Power tongue jacks

[little joe]

I have a 2004 SV 291 surveyor. I am thinking of adding a power tongue jack. How do you size these jacks, and do the wire straight to the battery? Are they easy to install?

[kbrown1075]

When I bought our power tongue jack, I don't remeber a sizing process. Yes, they do wire straight to the battery, make sure there is an appropriate sized fuse in line. They are very easy to install. 3 bolts, wire to the battery, and your cranking days are over!

[08flagvlite]

Basically they are all the same size, and Yes, they are very easy to install- 3 bolts on mine- should fit in the same existing holes as the manual jack. Wiring is simply a power wire with an inline fuse straight to a 12v source, and grounding is provided through the body of the jack to the frame. You can get them new on e bay, much cheaper. Several brands available, but most are made by Lippert. Good luck, Randy

[acadianbob]

OK, I'm going to post what is undoubtedly a minority opinion here. Get a new manual jack with 5,000 pound capacity; like a Bulldog. They are easy to crank and much faster than an electric jack. I bought one for $30 at Northern Tool. No hookups, no battery worries. I have a buddy with an electric jack and I was surprised how excruciatingly SLOW it is. That would drive me crazy.

[windrider]

Well, after having too much effort cranking mine, I bit the bullet. Contrary to a post above, they are not all the same size. There is a 2 inch tube, and a 2 1/4 inch tube. They may have the same bolt pattern, and a smaller one may go in a larger hole, but I would measure. Also not sure about who makes most of them, you'll have to do your own research.

You need to know your tongue weight, and get at least 3 times that power in a jack. Also they don't all wire to the battery. Some have a 7 pin plug that must be plugged in to the tow vehicle, and will only work when plugged in to the tow vehicle. Handy when the trailer battery is dead, but useless when the tow vehicle is at the grocery store. Most have a manual crank override, but your propane tanks may be in the way. Now with all that said, shop carefully, it isn't plug and play, one size doesn't fit all, and you get what you pay for.

[bikendan]

many buy re-manufactured units on Ebay.
i bought my UF 3500 for about $120 with free shipping and it's been working great for over 3 years.

easy to install, took me about 45 minutes. i highly recommend one with an adjustable foot.

[Terier]

Not all electric tongue jacks are created equal. I had so much trouble with the original one that my dealer installed that they replaced & upgraded mine when I brought the tt in for service. No trouble with the replacement jack at all.

[aujmr1970]

Bought a Barker VIP 3500 off ebay for $185 for my Surveyor SV264 and love it. It was easy to install and wired directly to the battery. Makes hooking up much easier. If you buy one you want regret it.

[leencharlotte]

I just got the barker VIP 3500 from adventure rv for $189 wow what a huge return on investment!!! http://www.adventurerv.net/barker-vi...lb-p-4360.html
FYI. I chose barker due to the numerous good reviews I have seen on the web. I was looking to get re Barker ultra and called barker directly to see what their direct price was and surprisingly I was told 2 things: 1) buy the VIP, soy follow up was ok you are telling me to get the cheaper one must be an issue with the ultras and she confirmed that they are having some issues. 2) buy elsewhere it is cheaper, which I had already assumed. Anyway she did also tell me if you purchase from adventures RV ask them to verify all pieces were there as sometimes pieces missing from that retailer ( Barker does replace missing parts). I did not have issues with any missing parts.

I was really glad this manufacturer was honest. She could have sold me the more expensive item and not gave a rats a$$. But they were honest and it put a lot of trust in them for me

Installation was a breeze ( almost to easy). It did require a clean connection to the frame for grounding ( no paint) other than that 1 wire to then positive battery terminal, tighten three bolts and done!

[g0tr00t]

Are most of them the 30AMP Staple type fuse? If so, can someone link a SLO-BLO fuse?

I can't seem to find one in my searches.