recommendations for electric tongue jack

[glrider]

Hi everyone,

Looking for recommendations on what is a good brand of electric tongue jack? Our last manual one packed it in and we have decided to replace it with an electric one. Anything particular we should be looking for? Thanks in advance.

 

[DutchmenSport]

I don't have a recommendation for any specific brand, they are all probably pretty good and will work well. The thing you need to consider is the amount of weight the jack can actually lift. Remember, the jack has to lift the dead weight of the trailer PLUS the dead weight of the tow vehicle and get both need to get high enough to hitch and unhitch the tow vehicle. You need the lifting power to ensure the tongue can handle both and will not pewter out. So, in my opinion, get a jack that will lift much, much more than you THINK you actually need. You will never regret this decision.

The last thing you want is to put a lesser jack on the tongue and then when you are at your designated campsite, it fails because it either breaks a gear under the load or the motor just does not have enough horse power to lift the rig. Consider also what happens when the battery on the camper may not be fully charged to full capacity. A more robust jack will still work, although slow. But a lesser one will just not do anything under the weight of the load.

So, go heavy, go big, and pay the price, or you'll pay the price twice when the first one is insufficient because you attempted to save a penny.

 

[Rene T]

Dutch briefly touched on lifting the trailer and the tow vehicle at the same time. What he was referring to is, after you connect the trailer, you can lift them both to a certain degree to attach the weight distribution bars. But you need to know beforehand which link to put it on so it’s adjusted correctly when you retract to jack.

Oh and welcome back to the forum.

 

[Kirk]

I converted our travel trailer using a jack by Polestar from Amazon. It came with a crank that could be used to lift in the event of a lack of power. And I agree that the choice of specific jack should be based on the weight it is rated to lift. I chose one that was rated to lift the GVWR of the trailer, just as a guess and it served us well for 10 years and was still working the last I heard from the new owners of the trailer.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Way back when, when we had a tag trailer I followed this advice and got an overpowered Jack. When I installed it I discovered that I had to mount it rotated 90 degrees because the head would not clear my tailgate or the propane tank cover.

It worked great though. Used it for over 7 years. Sold the trailer to our son and he used it for another 10 when he sold the trailer. It was still working fine.

Sadly I don't remember the brand.

 

[jlhog]

`I bought one of these a few months ago for our new trailer. It seems to work just as good as a couple other brands I had, but a lot less money. It was $109

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, 5000 lbs,​

 

[bob213]

I had a Bulldog Jack on my last trailer for 13 years. It work great for 12 years and 10 months, then occasionally wanted to hesitate. I replaced it with the same thing and used it for 18 days before I removed it to sell trailer. (Replaced it with the old one). Bulldog is a great jack and can be rotated 90 degrees to clear your tailgate if needed.
I don't know where you live but I have the new one in a box sitting here waiting for someone who is looking for a good jack. Wouldn't be as cheap as the Vevor referenced above but would be a heck of a jack for a good price. Let me know if you are interested. I'm in Central Valley caifornia. Don't know if I'm allowed to post this but if not ...moderator please delete.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Barker Manufacturing makes what is probably the best tongue jack. It is made in the USA too.

 

[glrider]

Thanks everyone. I agree, go big or go home. The Barker manufacturing looks like it only goes to 3500 lbs which is not heavy enough.

The Vevor at $181 CDN from Amazon looks good. We are considering that.

Bob, we are in the Vancouver, Canada area so a little far from you.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Thanks everyone. I agree, go big or go home. The Barker manufacturing looks like it only goes to 3500 lbs which is not heavy enough.

The Vevor at $181 CDN from Amazon looks good. We are considering that.

Bob, we are in the Vancouver, Canada area so a little far from you.

What are you lifting with it? 3500 lbs is rather common capacity. How much tongue weight do you have? and what is your tow vehicle? Late edit, I see from a previous post that you have a 2004 25ft Terry, so probably a 7500 lb GVWR and less than a thousand lb tongue weight.

The Vevor tongue jack selection is what appears to be a random selection of jacks made by various Chinese companies. I see...

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, 3500 lbs, Heavy Duty RV Electric Power Tongue Jack with 2 Way Connector, Memory Function, Crank Handle & Weatherproof Jack Cover, 9.5"-26.3" Lift, for Trailers & Campers for $145​

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, 5000 lbs, Heavy Duty RV Electric Power Tongue Jack with 2 Way Connector, Manual Crank Handle & Weatherproof Jack Cover, 10"-28.3" Lift, for RVs, Trailers & Campers, Black for $112​

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, 3500 lbs, Heavy Duty RV Electric Power Tongue Jack with 7-pin Connector, Manual Crank Handle & Weatherproof Jack Cover, 9.5"-27.5" Lift, for Trailers, Campers & RVs, Black for $102 this is designed to be powered off the tow vehicle 7 way connector for trailers that do not have electric systems​

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, 5000 lbs, Heavy Duty RV Electric Power Tongue Jack with 2 Way Connector, Remote Control, Crank Handle & Weatherproof Jack Cover, 10"-28.3" Lift, for Trailers & Campers for $124​

VEVOR Electric Trailer Jack, Power Tongue Jack Weight Capacity 4000 lbs, 9.84"-33.85" Electric Tongue Jack with Waterproof Cover for Lifting RV Trailer, Horse Trailer, Utility Trailer, Yacht Trailer for $102​

Buy the Vevor for the price, not for the capacity (it ain't) or the quality (doubtful). The Barker is pure quality, and yes the price makes you go ouch! There are many jacks available, Husky, Harbor Freight, Lippert, etc that will do the job. I put a Harbor freight electric jack on a Thor trailer to replace the manual jack, it actually seemed rather well built. I just gave away the manual crank jack this week to a neighbor who needed it for a cargo trailer.

Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

Remember, the jack has to lift the dead weight of the trailer PLUS the dead weight of the tow vehicle and get both need to get high enough to hitch and unhitch the tow vehicle.

This is rather confusing statement, as you are not lifting the entire trailer or the entire tow vehicle. Tongue weights vary but it's uncommon to see a "bumper pull" trailer much over 10,000 lbs GVWR thus a tongue weight of 1000 to 1500. The back end of the tow vehicle is the lightest part and you are only relieving part of the weight off the rear springs, and only if you are hooking up a weight distributing hitch.

Charles

 

[gwinger]

The weight rating on the jacks is misleading. I doubt that any of them could actually lift the rated weight. The tongue weight on most trailers is under 1000lbs.
One thing to look for is the ability to turn the head 90º, allowing the tailgate to clear the jack. On my current jack, I need about 1 inch more clearance. I can't turn my jack to get it. Even trying to turn the entire jack won't work. The mounting holes are spaced differently. Not a perfect triangle.

 

[glrider]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. We had to actually replace our 2-ton Jack and got a good deal on a new three and a half ton so we bought it and decided to go away with it for now until we can decide on what kind of electric jack we want to buy.

 

[glrider]

I will check into the questions that Charles asked and see exactly what weight we actually need to lift and go from there.

 

[gwinger]

You're Puma has a GVWR of about 10,000lbs and a hitch weight of 750lbs empty.
Even if loaded to the max, the hitch weight would be about 1500 which seems awful high for a towable.
No way you need a 5000lb jack.

 

[Crik Walker]

My 3500 lb electric jack is powered by the trailer battery and is as slow as molasses at the best of times and occasionally it’ll just stop. I use a pin bar wedged around the ball casing to leverage/help lessen the weight when this starts to happen. My house batteries (200Ah) are seldom less than 75% SOC as well, so I’m wondering if I spliced in a pigtail that plugged into my trucks battery (engine running) would the combined amps help bring the jack up to full power? I got this ides from seeing some of these units prewired to plug into the 7pin female truck receptacle.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What's your tongue weight? Surely nowhere near 3500 lbs? So your jack isn't overloaded. I see two likely causes:

1. The wiring between battery & jack is simply too small (wire gauge) or the connections are good quality. Bigger wires with solid connectors will likely help.
2. The jack is geared extremely low so a smaller (cheaper) motor can move a 3500 lb load. No amount of extra battery amps will help speed that up; you want a better jack. A tiny motor will drive a 10,000 lb jack if the gearing is right, but it will never be speedy. Buy a jack that is nearer in rating to the actual load (tongue weight) but still has a powerful motor. It will probably be priced higher than a bargain model with a higher rating, but you won't have to wait as long. For example, if you have a 10,000 lb GVWR your tongue weight will be around 1000-1200 lbs. A jack rated for 2000 lbs is all that is needed but it should be equipped with a with a strong motor. A higher rating nearly always means a lower gear ratio and less speed.

 

[Crik Walker]

Hey Gary, I trust all is well. “You get what you pay for” pretty much sums it up eh? Ubet, I’m sure yer right here, I was thinking maybe a 5000 lb rating is faster?, not necessarily, I’ll be looking at the motors rated HP as well. But for now I’ll run proper gauge wiring direct to the house battery, I’m sure it’ll help.
Thx now

 

[Kirk]

My 3500 lb electric jack is powered by the trailer battery and is as slow as molasses at the best of times and occasionally it’ll just stop.

You should read the replies on the same post that you made to the Trailer & Fifth Wheel forum.

 

[Crik Walker]

So that's where it went! Honest to God I have been fiddling with these forums since Christ was a Cowboy and I am still at day one...no better off. Frickin too funny.
I got pulled away from the tablet and when I returned half the message wasn't there/their/they're no more. Then it up n disappeared, they usually do once r twice a typing. I gotta quit fondling these touch screens r something. One of life's little mysteries I guess but to be honest it's all just a form of useful sorcery to me.
Appreciate the heads up, maybe one day I'll consider reading the directions: till then.....SHAZAM!
Stay well eh.