How To Manually Extend And Retract An Ultra-Fab Phoenix 4000 Electric Trailer Jack

Question:

My Phoenix 4000 electric tongue jack has gotten very slow since purchasing it only 4 months ago….I’m not sure why…it is intact and has never been Hit or abused….recently my battery on my trailer that It was wired to died. Given the situation I was left to manually raise and lower this jack for a few days. The first thing I learned is it was supposed to come with an adapter that would let me attach to the bolt to raise or lower and it did not….secondly after I found the correct size socket in my own tools I used a Dewalt impact torque wrench/drill to try to raise/lower the jack and its so tight that wouldnt work….this is the most powerful 20volt impact gun Dewalt makes which is also the most powerful impact gun on the market currently…..finally I just used a breaker bar and had to physically He-Man the jack up and down so I could continue to move and run my business.multiple times I’ve had to get a second person to switch off with me when putting the jack down or up because it’s that hard to turn….I’ve not had this jack 6 months and it came highly referred to me and I’ve just not had a good experience. except maybe the first two weeks…this jack was Awesome at that point. -Also I have a weigh safe ball hitch and my tongue weight is always about 5-600 lbs when my load is distributed evenly…so I’m not severely over the weight limit for the jack or anything either.

asked by: Lahn B

Expert Reply:

You should never use an impact drill to raise or lower a jack since it would hammer as it drills and most likely damaged the internal components of the jack making it harder to manually raise and lower it. Ultra-Fab has stated that the Phoenix Electric Trailer Jack # UF38-944040 isn't the easiest jack on the market to manually raise and lower, but what you're describing is well beyond the norm.

When manually overriding the jack you need to first unscrew the fuse and remove it and then you can use a 9/16" socket to activate the drive head. After you're done you can reinsert the fuse and compete the calibration steps before using it with a battery again.

This jack does have a manufacturer warranty though so I recommend reaching out to Ultra-Fab to get it replaced and replacing your trailer's battery to properly operate the replacement.

expert reply by: Kevin C