A trailer, such as a travel trailer, boat trailer, utility trailer, etc., usually has a tongue portion at the front of the trailer with a coupling that connects the trailer to a hitch on the towing vehicle. Safety chains are typically attached permanently to the tongue at one end of each chain and have hooks at the other ends of the chains to removably connect the chains to the hitch. An electrical wiring harness is typically hard-wired to the trailer tongue at one end and includes a plug at the other end to removably connect the harness to an electrical connector on the towing vehicle. These chains and harnesses present a storage and clutter problem when the trailer is not in use.
One proposed solution to the storage problem is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0061064 which discloses a protective cover for a trailer tongue. The cover is essentially a bag that fits over the coupling and part of the tongue and allows the user to insert the safety chains and wiring harness in the bag. Placing everything in a bag, however, is not a satisfactory solution. The chains and/or harness can become tangled in the bag, and moreover, it does not provide a sense or organization.
Another aspect of trailer storage relates to tongue jacks. Most trailers have a tongue jack with an extendable column that raises or lowers the trailer tongue to facilitate coupling the trailer to the towing vehicle, and also enabling the trailer to be leveled when it is parked. Some tongue jacks have manually operated cranks to raise and lower the tongue, while others have electric or pneumatic motors. An electric tongue jack typically has a head with one or more motors, actuators, buttons, switches, displays, lights, etc. at the top of the extendable column.
In recent years, electric tongue jacks have become more sophisticated, functional, and stylized. An example of such a jack is shown in FIG. 1 which illustrates a Smart Jack by Lippert Components, Inc., (LCI). The jack 10 of FIG. 1 includes a power head 12 that contains a motorized lift mechanism, a telescoping support column 14, a flange 16 to attach the jack to the frame of a trailer, and an adjustable foot 18. The power head 12 has an electronic control panel 20 that includes buttons and displays for controlling the operation of the jack.
In addition to functionality, these jacks provide their owners with a sense of enjoyment and pride in the fine design and fabrication that goes into these devices. They can be very expensive, and owners may therefore want to preserve and display their investment.