Electric vs Manual jack

[andyvignes]

My Barker 3000 hitch on our 2015 30’ Flying Cloud bunk is blowing fuses.

I’m thinking of replacing with a manual hitch - one less thing to potentially break on the road.

Am I crazy to consider going manual?

Thanks in advance.

[GCinSC2]

Crazy, can’t say. We haven’t had campfire together.

But before you go manual take a look at the Husky jack. It’s the bees knees IMHO.

[andyvignes]

Another question - will the trailer be able to manage both 2 and 21/4 inch posts on jack?

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by andyvignes

Another question - will the trailer be able to manage both 2 and 21/4 inch posts on jack?

Yes. All jacks that I've seen have three attachment bolts, 3/8" x 16, on 3" centers, so any jack will plug in the same holes. The Airstream will accommodate both 2" and 2 1/4" posts.
Can a manual jack handle 1000# tongue weight? It may be harder to crank than you'd like.
Now, I'm lazy and I switched to the Husky 5000# jack which is overkill (or not) but I'm spoiled having the remote control for the jack. Sit inside and level front to rear. Amazingly, the Husky 5000 is not much more expensive than your vanilla jack brand if you shop online.

[Bob Peahl]

Check the wires.

Our jack was blowing fuses until I discovered that the wire exiting from the propane box was chafed. I remedied that and the jack has been happy.

[Rhino33]

This is a question we have been asking ourselves lately. We have been having difficulty with the original electric jack on our 1966 22' and have considered going to a manual jack. The fuses all appear to be good, but plan on replacing each of them just in case and double checking the wiring on the tongue. The last few times we used it it sounds like it is very weary... This jack is frustrating in that we cannot figure out how to disassemble it enough to manually crank it as we could with our 1980 30'.

[fwjumper]

With great love and respect, Yes!

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by fwjumper

With great love and respect, Yes!

To replacing the jack or the crazy question?

[crispyboy]

Crazy for considering a manual jack..........

[andyvignes]

Maybe I'm a bit jaded re maintenance at the moment - my propane hoses were dry rotted when I went to refill my propane tanks, and my automatic awning is on the fritz on top of the jack going a bit nuts. Less automation hopefully leads to less maintenance, fewer things breaking.

I've swapped out the electric jack for a Bulldog sidewind 5000 lb manual jack. If nothing else to get things operational while I fix the Barker.

A detail I was never able to find in the Bulldog spec: I raise the tongue of the trailer about an inch for every 10 rotations of the handle.

It's pretty easy. I can imagine that at some point in my life I REALLY won't want to use a manual jack. But right now it's not much trouble.

[Rhino33]

Thanks so much for the recommendation, Andy! I'll take a look for one...

[WhereStream]

I'd prefer a manual jack. As said, one less thing ...

If the jack on our 19 ever gives up, I will replace it with a crank.

[Bill M.]

No way I would want a manual jack. Just replace it with a electric jack that works. Plus I use the electric jack to tension the WD bars each time. It is hard to guess what is going to go wrong on an Airstream. And manual jacks can fail also.