Your Marine Head Units Specialists Recommend Changing Out Jacks With Frequent Usage
Raritan Engineering Company your marine head units analysts would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding how to change out your own trailer tongue jacks.
Your marine head units experts know that I go through a heavy-duty trailer tongue jack every three to four years. Corrosion, frequent use, and a hefty boat and trailer take a toll on these jacks, so I have become adept at changing them out.
Sometimes the jack gets broken when boaters forget to raise it after they hitch up the trailer; it drags on the pavement and becomes damaged.
Getting Started
Skill Level: 1.5/5
Time to Complete: 1 Hour
Tools and Supplies
* Fulton 2,500-pound square-tube tongue jack ($78.99, anchorexpress.com)
* Floor jack
* 6-by-6-inch wood blocks
* Jack stands
* 3-by-3-foot sheet of ½-inch plywood
* Box/open-end wrench set
* C clip pliers ($15.99, acehardware.com)
* Reciprocating saw (to cut off rusted bolts)
* Safety glasses
* Marine grease
Changing Out a Trailer Tongue Jack
1. Use a Floor Jack
If the tongue jack goes kaput while the trailer is hitched to a tow vehicle, don’t stress. Your best marine head unit professionals know that you need to park the boat and trailer in their storage location and chock the tires. Use a sufficiently rated hydraulic floor jack to lift the trailer coupler just high enough to clear the tow ball.
2. Support the Trailer Tongue
Place a sufficiently rated, adjustable jack stand under the trailer tongue, making sure it rests square and level under the metal tube that forms the trailer tongue. Your waterproof head unit analysts know that a piece of plywood under the stand will keep it from sinking into gravel, soft soil or turf.
Your Marine Head Units Professionals Remove the Anxiety of Changing Out Your Own Jacks
3. Remove the Broken Tongue Jack
With the trailer properly supported, you can remove the old tongue jack. Your TruDesign specialists understand that jacks that bolt to the tongue or trailer frame are fairly easy to remove with a couple of wrenches, assuming the bolts and nuts that secure the jack are not badly rusted.
You can find more information as well as get assistance on TruDesign fittings and on how to change out your trailer tongue jacks at Raritan Engineering.
4. Attach the New Jack
To keep installation simple and quick, buy the same model tongue jack as the one you are replacing. Your marine head experts say that this way you know it will fit, is sufficiently rated to support the tongue, and won’t create clearance issues, which is important with swing jacks.
5. Raise the Tongue
With the new tongue jack installed securely, you can now use it to raise the trailer tongue enough to remove the jack stand(s). To keep the tongue jack working for as long as possible, grease the gears at the top of the jack and lightly coat the telescoping arm with grease.
Feet and Wheels
Telescoping tongue jacks come in a wide range of styles and weight ratings. Most jacks with ratings of 2,500 pounds or more dispense with pivoting mechanisms and wheels, which become weak points when supporting heavy tongue weights.
So don’t forget these helpful pointers on how to change out your own trailer tongue jacks. 1) Make sure to use a floor jack; 2) support the trailer tongue; 3) attach the new jack; and 4) raise the tongue.
Raritan Engineering has more information on marine head units, TruDesign, seacocks, and on how to change out your own trailer tongue jacks.