Forum Discussion

Majja13's avatar
Majja13
Explorer
May 30, 2014

Scissor jacks question

One of me stabilizer jacks sheared off the cotter pin at the back of the threaded rod. Is the bolt spacing on these jacks a standard? Mine are weld on and I was thinking I would be able to unbolt it at the mounting plate and bolt on a new one.

9 Replies

  • Phils's avatar
    Phils
    Explorer
    Jun 02, 2014
    I removed the damaged jack and I ordered a replacement BAL jack. However, while under the trailer I decided to mount the replacement farther to the rear, behind the steps.

    1) the trailer stability will be better, and that's the purpose

    2) it won't be just aft of the tires and won't be ruined if another tire fails

    3) the welded on brackets are bent, maybe I could straighten them but I'm not gonna because of 1 & 2

    4) there were enough reviews about the simplicity of mounting these things with bolts


    Phil
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    mbopp wrote:
    What's the big deal about bolt spacing? I re-located my BAL stabilizers on the previous HTT I had, they were mounted with 1/4" (#12) self-tapping screws. New screws, a cordless drill & socket, and they were mounted.


    Some jacks are welded on at the factory. These guys are looking for a simple way to do a replacement, that doesn't involve torches and grinders etc.
  • Bob_Landry's avatar
    Bob_Landry
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    mbopp wrote:
    What's the big deal about bolt spacing? I re-located my BAL stabilizers on the previous HTT I had, they were mounted with 1/4" (#12) self-tapping screws. New screws, a cordless drill & socket, and they were mounted.


    It's an opportunity to post something that was read somewhere on the Internet
  • mbopp's avatar
    mbopp
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    What's the big deal about bolt spacing? I re-located my BAL stabilizers on the previous HTT I had, they were mounted with 1/4" (#12) self-tapping screws. New screws, a cordless drill & socket, and they were mounted.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    May 30, 2014
    Not only are the mounting points not standardized but I found out the hard way that some brands turn in opposite directions of each other to raise and lower.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    I don't know for sure, BUT I recently had to replace one of my Harbor freight ones, and the mounting plate holes were slightly different. HF probably switched Chinese suppliers. I was able to overdrill the holes to match what I already had.
    But the holes you are talking about need to be pretty precise for the jack to work properly.

    In your guys case, I would try to match the brand of jack exactly to increase the odds of a successful match.
  • AirForceAngler's avatar
    AirForceAngler
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    If the bolt spacing isn't the same, it's probably not too hard to measure the distance between existing holes and make a new hole in the new jack.
  • Phils's avatar
    Phils
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    I am assuming the same as you but I haven't ordered the replacement yet (a separated tire tread damaged my jack). It looks like we can just take out those two bolts at the top and bolt the new jack in place. I'll watch this thread to see if someone says otherwise, I'd rather not have to weld the new one on.

    Phil

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