Every travel trailer has a mechanism for leveling the RV and getting it on and off a hitch ball. That mechanism is your RV tongue jack. The best trailer jack makes it easy to connect and disconnect from your tow vehicle and achieve the perfect level at any campsite.
On most RVs, leveling blocks placed under your RV tires provide side-to-side leveling. After completing that step and setting wheel chocks in place, you use your RV trailer jack to disconnect from the tow vehicle and level your camper front-to-back. In this article, we’ll highlight the two main types of RV lift jacks and help you choose the best RV jack to repair or upgrade your camper.
First, some camper trailer jack basics.
Key Takeaways
- Types of RV Trailer Jacks: Travel trailers use either manual or electric tongue jacks to raise and lower the front of the trailer. Manual jacks require physical effort but have fewer maintenance concerns, while electric jacks are easier to use but require a power source and more upkeep.
- Choosing the Right Jack: The ideal jack must be rated for the trailer’s tongue weight, considering factors like weight distribution systems, jack leg extensions, and jack feet for stability. Electric jacks offer convenience, but manual jacks are more durable and budget-friendly.
- Safety and Installation Tips: Proper use of chocks, chains, and levelers is crucial for safety when hooking up or disconnecting a trailer. Regular maintenance, such as checking bolt tightness and ensuring level positioning, helps prevent accidents and equipment damage.
How Do Trailer Jacks Work?
A travel trailer jack is a vertical mechanism (leg) installed on the trailer’s tongue. It allows you to raise and lower the front of the trailer using a crank handle (manual trailer jacks) or a button that operates an electric motor (camper electric jacks).
Without a tongue jack, you’d have to lift the trailer by hand, which is a major safety risk and not feasible. Even if you have a small camper with a low hitch weight, you need the best jack for your travel trailer.
Types of RV Trailer Jacks
Your travel trailer has one of two RV jack types: a manual jack or an electric jack. Personally, I have an electric trailer jack and have had one for the duration of my five years of full-time RV life. My business partner, Kelly, had a manual RV jack for her first three years but recently upgraded to one of the best electric trailer jack options. Her back thanks her for it.
What’s the difference between the two?
Manual Trailer Jack
A manual trailer tongue jack has a hand crank to lift and lower the tongue. The difficulty of operating a manual jack depends on the grade you’re on and how high or low your trailer hitch sits. Less-level campsites will make you feel the burn more than others!
It’s simple. You crank it up, you crank it down. The good news is that there are fewer parts to break and less regular maintenance.
Pros
- Cheaper
- Potentially more durable
- You get a little workout
- Less expensive
Cons
- Physically harder to use
- No light for night visibility
Electric Tongue Jack
An electric RV tongue jack does the work for you. Now we’re talking! It’s a gear-driven mechanism that only requires a single finger to operate. You either select “up” to bring the jack foot up or “down” to extend the jack leg and lower the foot. So nice!
Camper electric jacks must be connected to your 12V RV battery to work. That means your battery must be charged for proper jack operation. Electric trailer jacks are quite durable but have more moving parts than manual jacks, meaning they require more maintenance and have a higher chance of breaking.
Luckily, electric RV jack manufacturers include a manual override that allows you to use the supplied crank handle to raise or lower the jack if your battery dies. A working electric tongue jack will be easier to use than a manual RV lift jack, especially if you have a bad back, arthritis, etc.
Pros
- Easiest to use
- Manual crank if you lose power
- Remote options available
- Won’t throw out your back
Cons
- Must know a little about electricity to self-install
- More expensive
- More parts that can break
What Size Trailer Jack Do I Need?
Not all RV trailer jacks are created equal, and there are many trailer sizes, from micro campers under 3,500 pounds to luxury travel trailers over 10,000 pounds. Consider these factors when asking, “What size tongue jack do I need for my RV?”
Tongue/Hitch Weight
Manual and electric RV tongue jacks are rated in pounds of lifting capacity. Put simply, you need a trailer tongue lift jack rated for your trailer’s tongue weight. Some RV manufacturers call this hitch weight, and they are your best resource for your specific model’s rated tongue weight.
That said, a trailer’s tongue weight is roughly 10% of its unloaded vehicle weight (aka dry weight) and should not exceed 15%. However, you’ll have to consider the weight of installed aftermarket accessories (like a trailer brake controller) and cargo loaded into your trailer, especially in forward storage compartments.
The bottom line: if you know how much your trailer weighs fully loaded (again, you may need to weigh it at a truck scale), you can estimate your tongue weight.
Weight Distribution Systems
If you use a weight distribution system, you will likely use your RV trailer jack to lift the back end of your truck and trailer when connecting and disconnecting the weight distribution hitch. The best A-frame trailer jack for you might be rated to handle this additional weight.
Check with your vehicle manufacturer to estimate the load on your back axle. Once you have an idea of your tongue weight—plus a portion of your truck end’s weight—you can select a trailer jack that’s rated appropriately. When deciding how heavy-duty a hitch you need, having a higher-rated jack is always better. Otherwise, breakage could occur.
Jack Leg Extensions
Some camper jacks have a “drop” leg that brings the foot closer to the ground before you start lowering it. This saves time and energy, whether you’re extending a manual or electric tongue jack.
Some RV campers use jack pads or leveling blocks to reduce how far the jack must extend. However, this can result in trailer jack damage if your camper rolls and the jack falls off. A jack pad may be necessary to keep the foot from sinking into the ground, but it doesn’t need an essential part of your campsite setup checklist.
Jack Feet
In some cases, you may have a jack leg that’s missing a foot. Putting a hollow tube down into the dirt to raise or lower your trailer won’t work well. Luckily, you can purchase trailer jack feet to install on the leg of your RV tongue jack. These are highly recommended if your jack is missing a foot and especially useful if you dry camp a lot off of pavement.
Selecting the Best Jack for Your Camper Trailer
Choosing a manual jack vs an electric jack for your RV is largely a matter of preference. Manual jacks require more effort but less overall maintenance. Electric RV jacks are easier to use but require more maintenance and carry a higher chance of breaking. Whichever you choose, your RV lift jack must be rated to handle your trailer’s tongue weight and partially lift the back of your tow vehicle when connecting your weight distribution hitch.
You can’t overdo it, but you sure can underdo it! If you’re searching for an RV tongue jack replacement, electric lift jacks are great for ease of use, but not everyone wants or needs one. Go with your gut and ensure you get one that can do the job!
Hooking Up Your Travel Trailer
Hooking up a travel trailer is not difficult, but here are some important safety tips:
- Always make sure your trailer is chocked before disconnecting.
- Keep your chains connected to your vehicle while disconnecting. If your trailer rolls, it can only go so far.
- Use a chain holder to keep chains from dragging.
- Always cross your chains. This technique keeps the tongue off the ground in the event of a disconnect.
- If you have an absorption fridge, you must be level all around to prevent the trailer from killing your fridge or, worse, catching fire.
- Be sure your trailer doesn’t make the back of your tow vehicle sag. If it does, you need a weight distribution system.
- Frequently check the tightness of the bolts that hold your jack onto your hitch.
- Don’t pile up a bunch of levelers or boards to prop up your jack. It could easily fall off and cause damage.
Who Makes the Best Trailer Tongue Jack?
Some of our favorite manual and electric trailer jack brands include Lippert, CURT, Stromberg Carlson, Bulldog, Pro Series, and Trailer Valet.
Explore these additional RV leveling and stabilization resources:
- Stabilizing A Travel Trailer
- Picking the Best RV Wheel Chocks
- Power Tongue Jack Installation Guide
- Power Tongue Jack Not Working?
- How To Lubricate RV Stabilizer Jacks
Have you recently purchased a new RV trailer jack? If so, what did you get? Leave a comment below!
Ok I’m getting a 2021 ozark 1680 will a 3500lb electric jack work cause they’re trying to sell me a 4500
I can’t think of a time that I lifted any part of the truck with my tongue jack. Raise trailer, back truck under coupler, lower trailer to truck, lock coupler, drive away. Unhitching: Unlock coupler, raise trailer off truck ball, move truck, level trailer…
You may have missed the part about having a weight distribution hitch….