Electric Tongue Jack ? [for enclosed trailer]

[MtnDoo]

I need to replace a damaged trailer jack.

Does anyone have an electric tongue jack for their trailer(enclosed)?

Can you recommend a model?
Are they reliable?
Do they have issues in cold weather?

Thanks!

MtnDoo

 

[noob]

the electric jacks I have seen make me want to slit my wrist cuz they are way too slow. unless they are faster I would never get one.

 

[PaverMaster]

I have one on a work trailer. The trailer is 12K gross. And, we drop it
and hook it up at least twice a day. However, the colder it is the slower and weaker the battery becomes. If you are not dropping it anywhere I would say go for it.

Rex

 

[IDspud]

I put one on my trailer last year so because it gave me enough clearance to put a propane bottle on the tongue safely. I love it, they aren't fast, but they are faster than a hand crank. Mine is wired so the truck batteries run it, or if it's unhooked my furnace batteries run it. I have a fourteen inch pull off leg so you don't have to extend it 24" every time. I don't have make or model available right now but I bought if off of ebay for $89. ( would have had to spend at least 60 for a manual, plus $100+ for a horizontal propane tank.) The slower speed in the cold is not the jack, it's a weak battery, mine runs strong, ran full speed after three days below 27 below.

I can hold the button with one hand while hooking up safety chains and unclipping the extension, lock the ball and drive off. No waiting.

Also has a manual crank in case the motor pukes or battery dies.

 

[xcr800man]

My last 4 enclosed trailers have all had electric jacks. Once you have them, you'll never go without. Especially if you are using weight distribution hitches. I use the Atwood Brand. On my 4-place and larger trailers I use the 3500 lb jack. On my 2-place trailer I have the 2500 lb jack. None have ever missed a beat at any temperature. The auxillery light is nice too for getting everything hooked up.

I would not own an enclosed without it. It was the first thing I added to my new 32' ATC trailer. You wont be sorry. At least I am not.

I think the Atwood 3500 is around $250???

Here is an online source... http://www.adventurerv.net/atwood-power-tongue-jack-3500-lbs-heavy-duty-p-92.html

Hope this helps.

 

[xcr800man]

One other note, you obviouslly need an auxillery line from your truck to power this jack. But another good idea is to have a "house battery" if you ever want to run the jack on a vehicle that doesnt have an auxillery line. My 4-place has a house battery, my 2-place does not.

 

[4GR8X]

Greetings MtnDoo,

My experiences with an electric tonque jack have been positive.

I also installed an Atwood electric jack on my enclosed trailer and would do so again.

Not mentioned in previous responses but offered for your consideration -

Install a secondary DC power toggle switch inside your trailer. Occassionally we have to drop our enclosed trailer when that situation occurs we can disconnect the power to the electric tonque jack. There is no guarantee someone can't steal our trailer but, it will take more time and effort plus a hydraulic or handyman jack to lift the nose of our trailer.

We also relocated our electric tonque jack close to the V-nose on our enclosed trailer. It allows us the flexibility to have our tailgate down on our truck and still have enough room to pass between the truck tailgate and the V-nose of our trailer without getting "personel" with the tongue jack.

Have fun, Craig.

 

[h2otoyz]

one problem i am running into with mine is i keep blowing fuses with it... i have a heated shop it sits in and when i pull it outside and go to unhook it after its been cold i believe the condesation freezes up inside and i pop the fuse.

its a 20 amp and i just went down to a 15 amp and its been working so far.

easy fix is to just keep it outside but its kind of nice to keep it in the shop since the space is available.

any ideas?

also, how can you tell if your truck will charge the battery on the trailer going down the road? i have a deep cycle in the trailer that runs the jack, blower on the heater, 12v flourescents and everything else in there and within a few hours this weekend (very very cold) it was just about dead. i am going to have 2 deep cycles in there but would be great to charge or run off the truck when plugged in and running down the road.

thanks and sorry to hijack

 

[xcr800man]

Sounds like your battery is DOA and wont hold a charge. Obviouslly check the truck to make sure the aux line is providing power, but you'd have to be running a ton of stuff to need 2 house batteries. I have a jack, furnace, 12v lights, car stereo and 12v fuel stations with one battery. Check your output from the truck but definately load test the battery. It might just be time to replace.

 

[MtnDoo]

Wow,cool! I'm psyched to see that this is not a worthless idea.

I like the idea of keeping one caster/crank lift on the front in case of the failure.

Thanks to everyone for adding their ideas!

Can you post some pics of the mounting types?

Thx!

MtnDoo