Replacing A Trailer Jack
Latch on to a new trailer jack for some added towing safety on the road.
By Steve Noury
September 1, 2004
If you trailer your boat a lot during the season, it's a good idea to keep it in top working
condition. Your boat and your safety depend on it. In the case of an older trailer, its parts need
to be replaced or upgraded constantly. A good example is a trailer jack. It can be replaced in
about 45 minutes and at a relatively low cost. The right jack can certainly make it easier and
safer to trailer and launch your boat. When choosing the right jack, keep several things in mind:
Capacity - choose the right size for the weight and length of your boat; Type - bolt-thru mount,
snap-ring mount or tube mount; Use - saltwater or freshwater; and Features - fixed or
swivel.
Step 1
Remove the old jack. Place something under the tongue of the trailer for support. A hard plastic 5-gallon paint bucket is used in this example, although a couple of cinder blocks or 3-foot 4-by-4s would work even better. You could even leave it attached to the trailer hitch. Most of the hardware on an older jack is usually corroded and/or rusted. You can try using WD-40 or another lubricant to remove it, but the easiest way is to break out the hacksaw and cut the bolts off. You won't be using any of the old parts, so don't go through the aggravation of trying to unscrew the bolts from the trailer.
Step 2
For this replacement, a Fulton bolt-thru, saltwater swivel jack with a 1,500-pound capacity is used (#XP15S0112). If you use your boat in both freshwater and saltwater applications, you definitely want to have maximum corrosion resistance for your trailering equipment. Once you have removed the old jack, you must then determine the best spot on the tongue of the trailer to mount the new jack. Most likely, it'll go somewhere near the old one, but be sure you check several things first. The new jack may be larger in size than the old one, so it's important that there's no interference from either the neck of the trailer (where the winch sits), or from the pull handle near the front of the tongue (if there is one).
Step 3
Mounting the jack is more easily done if you can enlist the help of another person for this particular task. Have a partner hold the jack flush against one side of the tongue, then attach the appropriate hardware (two brackets and four bolts/nuts) from the other side of the tongue. When tightening the bolts, it's important to rotate the process between all four of the bolts, so that once the back plate of the jack and the brackets begin to tighten (sandwich) more against the tongue, it'll sit flush with equal pressure on all four of the bolts.
Step 4
The final step is very important and only takes a few minutes - testing the jack to make sure that you have properly mounted it. In this case, a swivel jack is installed for ease of use. With the tongue resting on your hitch (or with some sort of support under the tongue), rotate the jack to be sure there is no interference with its movement from any other part of the trailer. Next, lock it in the down position, and crank it up and down to be sure there's no interference with this direction of movement. If, by chance, you do discover a problem, you can easily loosen the bolts (slightly) on the brackets and slide the jack either forward or backward to alleviate any of the interference and then re-tighten the bolts with the jack in the new position.
Step 1
Remove the old jack. Place something under the tongue of the trailer for support. A hard plastic 5-gallon paint bucket is used in this example, although a couple of cinder blocks or 3-foot 4-by-4s would work even better. You could even leave it attached to the trailer hitch. Most of the hardware on an older jack is usually corroded and/or rusted. You can try using WD-40 or another lubricant to remove it, but the easiest way is to break out the hacksaw and cut the bolts off. You won't be using any of the old parts, so don't go through the aggravation of trying to unscrew the bolts from the trailer.
Step 2
For this replacement, a Fulton bolt-thru, saltwater swivel jack with a 1,500-pound capacity is used (#XP15S0112). If you use your boat in both freshwater and saltwater applications, you definitely want to have maximum corrosion resistance for your trailering equipment. Once you have removed the old jack, you must then determine the best spot on the tongue of the trailer to mount the new jack. Most likely, it'll go somewhere near the old one, but be sure you check several things first. The new jack may be larger in size than the old one, so it's important that there's no interference from either the neck of the trailer (where the winch sits), or from the pull handle near the front of the tongue (if there is one).
Step 3
Mounting the jack is more easily done if you can enlist the help of another person for this particular task. Have a partner hold the jack flush against one side of the tongue, then attach the appropriate hardware (two brackets and four bolts/nuts) from the other side of the tongue. When tightening the bolts, it's important to rotate the process between all four of the bolts, so that once the back plate of the jack and the brackets begin to tighten (sandwich) more against the tongue, it'll sit flush with equal pressure on all four of the bolts.
Step 4
The final step is very important and only takes a few minutes - testing the jack to make sure that you have properly mounted it. In this case, a swivel jack is installed for ease of use. With the tongue resting on your hitch (or with some sort of support under the tongue), rotate the jack to be sure there is no interference with its movement from any other part of the trailer. Next, lock it in the down position, and crank it up and down to be sure there's no interference with this direction of movement. If, by chance, you do discover a problem, you can easily loosen the bolts (slightly) on the brackets and slide the jack either forward or backward to alleviate any of the interference and then re-tighten the bolts with the jack in the new position.
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related articles:
Forever Young: Proper maintenance is the lifeblood for maximizing your boat's performance and keeping it out of the service shop.Replacing A Trailer Jack: Latch on to a new trailer jack for some added towing safety on the road.
