I think I need a new jack for our 12 yr old 4000 lb ttit has a small(imho) p.a.l. jack, too small for the tt, manual of course. just the typical original cheapie im sure, no capacity stamp anywhereits getting harder and harder to operate and the head cannot be opened up for lube, its welded shut. travel of the jack seems really short too.powered or manual? size and travel? a frame is drilled of course for three good sized self tapping bolts, I would use regular bolts with another plate under the a frame web piece if needed

Usually there is a small hole where you can squirt some oil inside.An electric jack is great, I have been using an Atwood for the past 17 years and only replaced the lamp lens. I have been hearing of some of the cheap brands currently available having problems.If you are using a weight distributing hitch, buy an electric jack that is rated much higher than what appears necessary, That way you can lift both the trailer and truck a bit to ease the hitching process. You should measure the mounting hole to be sure of the tube size. Measure the old jack both extended and contracted and if you weren't happy with the way it worked, compare the measurements with what is available.It's not rocket science, there are only a few models in each brand.

Barker 3500# . 31558 with 24" lift $283 at amazon. Amazon also carries other Barker models. Barker is a VG jack . When parked i keep an upside down bucket on my jack as a cover to keep it dry and limit UV. Some people use a plastic bag.

You will never regret switching to an electric jack. If you go electric, get the heftiest one you can possibly find. Even if it's an over kill. Remember, the jack has to lift the trailer AND the end of the tow vehicle.

bobndot wrote:Barker 3500# . 31558 with 24" lift $283 at amazon. Amazon also carries other Barker models. Barker is a VG jack . When parked i keep an upside down bucket on my jack as a cover to keep it dry and limit UV. Some people use a plastic bag.x2 on the Barker. I used a Barker 3500 VIP for ten years on our last trailer until it was totaled in a storm. I swapped it out with a manual jack before the insurance company took the trailer. That Barker is in my storage building waiting until the the cheap Lippert power jack gives up the ghost. It's stopped on us once already, but I got it working again. Even with fresh grease and cleaning, it is running at half the speed as when new and twice as loud.

Our last trailer had a Barker I installed. I never maintained it and forced it to do terrible things and it just kept coming back for more.The new TT has one made by Atwood. It does the job but is hideously noisy and cheap sounding.I would buy the Barker again!

Looking for a New Jack(A Frame) | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

bobndot
Explorer III
Aug 15, 2017
SoundGuy wrote:
stevemorris wrote:
well, now we're stuck! the crappy jack wont lift the tt and truck to get the weight bars on, so im down to using the little bottle jack I use for tyre changes and we're 2000 km from home, I may have to try the truck jack(scissors type)

Since you're so far from home on what appears to be an extended camping trip why would you not just replace the failed tongue jack with anything, even an inexpensive manual tongue jack, available wherever you may happen to be at the moment. :h This is certainly easier than fooling with a scissor jack and you can deal with a permanent solution later once you're home.

Makes sense to me, replace it . I would go to a CG for a nite or two and overnite a new one using the CG address. You'll pay a little more to overnite it and be done with it .
SoundGuy
Explorer
Aug 15, 2017
stevemorris wrote:
well, now we're stuck! the crappy jack wont lift the tt and truck to get the weight bars on, so im down to using the little bottle jack I use for tyre changes and we're 2000 km from home, I may have to try the truck jack(scissors type)

Since you're so far from home on what appears to be an extended camping trip why would you not just replace the failed tongue jack with anything, even an inexpensive manual tongue jack, available wherever you may happen to be at the moment. :h This is certainly easier than fooling with a scissor jack and you can deal with a permanent solution later once you're home.
stevemorris
Explorer
Aug 15, 2017
well, now we're stuck! the crappy jack wont lift the tt and truck to get the weight bars on, so im down to using the little bottle jack I use for tyre changes and we're 2000 km from home, I may have to try the truck jack(scissors type)
drsteve
Explorer
Aug 15, 2017
SoundGuy wrote:
drsteve wrote:
My new Coachmen came with an off brand jack that doesn't even have limit switches to stop the motor when it reaches the end of it's travel.

Off brand? :h AFAIK Coachmen still supplies all their trailer lines with an LCI Power Tongue Jack, the same supplied with my 2014 Freedom Express. While it worked OK the black plastic head cover faded easily from sun exposure, as does every other black plastic tongue jack regardless of make, and the head was so large it interfered with lowering my Silverado's tailgate fully. I replaced it with an UltraFab 3502 which is all metal and has holes in the base plate which allow mounting the jack with the head facing 90 degrees to the side, the result being I can now lower the tailgate fully. :B

The jack on my Catalina is a RAM brand jack. Never heard of 'em. Label says "Best Value In The Industry". Translation: cheapest unit around. It also says Made in China.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Aug 14, 2017
I have a manual jack on my TT. I counted once and I have to turn the crank 80 times to get it up or down. (that is on level ground, it of course is more or less if the ground is unlevel) So that is 160 turns of the handle each time I go out camping and, each time I come back home, for 320 turns total. I go camping every weekend that I can. I figure that's approximately 3840 turns a year.

I have to admit that I've considered a electric jack.
myredracer
Explorer II
Aug 14, 2017
I would not recommend an Ultrafab jack.

At the beginning of this season, I pulled the cover off our TT the day before our scheduled first outing and the UF jack would not work. Tried a socket wrench on it and it was frozen solid and would not budge even with a breaker bar. Dismantled it and couldn't get it to work. Jack was used for 3 seasons only. Always have a jack cover on it too. Luckily we had an identical spare jack on hand with under a season's use and installed that.

Now 4 months later, this 2nd jack is crapping out electrically and I cannot get it to work right. It acts like it maybe has an intermittent shorted winding. NOT impressed with UF and will replace with a Barker or Atwood or maybe Husky which I think is well recommended.
Alabama_Jim
Explorer
Aug 14, 2017
I have heard many good things about the Barker 3500. However, I looked at several and found the Husky is the only one that has ball bearings in it. So I bought Husky. Time will tell.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Aug 14, 2017
drsteve wrote:
My new Coachmen came with an off brand jack that doesn't even have limit switches to stop the motor when it reaches the end of it's travel.

Off brand? :h AFAIK Coachmen still supplies all their trailer lines with an LCI Power Tongue Jack, the same supplied with my 2014 Freedom Express. While it worked OK the black plastic head cover faded easily from sun exposure, as does every other black plastic tongue jack regardless of make, and the head was so large it interfered with lowering my Silverado's tailgate fully. I replaced it with an UltraFab 3502 which is all metal and has holes in the base plate which allow mounting the jack with the head facing 90 degrees to the side, the result being I can now lower the tailgate fully. :B
Takamine
Explorer
Aug 14, 2017
Check out eTrailer.com. They have a large selection and are great to work with.
drsteve
Explorer
Aug 14, 2017
The Barker jack on my previous TT withstood 13 years of use before finally giving up. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

My new Coachmen came with an off brand jack that doesn't even have limit switches to stop the motor when it reaches the end of it's travel. When it dies I'll buy another Barker.