New Dutton-lainson Swivel Jack On The Way

I, like some others on this forum, have decided to "upgrade" the factory swivel jack. The OEM is more than serviceable for most people under most circumstances. However, I have been a little frustrated with the fact that it can be more "jack" than "swivel" and can do a good imitation of a snowplow under certain surface conditions. I know there are ways to mitigate the swivel resistance. But I wanted something that also could handle uneven terrain a bit better when hand-bombing the trailer into final position. Besides... I have another small enclosed trailer without a wheeled jack and thought that this was a good opportunity to upgrade the CI while donating to the other trailer. Easy decision.

A 10" pneumatic tire at first glance seemed to be the answer. Cary and Craig's cautions on other posts that they have "been there-done that", with less than spectacular results (flat spots, flats, blow-outs, over-spec'd and under-performing parts) quickly dissuaded me and pointed me to a slightly larger and wider solid 8"wheel. I don't believe that a 10" solid exists.

The factory wheel is a 2"x6" and can get hung-up on a tiny piece of gravel. Annoying.

I really liked Rotus8's Fulton:
Fulton Swivel Jack Upgrade but it is currently unavailable to me. Alternatively, I found Dutton-Lainson, which I would argue to be a direct U.S. competitor to the Fultons, in terms of quality, selection and price. This is the model I went with: DLx-P Marine Jack | Swivel | 1,500 lb. | Dutton-Lainson Company. (I haven't seen a D-L yet mentioned on the forum, hence the new thread.)

The 3"x8" wheel should perform a heap better. And the powder coating should retain its non-corroded appearance, as long as I don't ding it up too badly on gravel roads. It's got double grease fittings, and the wheel swivels independent of the inner tube.

I'll update for the install procedures/workarounds when it gets here. It comes with a standard bolt-on 2-sided clamp. I'll see if the pre-drilled mounting holes line up with the factory holes, or decide if creating a custom bracket to fit the tongue frame "L" angle iron (like Rotus8 did) is called for.

(I do have a pneumatic-wheeled dolly for moving my 3 trailers around the yard and the driveway. I need it. But can vouch for the fact that I have changed out or patched the inner tubes more times than I would like to admit. I doubt that a pneumatic wheel on the trailer jack would be any different.)

 

Please do keep us updated on installation and how it works.
The only time mine rolls easily is when I don't want it to, and in a direction I'd rather it didn't.

 

Will do. If the holes don't line up I have an idea for filling the void in the "L" with some plastic lumber so that I can use the supplied clamp. Not really keen on drilling any additional holes in the frame angle, or leaving any current holes unfilled without some additional structural support.

Although it does appear to have a greater travel than the OEM, I don't think it will be appreciably longer in it's collapsed position, and hence any more difficult to mount in a way that the wheel, when the jack is horizontal, clears the rest of the frame. I had some fears that a wide double wheel design might be problematic in that regard.

 

"I have an idea for filling the void in the "L" with some plastic lumber so that I can use the supplied clamp. Not really keen on drilling any additional holes in the frame angle, or leaving any current holes unfilled without some additional structural support."

My concern as well. There is a thread here somewhere by dirty6 about his upgrade...
Ah, found it:
Tongue Jack Upgrade - Maybe

 

Thanks Kevin. That space, upon closer inspection is confounded by the cross brace upon which the LP tank sits, and the current mounting bracket for the jack spans both sides of it. Making a one-piece filler block a non-starter. That is... if I were to need to position the jack mount the exact distance from both the hitch and the trailer for proper horizontal folding.

Hopefully I can leave the bracket and swivel plate in place and just replace the jack itself, like some others have done. Sometimes these things are punched out out in the same Chinese factory on the same machine, and simply have another sticky label slapped on them.

 

If needed:
A trailer shop could weld a new 3/16” (5mm) plate over your existing holes in the beam. And could come in from the other side to fill the holes with weld.

Then you have an undrilled piece of trailer to bolt to…

I suggest all this purely from a theoretical standpoint; there may be *reasons* it wouldn’t work as well as I think. But steel is a really malleable material when you have the right skills and tools available. It can be patched, extended, strengthened, etc… very effectively and really quite inexpensively.

Or mount your new jack on the passenger side…

 

Thanks Seth. Passenger side has the tube conduit for the trailer wiring. So it is even more cluttered on the inside faces.

I "have a guy" who does a lot of my welding. I might be leaning on him for your solution if the old and new parts (or holes) don't mix and match like I hope. Crossed fingers.

 

IIRC There were some old threads here on frame welding done over the years, and

Steve I look forward to what you and your guy will find to git-r-done,
as a bigger footprint wheel is in my upgrade list for soft ground, too.

For now I carry a 18" square or two of 3/4" plywood to put under the tow jack wheel or leveling jack feet to avoid digging in on moist or sandy soil. But it would be nice to be able to roll around a bit positioning the trailer to get it "just right" in some spots.

I know I'm another fan boy preaching to the choir here, but its hard to overstate the value of shared wisdom of this community forum and

I say thank you again to CI and mods and users for their generous work doing so.

 

I echo your comments.

I've been trying my hand at a bunch of things new to me lately and habitually look high and low on third party sites, and other tiny trailer forums, for all the how-to's. And just as importantly: how-not-to's. Just to cover my bases and give me the confidence to take a stab at it. Frequently their content pales in comparison to wealth of knowledge and experience that has been acquired and is freely shared on this forum, and that which also emanates regularly from the Mothership.