Tongue Jack

[jimmoore13]

My HW-277 came with a light duty tongue jack and a caster wheel. I've had some scary moments unhooking (with the wheels chocked) on slopes. The tongue jack had about a 1 1/2" lower tube, and the slop in the caster wheel combined with the flex in the lightweight jack allowed a lot of movement...fore-and-aft and left-and-right. There are times when the coupler rammed my rear bumper pretty hard when if finally released from the ball, and other times when the tongue whipped left or right 6 or 8 inches on side slopes. Unnerving at best!

I just replaced the tongue jack with this one...rated at 5000 pounds. It has a 2" diameter lower tube. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's MUCH stouter and has even more lift (15"). It also accommodates a "drop leg" - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The drop leg gives me a LOT of adjustability for uneven ground.

There are other brands to choose from. I chose this because I prefer this crank handle over the "suicide knob" type on other jacks.

In the process, I learned that a solid foot, such as the drop leg, is rated for the full jack load...in this case, 5000 pounds. But casters down-rate the jack to more like 1500 pounds! I don't see the value, because the cheap plastic caster wheels aren't much good for rolling anyway. (I have a tongue dolly from Harbor Freight for that).

Given that my PUP weighs in close to two tons all up and ready to go, and given that I do lots of boondocking on uneven terrain, the stronger tongue jack was a good investment in safety and peace of mind.

Also note that the A-frame on my trailer had a mounting hole large enough for the bigger diameter jack. When I researched the jack, owners of other trailer brands reported having to enlarge the hole on the A-frame to get the larger tube through it. I am just assuming, but I would expect all light weight Forest River products to accommodate this larger tongue jack.

It bolts right in, though I did buy new, longer 3/8" bolts with washers and lockwashers to do the install.

Very pleased overall. Just FYI.

[browj2]

Hi,

Didn't you level from side to side and chock the wheels solidly before uncoupling?

There is dolly wheel receptacle that can be purchased to make sure that the dolly wheel does not move much, but the wheels should still be chocked first.

As for the quality of the original jack, it broke on the second jacking of the tent trailer. I replaced with one that seemed stronger and has not failed me yet after jacking up the trailer more than 60 times.

John

[michigan_camper]

I wish I could upgrade the wheel. It feels like it's going to fold over on itself when I use it it's so flimsy. Im leaning towards an electric jack, since I got everything else on my pup. But the wheel is weakest part.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by browj2

Hi,

Didn't you level from side to side and chock the wheels solidly before uncoupling?

There is dolly wheel receptacle that can be purchased to make sure that the dolly wheel does not move much, but the wheels should still be chocked first.

As for the quality of the original jack, it broke on the second jacking of the tent trailer. I replaced with one that seemed stronger and has not failed me yet after jacking up the trailer more than 60 times.

John

I use a leveling wedge (Camco), and I sometimes even dig a hole on the uphill side if the slope is too great. I have a Camco wheel dock.
But wheel chocks allow some movement as the wheel climbs up and engages the chock. Similarly, before the chock on the stepped wedge really engages, the tire can move about an inch. An inch one way or another with a tire translates into two inches left and right at the tongue. If one tire moves forward an inch and the other moves back an inch, those two inches translate into 4 inches of left-right movement at the coupler. (About 8' wide wheel track and about 16' from axle center to coupler...doubles movement at the axles.) I have decent wheel chocks (4 of them), but in practice, the movement at each tire can be more than an inch....thus, left and right movement at the coupler can be 6" or more, and that's a LOT of swing on that flimsy jack and caster...which are forced to bend and twist to accommodate.

The weaker tongue jack and, more importantly, the flimsy caster wheel both allowed lots of movement, so they do nothing of significance to restrain the movement as the tires engage the wheel chocks.

My original jack didn't fail. I've saved it as a spare.
In fact, I bought a drop leg thinking it would fit and discovered only after it arrived that the lower tube on my original jack was only about 1 1/2" OD, and the drop leg was designed to fit a 2" OD tube. Removing the caster costs about 6" in lift, so the drop leg seemed like a good substitute compared to a standard "foot". No go.

In the driveway, the new jack is noticeably stronger. Maiden voyage in the field on a challenging side-hill/downhill site this weekend. I'll report on how it goes.

P.S. My old PUP had the best tongue jack I've ever seen. It was super strong, and it had a caster that was super solid. The caster mounted to the jack post with a deep sleeve and a bolt. It was a snug fit. Then the caster tire was at least 8" in diameter, with ball bearings in the axle, and a solid rubber tire. I could move the camper all over the place....even up and down slight grades...using the caster tire. The caster that came with my new pup has a very shallow socket to connect to the jack post, and it's a sloppy fit and held in place with a "cotter" pin. The hard plastic, 6" caster wheel has, at best, a sleeve bearing, but I think it's really just a shaft inside the molded plastic wheel. Pretty much useless other than to hold the tongue off the ground under ideal conditions.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by michigan_camper

I wish I could upgrade the wheel. It feels like it's going to fold over on itself when I use it it's so flimsy. Im leaning towards an electric jack, since I got everything else on my pup. But the wheel is weakest part.

If you have use for a caster (I have no use for one), here's a caster:
Swivel Caster Double Wheel 4 Trailer Jack 2000lbs w/pin A-Frame Jack Zinc | eBay

I use a tongue dolly from Harbor Freight to move my trailer around the driveway. With a tongue weight near 400 pounds, I'm not comfortable attempting to move the trailer on a tongue caster using the jack.
https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Acces...MaAvoKEALw_wcB
Also available at Walmart and eTrailer for the same price as HF.

With the dolly, I can pull or push the trailer, and I can even aim the dolly, let it go, and push against the tub of the trailer for extra oomph. I have to turn my trailer 180 degrees to park it and I'm on top of a precarious steep slope. I use the tongue dolly, hook a rope to the emergency brake switch on the camper (just in case) and spin the trailer and park it. A tongue jack and caster would never tolerate this abuse. Photo of where I park...the driveway (to the left) is about a 10% grade! Draw a line from the center of the RAV-4, and if I cross that line with both trailer tires, the trailer is gone! From the rear of the truck to about the end of the stone wall (on right) is also a steep enough grade that I can't unhook the trailer until the axle is about even with the end of the wall, or even the wheel dock on the trailer can't hold it from rolling. If I use wheel chocks and unhook, I can't get the wheel chocks out to maneuver the trailer! I have a tiny space to spin the trailer, and I can't even do it in a single move or the tires will cross the line to oblivion. The rear bumper of the trailer needs to touch the embankment mid-spin, or all is lost. The tan stripe near the uphill embankment is a shallow drainage swale, and if I keep the trailer tires in there, I'm safe.

I'm 68 and can still handle the trailer with the tongue dolly, but I have my eye on a Trailer Valet for when I can't handle it anymore: https://smile.amazon.com/Trailer-Val...r+tongue+dolly

Anyway, instead of a caster, I use a drop-leg foot on the new jack, so no more slop from the caster.

[itat]

My '99 Coleman Santa Fe popup with a 10' box had a caster on the manual jack and it was great for moving that little trailer around. My Roo hybrid also had a manual jack with a caster wheel but I didn't like the idea of the caster wheel on the 5200# (loaded) Roo. I opted to replace it with the Husky HB4500 electric jack and I put one on our current 7200# (loaded) travel trailer, too. It makes hooking up with a weight distribution hitch much easier.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by itat

<<SNIP>> It makes hooking up with a weight distribution hitch much easier.

Admittedly, I'm not jacking nearly as much, but I need the exercise.

[stonefly]

I added a power tongue jack to my HW276 and am thrilled with it
Setting up on I level ground was made much easier!

[stonefly]

Originally Posted by stonefly

I added a power tongue jack to my HW276 and am thrilled with it
Setting up on I level ground was made much easier!

That's unlevel lol

[jimmoore13]

Just tested the new jack in the most challenging conditions thus far. I was on a side-hill steep enough to warrant digging a hole for the uphill tire and using the highest spot on my 3-step leveling wedge. Side loads were pretty substantial, yet this new jack was rock solid. Very happy to have something so much stronger.

To those who have electric jacks...I envy your choice.

In all cases where you're dealing with uneven terrain, I recommend ditching the caster. It may be nice to have one in your driveway or garage, but they are a poor choice for lateral loads, and they cut the jack capacity by nearly 80%.