Trailermate Jack

Submitted: Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 00:25
ThreadID: 129357 Views:8594 Replies:8 FollowUps:3
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Hi Folks,

I am contemplating fitting a trailermate mark 11 to our 20 foot Bushtracker. The primary purpose being to overcome levelling problems on caravan park sites which require jacking the front of the van up to level (when the slope does not allow the jockey wheel to extend fully down) and to reduce the effort of winding up the jockey wheel during the hookup process. I am aware that the Trailermate should not be used to jack up the van for the purpose of changing wheels.

Does anyone have experience, an opinion or advice on the pros and cons of fitting a trailermate to the Bushtracker for the purpose described above?

regards

John

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Reply By: surfy53 - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 00:42

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 00:42
I too am considering doing the same thing John. Can anyone give us some comparable height figures, TrailerMate v BT Jockey wheel.
It doesn't take too much of a slope to make uncoupling a b...h. A large percentage of CP's have too many angles.
Chris.
AnswerID: 587556

Reply By: Gone Bush - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 00:46

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 00:46
I had a TrailaMate on my drawbar and got sick of taking it off to travel, plus it lost pressure on me once and wouldn't jack up.

So I replaced it with a VC Slide Jack.

You can see some pictures on this Thread:

Site Link

It's excellent.

AnswerID: 587557

Reply By: Toyman - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 03:44

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 03:44
Find the Trailermate great (have always used it on my other Vans as well)
Mine stays on all the time, I just swing it up out of the way when we move.

John
"He who dies with the most toys wins"

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AnswerID: 587558

Follow Up By: Willie - Monday, Jul 07, 2014 at 08:05

Monday, Jul 07, 2014 at 08:05
Same for me
Willie
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FollowupID: 855920

Reply By: NIK `N` OFF - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 04:09

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 04:09
I have used a Trail A Mate with our BT since 2007 and prior to that a year with our previous van.

Last year i purchased a 2nd one because mine was starting to weep hydraulic fluid and in need of a seal kit and i was lazy and just bought new one. I had my opportunity to buy anything but went for the Trail A Mate again because of the ease of use.

I have fitted mine to a plate i welded behind the hitch, I take it off when not using it and put it in the cargo hold.

For those times you mention, and IF you usually get by with a wind up jockey wheel, perhaps a good quality Hydraulic bottle jack would suffice, it would then get double use when you need to change wheels, service suspension etc

Saying that, i like my Trail A Mate and got rid of the Mule Power Wheel ASAP


AnswerID: 587559

Reply By: Doinit-Ezy - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 15:58

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 15:58
I have retained the swing-up jockey wheel supplied by BT in 2007 as it handles most situations.

For those times when the ground is too close to swing the JW down or too far away for it to safely support the van by itself, I deploy my second jockey wheel which is fitted to the opposite side of the drawbar.

This second JW is removable & normally stored away when not in use. It is a cheap, simple solution plus I then have a spare jockey wheel should the other fail. I also like the reassurance of double supports under the A-frame when it is high off the ground.

I have also used this system on our 8 metre trailer boat (doubles as our on-road van sometimes) for many years.

The 'Trailermate' also looks like a good idea.

Have a great day
Greg
AnswerID: 587560

Reply By: Flex Track - Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 18:33

Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014 at 18:33
Hi Folks,

Thank you for your rapid responses. A mixed bag of ideas - which all sound like they provide an improved outcome. The suggestion of attaching the unit to a bracket welded to the plate upon which the hitch is mounted sounds like the best option for my setup. I have a Southeast Stainless generator and 3 x 20 litre jerry can box installed on the A-frame so the option for mounting additional jockey wheels etc on the A-frame is not viable in my case.

regards

John
AnswerID: 587561

Follow Up By: NIK `N` OFF - Friday, Jul 04, 2014 at 05:10

Friday, Jul 04, 2014 at 05:10
!MPG:147!

John I have the same set up on our draw bar, since that photo was taken I have removed the single clamp and fitted two clamps to give better strength.

One added benefit in not using the supplied power jockey wheel is the weight savings of 22kg, though the Trailmate does put back on maybe 1/2 that ...
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FollowupID: 855921

Reply By: Grumblebum & Dragon - Friday, Jul 04, 2014 at 20:08

Friday, Jul 04, 2014 at 20:08
I personally think the Trail Mate is a bit light weight, I also don't think the geared jockey wheel is much cop either as it usually loses traction on anything other than a good smooth concrete surface.

We have fitted a slide jack made by Vehicle Components in Brisbane…
3624-3800. Really robust bit of gear, VERY easy to wind up and down and has a great range of height adjustment.

John and Jean
AnswerID: 587562

Reply By: Grumblebum & Dragon - Sunday, Jul 06, 2014 at 22:54

Sunday, Jul 06, 2014 at 22:54
Here are three images of the recently installed Slide Jack. The engineering was done by Drill North at Malanda. Thanks to Uncle Dodgy for the recommend, they did a good job at a reasonable price.

John and JeanImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be Found

John and Jean
AnswerID: 587563

Follow Up By: NIK `N` OFF - Monday, Jul 07, 2014 at 04:37

Monday, Jul 07, 2014 at 04:37
John,

Nice welds & workmanship but over engineered IMO, it doesn't need too much strength to hold or raise up 350kg ;-)


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FollowupID: 855922

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