Trailer wheel attachment

[apachejeep]

I have the original front Jack and Wheel on my 1973 Mesa.
 I don't like the small dimple connector that slides onto the tube shaft. They tend to rust. Was thinking of drilling a hole thru the wheel cup, then thru the jack shaft, and putting in a clovis pin shackle or something on. It would be easier to remove the wheel when needed. Also thought of cutting the tube shaft shorter for more traveling roadway clearance, as the tube hangs low with the jack cranked up.
Anyone ever done this? What are your thoughts. Thanks for any ideas.

[Redwood]

   I don't think there would be any problem with that. Personally I don't even use the wheel anymore got tired of taking it off and putting it on all the time. I just set the shaft on wood blocks. You do take the wheel off when you tow right?

[apachejeep]

Yea, most of the time I leave it on wood blocks, with wheel off. But other times I put the wheel on to move around the driveway, and at different campsites. Just bought a "trailer wheel dock" on ebay to set on during wet conditions. It has a nice 12" x 12" base and is orange-colored molded plastic. I still can't decide whether to shorten the jack tube by about 4" though.

[Pony Power]

Its easy to do, it took me about 5 minutes.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e95/PonyPower2008/1976%20Apache%20Royal/IMG_0721.jpg

[apachejeep]

Good photo, Pony Power. I did just that last weekend. Did'nt cut short the tube shaft though, ( like I first wanted to).
Something in my mind said not to shorten, as I may (in the future) need the extra height.

[Pony Power]

I didn't shorten mine either. I think it jacks up high enough to not be a problem and we need the full jack crank height to change a tire. I don't think I will ever have to remove the jack wheel but I have the option with the clovis pin.

[apachejeep]

For me to change a tire, I picked up a heavy-duty scissors jack from a junk yard. The guy there said it was from an F150 PU. Works great and also can lift the Jeep axles...

[Redwood]

I didn't shorten mine either. I think it jacks up high enough to not be a problem and we need the full jack crank height to change a tire. I don't think I will ever have to remove the jack wheel but I have the option with the clovis pin.

  Hey Dan, I did have a problem trying to tow with the jack wheel on, it hit a few times when going over some dips. When I tow my trailer at level the tongue is only about 13 inches off the ground. Anyone else ever have that problem?

[Pony Power]

Red, I do tow level also. I will check wheel height next time I hook up. One of our mining claim sites that I camp at has a huge dip that gave me problems with my last pop up dragging in the rear so I am concerned about clearance of the rear jacks also as they look a little low. Do the jacks that you installed give you more ground clearance?