Trailer jacks (e.g. Fulton)

[diungerich]

So my trailer (Glastron branded EZ Loader) has a Fulton trailer jack on it. It works fine, but recently the o-ring on the mount fell apart, so it's a bit wobbly. I was going to replace the ring but then started wondering. Are there other better jacks that you don't have to crank so many revolutions to raise and lower? I swear it gets annoying how many times you have to crank to raise and lower all the way. If it had some sort of handle keeper, I wouldn't feel the need to go all the way up before flipping it sideways. But in absence of that, I go all the way so the handle doesn't hang down while running down the road.

 

[thumpar]

You could use a block that is close to the height of the wheel when the jack is down. I did that with the old tow rig that was higher.

 

[Grub54891]

They make them with a pin on the lower stand so you can slide the wheel down before cranking. I'll try to see what brand at the marina today.

 

[gm280]

The reason for so many cranks is to get the ability to raise and lower very heavy setups. If it were geared differently then it would move faster but take more muscle to move it. So it is a toss up. More cranks, or more muscle power. Maybe a less capable jack would take less cranks to move. But it will take more muscle to crank as well. JMHO!

 

[SilverSS07]

I got a Dutton-Lainson drop leg jack for mine. Really happy with it so far as far as quality wise. It does take a lot of cranking (really easy crank though) as it's rated for 2500 lbs but with the drop leg you don't have far to go unless you want the front of the boat way up in the air.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Dutton-Lainson/DL22320.html

 

[dingbat]

I'm not sure all the cranking is about. Maybe 2-3 cranks, pull the pin and swing the jack up
and out of the way. The handle hangs down but it's 12-14" above the road at a min. OEM so it's going on 15 yro

 

[diungerich]

They make them with a pin on the lower stand so you can slide the wheel down before cranking. I'll try to see what brand at the marina today.

Sounds good. Thanks!

 

[diungerich]

No Title

I'm not sure all the cranking is about. Maybe 2-3 cranks, pull the pin and swing the jack up
and out of the way. The handle hangs down but it's 12-14" above the road at a min. OEM so it's going on 15 yro

Yeah, I'm starting to think no point in cranking it all the way up each time. That said, even if I don't replace it, I have to replace the ring at the rotation/swing point, and the cylinder's looseness in general makes me question it. See how then inner cylinder hangs and is loose in the outer cylinder...

 

[MTboatguy]

Yup, the bushing has gone bad, not uncommon on these types of jacks, pretty inexpensive to repair. Just need to pick up a new bushing, then take apart and clean and lube, then put back together. There no reason to wind all the way up or all the way down, I just hook my trailer to the tow rig, crank till it is clear and swing it up.

 

[diungerich]

Yup, the bushing has gone bad, not uncommon on these types of jacks, pretty inexpensive to repair. Just need to pick up a new bushing, then take apart and clean and lube, then put back together. There no reason to wind all the way up or all the way down, I just hook my trailer to the tow rig, crank till it is clear and swing it up.

Any idea where to acquire the replacement parts?

 

[MTboatguy]

Any idea where to acquire the replacement parts?

You can get the parts at a wide variety of trailer stores, you should still be able to order them from Fulton as well, it is actually a very simple jack and yes it is a slow jack with lots of winding to get her up and down, just like the old manual jacks on 5th wheel trailers, but they are good jacks, the reason the bushing went bad is because somebody at one time or another smacked it while it we down and cause the bushing to oblong. Make sure to double check the price to replace the whole thing with a new one before ordering the parts to fix this one, quite often you will find them pretty close in price. Neither a new jack or parts are all that expensive. You can get a new one for as little at $35

 

[oldjeep]

They may even send you out the part for free if you contact customer service. Fulton just sent me 2 new wheels for my F2 jack after there was cracking on both wheels.

 

[gm280]

I have zero idea what type I have, there was no monoculture plate or stampings on it. But I did take mine apart and made some shims to take out a little endplay with the gears and such and then rebuilt it back and primed and painted it to match the trailer. But I actually welded it on instead of bolts as well. Really not much to them. JMHO!

 

[dingbat]

Yeah, I'm starting to think no point in cranking it all the way up each time. That said, even if I don't replace it, I have to replace the ring at the rotation/swing point, and the cylinder's looseness in general makes me question it. See how then inner cylinder hangs and is loose in the outer cylinder...

I doubt there is anything wrong with it. Mine does the same thing when extended too far. I use a piece of 4 X 8 under mine to keep extension to a minimum

 

[thumpar]

Mine will do that too when getting close to full extension. That is why I suggested the block of wood. You just put it down and jack from there.