short tongue -- Why?

[pmclemore]

Please don't shout. It's ok.

[Road Ruler]

PM.. You remind me of my mother.

[pmclemore]

Thank you. She must be very wise.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

PM.. You remind me of my mother.

Does she post on this forum?

[Darrell Root]

I solved my rear hatch problem by turning the head of the jack, Barker brand,this buys you about 4 inches-maybe this was mentioned I just quickley read posts. Darrell

[Inland RV Center, In]

The A-frame, as we know it, is not too short.

The A-frame is not in the way of the tail gate, but the jack is.

Making the A-frame longer, would still probably have the jack in the same place, namely thru the coupler, for additional strength.

Turning the head around for electric jacks, sometimes helps.

Also, the front jack, if it's electric, can be mounted behind the LPG bottles.

Not a good idea, but in can be done.

Andy

[tetstream]

Okay, I finally solved the tailgate clearance problem (I am the thread starter). After a bunch of shopping around, I found this combination ball mount that is about 12" from pin to ball center. Then, I turned my Bambi's electric tongue jack 90 degrees to add about 2" of clearance. Just makes it ! And, no derating of the hitch setup.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

...

Stating that the rig handles ok, is a false sense of security. To get the "REAL" answer, ride in the back of your trailer at 60 mph.

When most people final resort to that "test," once the trailer stops, they will come flying out of the trailer, white faced and screaming for a "big" booze bottle.

Be safe, not sorry, especially for your family and/or friends.

Andy

This is an old thread, I realize,... but as a newcomer to the arena... Please tell me you didn't mean that. Please tell me that you don't truly mean for someone to actually RIDE in a trailer at 60 mph in a discussion in which you also tell us to "Be safe, not sorry, ..."
SURELY you only meant that as illustrative of the movement which occurs at the rear of the trailer..

In a later thread, Andy, you say it's not "recommended" to re-locate the tongue jack behind the LP bottles. Why not?
Thank you.

[AWCHIEF]

With a thread this old if the comment bothered me I would of contacted Andy direct.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

With a thread this old if the comment bothered me I would of contacted Andy direct.

I'm not "bothered" in the sense that you might likely think.... I was making a rhetorical comment in an effort to make it clear to anyone ELSE who joins these forums as lately as I.... who might not realize the safety concerns that no one should be riding in a trailer.
I'm pretty certain Andy meant it in an illustrative sense and chose my wording deliberately to make room for him in that regard. (And the fact that it's an old thread is relevant that I make the comment in the thread. If, as a new participant, I just now found the thread while searching for information about how to safely Airstream.... then it's not much of a reach to realize that OTHERs may also come across such a questionable suggestion.... right? AND,...it's also possible that Andy is subscribed to the threads in which he posts. I know the few that I've posted continue to come to me for my perusal...
No intent to flame at all, on my part.

Additionally, I'm wondering not only if Andy has a response to my question...but perhaps others might as well, and placing the question of jack relocation in the thread in from which it sprang seemed to make sense to me... Maybe I should have started a new thread. sorry if it came across wrong.

[wzelkins]

Im using a Blue Ox on my F150....I can drop my tail gate and eliminate sway. I dont know the length off hand but Im very pleased with it !

[paiceman]

With Fords, the half tons have a deeper bed than the Super Duties, 3/4 and 1 Ton trucks and therefore the 1/2 Ton tailgate will not open fully without hitting the electric jack, while the 3/4 and 1 Tons with a lower bed height the tailgate will just clear the electric jack and open fully. Had them both and did not realize until I compared my 1 Ton with the 1/2 Ton I had which sits across the street at a neighbors who bought it. Tailgate opening is a big advantage as you can imagine.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

I don't recall any references to tail gates in my '06 owner's manual either. I guess Wally still has no issues with tail gates.

I wonder why he drove trucks then...let alone HDs.....

[C Johnson]

Originally Posted by Boxite

In a later thread, Andy, you say it's not "recommended" to re-locate the tongue jack behind the LP bottles. Why not?
Thank you.

I have a couple thoughts on that issue. #1 It would be really hard to work on back there if it broke. #2 I assume you have an electric jack. If you had a manual jack you would not be able to crank it down or up because the propane tanks would be in the way. #3 The mount would be weaker because the frame rails would be farther apart. In the front the jack is mounted at the strongest point, at the apex of the triangle.

I bought a 12" shank for my hitch and solved my tailgate problem. They make a 14" btw.

[Boxite]

Thanks for the response!
I've found an alternative to the problem of the tailgate colliding/landing on the tongue jack.... it's called a Jack-e-up ... and it quickly, easily converts the jack to a removeable device to be thrown into the truck bed after hooking up the trailer. (Makes it more difficult for someone to steal your trailer after it's mated to your TV also.) jack-e-up.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD1M-t2eqxM

[C Johnson]

Oh snap! I wish I had thought of that. What a great product.

[Boxite]

Yes, it works fairly well, but I did have a little hiccup I had to fix on my installation.
My manual jack is not the type demonstrated in the video with a "flip over" crank. Mine is a bevel-geared type with a non-flip handle.
This makes it so that the triangular plate which bolts to the jack itself will not fit on TOP..but must be slid up from the BOTTOM of the jack. NO problem, actually, but I'm a bit anal about things like this and I wanted the plate on top of the jack bracket holding the mount bolts.
So I used a chop saw and cut one "ear" off the jack-e-up plate, fitted it to the tongue jack, then MIG welded the plate back intact. This allows the jack to lift up on the plate with more authority. (Otherwise, with the plate mounted beneath the jack's bracket the jack's mounting bolts would be the only thing lifting the trailer A-frame weight.... not really a problem, but not a "purists" technique.
If you aren't prepared to chop-and-weld... don't let that deter you...it's still a fine solution either way you mount it. I'm keeping it! (Cost was $50 at Camper World.)

Now that I've seen/done it.... I think I can make a simpler device on my own using nothing more than a few plates welded to the A-frame to make "slots" for the jack mounting "ears" to rotate into, and no mod at all to the jack.

[HowieE]

The Jack E up is an interesting idea for lighter/smaller trailer. While it could be modified to work with an electric jack I think it would prove inconvenient.

Lets go back to the original question. There are 2 consideration in the placement of the ball and how it effects things.

In the case of the TV the ball mounting distance to the rear of the TV wants to be as short as possible. That is because the distance from the ball to the rear axle effects how the tongue weight effects the TV, simple application of the laws governing a lever. This shorter distance also reduces the "hammering effect" of the TV ride on the trailer.

In the case of the trailer the ball mounting distance to the center of the trailer axles want to be as long as possible. That is because that distance in this case reduces the "hammering effect of the TV and improves the towing characteristics. Surprising as it may seam to some the longer a trailer is the easier it is to control.

That said if you are are not considering a new tailgate you might consider extending the trailer tongue enough to clear. While that short distance will not provide noticeable handling result it will not negatively effect things as some have implied. Look at the dimensions of a Bull Dog or Quick Bite couple keeping in mind that the jack has to remain at it's current location.

[HowieE]

The Jack E up is an interesting idea for lighter/smaller trailer. While it could be modified to work with an electric jack I think it would prove inconvenient.

Lets go back to the original question. There are 2 consideration in the placement of the ball and how it effects things. Then there is the original consideration of the manufacture. Keep it as cheap as possible, the hell with the other guys needs.

In the case of the TV the ball mounting distance to the rear of the TV wants to be as short as possible. That is because the distance from the ball to the rear axle effects how the tongue weight effects the TV, simple application of the laws governing a lever. This shorter distance also reduces the "hammering effect" of the TV ride on the trailer.

In the case of the trailer the ball mounting distance to the center of the trailer axles want to be as long as possible. That is because that distance in this case reduces the "hammering effect of the TV and improves the towing characteristics. Surprising as it may seam to some the longer a trailer is the easier it is to control.

That said if you are are not considering a new tailgate you might consider extending the trailer tongue enough to clear. While that short distance will not provide noticeable handling result it will not negatively effect things as some have implied. Look at the dimensions of a Bull Dog or Quick Bite couple keeping in mind that the jack has to remain at it's current location.

[polarlyse]

TAILGATE NOT OPENING ????

I ran into this upon installing my Anderson Hitch. The ball shank provided apparently was an inch or so shorter than the one on my former WD hitch and it would not allow my tailgate to open. At my request Anderson made one for me about 1.5" longer. Any changes in the physics of towing have not been noticeable and all has been good.