First Time Owner, Checkin In.

[mango_031]

Hey everyone,


Just recently picked up a 2018 Keystone Passport. Came from family so we had to pick it up and drive halfway across Texas. Successful first trip and 1 overnight stay with a basic setup. Thankfully I felt pretty confident after doing the numbers and just took it slow. Looking forward to more outings with the trailer.

Had a quick urgent question, any input is appreciated. I need to change trailer jack (a-frame). Current one is electric and inoperable. I prefer a manual one. When removing old one and installing new jack will the stabilizer jacks on the trailer support the all the weight or will I need to support the coupler as well before removing old trailer jack? (if I need to remove and post elsewhere I will)



Thanks, all.

[sourdough]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Texan!


Don't use the stabilizers, they're not that heavy duty and I've bent them. I've used bottle jacks under the a frame to replace the jack.....and speaking of;

What size is that trailer and why would you want to eliminate the electric jack? If it is any size at all you need a weight distributing hitch and an electric jack makes hitching/unhitching a breeze. Without it it can be a VERY strenuous job if the trailer is very big. Personally I wouldn't dream of eliminating the electric jack, and if it already has one I suspect it needs one.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

You will need to support the tongue, A floor jack would work.

[wiredgeorge]

Welcome to the forum mango. Where is "central Texas"? I live in Medina County and some folks call this central Texas but some folks call this the Texas Hill Country. In any case, go to the UserCP at top/left of every page and put together a SIGNATURE with your year, make and model of camper and tow vehicle. Will allow for some context when you answer questions. As noted, you need to brace up your trailer tongue as the scissor jacks are to add stability and won't support the weight of the trailer. A good place to get a manual jack to replace your non-working one is https://www.etrailer.com/

Anyhow, welcome - wg

[mango_031]

Thanks for the warm welcome, all. Really appreciated...

Good to know that I definitely need a jack to support the tongue weight, exactly what I needed to know. It's 32' and has a tongue weight of ~500lb. Being new to all this I wasn't sure how sturdy the stabilizers are.

The trailer already had the non-working electric jack on it and it was a tight time window to pick it up. Pretty sure it had some type of water or physical damage to it, so it does not operate at all. My thought is to replace with a basic manual one until I can either repair or replace. I haven't even started to trouble shoot it yet but maybe once I dig up some info on brand/model maybe I'll find out it can be repaired easy. I guess I'm biased because cranking this electric jack manually a dozen times already is a pain, and I've used manual jacks on other transport trailers before so I figure it's way better than what I'm having to do now. Just parked it at its storage spot today and large majority of other trailers had electric jacks so perhaps they are indeed a good investment and will grab one in a couple of months.

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Welcome to the forum mango. Where is "central Texas"? I live in Medina County and some folks call this central Texas but some folks call this the Texas Hill Country. In any case, go to the UserCP at top/left of every page and put together a SIGNATURE with your year, make and model of camper and tow vehicle. Will allow for some context when you answer questions. As noted, you need to brace up your trailer tongue as the scissor jacks are to add stability and won't support the weight of the trailer. A good place to get a manual jack to replace your non-working one is https://www.etrailer.com/

Anyhow, welcome - wg

I'm in NW Bexar county and actually have a couple of acres in Mico that I hope to build the forever home on in a few years. Good to know there's helpful people in the area. Big thanks, sir.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by mango_031

Thanks for the warm welcome, all. Really appreciated...

Good to know that I definitely need a jack to support the tongue weight, exactly what I needed to know. It's 32' and has a tongue weight of ~500lb. Being new to all this I wasn't sure how sturdy the stabilizers are.

The trailer already had the non-working electric jack on it and it was a tight time window to pick it up. Pretty sure it had some type of water or physical damage to it, so it does not operate at all. My thought is to replace with a basic manual one until I can either repair or replace. I haven't even started to trouble shoot it yet but maybe once I dig up some info on brand/model maybe I'll find out it can be repaired easy. I guess I'm biased because cranking this electric jack manually a dozen times already is a pain, and I've used manual jacks on other transport trailers before so I figure it's way better than what I'm having to do now. Just parked it at its storage spot today and large majority of other trailers had electric jacks so perhaps they are indeed a good investment and will grab one in a couple of months.





I'm in NW Bexar county and actually have a couple of acres in Mico that I hope to build the forever home on in a few years. Good to know there's helpful people in the area. Big thanks, sir.

Mango if it's 32' a couple of things; 1) you need a weight distribution hitch and 2) you need an electric jack without question. Installing and removing weight distribution bars (which you will have to have) is greatly simplified by using an electric jack. Once you load a 32' trailer it will be not be fun trying to lift it to get it on and off the truck and level it....

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by mango_031

Thanks for the warm welcome, all. Really appreciated...

Good to know that I definitely need a jack to support the tongue weight, exactly what I needed to know. It's 32' and has a tongue weight of ~500lb. Being new to all this I wasn't sure how sturdy the stabilizers are.

The trailer already had the non-working electric jack on it and it was a tight time window to pick it up. Pretty sure it had some type of water or physical damage to it, so it does not operate at all. My thought is to replace with a basic manual one until I can either repair or replace. I haven't even started to trouble shoot it yet but maybe once I dig up some info on brand/model maybe I'll find out it can be repaired easy. I guess I'm biased because cranking this electric jack manually a dozen times already is a pain, and I've used manual jacks on other transport trailers before so I figure it's way better than what I'm having to do now. Just parked it at its storage spot today and large majority of other trailers had electric jacks so perhaps they are indeed a good investment and will grab one in a couple of months.





I'm in NW Bexar county and actually have a couple of acres in Mico that I hope to build the forever home on in a few years. Good to know there's helpful people in the area. Big thanks, sir.

Welcome to the forum. The easiest way to change a tongue jack is to hitch it up to the truck. A 32' camper likely has way more than 500 lbs tongue weight. I'd guess it's close to double that if not more. Two differences between a "cargo trailer" and an RV. First, the tongue weight will most likely be heavier and second when you jack up and unhitch the cargo trailer your done. An RV requires more work to level as has been mentioned.

Speaking of weight, a 32' trailer may be a bit much for a Nissan to carry around. You may want to run that across the scales and check your trucks payload numbers.

[mango_031]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Welcome to the forum. The easiest way to change a tongue jack is to hitch it up to the truck. A 32' camper likely has way more than 500 lbs tongue weight. I'd guess it's close to double that if not more. Two differences between a "cargo trailer" and an RV. First, the tongue weight will most likely be heavier and second when you jack up and unhitch the cargo trailer your done. An RV requires more work to level as has been mentioned.

Speaking of weight, a 32' trailer may be a bit much for a Nissan to carry around. You may want to run that across the scales and check your trucks payload numbers.

Forgot about that info, I do indeed have a weight-distribution hitch on there, thankfully it was already purchased with the trailer and came with me. Had to adjust it when setting up for my vehicle but it worked out in large part with the help of YouTube videos. Got within 1" of unloaded vehicle measurement.

Makes a lot of sense about hitching it up to the vehicle, was thinking I needed to prop it up somehow but yeah, having the vehicle take the load while I swap out is a good idea. Thanks.

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN.

[mango_031]

I appreciate the warm welcomes. Been a while since I've been on a forum but so far a better opening experience than old car ones that I was on.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by mango_031

Thanks for the warm welcome, all. Really appreciated...

Good to know that I definitely need a jack to support the tongue weight, exactly what I needed to know. It's 32' and has a tongue weight of ~500lb. Being new to all this I wasn't sure how sturdy the stabilizers are.

The trailer already had the non-working electric jack on it and it was a tight time window to pick it up. Pretty sure it had some type of water or physical damage to it, so it does not operate at all. My thought is to replace with a basic manual one until I can either repair or replace. I haven't even started to trouble shoot it yet but maybe once I dig up some info on brand/model maybe I'll find out it can be repaired easy. I guess I'm biased because cranking this electric jack manually a dozen times already is a pain, and I've used manual jacks on other transport trailers before so I figure it's way better than what I'm having to do now. Just parked it at its storage spot today and large majority of other trailers had electric jacks so perhaps they are indeed a good investment and will grab one in a couple of months.





I'm in NW Bexar county and actually have a couple of acres in Mico that I hope to build the forever home on in a few years. Good to know there's helpful people in the area. Big thanks, sir.

We are off a side road off FM1283 south of the Dancing Bear Cantina. If there is ever anything I can help with (I am old and fat so this is more in the line of sidewalk superintending) let me know. I didn't have a problem with a manual jack on several bumper pulls as the crank adds enough mechanical advantage it wasn't particularly tiring.

[mango_031]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

We are off a side road off FM1283 south of the Dancing Bear Cantina. If there is ever anything I can help with (I am old and fat so this is more in the line of sidewalk superintending) let me know. I didn't have a problem with a manual jack on several bumper pulls as the crank adds enough mechanical advantage it wasn't particularly tiring.

Lol, I know exactly where that is. Been meaning to check out the spots closer to Lakehills. Driven through there many times, just never stopped.


This busted electric motor on the trailer jack has a ton of resistance and even with a 2' breaker bar it's a slow tiring job. Can't imagine a decent manual trailer jack will be as tough as that.



Much appreciated on the help. I'm all for learning experiences and solving the challenges but if it comes to that I'll be sure to reach out.