Electric tongue jack on swing-around tongue

I found out the hard way today that the swing out tongue has almost no grounding when no weight is on it. My tongue jack would not work with no pressure on the tongue.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I found out the hard way today that the swing out tongue has almost no grounding when no weight is on it. My tongue jack would not work with no pressure on the tongue.

You can purchase a length of braided grounding cable from most parts stores or Radio Shack (it doesn't have to be very thick). They come with an eye on each end. Get yourself a couple of 1/4-20 self tapping screws. Drill a 3/16" hole on the bottom of each frame section, close to the hinge. Install the braided ground cable by screwing the self-tapping screws into the drilled holes and you will have a perfect ground.

[ShrimpBurrito]

What is the advantage to using a grounding braid vs. a wire? They are similarly priced, and the braid is not protected at all from corrosion.

Dave

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

What is the advantage to using a grounding braid vs. a wire? They are similarly priced, and the braid is not protected at all from corrosion.

Dave

The braided cable is far more flexible. It's not effected by movement or vibration. It's specifically designed as a ground wire where there is movement and flexing, like in doors. Usually made of copper so no need for insulation. They're even commonly used in marine applications. Corrosion is not usually an issue.

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

What is the advantage to using a grounding braid vs. a wire? They are similarly priced, and the braid is not protected at all from corrosion.

Dave

Most importantly, the braid is usually a much larger cross sectional area which provides a much lower resistance, so therefore a much better ground (so very little to no voltage drop across the braid.)

To get a comparable cross section with wire, you would use such a large guage that it would be stiffer and not hold up to the flex needed in this application.

Normally corrosion is an issue at connection points (lugs, screw heads, etc) not along the conductor.

[ShrimpBurrito]

How can the cross-sectional area be more? If I have 1000 tiny strands of copper and stack them, the area should be the same whether I stack them in a circle or in a rectangle, right?

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

How can the cross-sectional area be more? If I have 1000 tiny strands of copper and stack them, the area should be the same whether I stack them in a circle or in a rectangle, right?

Dave........

Have a little trust.....they're better......yer just being a PITA.....
http://www.gacopper.com/Braid-Strap-...omparison.html

Wayne

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

How can the cross-sectional area be more? If I have 1000 tiny strands of copper and stack them, the area should be the same whether I stack them in a circle or in a rectangle, right?

The braid truly is a much better choice for grounding. Anyone knowledgeable in electronics will choose the braid. Try the wire if you like, but it'll give you fits after a while.

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

How can the cross-sectional area be more? If I have 1000 tiny strands of copper and stack them, the area should be the same whether I stack them in a circle or in a rectangle, right?

If you note, I said 'usually'. There is no doubt that you could pick a braid with lower cross sectional area than a 2 ga. wire. Within parameters of practicality, braid is usually the low dc resistance winner.

[ThePair]

I have a 2009.5 2720SL with swing hitch and power jack from the factory. Mine also came with a wheel, not a footpad (for which I am eternally grateful!)

There is no issue with the swing-away. I lift the front on the corner jacks, retract the wheel so it's off the ground, swing away, and then lower the wheel to roll the TM the last few feet into position in the garage. It's an extremely tight fit for me (just a few inches all around) so the swing is a necessity. I do not have any issues with the grounding for the jack to operate, even when fully "swung" around, and I didn't add any kind of extra grounding wire. It just works, until I disconnect the whole front piece for storage.

Additionally, for the factory power jack, there is no issue with sliding out the slide all the way. There's extra room behind the jack, in fact, when the room is slid all the way out. (The same cannot be said for raising the hatch on the minivan while hitched, but that's a whole 'nother story.)

All in all, I'm very pleased with the function of the factory installed power jack with the swing-away tongue. Without both, I don't think I would be able to store the TM in my garage as I do.