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Author Topic:   Fulton F2 Trailer Jack

chopbuster posted 09-04-2008 05:20 PM ET (US)
[The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] highly recommended. [The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] a winner of the 2007 NMMA innovation award. I just purchased and installed [the FULTON F2] trailer jack and could not be more pleased. I was not satisfied with the 1,000-lbs-rated Cequent Performance Products jack that came with the Karavan trailer for the 150 Sport. Not only was that jack under rated at 1,000-lbs, but it quickly became dysfunctional and difficult to maneuver boat, engine, and trailer combined.
The Fulton F2 has a 1,600-lbs rating and is more that adequate for the 150 Sport. Boat, trailer, engine, gas, and gear dressing out at approximately 1,300-lbs. [The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] easy to install. You can use the existing U-bolts from the Karavan or Cequent Performance Products jack or use Fulton's supplied hardware. This may not be enough jack for Montauk owners.
Shame on Boston Whaler for offering an inadequately rated and potentially unsafe trailer jack for their 150 Sport package.
http://www.fultonperformance.com/Jacks/pdfs/Ceq-Jacks-pgs26-32-08.pdf
frontier posted 09-04-2008 07:20 PM ET (US)
You can't blame Boston Whaler or Karavan for this one. There is no problem. A 1,000-lbs-rated tongue jack is actually much more than adequate for your boat. That rating is for tongue weight. I'm guessing your 150 Sport only has 80 to 200-lbs of tongue weight.
jimh posted 09-04-2008 08:23 PM ET (US)
On a single axle trailer the tongue weight is only typically about 10-percent of the total weight, so a jack with a rating of 1,000-lbs would be useful for a rig weighing up to 10,000-lbs. On tandem axle trailers the tongue weight is typically only 5 to 8-percent, so a 1,000-lbs rating for a jack would be useful for up to 20,000-lbs of trailer at its maximum rating.
chopbuster posted 09-04-2008 10:34 PM ET (US)
Cequent Performance Products is one of the long standing and prolific manufacturers of trailer related accoutremon.
http://www.tekonsha.com
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-05-2008 08:27 AM ET (US)
There's a prior thread on this:
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/014648.html .
I've had one for about six months. It's starting to show
some rusty water off the screw. I figure its going to last
a year and a half like the rest. It's a decent jack, though
expensive, and I'd like two big wheels (I have to roll the
empty trailer on soft dirt regularly).
It's perfectly adequate for my Montauk.

Chuck
Aquia Revenge posted 09-05-2008 09:26 AM ET (US)
I just got a 27' Walkaround which weighs considerably more than a Montauk. Would this F2 jack be suitable for this boats weight with a tripple axel trailer?
Plotman posted 09-05-2008 09:51 AM ET (US)
Figure out what your tongue weight is, and then look at the rating on the jack and get one that is rated above your tongue weight.
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-08-2008 01:57 PM ET (US)
The jack take more weight than the tongue weight because it
has a shorter fulcrum to the axle. The weight on the jack
will be:
TW*DH/DJ
where:
TW=tongue weight
DH= distance from hitch to axle
DJ= distance from jack to axle
I'll be able to tell something about the insides of these
soon -- I've got todo to pull mine apart and grease it.

Chuck
Chuck Tribolet posted 09-08-2008 09:28 PM ET (US)
I just greased the screw on my Fulton F2. Boy was that easy.
You need a Torx 25 driver and some good waterproof grease
like OMC Triple-Guard.
Support the trailer tongue and either remove the jack, or
swing the handle end forward. I removed it this time, I'll
try without removing it next time.

Remove the four Torx screws in the cap on top and remove
the cap off the gear housing.
There are four more Torx screws in base of the gear housing.
Remove them. Note that this second set is longer than the
first set that held the cap down.
Start cranking clockwise until the jack is fully extended.
Pull up on the gear case and you will see the screw. Grease
it, run the jack down and back up, grease again, run the
jack down.
Assembly is the obvious reverse of disassembly. Getting the
lower set of screws started straight in the Aluminum is a
little fiddly (needle nose pliars helped). And be gentle
putting the cap screws in, they feel like they could strip out
in the plastic gear housing.
All in all, points to Fulton for maintainability.

Chuck
chopbuster posted 09-10-2008 04:45 PM ET (US)
Chuck;
Thanks for the preventive maintenance DIY routine on the Fulton F2. Cequent does not include that helpful info with the jack.
The 150 Sport/60hp motor/trailer dress out at Appx. 1,300# and the ability of the dual wheels to rotate independently of one another allows effortless movement in the confined space of a garage.
Tom
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-27-2008 01:23 PM ET (US)
I just greased my F2 again. I was surprised at how dry
the screw was in less than three months.
I was able to do it on the trailer. I couldn't do it on the
trailer with the jack stowed horizontal because I couldn't
extend the jack all the way, but tipped about 45 degrees it
was fine.
Find something that will support the wheel while you
grease the screw. I used a floor jack just enough to hold
the wheel up. A buddy or spouse or kid would do too.
I first grabbed my 1/4" Torx sockets this time, they wouldn't
fit through the tight clearance to get to long screws under
the handle. Torx driver would be best, I made do with an
extension for driving screws with my cordless screw driver.

Chuck
towboater posted 11-28-2008 12:11 PM ET (US)
One would think a top of the line tongue jack would include a grease zirt or easier access...like a thumb screw instead of special hex head stuff. I like the cover on this jack...a lot of tongue jacks are set up to protect gear drive in the vertical position only...as if the road is never wet.
I hate hard cranking underpowered tongue jacks.
Chuck, try using chain guard and synthetic grease for longer service. The fact your grease only lasted 4 months is probably more testimony to how often you use your boat/trailer than the grease/jack.
I was using regular EP grease on a 100 ton Skagit deck winch for many years. This winch has many similar open gear drives as a tongue jack.
I found synthetic grease lasts 4 times longer on the shaft bushings and chain guard (spray can usually for ATV and Bikes) works better for the gear faces and MANY other hard to get to applications. Synthetic grease does not harden and gook up like EP. Chain guard lubes yet cures in a way that dust and dirt dont stick to it nearly as bad as grease. Similar, but tougher than FOG you use for engines. Overspray cleans up easy with WD-40 or diesel and a rag.
mike
Jefecinco posted 11-28-2008 07:33 PM ET (US)
Just saw this at Boater's World Online at $100 with a $50 Gift Card included.
Butch
wezie posted 11-29-2008 09:07 AM ET (US)
This string is great. I have tried to get several friends to grease their tongue jack when it was obviously dry. No.
So I try to avoid helping those that do not choose to understand. I have used jacks that were 20 years old that worked well when serviced and greased.
In my opinion, most tongue jacks need grease and failures are due to no grease and being bent out of shape. Even a slight bend will diminish your life
Glad to hear that the Fulton is working. It seems like someone tried.
The jack on my Karavan is more than adequate, and works well. I really wish the trailer was aluminum; however that is not what I paid for.
Thanks for the tip on better lasting greases!
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-29-2008 08:35 PM ET (US)
Towboater: You got a specific reccomendation for synthetic
grease? And in this case, the gears are trivial to get at.
After you remove the plastic cap, they are righ there in
front of you. And after you remove the next four bolts, you
can get to five of the six sides of the gears.

Chuck
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-30-2008 04:08 AM ET (US)
It has struck me that the right bungie cord would do to hold
the wheel up. I think next time I'll try fabricating such
a cord.
Zerks are great for lubing a spot. But what we want to do
here is grease the screw. That's a whole big area. Best
done with dirty fingers. I'd love to be wrong on this.

Chuck
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-28-2009 03:57 PM ET (US)
Surf's up today, and the jack has been getting a little stiff,
so I decided to grease it. This jack has been on the trailer
about nine months. (When the handle fell off it was taking
long enough to get a new handle that I bought a second
jack. When the new handle came, I installed it the old jack,
gave the screw a good greasing and stored the old old jack).
Anyway, the screw was dry and works much better with a coat
of OMC Triple Guard. A few comments:
I supported the boat with a jackstand right where the
tongue and frame meet. This worked well.
The lower set of screws (the ones that go into the Aluminum
housng) felt like the were getting some dissimilar metals
problem with the Al, so I greased them.
A bungie from the jack wheel up to the bow chock worked
great for holding the screw up where I could work on it.
Total time including clean-up, about 30 minutes.

Chuck
elaelap posted 11-28-2009 04:04 PM ET (US)
"I supported the boat with a jackstand right where the
tongue and frame meet. This worked well." [?]
I always do this after I've jacked the trailer tongue off my truck: put a jackstand under one of the main members near the trailer jack and back off the jack so the jackstand takes almost all of the weight. Greatly extends the life of the jack, IMO, and you've still got the jackstand there to 'catch' the trailer if somehow it gets knocked off the jackstand.
Tony
TRAFFICLAWYER posted 11-28-2009 05:09 PM ET (US)
Yup, the jack that came with my 05 Sport lasted about 2 years
than met it's fate at the bottom of a dumpster.
Chuck Tribolet posted 11-28-2009 06:27 PM ET (US)
Tony, I supported the front of the trailer with a jackstand
while I was greasing the trailer jack.

Chuck
elaelap posted 11-28-2009 09:41 PM ET (US)
Yeah, I understand, Chuck. I just thought it was strange that you had to mention the obvious. I guess I assumed that most folks always did as I did everytime they removed their trailer from their truck--place a jackstand under the front of the trailer (where the tongue begins) and let the trailer tongue drop a couple of inches, allowing the jackstand to take most of the weight. Only takes an extra 30 seconds, and I'm convinced it greatly extends the life of the trailer jack. Certainly prevents the jackstand from freezing up if the boat isn't being used for a while.
Tony
elaelap posted 11-28-2009 10:17 PM ET (US)
Whoops, I meant to say that it prevents the trailer jack from freezing up.
pglein posted 12-02-2009 12:31 PM ET (US)
I'm still so-so on my F2. At the end of last summer ('09), it was somewhat seized up...difficult to raise and lower. I was concerned that perhaps it was going to fail after just one season; not what I was expecting for a $100 trailer jack.
However, when I used it the other day, it wasn't so bad, and after reading here about how to grease it, I'm thinking that, with proper maintenance, this thing might actually last a long time. Even so, I'm surprised that whatever grease they installed at the factory wouldn't last at least a year or two.
One of the problems I have is that the trailer jack is mounted pretty far aft on my trailer, actually aft of where the side "rails" join the tongue, and under the bow of the boat. This is necessary due to the design of the trailer in order for the jack to work properly. The problem is that this means the jack is completely submerged every time I launch or retreive the boat. Perhaps this is contributing to the early problems.
Regardless...it hasn't yet failed, so we will see.

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Author	Topic: Fulton F2 Trailer Jack
chopbuster	posted 09-04-2008 05:20 PM ET (US) [The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] highly recommended. [The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] a winner of the 2007 NMMA innovation award. I just purchased and installed [the FULTON F2] trailer jack and could not be more pleased. I was not satisfied with the 1,000-lbs-rated Cequent Performance Products jack that came with the Karavan trailer for the 150 Sport. Not only was that jack under rated at 1,000-lbs, but it quickly became dysfunctional and difficult to maneuver boat, engine, and trailer combined. The Fulton F2 has a 1,600-lbs rating and is more that adequate for the 150 Sport. Boat, trailer, engine, gas, and gear dressing out at approximately 1,300-lbs. [The FULTON F2 tailer jack is] easy to install. You can use the existing U-bolts from the Karavan or Cequent Performance Products jack or use Fulton's supplied hardware. This may not be enough jack for Montauk owners. Shame on Boston Whaler for offering an inadequately rated and potentially unsafe trailer jack for their 150 Sport package. http://www.fultonperformance.com/Jacks/pdfs/Ceq-Jacks-pgs26-32-08.pdf
frontier	posted 09-04-2008 07:20 PM ET (US) You can't blame Boston Whaler or Karavan for this one. There is no problem. A 1,000-lbs-rated tongue jack is actually much more than adequate for your boat. That rating is for tongue weight. I'm guessing your 150 Sport only has 80 to 200-lbs of tongue weight.
jimh	posted 09-04-2008 08:23 PM ET (US) On a single axle trailer the tongue weight is only typically about 10-percent of the total weight, so a jack with a rating of 1,000-lbs would be useful for a rig weighing up to 10,000-lbs. On tandem axle trailers the tongue weight is typically only 5 to 8-percent, so a 1,000-lbs rating for a jack would be useful for up to 20,000-lbs of trailer at its maximum rating.
chopbuster	posted 09-04-2008 10:34 PM ET (US) Cequent Performance Products is one of the long standing and prolific manufacturers of trailer related accoutremon. http://www.tekonsha.com
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-05-2008 08:27 AM ET (US) There's a prior thread on this: http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/014648.html . I've had one for about six months. It's starting to show some rusty water off the screw. I figure its going to last a year and a half like the rest. It's a decent jack, though expensive, and I'd like two big wheels (I have to roll the empty trailer on soft dirt regularly). It's perfectly adequate for my Montauk. Chuck
Aquia Revenge	posted 09-05-2008 09:26 AM ET (US) I just got a 27' Walkaround which weighs considerably more than a Montauk. Would this F2 jack be suitable for this boats weight with a tripple axel trailer?
Plotman	posted 09-05-2008 09:51 AM ET (US) Figure out what your tongue weight is, and then look at the rating on the jack and get one that is rated above your tongue weight.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-08-2008 01:57 PM ET (US) The jack take more weight than the tongue weight because it has a shorter fulcrum to the axle. The weight on the jack will be: TW*DH/DJ where: TW=tongue weight DH= distance from hitch to axle DJ= distance from jack to axle I'll be able to tell something about the insides of these soon -- I've got todo to pull mine apart and grease it. Chuck
Chuck Tribolet	posted 09-08-2008 09:28 PM ET (US) I just greased the screw on my Fulton F2. Boy was that easy. You need a Torx 25 driver and some good waterproof grease like OMC Triple-Guard. Support the trailer tongue and either remove the jack, or swing the handle end forward. I removed it this time, I'll try without removing it next time. Remove the four Torx screws in the cap on top and remove the cap off the gear housing. There are four more Torx screws in base of the gear housing. Remove them. Note that this second set is longer than the first set that held the cap down. Start cranking clockwise until the jack is fully extended. Pull up on the gear case and you will see the screw. Grease it, run the jack down and back up, grease again, run the jack down. Assembly is the obvious reverse of disassembly. Getting the lower set of screws started straight in the Aluminum is a little fiddly (needle nose pliars helped). And be gentle putting the cap screws in, they feel like they could strip out in the plastic gear housing. All in all, points to Fulton for maintainability. Chuck
chopbuster	posted 09-10-2008 04:45 PM ET (US) Chuck; Thanks for the preventive maintenance DIY routine on the Fulton F2. Cequent does not include that helpful info with the jack. The 150 Sport/60hp motor/trailer dress out at Appx. 1,300# and the ability of the dual wheels to rotate independently of one another allows effortless movement in the confined space of a garage. Tom
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-27-2008 01:23 PM ET (US) I just greased my F2 again. I was surprised at how dry the screw was in less than three months. I was able to do it on the trailer. I couldn't do it on the trailer with the jack stowed horizontal because I couldn't extend the jack all the way, but tipped about 45 degrees it was fine. Find something that will support the wheel while you grease the screw. I used a floor jack just enough to hold the wheel up. A buddy or spouse or kid would do too. I first grabbed my 1/4" Torx sockets this time, they wouldn't fit through the tight clearance to get to long screws under the handle. Torx driver would be best, I made do with an extension for driving screws with my cordless screw driver. Chuck
towboater	posted 11-28-2008 12:11 PM ET (US) One would think a top of the line tongue jack would include a grease zirt or easier access...like a thumb screw instead of special hex head stuff. I like the cover on this jack...a lot of tongue jacks are set up to protect gear drive in the vertical position only...as if the road is never wet. I hate hard cranking underpowered tongue jacks. Chuck, try using chain guard and synthetic grease for longer service. The fact your grease only lasted 4 months is probably more testimony to how often you use your boat/trailer than the grease/jack. I was using regular EP grease on a 100 ton Skagit deck winch for many years. This winch has many similar open gear drives as a tongue jack. I found synthetic grease lasts 4 times longer on the shaft bushings and chain guard (spray can usually for ATV and Bikes) works better for the gear faces and MANY other hard to get to applications. Synthetic grease does not harden and gook up like EP. Chain guard lubes yet cures in a way that dust and dirt dont stick to it nearly as bad as grease. Similar, but tougher than FOG you use for engines. Overspray cleans up easy with WD-40 or diesel and a rag. mike
Jefecinco	posted 11-28-2008 07:33 PM ET (US) Just saw this at Boater's World Online at $100 with a $50 Gift Card included. Butch
wezie	posted 11-29-2008 09:07 AM ET (US) This string is great. I have tried to get several friends to grease their tongue jack when it was obviously dry. No. So I try to avoid helping those that do not choose to understand. I have used jacks that were 20 years old that worked well when serviced and greased. In my opinion, most tongue jacks need grease and failures are due to no grease and being bent out of shape. Even a slight bend will diminish your life Glad to hear that the Fulton is working. It seems like someone tried. The jack on my Karavan is more than adequate, and works well. I really wish the trailer was aluminum; however that is not what I paid for. Thanks for the tip on better lasting greases!
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-29-2008 08:35 PM ET (US) Towboater: You got a specific reccomendation for synthetic grease? And in this case, the gears are trivial to get at. After you remove the plastic cap, they are righ there in front of you. And after you remove the next four bolts, you can get to five of the six sides of the gears. Chuck
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-30-2008 04:08 AM ET (US) It has struck me that the right bungie cord would do to hold the wheel up. I think next time I'll try fabricating such a cord. Zerks are great for lubing a spot. But what we want to do here is grease the screw. That's a whole big area. Best done with dirty fingers. I'd love to be wrong on this. Chuck
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-28-2009 03:57 PM ET (US) Surf's up today, and the jack has been getting a little stiff, so I decided to grease it. This jack has been on the trailer about nine months. (When the handle fell off it was taking long enough to get a new handle that I bought a second jack. When the new handle came, I installed it the old jack, gave the screw a good greasing and stored the old old jack). Anyway, the screw was dry and works much better with a coat of OMC Triple Guard. A few comments: I supported the boat with a jackstand right where the tongue and frame meet. This worked well. The lower set of screws (the ones that go into the Aluminum housng) felt like the were getting some dissimilar metals problem with the Al, so I greased them. A bungie from the jack wheel up to the bow chock worked great for holding the screw up where I could work on it. Total time including clean-up, about 30 minutes. Chuck
elaelap	posted 11-28-2009 04:04 PM ET (US) "I supported the boat with a jackstand right where the tongue and frame meet. This worked well." [?] I always do this after I've jacked the trailer tongue off my truck: put a jackstand under one of the main members near the trailer jack and back off the jack so the jackstand takes almost all of the weight. Greatly extends the life of the jack, IMO, and you've still got the jackstand there to 'catch' the trailer if somehow it gets knocked off the jackstand. Tony
TRAFFICLAWYER	posted 11-28-2009 05:09 PM ET (US) Yup, the jack that came with my 05 Sport lasted about 2 years than met it's fate at the bottom of a dumpster.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 11-28-2009 06:27 PM ET (US) Tony, I supported the front of the trailer with a jackstand while I was greasing the trailer jack. Chuck
elaelap	posted 11-28-2009 09:41 PM ET (US) Yeah, I understand, Chuck. I just thought it was strange that you had to mention the obvious. I guess I assumed that most folks always did as I did everytime they removed their trailer from their truck--place a jackstand under the front of the trailer (where the tongue begins) and let the trailer tongue drop a couple of inches, allowing the jackstand to take most of the weight. Only takes an extra 30 seconds, and I'm convinced it greatly extends the life of the trailer jack. Certainly prevents the jackstand from freezing up if the boat isn't being used for a while. Tony
elaelap	posted 11-28-2009 10:17 PM ET (US) Whoops, I meant to say that it prevents the trailer jack from freezing up.
pglein	posted 12-02-2009 12:31 PM ET (US) I'm still so-so on my F2. At the end of last summer ('09), it was somewhat seized up...difficult to raise and lower. I was concerned that perhaps it was going to fail after just one season; not what I was expecting for a $100 trailer jack. However, when I used it the other day, it wasn't so bad, and after reading here about how to grease it, I'm thinking that, with proper maintenance, this thing might actually last a long time. Even so, I'm surprised that whatever grease they installed at the factory wouldn't last at least a year or two. One of the problems I have is that the trailer jack is mounted pretty far aft on my trailer, actually aft of where the side "rails" join the tongue, and under the bow of the boat. This is necessary due to the design of the trailer in order for the jack to work properly. The problem is that this means the jack is completely submerged every time I launch or retreive the boat. Perhaps this is contributing to the early problems. Regardless...it hasn't yet failed, so we will see.