Part of jack fell off

[Kim Gass]

The foot and the tube attached to the foot were MIA on arrival home today
We cant unhook the 212 QB from the tow vehicle.
We are going to the dealer tomorrow so they can use a forklift and cribbing till the part comes in so we aren't attached permanently
The electric part of the jack is still there.
Maybe we did something dumb but we'd appreciate advice on how to avoid this in the future.
We had about a 150 mile drive over typical Maine frost heaved back roads today.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

The foot and the tube attached to the foot were MIA on arrival home today
We cant unhook the 212 QB from the tow vehicle.
We are going to the dealer tomorrow so they can use a forklift and cribbing till the part comes in so we aren't attached permanently
The electric part of the jack is still there.
Maybe we did something dumb but we'd appreciate advice on how to avoid this in the future.
We had about a 150 mile drive over typical Maine frost heaved back roads today.

I don't see a need for a fork lift. I've lifted trailer tongues with a $ 60.00 farm jack with no problems. Or use a hydraulic jack with boards for cribbing. That trailer isn't that heavy, just get or borrow a jack stand or cribbing, be sure to chock the rear wheels.

[Kim Gass]

We have neither of those
Not farmers

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

The foot and the tube attached to the foot were MIA on arrival home today
We cant unhook the 212 QB from the tow vehicle.
We are going to the dealer tomorrow so they can use a forklift and cribbing till the part comes in so we aren't attached permanently
The electric part of the jack is still there.
Maybe we did something dumb but we'd appreciate advice on how to avoid this in the future.
We had about a 150 mile drive over typical Maine frost heaved back roads today.

Is it electric or manual? A good dealer should have both in stock. Only 3 bolts and then one wire if electric.

[Kim Gass]

Electric. My main conceen is how do we avoid this happening again?

[dxrobertson]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Electric. My main conceen is how do we avoid this happening again?

Did you not retract the jack fully prior to departure? Thats all you need to do in the future. Not implying you didnt retract, just thats a main focus point prior to pulling off. Or maybe your tow vehicle is squatting in the rear and the jack is too low?

Is the remaining part of the jack tube all bent up, at the bottom? That would indicate the lower portion got caught on something and ripped off.

If the bottom of the tube looks ok and not mangled, I suppose the jack could have been defective and just fell out, but I have never heard of this happening.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Electric. My main conceen is how do we avoid this happening again?

Could have just been a retaining pin/clip failure or similar.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Just thankful I wasn't behind you..☺️

I had a friend who bought a new 5th wheel. When he got it home the spare tire was missing, including the cable and winch that held it in place.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Electric. My main conceen is how do we avoid this happening again?

So sorry that happened. That's a new one on me too. Like some mechanics say "Never saw that happen before". i do suppose it's possible the screw drive inside the tube broke, and the whole inside tube and guts fell out. Maybe a flaw in the metal, and it finally fractured all the way. It's anybody's guess.

I wouldn't be worried it would ever happen again. We had a motor drive shaft snap in two once, but that was operator error running the jack up too high until it stopped. Lesson learned the hard way.

[Kim Gass]

We actually did not bottom out on anything. Nothing is bent on the remaining part of the unit.
We just don't want it to happen again.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Yooper906

I don't see a need for a fork lift. I've lifted trailer tongues with a $ 60.00 farm jack with no problems. Or use a hydraulic jack with boards for cribbing. That trailer isn't that heavy, just get or borrow a jack stand or cribbing, be sure to chock the rear wheels.

Your advice & just a 3ton bottle jack from Harbor Freight ( cheap but in a pinch) and the rest is DIY.

[skids]

If you have an equalizer hitch, you may have difficulties getting that off. (like jack it up to remove the WD hitch, then jack it down to start removing the regular hitch from the ball.) If you intend on using hydraulic jacks, you had better plan on two areas of cribbing because you may not have enough extension of the jack. If you use a farm jack be super careful as they can be dangerous.

[skids]

Of course you could pick up the new electric tongue jack and install it while the trailer is still hooked up to the tow vehicle and all of that drama could be avoided (I think).

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

We have neither of those
Not farmers

A trip to Harbor Freight would solve that problem. I have and used roadside service but still wouldn’t be without a jack.
If there’s no damage to the tongue jack I expect Grumpy is correct.

[SmokerBill]

Use the scissor jack that's in your tow vehicle. As you raise the front of the trailer, drop the front trailer support jacks down as a safety measure.

[Old and soft]

Originally Posted by skids

Of course you could pick up the new electric tongue jack and install it while the trailer is still hooked up to the tow vehicle and all of that drama could be avoided (I think).

I would have had this replaced by now. The hard part would be procuring a replacement. But I make my living repairing other peoples junk. My favorites are when the customer tries to repair it first. Gotta know your limitations.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

The foot and the tube attached to the foot were MIA on arrival home today
We cant unhook the 212 QB from the tow vehicle.
We are going to the dealer tomorrow so they can use a forklift and cribbing till the part comes in so we aren't attached permanently
The electric part of the jack is still there.
Maybe we did something dumb but we'd appreciate advice on how to avoid this in the future.
We had about a 150 mile drive over typical Maine frost heaved back roads today.

As suggested, just put a new jack on your trailer while it is still hooked up. You should always have some type of jack (hydr, scissor, etc) with you.

An anomaly if you didn't drag it off on a low spot or drove off while it was deployed. If you did, something would be bent.

If it was defective, nothing you can do to prevent it in the future.

[Kim Gass]

Thanks to all. The lower part of the post snapped off so we must have hit something without knowing it.

We have a jack.. But the point is how to avoid doing this in the future.

We took it to the dealer who will fix it next week . We are in rural Maine and parts are not often on hand. It would have had to go there anyway and we need the truck for Food Pantry Monday.. dragging a trailer is not an option.
Harbor Freight must be a go to. I think we have one in our State somewhere.

We don't see the point of using a jack each time we want to hook/ unhook.

[Old and soft]

One of these days you will need a jack to change a tire. The sisor jack in your tow vehicle, or at least in mine,
inhales profusely. Or do you think roadside assistance will arrive in a timely manner? Does the lug wrench for your tv fit the lugnuts on your trailer? We are just trying to help you become more self sufficient.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Old and soft

One of these days you will need a jack to change a tire. The sisor jack in your tow vehicle, or at least in mine,
inhales profusely. Or do you think roadside assistance will arrive in a timely manner? Does the lug wrench for your tv fit the lugnuts on your trailer? We are just trying to help you become more self sufficient.

Just stop it.. Stop it. I do not need to be talked to like a child. Yes we have changed a tire on the TT.We did it on the Yellowhead Highway.. Let me introduce you to that highway. It is 2 lanes with a 110 km speed limit that is routinely ignored by cars RV and transports. It has a very narrow set of shoulders and you can be hit easily because the ditch starts at the edge of the shoulders.
The jack is fine.. We added traffic cones to our safety kit.

So after 130, 000 miles of trailering in mostly sparsely populated spaces we have a good sense of jacking and cribbing and would prefer to avoid doing that a whole lot of times. We do not have roadside assistance available to anyone in the North Maine Woods.

My question was what caused this in the first place.. Period.