[Rhodes22-list] Trailer jack failure

[jbconnolly at comcast.net]

I finally got to pulling the boat and trailer out of winter parking on Monday.  I got very little preparation done, because the trailer jack seized while attempting to retract it after hooking up to the truck.  I got a little too enthusiastic trying to free it up and shattered the bevel gear on the crank handle.  

After scrounging enough lumber to use as a stand, and using car jacks to lift and drop the trailer, I got the trailer safely stowed and off the truck.  

I have not yet figured out what rusted and caused the jack to seize.  The Triad trailer and jack are barely a year old.  The two times I immersed the trailer last year, I rinsed accessible exterior parts of the Fulton jack as best I could.   

What should I be doing to prevent having to replace the replacement next year?  Should I grease the inside mechanism, and if so, how?

Jim Connolly
s/v Inisheer
'85 recycled '03