We had a power tongue jack on our previous TT. DW cranked the new one up by hand a couple of times and told we were going make the same mod on this one! So I ordered a Barker VIP 3000 lb jack from amazon.com and had it sent to MyUSAddress for pickup and installation during our first camping trip to upstate NY.
It was my first experience using MyUSAddress since I signed up last year and it was problem-free. I brought the tongue jack back to the park and had a look at the instructions.
I came prepared - two jack stands to support the A-frame during the installation and a carbide burr to open up the hole for the jack post as I had been warned that I might have to do. Plus a corded power drill and all of the usual tools I camp with.
Here are the steps I took:
- Cranked up the stabilizers at all 4 corners
- Cranked the tongue a little higher
- Put jack stands on the ground under the A-frame, placed a 6" block between the stands and frame, and lifted the stands as high as they would go
- Lowered the tongue jack until the weight rested on the jack stands and blocks
- Unbolted the tongue jack and test fitted the power jack - it fit, which meant no grinding. Yay!
- Used the corded drill and a wire brush wheel to remove paint at the bolt holes; The jack uses direct contact with the A-frame as ground
- Because the jack was pretty close to the propane bottle cover, I used two of the supplied star washes between the flange and A-frame on the two bolt holes at the rear; this tilted it forward slightly.
- The jack was not supplied with a ring terminal for the positive wire or with washers to put beneath the bolt heads. I found what I needed at a True Value hardware in the small town near the park.
Install completed... DW happy. Me too!