Joseph - I have thought about that also, and agree with Jim, the jack is a wear item, and fairly cheap. If mine ever fails due to stripped gears then I will just use my bottle jack to raise the tongue. I have used my jack to get me out of trouble in the past (don't ask out of embarrassment!). Also, I still have to use the tool, as I don't raise it enough to lift the bars above the saddles.

I had the broken jack--story documented here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/mainten...jack-leg-spins

Howard,

Lifting a DRW truck should have a jack suitable for the task. Is your jack a 3500lb unit like what is on my Imagine or hopefully a higher capacity? The tongue weight on my Imagine 2600RB is around 900lbs with full water and connected to a half ton truck. Should not be an issue for a 3500 lb jack in my case.

Jim

Yes--3500lbs. The issue was (in hindsight) the ridiculous amount of lift I was trying to achieve to make the Blue Ox's bars easier to attach. As I've mentioned many times, the answer is Lippert's Straptek for those that use the 2K bars with a Blue Ox.

Certainly agree with you Howard. But why did they not install a 5K version on a rig as heavy as yours? They should know you most likely would tow that rig with a one ton truck. My little half ton lifts easily with my 3500lb jack along with the Imagine 2600RB.

Jim

Guest Jim, remember the jack load is more than the load at the ball. If the load at the ball is 900 lbs, then to find jack load, multiply 900 X the distance from the center of the axles to the ball. Take this new number and divide by the distance from the center of the axles to the center of the jack.

For quick reference you can divide the distance from ball to axle centers by the jack to axle centers. This will tell you the load multiplier for the jack. Lets throw a couple of numbers at it to help explain. TT length is listed at approx 30'. Assuming a well balance trailer, the center of the axles to the ball will be about 18'. (30' - 4' tongue)/2= 13' +1' (axle set back to create tongue weight) + 4'. Now the jack is set back 2' from the ball (rough guess trying to keep the numbers whole). This now makes the multiplier 18'/16' = 1.125 So for the 900 lb ball weight, the jack load is 900 lb * 1.125 = 1013 lbs. If we add to that the weight of the rear of the truck (sprung weight) of say 900 lbs at the ball, the new ball load is not 1,800 lbs, and the jack load is 1,800 lbs * 1.125 = 2,025 lbs. This may not seem like a lot, but the 900 lb truck load is not realistic it's more like 2,000 lbs or more depending on the truck. That being said, 2,000 lbs * 1.125 = 2,250 lbs + 1,013 lbs from before and now the jack is seeing 3,263 lbs.

Joseph,

Being a mechanical engineer I'm comfortable with my 3500lb jack on my Imagine 2600RB and my Equalizer hitch.

Jim

A couple of points regarding some of the comments above:

1) When you are using the tongue jack to "lift the rear of the truck" you are not actually lifting the full weight of the rear of the truck. The truck has a suspension and you are merely releasing some of the preload on the rear springs of the truck. The hitch ball probably has a 3.5 to 5 foot moment arm relative to the centerline of the rear axle (depending on bed length and hitch/shank dimensions) so it would take a lot of jack travel to start taking up a significant amount of truck weight from the suspension. You only need a few inches to change the angle of the WD spring bars relative to the trailer tongue enough make them easier to install or remove.

2) I wouldn't use those Straptek things even if I was paid to do so and absolutely wouldn't spend half the cost of an entire hitch system on them. How long until all the little springs and pivot points get rusty and start to stick? How long until the UV degrades the polyester straps to the point they can't handle the load? How long until the fabric strap gets a small nick or fray in it that causes it to fail? Anything other than high strength metallic components has no business being part of a hitch/weight distribution/sway control system.

JimB33 The biggest issue with lifting the rear of the truck is the moment arm from the jack of the camper to the ball. The weight that the jack is lifting is a steady increasing load as the rear springs unload. IIRC the rear axle on my 2500GM scales about 4k unloaded. Springs and axles are probably 1k of that load, so 3k (reduced by the arm to the ball) is what needs to be lifted.

howson Howard, Can you comment on the Straptech's? I know you have been running them for a few years. By chance if you have spare time and do not mind (when not playing with other people money on the solar install) can you pull out the shearline scale and lift the ball of your truck say 6" (The one time I helped someone move their camper, he lifted the rear of my truck about 1') and get a load? Then if time permits, how much does it change to lift 1'.

Jlawles2, that was my point. You are not lifting this the full 3k of the truck as soon as the coupler starts lifting the hitch ball. The truck's suspension is still supporting the vast majority of this. Even if you raised the jack high enough to lift the rear tires of the truck off the ground, the hitch would not be lifting the full 3k since the fulcrum is the front axle of the truck and the lever ratio or mechanical advantage is the distance from the ball to the front axle centerline divided by the distance from the CG of the truck to the front axle. This is a class 2 lever - same principle as why you are able to lift and move a wheelbarrow that contains a couple of hundred pounds of gravel or cement in it.

I'm a big fan of the Curt model 17500 w 10k lb bars but there are others that may be just as good.

Hi Vanteer, I'm like you - completely new to towing RVs (and this forum) but I have done a fair amount of equipment towing in my life. I share your concerns in towing a "big box", I hope my experience is not like using a tricycle to tow a Macy's parade balloon.. I am in the process of buying a 23LDE (28ish ft) and I am putting the ProPride 3P WDH on it. Yes, expensive, yes, probably overkill for my new RV, but I'm hoping it will make my trips a little less stressful for trailer sway since I plan on building up to a VA to CA trip this summer. I have researched the ProPride reviews and like what I see. The extreme cost of the ProPride is around $3,500 plus shipping. That is a huge factor, almost a deterrent, but my RV dealer is a ProPride installer and I worked it into my purchase. I' had read reviews that Alex Miller with ProPride is very helpful and responsive, so I emailed him several questions and the guy is super nice and responsive, within 24 hrs or sooner. I peppered the poor guy with several questions and he really helped.

I looked hard at the 2600RB but my wife did not like the seating arrangement. I almost bought the 2500RL, but we settled on the shorter 23LDE to get us back down into the 6995 GVWR range I felt was best for me and my truck.

My tow rig is almost identical to yours, 2018 F150 XLT 4x4 crew SB, 3.5 eco, Max tow package, 36 gals, 7000 GVWR, 2050 payload, 16,100 GCWR, 13,200 towing max reduced to 10,700 due to my specific truck config.

This forum is full of owners with vast experience. Your choice will probably come down to your preference since the main hitch brands all appear to be very capable.

bigdog

Joseph -- as on owner and user of Strapteks I'll respectfully disagree with JimB33 's opinion. For my application it solves a multitude of issues that are documented at length on the forum. Interestingly, my buddy who is visiting (with the 297RSTS) has a Blue Ox setup, too. He uses the Blue Ox heads, chains, and he even uses the OEM-provided wrench. My friend had no problem disconnecting or reconnecting. So for his application spending money on Strapteks would be a waste. (Not sure exactly which model of Blue Ox he has.)

Bottom line: it's OK to have a different opinion on this forum -- contrasting points of view spark interesting conversation.

---

"Spare time"? What's that?

Are you asking for a weight measurement without the camper attached to the truck or with it attached to the truck?

howson Howard without the camper attached. Trying to show how much load the tongue jack is picking up to make the connections. I don't think people realize just how high the spring rate on the leaf springs in the rear of a truck actually are. So lifting the rear of the truck 6" is actually a much larger load than they expect, thus leading to a high load in the tongue jack.

Better yet, lets do a survey on how many since 2012 have failed a tongue jack while lifting to install their bars. I've found no screw and nut failure incident due to an Equalizer style hitch. Over extension of the jack does not count.

Here is something for the OP through a survey.

https://www.equalizerhitch.com/blog/...ce-gold-awards

Jim