Down to a decision, give your vote on electric tongue jacks

[luvmydogs]

Okay so I'm down to making a decision on 2 Electric tongue jacks.
One is a Barker® 27295 - White 3,000 lb Hi-Power Tongue Jack and the second is Jack Quick HH-3500-WHITE PLASTIC COVER 12-Volt Brute Power RV Electric Tongue and Trailer Jack - 3650 lb. Capacity
The Jack quick is 126.40 and the Barker is 138.00. Is one much better or would either be good? Help!

[pira114]

luvmydogs wrote:
One last question. I've read alot of people have trouble with these electric jacks getting in the way of the lift gate. So am I better off with one that is straight up or one that is off to the side, or, does it not matter?

I have the Husky Brute 4500. With an F250, the tail gate does not hit it When using a WDH. Without the WDH hitch, it hits it.

But I can count on half of one hand how many times I needed to open the tail gate before unhooking. I don't keep anything I need to unhook back there. If I did, I'd just reach over the tail gate I suppose.

I'd get the jack I wanted without consideration for the tail gate.

[SoundGuy]

luvmydogs wrote:
One last question. I've read alot of people have trouble with these electric jacks getting in the way of the lift gate. So am I better off with one that is straight up or one that is off to the side, or, does it not matter?

IMO fla-gypsy summed it up best - "Quite frankly as long as it raises and lowers the trailer without effort it is a good jack. Just pick one." I'd only add (as I already did earlier in this thread 😉 ) that having the option to rotate head can be a real advantage in some cases. If it turns out you don't need to, no loss, but if you do now (or could in the future) own a TV on which the tailgate may not fully lower because the TJ head is in the way you'll be really glad you bought one with a head that can be rotated. The LCI tongue jack that came with my Freedom Express does not rotate and it's a real PITA to not be able to fully lower my Avalanche's tailgate.

[luvmydogs]

One last question. I've read alot of people have trouble with these electric jacks getting in the way of the lift gate. So am I better off with one that is straight up or one that is off to the side, or, does it not matter?

[YamaDooed]

Always recommended a Barker 24" 3500 will not hit tailgate can insert backup crank and clear 30lb propane tanks able to level steep inclines without blocking tongue...

[coolbreeze01]

shakyjay wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
I don't see that model at Barker's site: http://www.barkermfg.com/hi_power_jacks.html

Careful it isn't a clone at that price.

Looks like the one in picture at bottom center of page. Looks to be an older discontinued model. Still is a good price though.

I think you're correct. Better eye than mine :S

[rex_529]

you might want to look at atwood. i just replaced one on my 1990 hr tlr. it was still working and was the original one. still worked but was noisay and iwas afraid it was going out. it eas the hd 3500. the new one wAS exactly like the original. a plus is it has the manual acesss on the front of the jack and can be acessed easily. good luck.

[SoundGuy]

tomkaren13 wrote:
Barker! no other choice for us. Have no knowledge on Jack Quick,

LarryJM wrote:
Same here and I've had my current Barker for close to 20 years and it's been on two trailers. The one problem I had with it about 5 or 6 years ago I was able to fix it myself (switches and gears) for a very reasonable price and the Barker CS was outstanding and worth the cost if more than others IMO.

I too used my UltraFab tongue jack for many years on two trailers and although it did fail once when an threaded pin securing the lower shaft backed off, allowing the shaft to drop out of position, I easily fixed that by securing the pin with Locktite. As far as long term durability of any tongue jack is concerned I always keep the tongue jack head covered during the season to protect it from the effects of sun / rain and replace it with a spare manual tongue jack for winter storage in my workshop, using that as an opportunity to clean, inspect, and re-grease the power tongue jack in preparation for the next camping season.

[LarryJM]

tomkaren13 wrote:
Barker! no other choice for us. Have no knowledge on Jack Quick,

Same here and I've had my current Barker for close to 20 years and it's been on two trailers. The one problem I had with it about 5 or 6 years ago I was able to fix it myself (switches and gears) for a very reasonable price and the Barker CS was outstanding and worth the cost if more than others IMO. The Barkers use two different methods of limiting their travel depending upon the model and mine uses micro switches and the issue I had is when one of the two switches went bad and I ran the jack past it's limits and damaged the gears which had to be replaced along with the switches. This really wasn't Barker's fault and the switches used are really not designed for long term outdoor use (i.e. not weatherproof nor industrial heavy duty) and should be replaced every 10 years or so as a preventive maintenance item anyway.

Larry

[fla-gypsy]

Quite frankly as long as it raises and lowers the trailer without effort it is a good jack. Just pick one.

[msmith1_wa]

Bulldog, 3500lb or 4000lb, has built in drop leg, two mounting positions.

[dadmomh]

Before you make a final decision, suggest you take a look at what is available on Ebay. Both of ours came from there and both were completely without problems. The one for our HTT was a refurb and I would not be concerned since the factory had a second chance at it....Think is was an Ultra Fab 3500 for just at $100, free shipping. The one we bought first thing for our TT is a 3500 "something I can't recall", but brand new and the price was about $125, free shipping. You could find exactly what you're after and save a bunch.

[shakyjay]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
I don't see that model at Barker's site: http://www.barkermfg.com/hi_power_jacks.html

Careful it isn't a clone at that price.

Looks like the one in picture at bottom center of page. Looks to be an older discontinued model. Still is a good price though.

[luvmydogs]

Well thanks for the tip. When I pull this model up other places it doesnt look identical. Not sure why that would be unless it was a knock off of some type. Not sure how they could sell it as Barker, but now I'm leary. I think the other one will win.

[jerem0621]

Get the one with the up and down button.

I had an ultrafab 4000 and it made a world of difference. Doing it again I would get the Barker just from the reputation.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[SoundGuy]

luvmydogs wrote:
Okay so I'm down to making a decision on 2 Electric tongue jacks.

Keep in mind that the head on some power tongue jacks can be quite large so if your tow vehicle has a tailgate it could be blocked from dropping fully by the TJ head. I had this exact problem myself but was able to easily solve it by removing the head bolts on my UltraFab 3002 tongue jack and rotating the head 180 degrees, thereby allowing sufficient clearance for my Avalanche's tailgate to clear the TJ head. The head on the LCI tongue jack I have on our current Freedom Express can't be rotated and it certainly is annoying to not be able to drop the tailgate fully, annoying enough that I may eventually replace the LCI with another UltraFab.