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Old 06-18-2005, 05:16 PM   #1
terryjones1
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Default Electric tongue jack on swing-around tongue

I have just ordered a new 2720 with swing-around tongue.

Does anyone know if an electric tongue jack will interfer with the swing-around tongue's ability to "swing around"?

Anyone with experience in this area?
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Old 06-18-2005, 06:37 PM   #2
RockyMtnRay
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Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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Default I use an electric jack with a swing tongue

Quote:
Originally Posted by terryjones1
I have just ordered a new 2720 with swing-around tongue.

Does anyone know if an electric tongue jack will interfer with the swing-around tongue's ability to "swing around"?

Anyone with experience in this area?
In my experience, there are two issues with using an electric tongue jack on a swing tongue TM.

First, most electric jacks (certainly this Barker model I bought from Camping World) have a footpad instead of a dolly wheel on the bottom. Therefore, you are not going to "swing around" the tongue if the trailer's weight is on the tongue. Since I consider swinging the tongue with the trailer's weight on it to be inadvisable anyway (although the TM engineers allegedly say this is safe); I simply lower the front leveling jacks (equally) enough to take the trailer's weight off the tongue, then retract the jack enough to get the footpad off the ground, then swing the tongue.

The second issue is ensuring a good ground for the jack. The jack I bought uses the trailer tongue/frame as a ground...there is only one wire (the 12V power wire) going to the jack head. That means the return current from the jack (which can be very high...as much as 25 amps) has to travel through the swing tongue's hinge points. And depending on circumstances, those hinge points could present substantial resistance to current flow...and that means reduced jack power, heating of the hinges, and possibly even arcing/welding of the hinges. To my scientific/engineering mind, dependence on the hinges for solid electrical ground continuity was not a good idea at all. So I rigged up a flexible ground wire (12 gauge) between the part of the tongue that pivots and the part that doesn't...and made this wire long enough that it easily flexes when the tongue is swung around to the side.

So far so good...the jack has worked flawlessly now for 2 towing seasons. And there's no way that I'd ever go back to using a manual jack...the electric is much faster, creates far less perspiration when hooking up/unhooking on a hot day, and makes it very easy to attach my WDH's spring bars (I use the jack to lift the trailer tongue several inches after attaching it to the truck and latching the hitch ball).
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Ray

I use my TM as a base camp for hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing Colorado's 14ers


The Trailer: 2002 TM Model 2720SL ( Mods: Solar Panels (170 Watts), Dual T-105 Batteries, Electric Tongue Jack, Side AC, Programmable Thermostat, Doran TP Monitor System)

The Tow Vehicle: 2003 Toyota Tundra V8 SR5 4X4 w/Tow Package (Towing & Performance Mods: JBA Headers, Gibson Muffler, 4.30 gears, Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Prodigy Brake Controller, Transmission Temperature Gauge)


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Old 06-18-2005, 07:17 PM   #3
bill s
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Smile electric tongue jack

my wheel addition to the electric tongue jack plate seems to work pretty
well...see my entry/modification under electric tongue jack (wheel mod)
..swing around works fine...
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Old 06-18-2005, 08:40 PM   #4
terryjones1
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Default Electric Tongue Jack

Thanks Bill S & Rocky Mtn Ray,

My primary concern is insuring that I can park the trailer in the garage. I want the trailer to be as short as possible.

I need every bit of the 2 feet or so that the swing-around tongue gives you.

Will I still be able to utilize all of the length shortning that the swing-around tongue gives you if I have a power tongue jack installed?
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Old 06-19-2005, 05:05 AM   #5
YWORRYDOG
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Default

It will not change the way it swings in anyway other then the lack of a wheel
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Old 06-19-2005, 06:20 AM   #6
RockyMtnRay
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Default Yes

Quote:
Originally Posted by terryjones1
Thanks Bill S & Rocky Mtn Ray,

My primary concern is insuring that I can park the trailer in the garage. I want the trailer to be as short as possible.

I need every bit of the 2 feet or so that the swing-around tongue gives you.

Will I still be able to utilize all of the length shortning that the swing-around tongue gives you if I have a power tongue jack installed?
Short answer is "Yes".

The long answer is as YWORRYDOG states above, the electric jack has absolutely no effect on the length shortening aspect of the swing tongue...my garage is 19.5 feet long and the swing tongue allows me to park my 2720SL in the garage with 4 inches clearance in the back and about 12 inches clearance in in the front. It does exactly what the factory says it does...shortens the trailer's parked length by roughly 2 feet.

The "swinging" issues with an electric jack on the swing tongue are instead those mentioned above...electric jacks are shipped with footpads instead of dolly wheels (though a dolly wheel can be fitted by an owner as bill s did)...and there can be grounding problems that you (or an installer) must address with a separate grounding wire between the two parts of the tongue.

There is one other issue with an electric jack on TMs with front slides (2720SL and 272SD, 3124KS, and 3326)...namely the jack head/motor in its default position may prevent the slide from being fully extended. As shipped, the jack head on my Barker HiPower jack was positioned behind the center of the jack column when the jack was installed. In order to fully extend the front slide on my 2720SL, I had to rotate the jack head 90 degrees around the column (it's designed to do this on Barker models).

Another consideration with electric jacks...the hole in the tongue on TMs is designed for 2 inch diameter jacks. Many...but not all...of the heavy duty electric jacks have 2.5 inch jack columns. Although the hole can be enlarged to 2.5 inches, it's much easier to simply buy a jack with a 2 inch diameter column in the first place. And I definitely recommend getting a heavy duty (2500 lb or greater) electric jack. Although the light duty (typically 1500 lb) models will lift the tongue by itself, the heavier duty models can be used to lift the tongue a few inches with tow vehicle attached which greatly aids attachment of the WDH spring bars.
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Ray

I use my TM as a base camp for hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing Colorado's 14ers


The Trailer: 2002 TM Model 2720SL ( Mods: Solar Panels (170 Watts), Dual T-105 Batteries, Electric Tongue Jack, Side AC, Programmable Thermostat, Doran TP Monitor System)

The Tow Vehicle: 2003 Toyota Tundra V8 SR5 4X4 w/Tow Package (Towing & Performance Mods: JBA Headers, Gibson Muffler, 4.30 gears, Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Prodigy Brake Controller, Transmission Temperature Gauge)


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Old 06-19-2005, 11:48 AM   #7
terryjones1
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Default Electric Tongue Jack

Thanks everyone.

I will try to get an electric tongue jack factory installed.
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Old 11-04-2006, 02:29 PM   #8
skrusins
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Default electric tongue jack

I spoke to Bill about a swivel wheel on his jack, and I was wondering if any-
one else has tried. His idea sounds great! and hope to get some pictures at
his convenence. Very nice and helpful person to talk to.
I'm looking for more info, Has anyone have any comments on Ultra Fab Jacks?
Has any one have or had trouble with the electric jack? Thanks for any help
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Old 11-04-2006, 04:14 PM   #9
rtcassel
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Default UltraFaB 3502 power jack with old manual jack's wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by skrusins View Post
I'm looking for more info, Has anyone have any comments on Ultra Fab Jacks?
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...26643:src=SRQB
I installed the above jack. The wheel from the manual Atwood (I think) jack that came with the TM has a protrusion inside the collar that holds the wheel onto the manual jack's tube. This protusion did not allow the wheel to be used on the UltraFab. I filed it down so that it would fit in the groove on the tube of the UltraFab jack. The fit is loose enough so that the wheel falls off when the jack is raised. I marked the tube so that I can tell when the wheel is completely on. I hold it in that position as I lower the jack until the wheel touches the ground. This works well for me.
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Tim
2004 2720SL TrailManor, 2 X T105, Trimetric 2030RV, TST TPMS
2003 Tundra Access V8 2X4 w/Tow Pkg
Equal-i-zer 1000, Prodigy, McKesh, UnderCover
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Old 11-05-2006, 11:41 AM   #10
skrusins
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Default electric tongue jack

Thanks Tim this info helps me alot, Stan
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