I'm not sure where to post this, here or in the 04-05 F-150 section? I have three trailers I tow. With my previous truck I had no concerns dropping the tailgate when the trailers were hooked up. The first time I towed with my new 05 F-150, I almost wrecked the tailgate by dropping it on the screw jack! I realized this is because the tailgate is so much taller than my other truck was. Yesterday I towed on of my other trailers and it was the same.
I have a standard receiver which measures 8 1/2 ' from hitch ball to receiver pin. I went on line and have ordered an extra long receiver which measures 11 1/4 ". I'm hoping the 3 " will be enough.
Thought I would share this info.

 

It's a trailer issue/ operator error issue, not a truck issue. Most anyone who has been around trailers for a long time is familiar with the telltale dent in the middle of the tailgate. This is a good reason to convert your trailer(s) to swing-away tongue jacks. I will never own another trailer with a standard tongue jack because eventually my tailgate will get wrecked. Most likely I won't even be the one who does it. All it takes is one person to walk up and try to 'help' by letting down my tailgate and BOOM.

And even if your tailgate clears the jack when the trailer is straight, it will still hit when the trailer is angled to the side. And then again, it takes one person to forget for one moment and BOOM.

Just outlaw standard tongue jacks and put swing-away jacks on all trailers. Problem solved.

 

I have a straight jack on my car trailer and the tailgate does not hit the jack, but, the jack scrapes the ground when going up or down a steep hill or driveway. How much weight will the swing jacks hold?

 

There are many models available ranging from 500 lbs to 5000 lbs and more. One of the popular brands is Bulldog and the popular models are 2500 to 3500 lb capacity (I think). These require a collar to be welded to the trailer and the jack slides over the collar and is held in place with a big pin (similar to a receiver hitch pin).

 

Hey R J Squirrel!

Thanks for the response. I have one of those jacks on my boat trailer, but not the others. I never thought about it as a solution, guess that's why we have this forum. Thanks again!