Newbie (idiot) trailer question?

[Anonymous Poster]

Just how does one go about breaking a trailer jack? I would love to know since I just broke mine! Brand new 18' car trailer came home today (my first trailer larger than a motorcycle trailer). Took the pin out, dropped the jack and went to crank on the handle, it hit a bit of resistance and then snap the handle is just dangling. Feeling very embarrassed, and stupid but mostly just wanting to know what the hell I did even if it causes further embarrassment (highly likely I am guessing - esp. when I call the dealer in the morning)! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Bird]

Sure wish I could see that trailer jack. There are several different types and my experience has been that they rarely brake unless they're left down, hit the ground while in motion, and bend or break. Were you trying to lower the jack at the time; i.e., raise the front of the trailer? And do you know that you were turning the crank the right direction? I watched a fellow wear himself out and have to go take a break once trying to lower the front end of his trailer to pick up the jack and he was at the maximum height and turning the crank the wrong direction. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Mark_in_NH]

I have to agree with Bird. I have replaced the one on my fathers trailer only because the internal guts stopped working, but I have never broken one or seen one brake like you describe.
Is it possible that you were turning the handle the wrong way to lower it ?
If the trailer is new like you say, it's possible you just got a faulty / crappy jack ! It may well require a call to the dealer you bought the trailer from.

 

[Steven]

Bring it back to dealer. sounds like somthing is wrong it should not of broke by just hand pressure. thats what a warranty is for.

 

[Egon]

Bird:

Remember the left and right hand wheel lug nuts on the old Chrysler products.

Egon

 

[Mark_in_NH]

Egon,
I certainly can't speak for Bird, but I remember them.
My 1968 Barracuda had em.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

my knuckles remember them /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[chrisjbell]

Yeah, I'm with the other folks. Bet you spun it the wrong way and as soon as the threads inside the mechanism came off the guide they popped apart (the snap!) and from then on the handle would just spin because the threaded part was no longer in line with the socket part of the handle.

Uh, this barely makes sense to me /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. But it's the best I can do... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Oh, almost forgot... I also agree that if you could break something by hand that there was a big problem with something else that you didn't cause. Those things need to be (and are) pretty darn tough. Yeah, you can break 'em - if you use your towing vehicle to slam them into the ground. But you should not have been able to damage it by hand cranking - you should run out of muscle before it runs out of resistance. Kind of like most tractors - enough power, not enough traction /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Remember the left and right hand wheel lug nuts on the old Chrysler products )</font>

Yep, they were common, but the last left hand lug nuts I encountered were on an old Ford pickup (don't remember the model) in Anchorage in '91. They were good strong lug bolts though because I didn't damage them even when I did my best to turn them the wrong way. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Egon]

Back to the jack:

Brand new and then a cracking noise. My quess would be a manufacturing fault.

By the way, remember Franz's description of dumb questions ?

Only an "IDIOT" doesn't question what is perplexing him.

Egon

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks for feedback everyone! I called the dealer this morning, and they are going to swap out the jack - I am also going to ask for a full demostration of proper jack use while I am there...

...of course now I have to wait for my Bronco to get out of the shop. A simple AC recharge this morning has turned into O-ring replacement and of course a much larger bill and more time in the shop.

I'll try to get a pic of the jack before I get it swapped out -waiting on the wife to get back from out of state with the camera.

 

[Soundguy]

Yeah.. that must have been a bad jack... as the one on my 16' trailer just survived a collision with my NAA as i drove it off the front of the trailer... the jack contacting the bumper of the tractor is one of the things that helped stop me.. ( clutch was in..again.. by that time.. just a bit of momentum left at the time ).

The only casuality was the e-clip holding the handle to the jack.. I admit it.. that broke.. but I've already replaced it and the jack / handle are fine.. though do have a nice smear of ford ref on them...

Soundguy

 

[surfran]

I had this or someting similar happen this winter to my jack as the unit froze up. I went out to use it, hooked it up to my truck, went to twist handle to raise, and voila the handle busted off where it connects to the jack. I was not a happy camper. Ended up banging jack with hammer a few times and then putting vice grips on to raise it from there. Used them for 3 months before I bought a new jack (my jack was 4 years old).

 

[Anonymous Poster]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ...as the one on my 16' trailer just survived a collision with my NAA as i drove it off the front of the trailer...)</font>
You said that so calmly, as if you do it all the time...I'll bet the adrenaline was really pumping, though. I might have pushed something other than the clutch and driven right into my pickup! Sounds like you reacted pretty good.

By the way, where are you in Central Florida? We may not be all that far apart...I actually live in Port St. Lucie at the moment, will be moving to Okeechobee after the land is prepped, the barn is built, and finally the house (I have my priortities right, but it took a bit of convincing for the Other Half to agree /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

(Edit) I just read the other thread where you described the "incident" - guess I was right about the adrenaline.

What I've discovered about the hydro is that it's actually possible to forget which way to press the treadle - I was easing up to the side of my pickup to dump a bucket full of construction debris (remodelling a bathroom), and kept bumping it forward a little at a time to get it in position. After dumping, my foot "remembered" the previous actions, and I went a little more forward instead of backwards...actually slid my truck over about 6" before I caught it - it was on damp grass and slid easy, no damage - not even a scratch on the truck (well, as far as I could see, no new scratches among all the old ones - it truly is a work truck).

After I backed away, I spanked my foot and yelled, "Bad foot!" at it - but I don't know if it will learn from the experience, or not. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif