Video Transcript for A Closer Look at the Trailer Valet Electric Trailer Jack with Tongue Weight Scale

Hi, I'm Matt with etrailer. Today, we are taking a look at the Trailer Valet Electric Jack with a Built-in Tongue Weight Scale, and it's going to be compatible with Milwaukee batteries. Those two features really make this stand out, and I'll start with the battery. So it being compatible with a Milwaukee battery is one, they're very reliable, very sturdy, and they're very convenient, especially if you already have your tools on hand. And if you're someone who has a trailer that doesn't have a battery, you're going to need to get power source from somewhere, or you're someone that owns a trailer and that battery you have on there isn't reliable. You've come out here in the past, tried to use your jack, and it didn't work because the battery's dead.

That's why I like this. And as for the tongue weight scale, there's two things I really like about this. One is safety. It's important that you have the right tongue weight for your trailer just so you're safer on the road. So if you're someone who's just a little bit more cautious, or your load's constantly changing on your trailer, that's where something like this really comes in handy.

And it's also very convenient, because the other solution you would have is going to some type of weigh station, or having another tongue weight scale on hand, that you'd have to store somewhere. This is all built into one unit. Now, before we actually get to using this, there's two things we want to take into account to make sure it's going to be compatible with your setup. One is making sure you do have a A-frame trailer like we do right now. And the other thing is making sure that hole that this goes through is going to work with it.

And the hole that this is going to be compatible is a minimum of 2 1/4 inches. If you're good there, you'll be set. Now let's actually get to using it. To do this, it's really easy to do. Make sure that battery is on the back of there.

We are using the Milwaukee one. And if I press down, (tool whirring) it's going to bring the whole trailer down as well. Now I will say it is a little bit slow. It's not moving the fastest, but honestly, that's fine with me, because typically when you're coupling or uncoupling, you're not moving very far anyways. The other thing, is since it is kind of slow, it's also a lot quieter compared to other jacks out there. I mean, I'm talking just fine without raising my voice to you guys, but I like that a lot. I do want to point out something, though, with this numbers we're getting for the tongue weight. You'll notice if I go up or down on this, there is sometimes a drastic change. Sometimes it's jumping between like 450 pounds, sometimes it's going up to 600s. So that's a lot of wiggle room there, but you'll notice it usually kind of settles, and if it doesn't settle perfectly, what I'll do is give this a good shake test, and this usually sets it to the base. Sometimes it might vary between 10 pounds, but that's also going to depend on how high or low this is typically sitting at. It is important that you make sure everything's set up properly before you actually start using it. So, later I'm going to talk about the installation, but for right now, we're going to start talking about the setup process. So over here, you're going to notice there's also a power button. So once you get this installed, you'll press that power button, it will turn on the display at the very top. And then typically with this, the numbers here are probably going to be around negative 20, or just 20 pounds. We'll just zero that out. That's really easy to do. You just hit this button here for a second, and now it's reading zero, the way it should be. And that's really all it is for the setup process. I like this, too, because this button is easy to press. It is a little bit recessed, but really not too much of an issue. And on the topic of just buttons themselves, all of them are really nice to press. There's not really a lot of fight or really any wiggle room. So they do feel like they are going to last a long time, especially with the up and down function of the jack itself. But let's say your battery is dead, 'cause you we inchesre using it with some other power tools earlier, or it's just not around, you can use the manual crank with this. All you have to do is remove this rubber cap on the very top of it, and put this right on, and then you'll be able to crank it in either direction. Now I will say it does require a little bit of force, but another factor to that is going to be dependent on how heavy the trailer you're actually trying to move. All right, so I want to go over a couple of specs. So this is going to have a lift capacity of 3,500 pounds and a static capacity of 5,000 pounds. Really what the difference there is, your lift capacity is actually using and moving the trailer jack itself. Static capacity is it can hold 5,000 pounds, but it's not recommended to go up or down with it. Now when it comes to moving up and down, this is going to have a max height of 48 inches, and it's going to be able to travel of 16 1/2 inches. That's a pretty wide margin to move, and why I like that, is because it's going to work with a wide range of trailers out there, and vehicles of various heights. Now I'm going to have a pretty solid foot plate on the bottom here. Now what I like about this design, too, is you can easily remove this by pulling off this pin and this clip. And if you ever want to upgrade to a larger foot plate, just in case you're in some areas with some really soft ground, you will be able to do that very easily. Now overall, I do think this is going to be a great option for anyone who is looking for something convenient. And since it is built by Trailer Valet, it is built very well, and it is going to last a long time. Now if you're looking for something that has pinpoint accurate numbers, 'cause, again, this is going to vary maybe by 20 pounds, what I would recommend is not going with a combo kit like this. I'd recommend getting a separate jack and tongue weight scale. One that's really accurate, I found, is the B&W Tongue Weight Scale, because when I've used that before, it's given me pinpoint numbers very consistently. This one, like I said before, it might vary by 10 or 20 pounds. And if you wanted to pair that up with a jack, I would recommend pairing it up with the etrailer jack that has a cable that plugs into your seven-way in your vehicle. Now I will say the downside to that is if you have a vehicle that doesn't have a seven-way, or if you have, some Ford model trucks aren't going to be compatible with that seven-way plug that get power to your jack, that's another thing to consider, as opposed to something like this that will work regardless, because you're using a Milwaukee battery. Now when it comes to installing this, this is going to be really easy to do. The first two things I recommend doing is making sure your trailer is chocked up, elevated. I typically use jack stands. You can just use your vehicle to hold it up, too, with a ball mount. So once you're at that step, you're just going to remove your foot plate, then put the jack through that hole on your coupler. Once that's on there, then you're either going to take the hardware that comes with your kit to then install it with. I typically use my old hardware, 'cause it's usually in good shape, and if you have threaded holes on your coupler itself, you want to make sure it is going to be compatible. Once you're done with that, then you're just going to put the foot plate back on, you're going to lower this down, and then you're going to go through the process of zeroing this out, and then you're going to make sure everything's working properly with that battery in there. But that's pretty much it when it comes to some of the features, and installation of this Trailer Valet Jack. Now, if you guys have any other questions, let us know here at etrailer. And again, I'm Matt, and thanks for watching.