch load due to the trailer. Best bet is to get the largest capacity jack you can afford, if you don't know precise loads.

I have had a few different electric jacks that failed, and I found that the Husky Brute is outstanding for longevity.Link here:Husky Brute

We went with a Barker (made in the USA) 3500# power tongue jack 7 years ago and we have had no issues with it raising our 10K# TT and Chevy crewcab HD truck to remove or install WD/SC bars. Atwood is another popular choice.

Choosing a power tongue jack | Good Sam Community

Huntindog
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
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.
old_guy
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
I had a Barker 2500 for twenty years. great running jack if you maintain them. had to put in a new switch but other than a little grease they will go for ever, well twenty years any way for me.
gunner65
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
Husky Brute has been flawless for the past year and a half. The LED light is absolutely useless but I love the RV plug storage. I always park mine with a plastic bucket over top. It probably would do fine in the elements but I just cover it anyway.
tomkaren13
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
We have had two Barker 3500 and loved them both. A little pricy but geat quality.

Reason for two is we sold the first one with the TT. One of our dumb moves. Don't buy an Ultrs Fab another dumb move. Learning from this forum how to avoid dumb moves!
LarryJM
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2014
I have a Barker since the early 1980's and it's now on it's second trailer. About 5 years ago one of the limit switches failed and resulted in me running it to far and damaged a couple of gears. Repair parts were still readily available and very reasonably priced from Barker and their C.S. was top notch. Quality, Longevity, Dependibility and great C.S. makes Barker a winner on all fronts IMO. I doubt I will ever need a new one, but if I do it will be another Barker.

Larry
Dog_Folks
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
gtkato wrote:
Had a Husky Brute, and failed completely collapsed after 2nd time, went with Barker HD and worked flawlessly. Now have the HD Atwood on my Lance and has worked great with no problems.

Interesting.

That is virtually the exact opposite of my experience.

The Atwood collapsed on me and the trailer tongue dropped. Luckily, the trailer tongue dropped onto the ball.
gtkato
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
Had a Husky Brute, and failed completely collapsed after 2nd time, went with Barker HD and worked flawlessly. Now have the HD Atwood on my Lance and has worked great with no problems.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
You will not regret getting an electric tongue jack. Our Outback did not come with one, so we had the dealer install one a couple months after we bought it ... oh my ... what a difference.

Things to look for.
1. Make sure you get one that is strong enough to lift both trailer and truck, so get the heaviest one you can afford.
2. Make sure it will clear your propane tanks and cover.
3. Make sure there is clearance so you can lower your truck tailgate. (um... mine does not clear the tailgate ... I never though of that when we got it.)
4. Mine has little lights on it, front and both sides. That's kind of a nice feature, but honestly, I've never used them. My Outback has flood lights on the front, angled down so it shines right in the bed of the truck. But someone else might find the lights a nice feature, especially if you do a lot of hitching and unhitching after dark.
5. My jack came with an extension base (foot) plate that can be raised and lowered. At first I though, I'll just keep it in the shortest position. But it did not take long to figure out how nice it is to be able to extend the jack another 8 inches or or more. I adjust the extension all the time now. It saves having to crank up and down so much.
6. Make sure whatever jack you go with has a manual over ride (easily accessible) so you can crank up and down manually in the event of a dead battery or the motor burns up or something.
7. Keep your original tongue jack stowed away at home, in the attic of your garage or somewhere. Don't throw it away. In the event the electric jack fails, you can swap it out quickly with your old manual one until you can get a new electric one. Also, if you ever decide to sell the camper, you can put the original jack back on and keep your electric one with you. Don't toss out the original one. Keep it.
8. I don't know about brands, all I know is, the one I have works ok for me.

Good luck!
Sandia_Man
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2014
We went with a Barker (made in the USA) 3500# power tongue jack 7 years ago and we have had no issues with it raising our 10K# TT and Chevy crewcab HD truck to remove or install WD/SC bars. Atwood is another popular choice.
Dog_Folks
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
I have had a few different electric jacks that failed, and I found that the Husky Brute is outstanding for longevity.

Link here:Husky Brute