Safe Jack is not a sponsor of this blog, not did they send me any of their products for free. This is just my personal opinion of their product based on my experience.
Picture this: You are rolling down the highway and your TPMS alarm goes off and you have a flat tire. Or worse yet, you notice your trailer drop to one side, and you discover a broken leaf spring. Smart Jack is one of those things you probably ought to consider carrying in your tool box. Why? Because it is going to be easier and safer than dealing with multiple wood blocks or leveling pads in order to raise your trailer to make repairs.
Now, I need to warn you that Smart Jack is not cheap. However, it is really worth the money in terms of safely jacking your vehicle.
Most of today’s travel trailers (and fifth wheels) have frames that are at least 24″ off the ground. Keep in mind you should not be jacking your trailer up on the axles. So, there are only a few ways to get your bottle jack that high, and one way is by stacking something underneath it. I have done that myself when performing wheel bearing maintenance. It took 12 leveling blocks in order to lift my trailer by the frame.
I know many folks make blocks out of wood for raising their bottle jack. These will take up a lot of space in your cargo area and probably add some unwanted weight as well. That’s one of the advantages to the Safe Jack extension. It doesn’t weigh as much as blocks and it takes up almost no space at all.
Now, if I am on the side of the road without Safe Jack, and I need to replace a leaf spring, I would almost certainly use all my leveling blocks to lift the trailer and perhaps a few more blocks to support the axle with a second jack. I suppose there could be a real possibility of not having enough blocks depending on the terrain. Plus there is a certain amount of nervousness having the jack(s) on leveling blocks when a cement contact point would be the most stable.
I have mentioned many times that trailers need to be jacked carefully. Wheel chocks, locking jack stands, as well as the bottle jack should be used in order to be safe. You are in a very vulnerable position should something go wrong when the trailer is lifted. So regardless of what you use, you need to be overly-safe. Never perform any maintenance you are not comfortable doing. If this means towing your trailer on a flat bed to an RV repair facility in order to be safe – that is what you should do.
So, what is the cost? Well for my extension the cost was $83.00. The six-ton (that is the size (capacity) of my bottle jack) extension screw collar was $18.00. I have since bought a six-ton flat pad that will sit on the top of my extension to give more surface area to the jack; that was $43.00. So my total was $144.00.
They also have base plates you can bolt onto the bottom of your existing bottle jack to add extra stability. I may consider that option in the future.
In addition, they also have packages that include many accessories plus the bottle jacks and a carrying case. As I mentioned, that will get a bit pricier. That being said, I feel it it is worth the investment. I am very happy with the quality of the construction and the ease of use. I also feel much better not using leveling blocks.
So, if you are looking for a way to lift your trailer in a safer manner, Safe Jack may be the perfect solution for you. You can visit them, and their full line of products by clicking here. On a side note, their customer service is outstanding.
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