So .... the trailer jack on my trailer is garbage. It looks like someone not only ran into it while it was supporting the trailer, but it looks like they got hungry afterwards and chewed on the top of it. The pin no longer holds it up, it drops. So i had to tie it up with wire to get it home (classy and embarassing) When it's on the ground holding up the trailer, it's wiggly, loose, and frankly - it scares the bloomin' shoes off my feet. It has to GOOOOOOO!!!
I have two dilemmas ...
First dilemma .... I'm not understanding jack terminology. Travel? Whats this mean? LIft? Loaded and unloaded weight?
The brand currently, that I can read from the partially mangled sun faded chewed label is that it's a Fulton, and it'a very old and ancient one based on the Fultons I see online now. It is a 1200 lb jack. I really feel that this jack is not strong enough for this trailer. If it's helpful there's a mostly worn off tag that I feel references tire info but there's weights on there that say GVWR: 6000 GAWR (all Axles): 3000 I currently do not have the title. I have to apply for a new one. Some great brain passed it along 4 or 5 owners with no paperwork. But first I gotta weigh the stupid thing. The rest of the paperwork is going to be a breeze for me. So lets not dwell on that.
Can anyone give me an idea what weight of jack SHOULD be on that trailer based on that GAWR and GVWR? It's a 1980 steel 2 horse bumper pull with a dressing room. I wont be keeping a ton of tack in there, just taking saddles/bridles when I travel. My horses are about 1100 lbs each. So we dont need to play "Well it depends on how much weight you put in it" poker. Average hauling. I'm not dragging the farm along.
Second Dilemma ...... AND THEN the real challenge .... the bolt pattern. I bought what I thought was a decent jack. A Bulldog 2000k jack. I figured 1200 k was wiggly, a 2k should be better (sorry, female logic here). I got it home only to find that the overly welded on never coming off bracket for the Fulton jack has a 5.5" wide bolt pattern and the Bulldog is a lot smaller - but not small enough where I can drill more holes. The holes will drill right next to the existing ones. Awesome. I've emailed a few websites asking if they have a bolt on jack with this wider bolt pattern and dang it if you'd think I was asking them for a cake frosting recipe for the head scratching I get. It's like they think all bolt on jack patterns are some kind of universal. Even Fulton was less than smart at me and I had pictures of their own jack and stuff.
Oh and lets not go into how much help the guys at Tractor Supply were NOT. I started asking questions about travel and stuff in relation to trailer jack terminology and they practically had drool falling from the corners of their mouths as their brains went to moosh. Apparently neither knew anything about tralier jacks and nobody else that worked there did either (for the record none of them have ZERO Tractor knowledge .... which I find funny in a sort of twisted way). You should have seen them two weeks ago when I tried to talk about bearing packing and various greases. Dont even try this with them.
So ... anything? Suggestions?
Lets establish that I'm not going to weld anything new on and I'm not going to just move down to an empty part of the tongue and bolt on some extra thing so it looks all mangled. I'm trying my best to un-redneck this trailer as it is and I'm pretty frustrated right now and over the moon with this stupid jack thing.
Ideally, I'd LOVE to find an article explaining trailer jacks and what all the semi-not-realy-english terminology means so I can figure out how to simply get the right jack so I can get my trailer on and off the truck and have it sit there without randomly falling over and killing someone. I dont feel this is much to ask BUT .... man this ia a CHORE to figure out.
Posted 2017-03-06 6:11 AM (#169476 - in reply to #169467) Subject: RE: Trailer Jacks .... oh my GAWWWWD wth
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
Make nice with a local welding shop and take the new jack to them and smile really big. They should be able to repair the old bolt pattern holes and put a new plate to help attach the new jack to your trailer. If it really is an old steel trailer you'll need a good welding shop to keep it in tip top shape because sadly, they don't make the like they used to!
Posted 2017-10-30 2:29 PM (#170777 - in reply to #169467) Subject: RE: Trailer Jacks .... oh my GAWWWWD wth
Location: Wentzville, MO
Assuming you have an A-frame jack, judging by your description. At a minimum, you'll want a jack whose capacity is greater than the fully loaded tongue weight of the trailer, that provides a lift (height difference between fully extended and retracted) tall enough to lift your coupler off the trailer ball, even on uneven terrain.
Getting a jack with a greater capacity than you actually need would be a good idea, as the jack won't need to work so hard and therefore should last longer. Go with a brand-name like Bulldog, Atwood or Dutton-Lainson.
As far as bolt mounting holes go, 3 inches +/- center to center is the typical industry standard. If your current holes are far enough off that that a new jack won't work but too close that drilling new holes isn't feasible, you'll need to remove the existing support plates and have new ones welded in place. If the top mounting plate is part of the coupler, you'll need to replace the coupler, being sure that the replacement has the same size ball and sufficient capacity to handle the GVWR of your trailer.
If you use the provided link, you can look at an FAQ article that has more information about trailer jacks.
Trailer Jacks .... oh my GAWWWWD wth
