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Thread: Tailgate Whacks Jack - Fixed It
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07-17-2021, 08:01 PM #1
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Tailgate Hits Jack - Fixed It
Unlike most other tongue jacks, e.g. Lippert, the Stromberg Carlson jack motor head cannot be rotated, this per the factory. My old man, gentleman farmer, way too fancy, Silverado has a power tailgate which powers right down and hits the jack. Not good. I'm still strong enough to overcome the motorized tailgate and stop it from hitting the jack, but then it wants to beep a few times and power shut again. If you have not driven 350 miles and its still daylight, and you are blessed with ultra quick reflexes, you can hit the tailgate "go down" button, as it is going down and it stops being motorized. At this point the tailgate becomes a very heavy dead weight. It seems even heavier when holding it partway down so as to not hit the jack whilst getting the wheel chocks and leveling blocks out of the truck bed (which are on the opposite side of where you are standing holding the tailgate in mid stroke. The factory said to just rotate the whole jack. Great idea except that it can only go 120 degrees (using the holes that are already there) and you really can't do that if you want to keep the propane tanks where they are. The fix was to drill new mounting holes for the jack so that it is 90 degrees rotated. Now it clears the tailgate. Yessss.
The play by play: Raise the tongue a bit with the jack. Put two jack stands under the A frame. Lower the trailer onto the jack stands and remove the 3 bolts holding the tongue jack onto the A frame. Now is a good time to disconnect the battery just in case, and disconnect the wire that runs to the jack so you have enough length of wire to pull the jack out of the mount. This wire disconnecting business involves creeping under the trailer and finding where it is terminated and cutting a few wire ties to free it up. Try to remember how it was so you can connect it back later. Now here is the cool trick; thread in three 3/8 x 16 pointy end set screws into the mounting holes with the points sticking up just a bit above the plate. Put the jack back in the hole, orient it where you want it and whack it with a hammer to mark where you need to drill the 3 new holes. Then drill 'em and put it back together.
Safety First, Two Jack Stands under the A frame
Pointy ended 3/8 x 16 set screws used as center punches
Whack it to mark where to drill
Drill a 1/2" diameter hole for the 3/8" diameter bolts since nothing is ever marked perfectly
It works!Last edited by FlyStar; 07-18-2021 at 06:14 AM. Reason: Clarity
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