power tongue jack for an E21

[Ron in BC]

yup, ordered a cheap cover etrailer suggested with it.

My wife's sewing is even cheaper. I repurposed a cover, made from Sunbrella, that was for a little outboard that I don't use anymore.

Definitely like to protect it from road grime and sun.

Ron

 

[Axeman]

The Bulldog was a great choice. We had one on our previous trailer and I much prefer it to the LCI that came with our 21C. The retractable leg really reduces the amount of time when the jack is just cranking to get the foot to the ground. Its also much easier to change the orientation of the jack head than the LCI. I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

Well, mounted the power jack, rotated 90 degrees sideways so hopefully the tailgate of the SUV clears, and whoops, the propane tank cover wouldn't fit on, wasn't enough space between the power jack head and the propane crossover switch lever for that V shaped stiffener notch on the propane cover to clear. I hacked a chunk of that v thing off the propane tank cover, and now it fits. I haven't hooked up power yet to the jack, i was going to tap the power at the brake breakaway switch but both wires are black and I haven't quite decided how I want to splice this.

 

[Suregrip391]

Any pics John? I’ll be doing my Lippert conversion soon myself…..just wanted to see the clearance issue mentioned.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

and.... wired power, decided since the jack wire was AWG 12 stranded, and the breakaway switch wire was AWG 18, best way was to solder them, and shrinkwrap. Works great. The jack's actual draw going up/down is only about 6-9 amps, even if the spec says 30A max, thats probably stall current or something.

I'll take some pics in a bit, need to shower.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

ok, pictures...

sideways jack right up against propane tank cover.

cover off, closeup.

where I had to cut-away the stiffener in the cover

stiffener on the other side...

inside of the trimmed stiffener.

that stiffener simply would NOT fit between the jack and failover switch on the M-E propane regulator.

 

[CE Vogel]

That is a tight fit! The Lippert Smart Jack I have would not fit there at all as the head is considerably larger. Could you move the regulator to the back side to give you more clearance? My regulator and tank hoses are on the back side of the bracket.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

hmmm, the back side is right up against the storage bin. not sure I could see the propane tank indicator if it was flipped around backwards.

 

[Suregrip391]

Thanks for the pics! I have the Lippert 285318 which is the standard power tongue jack. I rotated the head and will be doing the install in the next week or so. I’ll post up some info & pics and see if I run into any of this on a 2017 E19.

Thanks John!

 

[Suregrip391]

Installed the Lippert power tongue jack on Monday and I also had to trim the stiffener on the propane cover to get it to fit. Thanks again for your pics!

 

[Rossue2]

A few years ago someone wrote on this topic and suggested the IKON propane tank cover. I ordered a black one and it had the opening at the top for the tank valves. It was funky and didn't like it. The white one is available without that opening so I ordered that at made a hybrid. As you can see there is now plenty of room between the cover and the front box and it is lighter too so pulling it off to check tanks is easy.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

hmmm, that looks like it has the same ridge stiffener ?

Standard Thermoformed Propane Tank Cover

Standard Thermoformed Propane Tank Cover

www.icondirect.com

 

[Donna D.]

I ordered a black one and it had the opening at the top for the tank valves. It was funky and didn't like it.

I thought that funky opening was so you could turn the propane valves on/off without removing the entire cover? A know a number of people uses bungees or zip ties to hold down the cover....

 

[Ron in BC]

I thought that funky opening was so you could turn the propane valves on/off without removing the entire cover?

A know a number of people use zip ties to hold down the cover....

I use zip ties but not hold down the cover but to avoid loosing it if the latches give way. Like a set of extra hinges.

Ron

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

my tank cover has been held on strictly by friction for 10s of 1000s of miles.

 

[Rossue2]

Yeah, same one; they are 30 Gallon size so yiu have to cut them down about four inches or so. The eyelit at the bottom of mine is where I attach a bungee cord & loop underneath.

hmmm, that looks like it has the same ridge stiffener ?

Standard Thermoformed Propane Tank Cover

Standard Thermoformed Propane Tank Cover

www.icondirect.com

 

[Rossue2]

It is there to operate tank valves, however it is very flimsy. The standard ta k cover ETI supplies has a good valve hatch, yet is too wide with a power jack & front box.

I thought that funky opening was so you could turn the propane valves on/off without removing the entire cover? A know a number of people uses bungees or zip ties to hold down the cover....

 

[GinoandLinda]

my tank cover has been held on strictly by friction for 10s of 1000s of miles.

That’s impressive. I’ve had two sucked off our Rpod when the thin bungee holding it down failed. Switched to a small strap after that.

 

[Ron in BC]

my tank cover has been held on strictly by friction for 10s of 1000s of miles.

That’s impressive. I’ve had two sucked off our Rpod when the thin bungee holding it down failed. Switched to a small strap after that.

I think that a lot has to do with the aerodynamics created by the shape of the tug. In the past some folks experimented with roof top wind deflectors that had the unintended consequence of creating more of a low pressure area by the propane tank cover and levitating it to oblivion.

Ron

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

I think that a lot has to do with the aerodynamics created by the shape of the tug. In the past some folks experimented with roof top wind deflectors that had the unintended consequence of creating more of a low pressure area by the propane tank cover and levitating it to oblivion.

Ron

FWIW, I towed with a F250 that had a shell on the bed, and now I'm towing with an Expedition.

I guess these both have similar profiles in back