Like many of you, I've had a love/hate relationship with the Lippert "Smart Jack" that came installed on our Lance trailers. I loved the memory features...BIG TIME! That said, the memory function was never spot on and couldn't be counted on when recalling the set height after unhooking the trailer. I found myself always having to get out and check before docking. The hate relationship was in regards to the reliability and I have read many posts from others expressing the same concerns. The 3500lb rating was also a concern as I sometimes find myself lifting the trailer and truck when I'm staying 1 night on my way to somewhere. The 3500lbs really struggled when facing downhill on a slight grade and was the final straw that found me looking for a new jack.
There has been mention recently of a good alternative, the Ultra Fab (UF) Phoenix. It has a 4000lb rating and also has the memory features I desire. It does have a fairly hefty price tag compared to other 4k jacks but most all the others don't come with the memory function. It is also advertised as the fastest jack and extends at the rate of 10" in 18 seconds...WOW! That said, it's 4k rating wasn't enough improvement for me to justify spending that kind of money.
Ultra Fab also makes a tongue jack with memory rated at 5500lbs and they claim it's the strongest jack on the market. The price tag is even higher but I was tired of fiddling around with substandard product so I pulled the trigger and ordered the UF Ultra-Fab Products 38-944055 Electric Tongue Jack 5500Lb
Since this is the 5th time I've removed and installed a tongue jack, installation was a piece of cake though there is one difference...this jack comes with both a positive and negative wire instead of the jack depending on the mounting flange for grounding. I simply ran the negative wire back to the ground block attached to the frame behind the front cap. Rather than putting the front A-frame on jacks, I instead connected the trailer to the truck. The first thing I noticed which is a wonderful improvement over the Lippert is, because the jack head is mounted higher up on the tube as well as having a smaller footprint, the tailgate opens all the way rather than getting held up on the jack head.
Performance
Yes, the important part of this review is...how well does it perform? Impressively awesome! My first test was to see how well it lifted both the trailer and truck. I extended the jack all the way up and the truck was a good 12 to 14 inches higher than where it normally sits...the jack slowed but never acted like it was gasping for power like the Lippert did. In fact, the Lippert never was able to even come close. Many of you might find this inconsequential to the way you use your tongue jack but knowing it is truly capable would be cause for not having to worry the jack is going to fail. I'm a firm believer in having an overbuilt system with headroom being a key factor. YMMV.
Speed
This jack is not the speed demon like the 4k Phoenix jack but it certainly is quite a bit faster than the Lippert. It is rated at 10" in 47 seconds and is plenty fast enough for me. In fact, I find it is almost too fast when trying to dial it in as I am finalizing leveling the trailer.
Memory
This is where this jack truly shines, IMHO. First off, unlike the Lippert smart jack where the control buttons are mounted on the top and easily touched accidentally when climbing on the A-frame to either remove or install the Autoweave front window cover as well as being exposed to the elements which has caused failures for many, the controls for this jack are side mounted.
This jack comes with 2 memory positions. At first I wasn't quite sure what purpose two positions could provide but quickly came to realize that having one of the memories set for the repeated final leveling at the house proved extremely beneficial. And the beautiful thing about this jack is the memory position is perfectly memorized, even after repeated deploying and retracting. After returning from our Oregon trip, I tapped memory #2 and it raised the trailer to the exact same height it was set to...26-13/16ths, coupler lip to pavement. Simply amazing!
This jack, like the Lippert, also automatically retracts but the operation is simpler...a double tap on the retract button sets it in motion. An added improvement when compared to the Lippert is, this jack also can automatically extend by double taping the extend button. Once the jack detects resistance, it automatically stops. This is quite helpful when unhooking the trailer and allows one to work on unhooking the chains and power pigtail instead of holding the button.
Conclusion
If you're fed up with your Lippert Smart Jack and don't mind spending a hefty sum for one that works extremely well, this jack is for you. If the 5500lb rating is not important, then maybe the 4k Phoenix is a good alternative though at this time, it's only $140.00 less than the 5500lb jack. The other benefit either one of these jacks provide that I did not mention is they will extend the warranty to 10 years if you register the jack on their webpage. 10 years is a loooong time and to me, indicates they have confidence in their product.
The only negative I can report has nothing to do with the jack itself. The shipping Goons seem to think dropping the carton on one end is okay. What I found was the foam encasing the head was compacted and cracked causing the head cover to crack. I had to return the first two before finally getting one that was undamaged.
