jack for our campers??

flash · 12-12-2014, 12:53 PM

wanted to jack the camper up today to place a 2x12 under the wheels for the winter. both of my jacks didn`t come close, not tall enough. what do y`all use for that purpose?? glad i didn`t find this out on the road somewheres. thanks scott

**JRTJH** · 12-12-2014, 01:12 PM

To get 2x12's under the tires, rather than go to the hassle of jacking the trailer, why not just hitch up, pull forward a couple feet, put the boards behind the wheels and back onto them? Sure beats the risk of damage, hassle of jacking and risk of damaging something if a jack slips.

As for jacking to change tires, etc, your experience is exactly why I always suggest owners gather the tools to change a tire and practice the entire process "IN THE DRIVEWAY" before they ever leave home. The shoulder of a busy interstate or tollway is not the time to find out, as you just did, that your jack won't work.

I've got a "stubby" hydraulic bottle jack and a small piece of 2x4 that I place under the axle at the U-bolts. I jack just high enough to clear the ground and remove the tire. But for what you're doing, I wouldn't even consider jacking, just hitch and pull forward.

Good Luck,

Ram189 · 12-12-2014, 01:33 PM

For changing tires they make a block that you can back/pull a tire up on that will life the other one off the ground that makes that part easy.

For jacking a trailer up I carry a small 2 ton floor jack and stack some 2x10s under it to get the lift I need. Have only had to lift the tongue of my old TT a couple of times when the jack on the front would not work or go high enough to unhook for whatever reason.
I don't miss those days at all.

GaryWT · 12-12-2014, 01:43 PM

By jack I am guessing you mean car jack and not corner stabilizer jacks as that could cause damage. If I were going to put boards under the tires, I agree the quickest and easiest way would be to hook up, pull forward and back on. For that you would not need anything but dropping the trailer on the ball. Good luck, probably take 10 minutes, tops. As for changing a flat, what I read most is to drive the good wheel up on a pile of wood or lynx levelers.

notanlines · 12-12-2014, 01:59 PM

I found that THIS http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...ump-61406.html [/URL]floor jack weighs about 40 pounds and will fit in the tool compartment in the rear /floor of the garage on the Raptor. No messing with bottle jacks tipping over or other not so handy dandy ways of changing a tire. We have yet to need it for the trailer, but have used it a number of times helping other not-so-fortunate drivers out. And before you ask, yes, I also keep my old bottle jack handy "just in case."

gearhead · 12-12-2014, 02:17 PM

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Trai...ellow/29764294

flash · 12-12-2014, 02:27 PM

yea, i do back the camper onto the 2by` but didn`t want to hook it all up just for that. the owners manual said to lift on frame only?? thats why the question about my jacks not being tall enough, tried placing some 2x6 blocks under my 2 ton bottle jack but was a little cautious. so it won`t hurt to use the axles to lift a couple inches?? thanks gary and everyone for the tip`s. merry chirstmas!

**chuckster57** · 12-12-2014, 03:01 PM

Lifting the tires using the axles is fine as long as you lift in the right place. As stated above, use the junction of the springs (U-BOLTS) as the lifting point.

bsmith0404 · 12-12-2014, 07:34 PM

I can't believe you guys are getting away with 2 ton floor jacks. I have a 2.5 ton floor jack, never gave it much thought until I tried to jack my 5er up to grease the wheel bearings. That's when it hit me, you can't lift a 7 ton camper (5.5 tons on the axles) with a 2.5 ton floor jack.

**chuckster57** · 12-12-2014, 07:51 PM

5.5 is on 4 points (tires), divide by 4 and you get 1.375 on each. 2.5 is more than 1.375....

**JRTJH** · 12-12-2014, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckster57

5.5 is on 4 points (tires), divide by 4 and you get 1.375 on each. 2.5 is more than 1.375....

Not to sound "too cautious, but if you're lifting the frame, it's not the same as lifting an axle. It really makes a significant difference whether you're lifting the entire side of the trailer (on the frame) or whether you're lifting one wheel (half of an axle), and then whether or not you lift that wheel high enough to cause both wheels on that side to come off the ground. In that situation, you're lifting the side of the trailer on the U Bolts, something that I wouldn't recommend.

So, I think you're right, if you put the jack under the U Bolts and lift half an axle, but if you take a 2.5 ton floor jack and start "cranking up the whole side of the trailer".... How much weight are you really putting on that jack? That's when it gets to a "decision making point"....

I wouldn't do it, but then I don't carry a floor jack with me anyway. However I have used a 3 ton floor jack in the driveway to lift one wheel to spin it while using the EZ Lube port.

**chuckster57** · 12-12-2014, 08:19 PM

I guess I should have clarified. I meant one axle at a time. Even at work with a 12 ton bottle jack we don't attempt frame lifts.

notanlines · 12-12-2014, 09:17 PM

Let's get real. You have a flat tire in the Kroger parking lot. You slide your jack under the axle where the spring and axle are bolted together. You probably put a slice of 2x12 under your jack or a scrap of 1/2" plywood. 35 pumps on your bottle jack or 12 on your floor jack and the wheel is ready to come off. In the real world nobody jacks the entire side of the trailer off the ground unless it is a single axle. This isn't brain surgery or rocket science, it is a flat tire.

**JRTJH** · 12-12-2014, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

Let's get real. You have a flat tire in the Kroger parking lot. You slide your jack under the axle where the spring and axle are bolted together. You probably put a slice of 2x12 under your jack or a scrap of 1/2" plywood. 35 pumps on your bottle jack or 12 on your floor jack and the wheel is ready to come off. In the real world nobody jacks the entire side of the trailer off the ground unless it is a single axle. This isn't brain surgery or rocket science, it is a flat tire.

Do a forum search for "trailer jacking" and you'll see that member after member have intended to do exactly of what you describe. There are two pages of people questioning "how do I jack my trailer?" dating back to 4-10-2010. There are posts where members show pictures of the "boxes" they built to support the jacks they use "on the frame", posts detailing how to use a chain to wrap around the axle so you can get the tire off the ground when jacking the frame without dealing with the suspension travel, posts that detail how to lift the trailer in a number of different (sometimes very unique) ways.

Not everyone has "thought through" or "lived through" or "been around long enough to know" that it's as simple as "throwing a bottle jack under the axle". That's the purpose of the forum and the "learning curve" of less experienced members.

Like you, if I have a flat in the parking lot, I'm going to "throw a bottle jack under the axle and change the tire". But at the same time, we have a number of members here who have read the Keystone owner's manual and would question the "sanity" of doing that, because the manual says, DON'T JACK USING THE AXLE"....

So, discussions such as this do serve a purpose, we all can learn from talking about how to jack our trailer and we all can offer some "sage advice" on what works for us,

I agree with you, I do it the "easy way" (if there's such a way) but not everyone has yet learned those tricks and sometimes, the guy that isn't sure is the one that will have an incident and get hurt because he wasn't quiet familiar enough with what he should have been doing. Better to discuss it than to hurt someone.

notanlines · 12-13-2014, 04:27 AM

John, I stand duly chastised.

In re-reading a few posts I see where you are coming from. I also am familiar with the "don't jack on the axle" from our triple axle boat trailer literature. I would like to think that the manufacturers are referring to jacking dead in the middle of the axle as opposed to the end at the shackle, but that isn't how it is stated in their brochure in either case.
I also had not seen the Camco Trailer Aid that Gearhead brought up earlier. This could easily be made from a ten foot piece of 2x8 or 2x10. It would probably weight more than the real thing, but at 1/5th the cost.

bsmith0404 · 12-13-2014, 04:38 AM

After my experience with the floor jack, I now carry a 12 ton bottle jack. Walmart sells a decent one in a case for around $20. If you can jack just one wheel and get the lift you need, great. The problem is that RV suspension does not have much travel. You don't get much movement before you start trying to lift the entire side of the RV. That's why the trailer aid works so well for most, it doesn't take much movement before the entire trailer gets lifted bringing the other tire off the ground. The other problem you can run into when trying to get under the springs/shackles is the base of the floor jack may be too wide and the tire gets in the way. You can get around that by changing the angle of the jack, but that ends up putting the jack way under the rv towards the center. Is this all possible in the driveway on a good level surface, of course, but I find the bottle jack much easier to use on the road.

We have seen the advice on this forum many times to practice a tire change at home before you hit the road for this very reason. If a floor jack works for you and you don't mind throwing it in the back of your truck or storage area, go for it. It just didn't work well for me.

bsmith0404 · 12-13-2014, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notanlines

John, I stand duly chastised.

In re-reading a few posts I see where you are coming from. I also am familiar with the "don't jack on the axle" from our triple axle boat trailer literature. I would like to think that the manufacturers are referring to jacking dead in the middle of the axle as opposed to the end at the shackle, but that isn't how it is stated in their brochure in either case.
I also had not seen the Camco Trailer Aid that Gearhead brought up earlier. This could easily be made from a ten foot piece of 2x8 or 2x10. It would probably weight more than the real thing, but at 1/5th the cost.

My understanding (I could be wrong, it's happened before) of the reason to not jack on the axle is that trailer axles act as part of the suspension, many (not all) are arched and do flex. They are not designed to lift the weight of the trailer when jacked at a single point anywhere along the length of the axle. If you bend the axle, you not only affect the alignment, you also affect the "spring rating" of the axle. Make you wonder how many trailers with uneven tire wear are caused by jacking on the axle????

On Edit, from Dexter's website:

MISCELLANEOUS - Is it okay to jack up my trailer?
Dexter recommends that you do not jack up the trailer on the suspension components because there is always the potential for damage. Bent hangers, leaf springs, or axle tubes can cause bad axle alignment with bad tire wear resulting. Also, many trailer builders do not use Dexter hangers and we have no idea how strong these hangers may or may not be. Therefore, we take the conservative approach and recommend jacking up only on the trailer frame.

AXLES - Why are some axles bent in the middle?
The upward bend in the axle is called "camber". Camber is the angular relationship of the wheel to the road surface in the vertical plane. Axles are typically built with a pre-determined bend in the tube that compensates for the expected deflection under load.

jsmith948 · 12-13-2014, 05:17 AM

The axles are designed to carry the weight of the trailer. The wheels are mounted outboard of the suspension attachment point. If the axle doesn't bend from the static and dynamic load exerted as a result of this leverage, then how would jacking under the u-bolts cause damage? I use a wooden block between the u-bolts and the jack, have jacked up loaded, 48ft refer vans this way. Never had a problem.

bsmith0404 · 12-13-2014, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmith948

The axles are designed to carry the weight of the trailer. The wheels are mounted outboard of the suspension attachment point. If the axle doesn't bend from the static and dynamic load exerted as a result of this leverage, then how would jacking under the u-bolts cause damage? I use a wooden block between the u-bolts and the jack, have jacked up loaded, 48ft refer vans this way. Never had a problem.

Probably a good question for Dexter. Not sure if anyone on this forum is qualified to answer that. I know my expertise in aircraft maintenance doesn't qualify me to argue with the recommendations of a trailer axle manufacturer. Can't say I always follow manufacturer recommendations, but in this case I do.....to easy to do it the way they recommend, IMO.

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