Wiring for Power Tongue Jack

[SpeakEasy]

I'll be installing a power tongue jack. I do a fair amount of dry camping, which means I am frugal about my use of battery power. I selected a power tongue jack that uses less energy due to a ball-bearing design.

I am thinking of wiring it to use tow vehicle battery power rather than directly wiring it to my trailer's battery. I would use the ground and lights connections on a flat-four connector, and I would plug this flat-four connector to the tow vehicle's flat-four port when I want to raise and lower the trailer. (I realize the tow vehicle's lights would have to be turned on to power this circuit.) I figure any time I need to raise or lower the trailer, the truck will be right there, because we'll be arriving at a site or leaving a site.

What are the pro's and con's of this idea?

Thanks in advance.

-Speak

[SpeakEasy]

Good idea, and simple enough to do. I'll do it.

But any tow vehicle with a flat-four port will work. I won't be modifying the tow vehicle's wiring in any way.

-Speak

[DutchmenSport]

What happens if (and I say "if") your tow vehicle is not accessible (like, it gets wrecked, or in the shop for repair, or you are having mechanical problems) and then for some reason you need to move the camper. A different tow vehicle will not be equipped to operate the same as you are proposing.

You can do it, and it will work, but you need a back-up plan if the tow vehicle is not accessible. Perhaps install an alternative plug off the trailer battery you can plug the power jack into for a "just in case" situation.

I think then you'd have the best of both.

Actually, if boondocking is your chosen style of camping, then you might be best to stick with a manual crank jack. Less dependency upon the battery that way.