Who makes a good electric jack?

[Griz14]

I am looking to install an electric jack and remove the manual jack I have on the front of my 24' Arctic Fox. I would like to buy one that is reliable...any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Griz14

[TomG2]

SoundGuy wrote:

Passin Thru wrote:
GOSH!

And your point would be ..... ?? :h

That was my first reaction too. Then I realized it makes about as much sense as some of the opinions on here that are repeated over and over until the person that posted them believes them himself. Took a lot less time to read, also.

[SoundGuy]

Passin Thru wrote:
GOSH!

And your point would be ..... ?? :h

[Passin_Thru]

GOSH!

[deltabravo]

Griz14 wrote:
I am looking to install an electric jack and remove the manual jack I have on the front of my 24' Arctic Fox. I would like to buy one that is reliable...any suggestions would be appreciated.

AF uses Atwood at the factory now.

Attwood are one of the better jacks according to a high volume AF dealer I dealt with last year, Thompson's RV in Pendleton, which is about an hour west of the AF factory.

[SoundGuy]

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I made a fake bird house to cover the power jack...

keeps it dry and switches are easy to reach from underneath. never gets wet.

Even though my current UltraFab TJ is all metal I blew a whole $10 on a vinyl tongue jack bag that encloses the head permanently, meaning I tow with it like this as well, no issues, no need to remove it. The up/down switch is easy to operate through the material.

I have a remote relay and switch with buzzer.. so never can leave power on to jack.. I use an old Ford style starter relay (solenoid) . its rated at 400 amps..

A couple of years ago I installed a keyed disconnect switch in the tongue jack circuit so "little fingers" in the neighbourhood couldn't fool with it but that proved to be more trouble than it was worth ... now the tongue jack is hard wired and between trips when the trailer is parked here at the house I keep the entire tongue covered and no one has ever fooled with anything, including the tongue jack. K.I.S.S. :B

[goducks10]

Mortimer Brewster wrote:
How about the "DW" brand? I can't speak to the reliability, but I've heard that some are naturally cranky.

🙂

[Chuck_thehammer]

for some of the above issues.

I made a fake bird house to cover the power jack... I have no use for light on jack.. night blindness. so will not use in dark anyway...

keeps it dry and switches are easy to reach from underneath. never gets wet.

I have a remote relay and switch with buzzer.. so never can leave power on to jack.. I use an old Ford style starter relay (solenoid) . its rated at 400 amps..


as for greasing.. who does not grease something that moves and uses power.. every year...

my opinion.. no one makes anything perfectly .. its called improvement. and we know.. in the RV world. its always 15 years behind cars and trucks. my opinion.

case in point.. only the very cheapest and smallest cars still use drum brakes.. and only on the rear wheels. 30 percent braking..

[Camorhino]

Got it...... 😉

[Mortimer_Brewst]

How about the "DW" brand? I can't speak to the reliability, but I've heard that some are naturally cranky.

[Huntindog]

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 Atwood's customer service as in 17 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.

[ScottG]

I've had my Barker for more than 10 years. I've abused it by lifting the back of my truck and have never lubricated it. If it died next season I would buy another.
Another point, back when I bought it I also bought a nice vinyl cover for it. Last year the cover started looking pretty shabby so I called to order another one. The lady said she could see when I bought the original cover and told me she would ship another at no cost.

[Chuck_thehammer]

many brands. 3,000 plus pounds.

after injuring a shoulder from a major UP with blocks to get level.. went electric.

Barker is tops.. my opinion. good product, better service.

[rode2nowhere]

husky

[TomG2]

SoundGuy wrote:
I replaced my LCI tongue jack with an UltraFab 3502 which not only has an all metal head but which has additional holes in the mounting plate that allow turning the jack 90 degrees to the side, thereby maximizing clearance between the TJ head and the truck tailgate.



If size and cost aren't an issue you might also want to consider a Husky HB4500R remote controlled tongue jack ... sweet! :B

Fairly easy to put the additional holes in the base of other jacks. I have done it a couple of times. To the OP, an electric jack will be a big improvement.