Elec tongue jack. Atwood, Barker or Bulldog?

My first Atwood was 7 years old when I sold the trailer and was working great at that time and had never given me any trouble. My present trailer, also with an Atwood, is 9 years old and the jack is still working like new.
Guess you could say I recommend the Atwood electric jack highly! :)
Barney

Well, my Barker 3500 that just turned 3 1/2 months OUT of the 2 year warranty just took a crap. We'll see what their customer service says tomorrow.

I have an Atwood and bought it based on my dealer's service manager's recommendation. He said they never come back with problems. My experience is only about a year with it with no problems, so I hope he's right. Time will tell.

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.

I'm looking at the Atwood but trying to find out if any of these will interfere with the tailgate on my truck but I cannot find any dimensions. Today, the hand crank is toward the truck and the tailgate can just clear it to go down. I probably have a few inches of Clarence from the centerline of the tube to the tailgate. I need to measure this but I also need to find that dimension on the Atwood.

Anyone have a clearance problem?

Thanks!

I have a Barker on one trailer an Atwood on one and a UltraFab on an other. They all work fine but I like the Barker the best.

I am very happy with my UltraFab 3500. It has worked great for many years.

Barker. Had the Atwood, while good not as preferable as the Barker. I think the biggest difference is their service deptartment for any question or rare service needs.

Rescue16 wrote:
For the cost of any of them I see one in my future since cranking up 8500lbs of Travel trailer is less fun then it was when I had the 4500lb Hybrid. If I have to buy a new one every 3 years so be it this old man is done with cranking the beast up and down 8 times for a weekend trip in 75 to 90 degree weather!!

I'm not an old man(I don't think), but I would agree with this even on the hybrid trailer! ;). I have the Bulldog and love it!

Another vote for Barker. Have had mine for 14 years on two trailers with no problems. Remember to save your crank up jack so that if you buy another trailer you can move the power jack.