Rear hatch and Tongue Jack

csonni

I’ve got a Dodge Grand Caravan as my TV and am wondering if I’ll need to extend the ball mount so the rear hatch door doesn’t come into contact with the tongue jack and handle. Is anyone using a minivan as their TV and have you had to extend the mount? I have not yet picked up our T@G, thus, the inquiry.

beaky

my SUV, Toyota FJ, hits the jack when I open the door. So I don't open the door when hooked up.

HikinMike

FJ swings out like a car door (I had one). 4Runner swings up and it does not hit.

JamesDow

I have a 2012 Rav4 with a back door which opens left to right. I can get it open a little to put in last minute small things like wheel chucks.
Bottom line you need to plan ahead in your packing.
For your pickup of the T@G, a trailer hitch extender would be fine.
I would not extend the ball mount on a long term basis, but that is your preference.
Having the hitching sticking out for every day camping presents potential painful hazards.
Another alternative is changing the jack itself. Below is a photo and a link of an example.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Ultimate-Jack/322-RDJ-2K.html
.
https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Adapters/Curt/C45791.html?feed=npn&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgomBBhDXARIsAFNyUqMknFy43pOXQpk4REml8lsl9LidRDBG9q7-7eYeXhK5vT9I5gTY42saAi1pEALw_wcB

---

.

Sharon_is_SAM

@csonni - we tow our TaB with a Sienna. I think the location of the jack and handle are similar to the TaG. As long as we are level, we just barely clear the crank. We have a version of the Jack-E-Up that allows us to remove the post if necessary.

csonni

There are some ball mounts that extend a bit further which would alleviate that problem. I really don't want to spend a chunk of money on a mount that won't work. I think I'll wait till we get our TaG here and go from there. We're towing it home on Feb. 27th with our Ford Escape.

csonni

Happy morning for us. We found out the rear hatch of our Dodge Grand Caravan does indeed clear the tongue jack. I really didn't want to use our extension...heavy beast for sure.

LuckyJ

It found it's home up north! Yeah! 🤗

ras

We installed the ultimate jack. Much easier to remove the wheel for traveling and by removing the foot and loosening one bolt, you can remove the entire shaft.

csonni

@ras said:
We installed the ultimate jack. Much easier to remove the wheel for traveling and by removing the foot and loosening one bolt, you can remove the entire shaft.

I like to drop down feature of that jack. Crank only is slow. Do the mounting holes line up correctly with the T@G? How about the T@G wheel? Fits good over the bottom end of the post with the pin lining up? The only thing I'm wondering is, with the top winder crank, will that interfere with my rear hatch and will I need to drop down the jack to open the hatch?

csonni

Looks like a bit of finagling to get it hooked up. https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/9541#Comment_9541

ras

Looking at the picture in that link. I installed with the locking pin pointing back toward the T@G. It was a straight drop-in. Taking out the old and putting in the new took maybe 20 minutes. Used the same 2-1/4 wheel and foot but I'm not sure the jack I removed was the original since I bought the trailer used. Have towed it with a 2005 Highlander and a 2019 Outback and had no problems with the hatch. Our big dog rides in the back and has to have potty breaks so we've had plenty of opportunities to test the hatch.

csonni

So all three bolts and washers dropped down in place with no grinding needed. That's good to know.

ras

No washers. I would have had to find some. The old one didn't have washers.

csonni

The last trucker that hauled our trailer to us contacted us and told us to order another jack and he'll reimburse us, as he's realized that he should've put a block of wood under our post as it sat on the metal floor of his trailer. When we picked up our trailer, he told us the the bottom of the jack post was ground down at an angle right up to the pin holes. After grinding away the curled metal, I was able to fit the wheel on...for the time being. How does one order the OEM jack? Or are there others that will drop right in? The Ultimate Jack won't go in without enlarging the holes for the bolts.

csonni

Ended up going with the Bulldog 1550100317 Sidewind 3000 lb jack with a 7 inch retraction from the mount. I also got the drop leg extension if needed.

csonni

Just got my tongue jack delivered (right in time for my birthday haha). Too much snow on the go to deal with it now. Do they seriously need to put all those labels on it?! One was partially torn off, like an afterthought. Why should I have to spend almost an hour of my time with Goo-Be-Gone to remove all the ugly shipping labels?

csonni

Tongue Jack installed today without a hitch. All the bolt holes lined up just as expected.