Community Forums

fisher99 · 06-13-2021, 07:34 PM

Bob. Let's face it. You just lead a charmed life!

Actually, you are probably in the majority here and the Attwood will probably last you and most people forever. But last summer mine started making occasional popping noises when trying to reach the last 6 to 8 inches of travel. Bothered me enough that I started carrying my high-lift jack (from my 4 wheeling days) just in case. Plus we boondock a fair amount and find that it can be hard to get my 34' trailer level front-to-back without a lot of blocks, so the extra 6" of travel will be a bonus.

Which reminds me of another great feature of the Barker. It comes with a hand crank that you can use in case of a motor or power failure. I'll be leaving the high lift jack at home now, and sleeping like a baby with the new non-popping jack...

Riverguy · 06-13-2021, 11:39 PM

I’m ordering the Barker VIP 3500. My original Atwood, then cheap Harbor Frt replacement went gunny sack this past month. Great reviews on this site and also on other sites for the Barker. Thanks to everyone for their input.

SailorGuy · 06-29-2022, 11:34 AM

A year later and need some input for new jack for 2015 20FQ pulled by f250. Existing jack making noises. Full-timing with wife hunting down passport stamps so use jack every 3rd day or so. Looking at stromberg Carlson 4500, husky 4500 or barker 5000 - don’t want to replace again soon. Comments?

fisher99 · 06-29-2022, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SailorGuy

A year later and need some input for new jack for 2015 20FQ pulled by f250. Existing jack making noises. Full-timing with wife hunting down passport stamps so use jack every 3rd day or so. Looking at stromberg Carlson 4500, husky 4500 or barker 5000 - don’t want to replace again soon. Comments?

Well, a year down the road and I'm still loving my Barker VIP 3500 with the 24" stroke. We do some boondocking and have found several occasions where the extra 6" means that I don't have to go digging for more blocks. I also like that it is made in the USA. I highly recommend this jack.

Mordecai · 06-29-2022, 04:47 PM

Our Barker jack has worked well for us so I had been putting off the inspection and greasing of the gears in the head of the unit. Finally got to it earlier this.month and was surprised how easy it was. I envisioned taking the whole jack apart but it is much simpler than that. I highly recommend doing the service occasionally. Took maybe 15 minutes.

Cumminsfan · 06-29-2022, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordecai

Our Barker jack has worked well for us so I had been putting off the inspection and greasing of the gears in the head of the unit. Finally got to it earlier this.month and was surprised how easy it was. I envisioned taking the whole jack apart but it is much simpler than that. I highly recommend doing the service occasionally. Took maybe 15 minutes.

How clean was the grease?

Mordecai · 07-02-2022, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

How clean was the grease?

The grease was in good shape. I actually didn't add any. I cleaned out the grease the gears had contact with, took a popsicle stick and scooped the grease from the housing around the gears and applied it. They were generous with the quantity at the factory. This is the trailers fifth season. The jack is noticeably quieter now.

Howard Burger · 07-04-2022, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordecai

Our Barker jack has worked well for us so I had been putting off the inspection and greasing of the gears in the head of the unit. Finally got to it earlier this.month and was surprised how easy it was. I envisioned taking the whole jack apart but it is much simpler than that. I highly recommend doing the service occasionally. Took maybe 15 minutes.

Thanks for the info on lubing the jack. Our 3500 has been making labored, almost grinding noise when we're raising it up the last four or five inches to take the tension off our 12k Equalizer bars. We've got 90 nights in the trailer since new, so probably well over 100 ups and downs, and only lately is it grumbling (although the we changed out the Eq from 10k to 12 and the 12k Eq has had only 18 nights out). I sprayed the shaft with teflon based dry lube, and today I'll check out the gears. Hopefully that will return it to what it used to sound like.

Vintage465 · 07-06-2022, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fisher99

After seeing a couple of posts in the "Mods" thread about the Super Brute jack I got pretty excited about it as a replacement for my stock Attwood jack (which is making alarming popping noises lately). However, I'm seeing an alarming number of negative reviews on Amazon.com for the Super Brute. Mostly concerns about electrical grounding problems, faulty up/down switches, and instances of bending of the jack leg or the collar where it mounts to the frame.

I am, however, seeing lots of good reviews on the Barker High Power 3500, which has the plus (for me) of being made in the USA.

Still researching. Would be interested in any comments from owners of these (or other) jacks.

I was concerned about all the popping sounds and generally gravel-y operational sounds in my Atwood as well. I went with the Super Brute as suggested by my brother and there is little to dislike other than it is not made in the USA. I've had no issues with grounding or anything of that nature. I like the 5000 pound capacity though that is way more than I really need, i like being on the higher side of my needs.