How Do I Determine Which Electric Tongue Jack To Choose For My Trailer?

Question:

I’d like to swap out the manual crank on my 174RK Hideout. Spec says 4060lbs. I’m assuming a 4000 lb rated unit would work since we’re not talking about lifting the entire trailer. Am I wrong? Fully loaded it specs to about 5020 lbs. Then, the other consideration is when I need to lift my truck a little to get the hitch weight distribution bars installed or removed. Help understanding what capacity electric unit to get and which specific model would be most appreciated.

asked by: Greg W

Expert Reply:

No you're right on track, a tongue jack like the Stromberg Carlson Electric A-Frame Tongue Jack # JET-2500 that you mention is not designed to support the entire weight of your trailer, only a portion of the weight.

When it comes to choosing an electric tongue jack for your camper, you're going to want to make sure that you're choosing a jack that can support 10-15% of your total tongue weight.

So for instance, you mentioned that your 174K Hideout weighs about 5020 when fully loaded, 10%-15% of that 5,020 is your estimated tongue weight which is 502-lbs to 753-lbs, so then you're going to want to look for a jack that can support at least 753-lbs.

With that in mind, the Stromberg Carlson Electric A-Frame Tongue Jack # JET-2500 that you mentioned will work great as it's got plenty of capacity (2.5K).

This jack also will provide 18" of lift which should be plenty of clearance for unhooking your weight distribution system.