Posted 2013-02-10 8:12 AM (#149813) Subject: Jack Repair or Maintainence?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
I have 2 trailers...a 20ft stock combo with a 4 ft dressing room and a 3 horse with a midtack and LQ with an 8ft short wall. The horse trailer has a 2 speed bulldog jack and it cranks really hard compared to the stock combo. I am wondering if the difference is that the horse trailer is just a lot heavier or if the jack needs repaired or a littl bit of both? The horse trailer is 6 feet longer, wheels are in about the same place as the stock combo and it has an LQ so I am obviously cranking a lot more weight. I have also noticed that the leg on the horse trailer jack seems bent just a bit, almost as if some unhooked it on an angle and it rolled a bit and bowed the jack leg although it still moved up and down very easy by hand when in the pickup.Do you think the horse trailer is just much heavier thus much harder to crank or is it possible I have some issues with the jack?
Posted 2013-02-10 9:00 AM (#149815 - in reply to #149813) Subject: RE: Jack Repair or Maintainence?
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
It's just heavier. Most jacks have a little play that could possible be why yours appears bent but still cranks ok. If it is truly bent, You would feel the resistance as the jack gets almost totally cranked up and the piston portion of the jack started to bind
Posted 2013-02-10 12:28 PM (#149819 - in reply to #149813) Subject: RE: Jack Repair or Maintainence?
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
On the top sides of the gearbox are some grease fittings. If they haven't been utilised in a while, you might grease the internal bearings. The top cap is removeable and allows access to the gear box. Digging out the old grease and applying new will lessen the cranking effort. Below that is a gimble nut and jack screw. Sometimes a spray oil applied with a small tube applicator can hit and lubricate those moving parts.
The gearbox shifts between ranges by pulling or pushing on the crank handle. If the gears are binding, the high range gearing may be stuck and the reason for the difficult cranking. On our trailer we use the low range gearing for raising the trailer, the high range to lower it. With weight off the jack, using the spray lubricant and grease, coating all the internals and fully working the mechanisms, should return them to their original condition. If the lower leg retracts fully without binding, it should pose no problem with the jack's opperation.
The easiest way to service a manual jack, is when the trailer is supported on its pin by your towing vehicle. With the weight totally removed, the jack is free to move without any weight encumbrances. With an adapter, many jacks can then be raised and lowered using a modest electric drill, which easily allows the jack to be quickly run from limit to limit with little effort.
Jack Repair or Maintainence?
