Tongue jack for teardrop?

[MNBullyBoy]

I have a 47 KIT teardrop. The tongue is round tube. I am looking for a tongue jack as I am tired of straining my back to lift the tongue and put the jockey wheel on by myself. I looked at universal bolt-on tongue jacks at Northern Tool last night but found them all to be very "clunky" looking and really meant to bolt to square tubing and not the round tube I have. Any solutions?

Here's some pics of my KIT for good measure.

[Gage]

This is what I did. Got it on EBAY.

[mary and bob]

I've bought one similar to Gage's from etrailer, but you have to consider the tube length below the mounting flange as the are various lengths available.

[grant whipp]

What Gage did! You can get one without the triangular bolt-on bracket, get the bracket separately, then weld it to the tube where you get the best clearance and ease of wheel installation.

Good Luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[MNBullyBoy]

My only concern with running that style is that it may interfere with opening the hatch gate on my tow vehicle. I was hoping for a a swing away style meant to mount to round tube. Hoping for a bolt-on application.

[M C Toyer]

I bought this from Tractor Supply several years ago. It has a flat plate about 4 inches square with a 1/2 - 3/4 inch angle on the top. Was easily welded to this 2-1/2" round tongue but would work just as well with a square or rectangular tongue. I'm planning on using the same for the 1947 KIT I am rebuilding.





To me the drawback with any bolt-on swing away hitch, whether on a round or flat tongue, is the bolted bracket will slip unless installed in holes drilled through the tongue.

The weld took all of about 5 minutes with a bead along the entire top and two smaller ones on each side, a little grinding, and a shot of spray paint.

The smaller knob on the crank clears the bike mounted directly behind it.

M C

[grant whipp]

That's a nice jack, M C ... I'll have to look into those!

CHEERS!

[M C Toyer]

Grant -

Latley I've found these at TSC with just the round tube the jack pivots on and not the plate already attached to it. Would work the same way, look a lot neater (the bottom of my plate hangs below the round tongue) and provide a stronger weld if the tube was cut back some to match the profile of the tongue.

Another alternative would be to first weld the tube to a smaller plate or short piece of c channel just slightly smaller than a round tongue or slightly larger than a square tongue. That would provide 4 good weld points.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/reese-reg-farm-ranch-topwind-jack-1160332

I think I've seen these with a wheel but I prefer the flat base for every trailer I have regardless of size or tongue weight.

Going to be getting in touch soon for trim for my 47 KIT. All that I have that is original are the four pieces of aluminum skin.

M C

[DMcCam]

One thing you might consider with a swing down style of tongue jack is the pivot arc. The one on my trailer is too large to actually work. With the trailer on the TV it cannot rotate from horizontal to vertical without lifting the tongue by hand The problem is the length of the jack tube and where it attaches to the mounting bracket. It extends too far down.




I'm looking to either re-weld it further up on the mounting bracket or replace it with a smaller one with the tube much higher. I can't simply raise the mounting bracket because the jack will then not fit under my tongue box.

Cheers,

Dave

[MNBullyBoy]

Very good point. Perhaps I ought to just carry a lightweight compact scissor jack to lift the tongue off the hitch ball and onto the jockey wheel.

[jss06]

There is also a jack that uses a small piece of round pipe weled to the frame for the mount. I use on of these on my trailer. It allows me to quickly and easily remove the jack so I don't have to worry about it getting hung up when I am driving off-road.

[wagondude]

The great thing about the tube mount jacks is that you can weld extra mounts to the frame near the wheels. Then you can reposition the jack to change a tire. Our Scout troop's canoe trailer was built this way. Never would have thought of that myself, but now I will never forget it.

[M C Toyer]

The great thing about the tube mount jacks is that you can weld extra mounts to the frame near the wheels. Then you can reposition the jack to change a tire.

Great Idea ! ! !

You just have to make sure it is a side-wind, not top-wind like the link shows. TSC has them also as well as the extra tubes.

M C

[alaska teardrop]

This Bulldog rack & gear jack from Tractor Supply works well for a low riding teardrop.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/bulldog-re ... ck-0116348

The rack tube retracts all the way up flush to the frame & the wheel drops out. If the only height needed is to lift the hitch up off the ball, the rack tube can be cut off at the top 6" or so for tailgate clearance. To locate it further back like Gage did, extend the existing mounting plate.

Fred

[Richard A.]

My only concern with running that style is that it may interfere with opening the hatch gate on my tow vehicle.

My Little Guy Silver Shadow jack certainly will not let the rear hatch on my Dodge Caravan open fully when attached to the car. It will open a foot, or foot and half so I do have limited access .... but I live with it.