Electric Tongue Jack Height

[WolverineState]

My 5 y/o manual crank tongue jack just bit the dust. Luckily before our trip next weekend.
I had been thinking of going electric and decided to order the Barker 32454 on Amazon.
Of course after I ordered it I thought...could I still open my Ford Expedition liftgate with this new jack.
My manual jack is 15" high from the mounting surface and the clearance between the top of the jack and the door swing is 6".
I cannot find any dimensions on this Barker jack and their customer service is closed for the weekend.
Anyone have one of these jacks who could provide me with height from the mounting surface to top of unit and distance from the center of the jack's post to the most forward edge? Looking for a reason not to cancel the order, but may have to.

[troubledwaters]

it depends on your perspective. Sometimes you want to put the foot down. Sometimes you want to lift the tongue up. They're the same thing, but you are just thinking - do I want down or up.

[WolverineState]

Just an update for those interested. The Barker 32454 does clear the lift gate of a Ford Expedition by less than an inch. I rotated the power head 90degrees and it was enough to clear. A call to Barker customer service inquiring about an outdoor cover resulted in a free cover being sent also. Nice bonus! I need to follow up with Barker to find out why sometimes (not always) the UP goes DOWN, and the Down goes UP. I had thought I made a decent effort at cleaning the metal for a ground contact, but maybe not.

[WolverineState]

I found the Barker installation manual on-line and it does say this model can have it's powerhead rotated if there's a clearance issue with the liftgate. So I guess i'll take a gamble and see if it works with my Expeditions liftgate.
Thanks for the replies.

[LOFAT36]

The tailgate on my 2010 Silverado drops right down past the electric jack.

[wing_zealot]

I just put a longer hitch draw bar on mine. It was a no brainer, manual was just not going to happen anymore. 12 years of cranking by hand and I promised myself next trailer - no more cranking.

[SoundGuy]

westend wrote:
You'll be hard pressed to find an electric jack, using typical clearance distances involved, to allow for your tailgate to fold completely down.

The head on my LCI power tongue jack that came stock with my Coachmen Freedom Express was so large it prevented me from lowering my truck's tailgate fully and without drilling additional holes in the base plate it couldn't be rotated. I replaced it with an UltraFab 3502 because I'd owned one before and knew the head was about as small as they get and the base plate does have additional holes so the jack can be rotated. Unlike most other power tongue jacks the UltraFab is also all metal construction. Forum pundits would diss the UltraFab but it works well for me and does solve the tailgate clearance issue. :B

[westend]

You'll be hard pressed to find an electric jack, using typical clearance distances involved, to allow for your tailgate to fold completely down. It is about how the actuator mechanism in the jack is built, for the resulting height.

Some users are able to turn the jack on the tongue so jack motor interference is eliminated. You may be able to drill some different holes so your Barker can do that. It may not work because typical truck tail gates are just too long and reach over the jack location. Measurement gets important, here.

[Atlee]

I haven't been able to drop the tailgate on my truck yet. Two different trucks, two different power tongue jacks, two different WDH hitches.

[clarkster]

Laydown tailgate like a pickup or side swinging gate?

Does your existing manual allow the gate to be dropped down, or swing out fully?

Amazon returns are easy....if it was an Amazon sold item.

Longer shank ball mounts are available also.

I cannot fully lay down the tailgate on my truck with a Husky power jack.

[rbpru]

I replaced my manual with the exact manual model.

It was cheap, I knew it would work and it is the last vestige of exercise I get since we bought a TT. 🙂

[ScottG]

I doubt it - they're quite tall.
I used a longer shank to have enough clearance. Even so, my trailer needs to be almost perfectly in-line with the truck to lower the tail gate.
Nothings easy is it!