Jacks enough?

[Volyakker]

I have a 2008 Designer 35 RLTS. I need to have the tires replaced and want to just remove the wheels and take them to the tire store and leave the RV parked on the concrete pad at its location. Question is, will the leveling jacks hold the RV or does it need the support from the wheels also?

[Jagiven]

Welcome aboard!

What leveling jacks do you have on that 2008? I suspect they are a screw style jack and not piston driven. If that is the case, they will not support the camper. If they look anything like the two images below, they are not designed to lift and support your camper.

[JaycoLovers]

Regardless of the style of the stabilization jacks, I highly recommend you use a set of properly rated jack-stands. Especially if it will be off the tires for any more than a few minutes.

I would locate the jack-stands in one of two places:

1. Under the frame at the 4 (assuming dual axle) points the leaf springs are mounted.
OR
2. Under the axle as close to the hub as possible.

If you opt to put them under the axle, be sure to not allow a single axle/jack-stand to bear the full weight of one side of the unit. I bent an axle that way years ago.

IMHO- I'm not a pro...but I've been around RV's a long time and I like to be on the safe side of things.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by Volyakker

Question is, will the leveling jacks hold the RV or does it need the support from the wheels also?

The quick answer is a strong NO! Use bottle jacks and jack stands under the frame, NOT the axles. I did the same thing, only one side at a time. If you jack it up under the axles you risk bending them. New axles and changing them are expensive and time consuming. What does your owners manual recommend??

[Camp CA]

Welcome to the forum!!

Suggest driving your fifth wheel to a tire dealer and have them replace them on the spot..... and repack the wheel bearings at the same time.....that is what I always do........let them do the heavy work.

[Volyakker]

Thanks for the responses. I’ll definitely go with the jack stands under the frame

[RedHorse1]

This my solution, “towers” made by stacking 2x4’s topped with a jack stand/bottle jack. The landing gear support the front and the towers are close behind the rear axle.

I don’t raise the tires off the ground, just lift a couple of inches to take most of the weight off the axles. Jack the tire free of the ground and remove and lower the axle. The axle will hang free at a convenient height for bearing/brake service. I’ve left the 5th like this for several days while doing my work with no I’ll effects.
I like to “pad” the top of the stand and jack with an additional 2x4 to spread the load out a bit.

[RedHorse1]

Part 2: I saw a TT supported like you were asking about in the storage lot we use. It did NOT LOOK STABLE at all. One of the jacks looked like it was deformed due to the weight. I would guess it was in the 6000-7000# range. No way I’d try that with my 13k# 5th.

[videoarizona]

I took my rig to Discount Tire. Had a flat on the road.
They got me in within 3 hours and put 4 brand new tires on!
They do the job right in the parking lot with 4 large hydraulic jacks.
I was very pleased.

I know you said you didn't want to move your rig, but if anyone needs this, it's been posted.

[camjam]

Originally Posted by Camp CA

Welcome to the forum!!

Suggest driving your fifth wheel to a tire dealer and have them replace them on the spot..... and repack the wheel bearings at the same time.....that is what I always do........let them do the heavy work.

The only problem I have with that is every tire dealer I have taken my RV to has jacked up the axle not the frame even after I asked them not to. Now I just remove the tire and take to them.

[billcf7]

There is nothing wrong with jacking up the axle as long as it is jacked at the springs not the center of axle

[TxLoser]

Originally Posted by billcf7

There is nothing wrong with jacking up the axle as long as it is jacked at the springs not the center of axle

Agree. No different than the wheel traversing uneven terrain. Maybe not good to jack it so far it lifts the entire trailer way up on one jack, but four jacks evenly raising it just enough to get the tires off is fine. Had this done a few times on both my FW’s over the years without issue. The place that does my bearings does the same thing.

[85vf500rr]

Discount Tire just swapped all 4 on mine and they lifted from the spring pads, just as I would have. I made sure to ask them how they do it first due to having a bent spindle when I bought this camper used and it took a good while to get a replacement. They only lifted it enough to get the wheels clear of the ground and used a jack under each spring perch.

[JaycoLovers]

Originally Posted by billcf7

There is nothing wrong with jacking up the axle as long as it is jacked at the springs not the center of axle

My comments (#3 above) were to be sure the OP didn't support the full load of one side of the trailer on a single point on a single axle. I maintain this is a very bad thing to do.

Axles in today's units are grossly under-rated. Oftentimes on a dual axle trailer, they have a combined rating in the range of 90% of the trailer's max weight rating (the other 10% is calculated as tongue weight). Add to this, most trailers are regularly overloaded per their ratings as most users have no idea what their trailers actually weigh (gotta hit those CAT scales at least once).

From a structural analysis point of view (thinking of a free body diagram), jacking the side of loaded trailer completely off the ground under a single axle puts what was evenly distributed across two axles onto a single axle. Regardless of where the jack is located, the axle still has been loaded with that weight. I'm certain this was my mistake and how I bent an axle years ago. I won't do it again.

[Route 66 Traveler]

When I service my bearings & brakes I lift it by the frame with one jack in front of the front axle and one at the rear, then support it with jack stands for added security. Having both wheels off the ground allows me to rotate the tries front to back as well.

After I learned an expensive lesson by jacking the trailer at the spring pads I always lift by the frame. Bending an axle ever so slightly will cause unnecessary tire wear. Replacing a bent axle and replacing the tires is expensive and time consuming.