Replacing a Bent Jack

[clunk]

My wife is out on a solo trip with our A122, and she called last night to inform me that she neglected to raise the jack completely up after removing the wheel. The result was a bent jack shaft (and she can't get the wheel back on). Anyone have experience with replacing a jack shaft (if so, where did you find the part?), or do I need to see a repair shop when she gets back?

TIA,

clunk

[pgandw]

Assuming this is a manual jack, it's probably easier to replace the whole jack. They are usually bolted on. You can buy sturdier jacks that fit in the same mounting space (bigger diameter shaft).

just my experiences
Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame

[clunk]

Thanks! I went ahead and googled "tongue jacks" and it looks like an easy bolt-on fix.

[tjwoody]

You might even consider an electric jack.


2017 A212HW
2016 Ford Explorer TV
The Villages, Florida

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Ian Walker]

I own 2 trailers. One is electric, one is manual. The manual one the gears stripped last year. Went into the first RV store. Bought a used one (many people upgrade to electric so ask for a used manual one) & bolted
it on. 10 minute job.
On the electric model there are 2 things to think about. They're expensive & you need a charged battery to operate it. If you store your
trailer for long periods, the battery is probably dead. Hook up the
7 (or 4)pin connector with your tow vehicle & leave it running & go read the newspaper for 1/2 an hour. When you come back assuming everything
is normal you should be able to operate the jack. If not do what I do. I
bought a 20 ton bottle jack from Harbor Freight Tools. Then manually crank it up. You'll need plenty of wood to extend the jack.

[chengdave2003]

I just replaced the stripped out manual jack on my a-frame with a 3500 lb electric unit. Simple to wire up (one wire) and it came with a circuit breaker to wire inline. Three bolts to remove the old, and install using the same bolts plus the included star washers to insure a good ground. It was one of the best investments on my trailer....SO much easier than the original jack. If your battery is dead they included a manual wrench that goes through the top after removing the installed bubble level (no more using a carpenters level for me!).... IMHO you'd be crazy to go back to a manual jack.....You can't use the wheel anymore, but it comes with a removable/adjustable plate.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by chengdave2003

I just replaced the stripped out manual jack on my a-frame with a 3500 lb electric unit. Simple to wire up (one wire) and it came with a circuit breaker to wire inline. Three bolts to remove the old, and install using the same bolts plus the included star washers to insure a good ground. It was one of the best investments on my trailer....SO much easier than the original jack. If your battery is dead they included a manual wrench that goes through the top after removing the installed bubble level (no more using a carpenters level for me!).... IMHO you'd be crazy to go back to a manual jack.....You can't use the wheel anymore, but it comes with a removable/adjustable plate.

We're talking an A-frame popup with a tongue weight less than 500lbs. And because of the light weight, that tongue wheel comes in handy for moving the camper around manually.

Given the issues with electric jacks, levelers, and roof lifts, I keep everything as manual as practical on such a small and light RV.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame

[tjwoody]

I believe you can also get electric tongue jacks with a diameter shaft that can be fitted with a wheel like the manual jacks supplied with our A Frames.


2017 A212HW
2016 Ford Explorer TV
The Villages, Florida

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[chengdave2003]

Different strokes for different folks.

Originally Posted by pgandw

We're talking an A-frame popup with a tongue weight less than 500lbs. And because of the light weight, that tongue wheel comes in handy for moving the camper around manually.

Given the issues with electric jacks, levelers, and roof lifts, I keep everything as manual as practical on such a small and light RV.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame

[clunk]

Thanks for all the help. I'm gonna stick with a manual version as I had the current one fitted so that I could just put my electric drill on it to spin it up or down. If the drill died, I have the hadle stored in the toolbox for true manual operation.

[chengdave2003]

That's what I had done also (with an adapter I had machined to allow the use of a drill. See http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ill-85807.html ). It worked fine for a year or so, and then got harder and harder to raise the tongue. I took apart the jack and greased it up, and it helped some, but it ended up stripping a few days later.

Originally Posted by clunk

Thanks for all the help. I'm gonna stick with a manual version as I had the current one fitted so that I could just put my electric drill on it to spin it up or down. If the drill died, I have the hadle stored in the toolbox for true manual operation.

[fella10]

Originally Posted by clunk

Thanks for all the help. I'm gonna stick with a manual version as I had the current one fitted so that I could just put my electric drill on it to spin it up or down. If the drill died, I have the hadle stored in the toolbox for true manual operation.

sorry for your trouble that a bent jack causes for anybody, at any time,...... this may be a good time to also consider adding the Jack-E-Up, ...... there was another thread a few days ago where Jack-E-Up was mentioned and one of its main purposes is to prevent the "bent jack" mishap, ....... no one ever plans for or wants that to happen, but mistakes do happen and usually at the most inconvenient time, ...... with a Jack-E-Up it won't happen again,..... you can't bend it if it ain't there,...............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD1M-t2eqxM

Jack-E-Up Removable Jack Bracket, Black - Jack-e-up Llc 5048 - Tongue Jacks - Camping World