bbaley
Portland, Oregon
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Joined: 10/10/2011
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Hi all,
Due to arm and back issues I am tiring of cranking my trailer up and down so many times (weight dist. Hitch)
Does anyone have suggestions for specific makes/models of electric tongue jacks?
We have a trail sport R-Vision 19E which is under 4000 lbs and unknown tongue weight -I think at least 500-600 lbs
Thanks for any help!
Our Equipment:
2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 4.7L
2011 R-Vision Trail Sport 19E Hybrid/Expandable Trailer
2003 model golden retriever
2007 model Chiweenie
Scott/Sage Fly Rods (3wt thru 8wt)
Newer than antique models navigator and driver.
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downtheroad
Pacific Northwest
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Joined: 02/18/2003
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2500 lb. Barker or Atwood.
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."
GMC Duramax LBZ
Komfort
Reese Dual Cam HP
Our Rig Picture...CLICK HERE
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linnemj
Northern Mississippi
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Joined: 05/07/2010
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Barker - outstanding customer service experience. Insure you measure the diameter of your tube to get the right size.
Jim & Nicky
2012 Forest River XLR MBV 29
2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel
Motorcycles!
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RVJimofOregon
Central Oregon Coast
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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Once you use it you will say why did I wait so long.
RV Jim
Jim & Joyce
Central Oregon Coast
No RV at this time but looking!
Treat the earth well, It was not given to you by your parents,“It was loaned to you by your children”
Indian proverb
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robsouth
Near Atlanta, GA
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Joined: 06/20/2004
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Barker is what we use. 3500.
"Sometimes I just sit and think. Sometimes I just sit." "Great minds like a think."
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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Joined: 03/15/2006
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I had a barker on my old TT and it worked for 20 years. When I called the company they were pleasantly surprised that it lasted this long. But I have always covered the head and I tried not to reverse direction before the motor quit running. With the longevity of the barker, I bought another for the TT I have now. great company and great jack. by the way, I gave the old barker to my son, he used it for two more years before he gave it to his cousin.
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Atlee
Mechanicsville, VA
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Joined: 05/28/2002
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bbaley wrote:Hi all,
Due to arm and back issues I am tiring of cranking my trailer up and down so many times (weight dist. Hitch)
Does anyone have suggestions for specific makes/models of electric tongue jacks?
We have a trail sport R-Vision 19E which is under 4000 lbs and unknown tongue weight -I think at least 500-600 lbs
Thanks for any help!
I recently bought and installed a Barker 3000. The electric tongue jack is the best thing I've added to my TT so far.
I went with the Barker for 2 reasons. 1) After all of my reading about electric hitches, the Barker had the fewest complaints by far. 2) It is made in USA. Yes, it costs more, but I decided to pay the extra price.
You can get an ultrafab for less. You can get a reconditioned ultrafab for a lot less, and there are a fair number of reconditioned ultrafabs out there. But I asked myself why there are so many reconditioned ultrafabs out there? My only conclusion was there were a lot of returned ultrafabs.
As I understand it, all Atwoods are made in china, except for there latest and newest model. Hopefully Atwood is beginning to bring home their tongue jack production.
Erroll, Mary, Duffy the Badger Dog plus "Ollie"
2009 HiLo Towlite 2209T
2005 F150 Supercab 4x4, w/ 5.4L
1996 RoadTrek 210 Popular, on 1995 Chevy Chassis
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Huntindog
phoenix arizona USA
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Joined: 04/08/2002
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This is a common question, and there are many threads on this.
The common theme seems to be that the Barker owners are very attached to their jacks, almost all of them rave about the fantastic customer service.
My take on that is that it can't be all that reliable if customer service is needed so much.
That said, there are two basic designs. The front side mounted motor ie: Barker, Ultrafab etc. And the top mounted motor ie: Atwood.
Most of the front side mounted motors offer a built in level on the top, which at least on some of them doubles as the plug for the backup hand crank.
The front side mounts have many drawbacks. On many TTs using the backup hand crank will require either removing the propane tanks, or turning the crank 1/2 turn, removing it, turning it 180 degrees, reinserting it and repeat this process. Very inconvenient. My concern here is not the need to use the handcrank due to a jack failure so much as a dead battery
Due to the motor being mounted on the front side it almost always will result in interference with the tailgate. A common solution is to rotate the jack so that the motor is on the side. But then the hitch light points in the wrong direction. The front side mounts also have several penetrations (holes) in the housing for the switches and backup crank that is a common source of water intrusion into the motor. This is so common that many have posted here that Barker has supplied them with a free cover for the jack. This style of jack really needs to be covered, to eliminate the risk of water intrusion.
Owners report that they can operate the jack without removing the cover by feeling the switch through it. But then the light is useless. Owners report that they don't use the light anyway. Probably because most of them have rotated the jack for tailgate clearance, so it points in the wrong direction. I would have a concern that the light switch would get turned on accidently and since it was under the cover go unnoticed and drain the battery. Then the hand crank would need to be used. See previous concern.
If your TT has a front slide, then you may have to use a front side mounted motor as they are a little shorter and less likely to interfere with the slide.
The top mounted motor, (Atwood) has no pentrations in the housing for water intrusion. So it doesn't need covering. The backup crank inserts in the front, so there is no propane tank interference. And the motor will not interfere with the tailgate. So the jack can point the light at the hitch where it is needed.
The only complaints some have is they don't like the sound of the motor as much as some of the others.
That's got to be a personal thing, as mine sounds like music everytime I press the button and it does it's work without me breaking a sweat.
And I cannot attest to Atwoods customer service as in 13 years of use, I haven't needed any. I also haven't read about it here either.
At any rate, look the features of both styles over closely and decide which one makes sense for you. Spend the money. Then enjoy it.
I hope this helps.
Huntindog
2010 Palomino Sabre 30BHDS
TWO bathrooms...No waiting!
MICHELIN XPS RIBS LRE
2011 Silverado Big Dually 3500 4x4 CC D/A
EQUALIZER Hitch
100% BOONDOCKING
Check out Rusty and her pups at www.bluecollarbrittanys.com
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rgolding
Southern Illinois
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Joined: 05/09/2010
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RVJimofOregon wrote:Once you use it you will say why did I wait so long.
RV Jim
X2
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PGCruisers
Eugene,Or USA
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Joined: 03/04/2004
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I just removed mine last weekend and put the manual jack back on. Ultra 3500 was very unreliable and I could not count on it.
Mark & Tracy Payne-Grimes
2006 Ford F-150
1995 24 ft. KZ Sportsmen
Honda EU2000i
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