Ever cranked a heavy trailer jack by hand? Even the 2-speed jacks wear you out. Then, if you have different height trucks, you crank even more. I review new trailers and end up cranking more than I like.

Electric jacks are cheaper, hydraulic jacks are faster and made for heavy use. You can use 12 volts from your truck or onboard battery on the trailer. We installed a battery on my trailer so we could demonstrate the jack. It’s nice having a battery on the trailer; you can have lights any time you need to see in the tack room. You can get a manual override on the hydraulic jack as an option, which could come in handy if you have a run-down battery.

Rehme Manufacturing installed the jack for me so I could run the camera. They built an aluminum battery box that bolted to the trailer bulkhead, of course using a deep cycle RV battery. They ran a wire from the black (hot) wire in the trailer cable to the battery. This charges the trailer battery from the truck when connected.

The BIGFOOT jack comes with a 80-amp breaker to protect from power surges between battery and jack motor. Actually BIGFOOT comes with everything — bolts, wire, hoses — all for a fast easy installation. It also comes with a weather-proof switch box and harness. The optional remote switch would spoil you. Bigfoot has a steel oil reservoir that the hydraulic motor mounts on instead of a plastic tank and the cover stays put. I have seen many power trailer jacks with the covers missing.

What took the longest in the mounting process was grinding the welds off the old jack. The new jack can be welded on or comes with angle iron and bolts to attach to the jack frame on the bulkhead of the trailer. We aligned the jack housing with the bottom of the trailer floor or where the old jack was.

Now the world is right. I won’t worry about $4 diesel, because I have a power trailer jack! The trailer will sit, though, until I can save up for a while to buy a couple gallons of fuel and drive the three miles to the Adams County Fairgrounds for the next horse sale. Maybe I’ll hitchhike and ride a horse home.

• 12-volt direct mount hydraulic pump
• Solid tube in tube design
• Weatherproof controls
• Universal mounting bracket
• 24 inches of jack travel
• 12,000 lb capacity
• Large swivel foot pad
• 5 year warranty

Thanks to BIGFOOT for the jack www.BigFootLeveler.com or 800.752.9815 and Rehme Manufacturing of Marlow OK for installing the jack

Kent Sundling (alias “Mr. Truck”) spent 20 years wearing out pickup trucks as only a farmer could. With over 1 million miles pulling trailers, Mr. Truck has a unique collection of truck and farm stories that will educate and entertain. Mr.Truck gave up his bib overalls and John Deeres in his quest to save the farm and moved to the big city to sell trucks. After selling trucks for 10 years, this farmer now writes for eight magazines and owns over two dozen Web sites, helping folks find the “Right Truck.” If you have a question for Mr. Truck, you may contact him at his Web site, www.mrtruck.net.