I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
repair?

Thanks in advance,
Roger

Some years ago, I had exactly the same problem on a 1978 Komet. I
bought two extra strong jacks and had a local welding shop mount them
for me. Worked great!

Mike

On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
> trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
> repair?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Roger

On 3/23/08 12:12 PM, in article
, "Mike the
Strike" > wrote:

> Some years ago, I had exactly the same problem on a 1978 Komet. I
> bought two extra strong jacks and had a local welding shop mount them
> for me. Worked great!
>
> Mike
>
> On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
>> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
>> trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
>> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
>> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
>> repair?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Roger
>

I recently had trouble with mine. I got two auto scissor jacks from AutoMax
and a friend connected them with a Lovejoy bearing. Huge range of motion and
great stability compared with the previous ramp jack. I've got photos, if
you need them.

Bullwinkle

I have an older Komet with the same problem.

I'd be interested in pix as well as info on where exactly to buy a "lovejoy bearing".
Boy, sometimes the advertising writes itself, doesn't it?

Sarah



Bullwinkle wrote:
> On 3/23/08 12:12 PM, in article
> , "Mike the
> Strike" > wrote:
>
>> Some years ago, I had exactly the same problem on a 1978 Komet. I
>> bought two extra strong jacks and had a local welding shop mount them
>> for me. Worked great!
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
>>> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
>>> trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
>>> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
>>> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
>>> repair?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>> Roger
>
> I recently had trouble with mine. I got two auto scissor jacks from AutoMax
> and a friend connected them with a Lovejoy bearing. Huge range of motion and
> great stability compared with the previous ramp jack. I've got photos, if
> you need them.
>
> Bullwinkle
>

On Mar 23, 1:10*pm, Sarah Anderson > wrote:
> I have an older Komet with the same problem.
>
> I'd be interested in pix as well as info on where exactly to buy a "lovejoy bearing".
> Boy, sometimes the advertising writes itself, doesn't it?
>
> Sarah
>
>
>
> Bullwinkle wrote:
> > On 3/23/08 12:12 PM, in article
> > , "Mike the
> > Strike" > wrote:
>
> >> Some years ago, I had exactly the same problem on a 1978 Komet. *I
> >> bought two extra strong jacks and had a local welding shop mount them
> >> for me. *Worked great!
>
> >> Mike
>
> >> On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
> >>> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
> >>> trailer. *The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
> >>> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. *Has
> >>> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
> >>> repair?
>
> >>> Thanks in advance,
> >>> Roger
>
> > I recently had trouble with mine. I got two auto scissor jacks from AutoMax
> > and a friend connected them with a Lovejoy bearing. Huge range of motion and
> > great stability compared with the previous ramp jack. I've got photos, if
> > you need them.
>
> > Bullwinkle- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I'm pretty sure Williams Soaring has the double jack setups for your
ramp. Reasonably priced too, as I recall.
I have the same problem, but hate scissor jacks. I'm hoping to knock
out a simple lever type setup in the next couple weeks. I'll post
something if it works out.

On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
> trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
> repair?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Roger

One of the scissor jacks for my trailer eventually stripped its
threads. I repaired it with a Heli-Coil and a new all-thread. The
jacks work ok but the force required to elevate the glider is higher
than I would like. Unfortunately, the alternative is more money than I
want to invest.

Steve

> wrote in message
...
> On Mar 23, 9:31 am, wrote:
>> I am looking at a worn out mechanical jack for the ramp on a Komet
>> trailer. The best repair I have come up with is to buy a set of
>> scissor jacks and have them welded into the existing frame. Has
>> anyone else tackled this job and had better luck with another type of
>> repair?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Roger
>
> One of the scissor jacks for my trailer eventually stripped its
> threads. I repaired it with a Heli-Coil and a new all-thread. The
> jacks work ok but the force required to elevate the glider is higher
> than I would like. Unfortunately, the alternative is more money than I
> want to invest.
>
> Steve

Bob Carl got tired of cranking his ramp jack so he bought a big, low-RPM
cordless drill and fitted it with a large socket then replaced the scissor
jack crank handle with a matching nut. Now he can zip his ramp jack up and
down effortlessly even with the glider on it.

Bill D

On Mar 23, 1:36*pm, wrote:
> One of the scissor jacks for my trailer eventually stripped its
> threads. I repaired it with a Heli-Coil and a new all-thread. The
> jacks work ok but the force required to elevate the glider is higher
> than I would like. Unfortunately, the alternative is more money than I
> want to invest.

Jacks and other machines cycled under load usually use Acme thread,
which is very different from the profile used on allthread and bolts
and similar. Acme threads generally have lower maximum force limits,
but their even pressure distribution across the thread profile gives
them relatively low friction - lower than the triangular profile used
on nuts and bolts at least.

Just replacing the scissors jack can be pretty cost-effective. You can
probably get a matched set at a scrapyard for like five bucks each.

Thanks, Bob K.

On Mar 23, 6:03*pm, Bob Kuykendall > wrote:
> On Mar 23, 1:36*pm, wrote:
>
> > One of the scissor jacks for my trailer eventually stripped its
> > threads. I repaired it with a Heli-Coil and a new all-thread. The
> > jacks work ok but the force required to elevate the glider is higher
> > than I would like. Unfortunately, the alternative is more money than I
> > want to invest.
>
> Jacks and other machines cycled under load usually use Acme thread,
> which is very different from the profile used on allthread and bolts
> and similar. Acme threads generally have lower maximum force limits,
> but their even pressure distribution across the thread profile gives
> them relatively low friction - lower than the triangular profile used
> on nuts and bolts at least.
>
> Just replacing the scissorsjackcan be pretty cost-effective. You can
> probably get a matched set at a scrapyard for like five bucks each.
>
> Thanks, Bob K.

http://store.williamssoaring.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WSP&Category_Code=TPA

The only problem with the junkyard jacks is finding a PAIR that will
fit between your wings when stowed in the trailer. I couldn't. I
ended up buying a pair of Toyota jacks, then shortening all the parts
to make a pair that would fit. They worked fine, but it took me a
large part of a day to do it, and I won't do it again. Williams
Soaring sells the units for $192.00 (or so) and IF I were going to use
scissor jacks, that's what I'd do. However, I tested my NASCAR
inspired lever jack (crude prototype) and it works nicely. Instead of
getting on my knees and cranking it up, I stand up and pull on a 48
lever and raise the glider. With the fuselage empty it's quite easy.
With a 240 pound pilot in the cockpit, it takes considerable (but
doable by Joe Average) effort. (We didn't have adequate space to put
wings on, so the pilot was substituted to simulate the weight of the
wings). When in the 'down' position, the distance between the bottom
of the ramp channels and the ground is slightly less than 2". When
raised, it is right around 9 1/2", which should allow for removing the
wheel on most gliders.