Dutton- Lainson Jack Install Complete

Went on without a hitch. (collective groan)

It's a straight swap with the factory jack. Same holes, same size mounting plate, same mounting nuts and bolts.

However... you will now have to swing the wheel forward if you were in the habit of swinging it back toward the trailer; it is that 3/4 of an inch too long. It doesn't interfere with any of the hitch components though:

View attachment upload_2023-10-31_13-37-1.jpeg

... but for the most part it does have to be completely collapsed to fit the space.

There are some other differences that may make this an undesirable switch-out for some people:

With the factory jack and our SUV option, our minimum hitch height using the jack was 11". This has now been increased to 13", mostly due to the wheel size increase from 6" to 8". The max hitch height with the new jack fully extended is a ridiculous 25". Which may be useful if you end up on a real wonky, unlevel site and want a level trailer in the end. But probably not. If you don't have the SUV option, then getting the trailer level, (depending upon the site of course) could now be impossible. Unless you jack both wheels off the ground. Which is a no-no. Even with the SUV option, this jack will hamper you slightly when it comes to leveling the trailer.

The mounting plate also had to be rotated 180 degrees (i.e the excess plate material was below the frame before. Now it it is above the frame.) But this requires no disassembly as it's a 360 deg plate.

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Here's a side-by-side comparison of old and new:

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Can't argue with its appearance as it is more in line with the trailer's other components.

(The clamp was simply to keep the old jack posing properly for the pic)

Other bonuses: The wheel has its own grease fitting, and it doesn't annoyingly spin around on you when you're trying to crank it up that last little bit of travel before stowing it horizontal. (Can you tell I get annoyed easily?)

Other considerations: This jack is about 8 lbs heavier than the factory one. If you're already having trouble with excess tongue weight and weight distribution, this will certainly add to your woes, but only a little. And there is no doubt that it is up to the task of supporting the CI and whoever may be in it. Cranking efficiency appears to be no different from the factory jack, but it is very smooth and comfortable.

The u-bolts and mounting hardware that came with it can now be used with the original jack on one of my other trailers.

I haven't decided to push the trailer around the driveway or the yard to test and compare the wheel's performance with the old one. I figured my day was full enough.

 

Nice writeup.
Thanks for the detail on minimum height.
This wont work for me in places where due to placement my hitch-tongue is closer to ground due unlevel camp area.

(Edit: I should note this is uncommon for most- I like to camp off of leveled sites or boondocking so sometimes the ground is bumpy/sloped more than a typical prepared site, and
I'm tryna get best shade, or nose pointed into the wind)

Qoes the locking pin on your new jack engage fully and reliably?

Thats one thing I notice about my OEM jack- its part of any trailer jack use- not CI specific;

Haveta double check its all the way in...
with a clear "click",
or if not, cuz I'm in a hurry and I didnt check/hear then to later run the risk of it folding unexpectedly.

 

Some further words of caution I feel obligated to impart:

After further inspection, at the jack's lowest cranked position, with the mounting plate inverted, with no other adjustments possible, and without welding some auxiliary mounting plates above the frame, the SUV trailer is level. i.e. the frame is 14" off the ground at the front and the back. The lowest part of the hitch coupler is at 13".

If you are on a site that slopes front-to-back, you now will not be able to level the trailer front-to-back, unless you dig a hole for the wheel to sit in. Side-to-side leveling (which I would argue is slightly more important) shouldn't be affected. With the factory jack you had an additional 2" of lowering to play with. Not much, but it still was something and usually got the job done.

When coupled to the Outback, and set up for loaded level towing, there is between 1" and 2" of clearance between the ground and the wheel at the lowest cranked position. So unless your tow set-up is abnormally "nose-down" and not level (which you should fix anyway, for handling and safety purposes) you will be able to get the trailer on and off the TV hitch without issue.

 

Yes. Everything about it is solid. No shake or play between the tubes, even at the highest extended position. Very impressed. My previous post should be the nail in the coffin for you re minimum height. Most people in established campgrounds with level pull-through sites will have no issues using this. Anything else, you might have to live with sleeping with upper body slightly elevated. But isn't this why CI installed the door stopper rubber knobs?

If one was really set on one of these (or any other of the beefier, 8" jacks out there or described in the forum) an inexpensive mounting plate welded to extend above the tongue frame would in effect raise the jack installation and lower the tongue height. Easy fix, for those with the means. And possibly one I may resort to if we end up getting snookered too often on non-level sites.

 

Even simpler, Kevin, is to bolt on a 7" x 8" x 3/16" plate, to extend above the frame, using the existing holes, and mount the jack to the new plate. You've gained back all of the 2" that you lost in the switch-over. No weld, no harm. Reversible. The additional torque stresses on the frame angle by mounting the jack above it would be minimal, as the frame integrity in that area is bolstered by the welded LP tank angle support.

That may be my low-tech fix going forward if I run into the same site selection and leveling situations that you are concerned about.

 

Great idea!

 

That looks really nice.

 

We are the same - we move the TD around often - especially for pointing the noise into the wind for the stove. Also some campsites are crazy unlevel - where you might have one wheel off the ground and the front jack extended a bit. Its fun watching the camper van guys try to level their machines by driving up on stuff in sites like that.

I really like what Steve did for the wheel size - need to think about the extra plate idea. I have used a door carpet to help on soft ground or gravel, and have had someone adding weight to the back of the trailer to decrease tongue weight.

 

Just got the 7" x 8 1/2" x 3/16 plate extension fabbed up this morning but didn't fancy trying to paint it and put it on in the snow today. Tomorrow's job.

Good ideas.

 

Done and it works. The plate is about as simple as it gets:

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I did give myself another inch or so of height in the mounting, in addition to the height of the frame:

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I now have a slightly better range of heights than what the factory jack gave me in its original mounting orientation. I can get the lower part of the tongue hitch down to about 9" off the ground (tape is slanted) which is plenty of leeway to deal with most uneven, non-level sites:

View attachment upload_2023-11-10_9-48-49.jpeg

The trailer frame at the back is now 17" off the ground. (Remember that levelling blocks for the tires, which many of us carry, can help sort out this geometric conundrum. Some really tall people routinely use leveling blocks on perfectly level ground just to raise the galley counter height to something more comfortable, which would make this jack's extra height somewhat of a non-issue, or even beneficial. Lots of workarounds.)

The max tongue height has been reduced from a lofty 25" down to a still excessive 21".

The jack does need to be fully retracted in order to stow properly:

View attachment upload_2023-11-10_9-50-21.jpeg

No flex at the plate connection during lateral movement of the trailer. All the slop (very little really) is in the 360 deg connection, and between the tubes. However, it would still make sense to fully lower the jack when attempting to swing the front right or left when there is resistance.

This plate extension would likely work with most other larger jacks that anyone has acquired as a replacement (large Fultons etc... regardless of mounting hole placement. I had to drill my own 8 holes in the plate anyway. You just don't want new holes in the trailer frame). As I said prior: no welding, and it's reversible back to a standard utility jack. But before acquiring a larger jack different from this, I would still pay attention as to how much extends above and below the jack's pivot point so you are not hampered by either the front storage or the hitch when you stow it; you can see that I have very little freeboard on either end.

 

Master craftsmanship!

 

I wish I had a metal shop where I could cut and process 3/16" plate.

Confession: I "have a guy"...

 

"I need a guy"...

 

For small stuff like a jack plate you only need:
A good vise
An angle grinder with a stock metal grinding wheel to cut and clean up edges
A drill press w/good bits
Safety glasses & hearing protection (edit)

I’ve been totally surprised at what I can do with an old garage-sale Makita angle grinder (ac, not battery)

 

Seth: I should have said:"easily" cut and process.

I do have all the stuff you listed, to muddle through, including a dedicated metal drill press. But his large metal bandsaw and an 8" industrial angle grinder were calling me and made very short work of the fab.

I have yet to do enough metal work and perfect the techniques where I know I won't be running back to the metal supermarket because I ran off the line. Or because the cuts and holes weren't scribed quite well enough to begin with. Watching my buddy do the work, I can learn the tricks of the trade. Of which there are many. And of which only a fraction are fully replicable by me in what is primarily a small woodshop.

In time.

 

It does take quite some time to cut a piece of 3/16” that big with my puny 4-1/2” angle grinder! Not to mention the opportunities for the cut to wander…

My advice is to grab a piece of that stock and see what damage you can do with your grinder. If you find that fun?

 

I'd probably set my barn on fire with all those sparks flying from my 5".

I haven't yet crossed the line from "demolition" to "fabrication", in terms of my metalwork skills. But as you say, practice makes... acceptable? passable?