Tongue jack rotation

[Aussieguy]

turn jack upside down?




don't blame me... the 24 hour wind noises drove me insane

 

[D W]

How many of you out there have rotated your electric tongue jack 90* so that that your trucks tailgate would lay down all the way if so did you rotate it to drives side or passenger side and why?

Every tongue jack that I've seen, including my son's Keystone Cougar, are not rotatable 90° due to the triangular bolt pattern being asymmetrical. We just opted for longer shanks on our WDH. Tailgates open fine.

 

[MR.M]

How many of you out there have rotated your electric tongue jack 90* so that that your trucks tailgate would lay down all the way if so did you rotate it to drives side or passenger side and why?

I did it on my last camper the head would not rotate so just turned the whole assembly 90 2 holes lined up and then drilled a third POC

 

[Chuck_S]

Every tongue jack that I've seen, including my son's Keystone Cougar, are not rotatable 90° due to the triangular bolt pattern being asymmetrical

Correct but we passed that point a few days ago. The 90° rotation (and a couple of links included one I posted) refers to unbolting and rotating the motor head 90°, the jack body and shaft remain bolted to the trailer. I'm hoping this will give me the room necessary for my Expedition's lift gate. Longer shaft won't fit under the bed door of my Roo.

-- Chuck

 

[Rob0702]

Tongue Jack Rotation

I have seen this done, and it seems to work well with no ill effects on the tongue jack. As a matter of fact, on a recent camping trip, a neighboring camper showed me his set up, and he told me he did it with a minimal amount of effort. It seems like a great idea, and would probably be a good afternoon project. I believe he said he had to drill one additional hole to facilitate moving the tongue jack 90 degrees, which is all you need. But it gave him full access to his truck bed when hitched. I usually disconnect when camping, so it's never been a problem getting into my tailgate.

 

[5picker]

I have seen this done, and it seems to work well with no ill effects on the tongue jack. As a matter of fact, on a recent camping trip, a neighboring camper showed me his set up, and he told me he did it with a minimal amount of effort. It seems like a great idea, and would probably be a good afternoon project. I believe he said he had to drill one additional hole to facilitate moving the tongue jack 90 degrees, which is all you need. But it gave him full access to his truck bed when hitched. I usually disconnect when camping, so it's never been a problem getting into my tailgate.

Correct.
On the two I did, (after resting the trailer on the truck ball and raising jack so no weight was on it) I removed the three screw/bolts and rotated the jack 90º.
Two of the three screw holes still lined up. I temporarily put one screw/bolt back in and marked the non-through hole with a silver sharpie. To have room to work, I then removed the one screw/bolt and the jack from the frame and drilled and tapped the marked hole. I then reinstalled the jack at the 90º location. Took about 20 minutes.

 

[Fuzz81]

How many of you out there have rotated your electric tongue jack 90* so that that your trucks tailgate would lay down all the way if so did you rotate it to drives side or passenger side and why?

For those of us with the FIC-ETJ3500 Jack, I discussed options for increasing clearance to my truck yesterday with Wesco Fastec (distributor for FIC jacks). Short of cutting a new hole in the frame as other posters have suggested, the Wesco rep indicated that the motor and gearbox assembly can be rotated 180 degrees (but not 90). That might work for some people, but for many that would trade one problem for another as it would result in interference with propane tank covers.

As for your original question, Diesel, did you ever get any good feedback? I'm looking at buying a jack I can indeed rotate 90 degrees (since I have a suspect motor on my FIC jack) and I'm going through the same mental debate right now. I'm leaning towards rotating it to the driver's side as that's typically the side I go to first when unhitching and last when hitching-up, but I'm interested in hearing what others did and their reasons why.

 

[bikendan]

For those of us with the FIC-ETJ3500 Jack, I discussed options for increasing clearance to my truck yesterday with Wesco Fastec (distributor for FIC jacks). Short of cutting a new hole in the frame as other posters have suggested, the Wesco rep indicated that the motor and gearbox assembly can be rotated 180 degrees (but not 90). That might work for some people, but for many that would trade one problem for another as it would result in interference with propane tank covers.

As for your original question, Diesel, did you ever get any good feedback? I'm looking at buying a jack I can indeed rotate 90 degrees (since I have a suspect motor on my FIC jack) and I'm going through the same mental debate right now. I'm leaning towards rotating it to the driver's side as that's typically the side I go to first when unhitching and last when hitching-up, but I'm interested in hearing what others did and their reasons why.

Google Jack E Up. I bought one for my TT and love it. Got it from Amazon.

https://jack-e-up.com/

 

[Chuck_S]

I could not open the tail gate on my Expedition with the trailer attached and hoped I could just turn the jack power head for the inch additional clearance I needed. No quite that simple but dirt simple with a power drill (may need corded for power), right bit, and the tap from the "kit" from Lowes pictured below.

Remove the plugs on each side of the jack head. Visible in the photo.

Remove the bolts hidden underneath the plugs.

Making sure the head is still full seated rotate the head where you want it. 90° suggested. I went to the curb side for safety in the event I needed to work the jack on the side of the road.

Using a small drill or center punch mark the new bolt positions. It is rumored some jacks have these already. That'll be obvious once you rotate 90°.

The holes, either the ones you just drilled or those already in there are not threaded.

Use the tap to thread them.

Clean the metal shavings and put it all back together. Start both bolts before tightening all the way , and test.

-- Chuck

 

[Chuck_S]

The waterproof marine battery switch on the side of my battery box disconnects ALL battery power from the trailer by severing the single ground (-) connection from the battery to the frame. Otherwise things like the Propane detector and radio memory constantly siphon power from the battery even when the OEM "battery disconnect" is used. Can go most of a year without deep discharging the battery or having to fool with solar power, battery tenders, etc.

 

[ADKer]

I have the BAL 5.3 auto level jack.

The head unit only of the jack can be rotated +/- 90 deg. Which I did for tailgate clearance. If anyone is interested I'll look up the video.
Initially I was concerned it would mess w/ the level sensors (because that is what the dealer said), but found out that it has a separate control module mounted under the trailer.

edit: added link to video

 

[Chuck_S]

The video I used is back at post #6. ( 9 month old thread I'd forgotten how I did it).

-- Chuck

 

[Fuzz81]

Thanks for feedback people, and for the level of detail, Chuck_S. I haven't decided on my course of action yet, but from your feedback, I have a few options and I'm confident I can make this work one way or another.

 

[Larry-NC]

Besides the option of rotating the power head, some posters have reported success in rotating the entire jack assembly by turning the flange that connects the assembly to the A-frame. The bolt holes may not be evenly spaced, so you might have to drill a hole or two.

 

[ADKer]

added link to BAL 5.3 head rotation video in post #31

 

[Chuck_S]

added link to BAL 5.3 head rotation video in post #31

Are the 90° -turn holes threaded? Just curious.

-- Chuck

 

[ADKer]

Are the 90° -turn holes threaded? Just curious.

-- Chuck

Yes

 

[Aussieguy]

I tried turning the whole jack
The 3 holes did not line up

Would be easier to just turn the power head …. drill and tap the thin metal of the jack verses modifying the frame
——————
Decided not to bother and learned how to squeeze in to partially open door

Then realized I got a window section I can open to be able to reach inside

 

[Chuck_S]

Many of us tried rotating the while jack even though is was obvious just looking at the bolts it wasn't gonna work. The jack ADKer is using is already drilled and tapped for a 90° rotation so that one is even easier. I don't recall what that drill and tap set that I used cost but it was maybe an hour's work drilling and tapping. Easy peasy even with my limited mechanical skills. No to remove the jack, just pull the cover.

-- Chuck

 

[bikendan]

I tried turning the whole jack
The 3 holes did not line up

Same for me. Which is why I bought the Jack-E-Up device. It also allowed me to easily remove the jack for towing.