Cheap electric tongue jacks? Any experience?

[lugoismad]

I won a Google Home device at my work's holiday party the other night. I watched some videos of it on youtube, and just wasn't excited about the idea of it listening in on everything I do in my home. Not that I do anything illegal...I just don't like the thought of being spied on.

Anyways, sold it, and used the money to buy an electric tongue jack.

12V 3500 lbs Electric Power Tongue Jack RV Boat Jet Ski A-Frame Trailer Camper | eBay

I looked at all of the ones in the $80 to $120 range, and they all seemed to look the same and have the same size motors, so I just picked one and went with it.

Anyone have experience with these things? I'm sure they all come out of the same factory over in China.

[fella10]

Originally Posted by lugoismad

I won a Google Home device at my work's holiday party the other night. I watched some videos of it on youtube, and just wasn't excited about the idea of it listening in on everything I do in my home. Not that I do anything illegal...I just don't like the thought of being spied on.

Anyways, sold it, and used the money to buy an electric tongue jack.

12V 3500 lbs Electric Power Tongue Jack RV Boat Jet Ski A-Frame Trailer Camper | eBay

I looked at all of the ones in the $80 to $120 range, and they all seemed to look the same and have the same size motors, so I just picked one and went with it.

Anyone have experience with these things? I'm sure they all come out of the same factory over in China.

I still have my crank jack, but have studied the elect. models for a couple of yrs. and have decided if I ever do make the jump, it will be for the one in the link below, ..... affordable and 90% positive reviews, ..... that's just my two cents worth .....

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...DKIKX0DER&th=1

[Simplewon]

This one looks like what they put on mine from the factory.
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-P...ic+tongue+jack

[18CrewDually]

I have one that sits out in the weather on the tongue of my 7T flatbed utility trailer. I also have 2 that I modified and mounted behind the axles on my Wildcat 5er for a leveling system. It's been a couple of years now and haven't had any issues at all. I got mine from Walmart Online for 80 bucks.

[Crabman]

I'm a fan of the Barker line of jacks. Had one for 7 trouble free years on my previous rig and it worked fine when I sold it. My new trailer has a seemingly cheap Lippert jack and I am unimpressed with it. Very slow for one thing. The Barkers are made in Michigan, not Beiging. And reviews suggest they have excellent customer service should an issue arise. When this one dies I will replce it with aBarker.

[18CrewDually]

I forgot to mention. A must have and what I installed on mine is the Flipjack foot. They take the delay out of putting down or raising up the jack. On sale now.
Fastway 88-00-6500 Flip 2-1/4" Automatic Jack Foot for 2" Jack Tubehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CE283I..._zzYvybA896ZZG

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Crabman

I'm a fan of the Barker line of jacks. Had one for 7 trouble free years on my previous rig and it worked fine when I sold it. My new trailer has a seemingly cheap Lippert jack and I am unimpressed with it. Very slow for one thing. The Barkers are made in Michigan, not Beiging. And reviews suggest they have excellent customer service should an issue arise. When this one dies I will replce it with aBarker.

The Barker jacks have their final assembly in Michigan but have never been able to find out where they are actually made. They do have a good reputation but you have to go with the higher priced models ($300 and up) to get switched cutoff capability, and even more to get the ball bearing movement assembly.

I looked at them closely but they are rated at 3,500 pounds. Yeah..the tongue weight is only 1,200 or so but if you're hooking up a weight distribution hitch you are lifting the truck and trailer. That's why I got the 4,500 pound with ball bearing movement and electric shutoff (Husky 4500).

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

The Barker jacks have their final assembly in Michigan but have never been able to find out where they are actually made. They do have a good reputation but you have to go with the higher priced models ($300 and up) to get switched cutoff capability, and even more to get the ball bearing movement assembly.

I looked at them closely but they are rated at 3,500 pounds. Yeah..the tongue weight is only 1,200 or so but if you're hooking up a weight distribution hitch you are lifting the truck and trailer. That's why I got the 4,500 pound with ball bearing movement and electric shutoff (Husky 4500).

I had the Barker VIP 3000. My TW was around 1000 lbs and I lifted the truck also to engage/disengage the WD bars. I think the jack was around 170 bucks. Have no clue if it was ball bearing or not.
But I hear ya on more jack is better then just enough or not enough.

[beechjet16mf]

I purchased one from Walmart online for less that $100 with free shipping and have been using it for a year. It is a 3500 lb one and has worked very well, and has had quite a bit of use as I use it to help latch my WDH bars.

[tomrob1161]

If you are using weight distribution bars, you need an electric tongue jack. I've had very good results from the Barker Tongue jack. Had one on my Sunnybrook for 15 years. No problems. I'm not sure of the brand that came on my Rockwood Signature Ultra Light, no complaints with it either after 4 years.

[cincia]

We had one put on at the dealer when we bought the tt. I believe it was a best choice. Very poor jack. It died at 11 months, I couldn't get an appt to have it fixed until 3 1/2 months later (at the end of the camping season) so we used the manual crank. Using the manual crank became harder and harder until it jammed and wouldn't move (I believe that using the manual crank caused metal shavings from the edge of the hole to fall into the gears). Luckily this was at the end of the season so I used a bottle jack to hold tongue and just took out the best choice jack. When we brought the tt in to be fixed the tech replaced the best choice jack with a new (different brand) jack and said that the ones they had put on earlier were junk, they had replaced virtually all of them within the one year warranty period for failure. They were chinese junk and had no replaceable parts - not even the crank handle could be ordered separately. Just a bit of advise, be sure to cover your electic jack so that water doesn't get into the motor. Ours looked like it was rusting out after just one year (and half of that inside storage). Even with the problems I wouldn't be without an electric jack, its so much easier than a manual. Cincia

[gwolfe]

Originally Posted by fella10

I still have my crank jack, but have studied the elect. models for a couple of yrs. and have decided if I ever do make the jump, it will be for the one in the link below, ..... affordable and 90% positive reviews, ..... that's just my two cents worth .....

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...DKIKX0DER&th=1

I have one of these on my trailer. Works great to lift my 600 lb tongue and truck a bit to hook up the bars.

[nodrawers]

I got a Harbor freight one for About $40. On sale & 20 percent off. Camped 80 days so far and it works fine. not fast though.