Changing a Tire On a Baja Edition

[AnacortesArmyGuy]

I'm a new owner of a 2019 154BH TT Baja Edition, and I have a couple of questions about how to change a tire on this TT. First, I've read the owners' manual and have searched this forum. I've also owned other trailers and understand the procedure for jacking up a "standard" height trailer. But the manual excludes any instructions for an elevated trailer such as the Baja. There's two issues I've identified - first, you have to have a jack that will extend up to a minimum of 24" in height, unless the answer is to take a "standard" jack and place it on some sort of elevated base, and maybe this is the answer. And second, the Baja editions come with an enclosed under-belly. The material used by Jayco to enclose the undercarriage extends all of the way to the outer edges of the main frame rails, the same frame rails where a jack is supposed to be positioned. Am I to assume that once I find a jack that will extend far (high) enough, I'm to place it under the frame rail and "crush" this section of the enclosure material that happens to cover the piece of frame rail that the jack needs to be placed to elevate the offending tire?

[redsnapper]

Carry some lumber to shore up the height of the jack.
Do a "practice" run of just how much lumber to carry for this use

Place a small piece of lumber between the jack head and the frame.

[ttavasc]

I had the same issue when we got our 195RB Baja. I carry a 2 ton bottle jack and use 3 or 4 of the yellow leveling blocks underneath it. I place the top of the bottle jack right next to the spring plate on the shortest leaf (see attached picture - X marks the spot!). This reduces the amount of extension needed to raise the tire off the ground. Also, I never jack the trailer up without it being attached to the tow vehicle. If I need to do anything other than swap the tire I also have a pair of jack stands that I position just past each end of the leaf spring as a precaution. I do this with some regularity as each spring when the trailer comes out of "storage" one of the first things I do is jack each side up and perform the annual bearing and brake maintenance.

[AnacortesArmyGuy]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

I had the same issue when we got our 195RB Baja. I carry a 2 ton bottle jack and use 3 or 4 of the yellow leveling blocks underneath it. I place the top of the bottle jack right next to the spring plate on the shortest leaf (see attached picture - X marks the spot!). This reduces the amount of extension needed to raise the tire off the ground. Also, I never jack the trailer up without it being attached to the tow vehicle. If I need to do anything other than swap the tire I also have a pair of jack stands that I position just past each end of the leaf spring as a precaution. I do this with some regularity as each spring when the trailer comes out of "storage" one of the first things I do is jack each side up and perform the annual bearing and brake maintenance.

Thanks for your response. I noticed in the Jayco manual that they specifically state not to place the jack on any part of the suspension and axle, but they also neglect to explain what Baja edition owners are to do given the challenges I outlined in the OP. The idea of using the leveling blocks is a great idea as I already have those, and given the limited cargo capacity of the trailer any thing I carry that can be used for a multitude of purposes is the way to go, and they are a lot less weight than some wooden blocks.

[ttavasc]

The Dexter manual carries the same warning. However, in this particular case I feel like this works fine. You are lifting on the bottom leaf right next to where it sits on the spring plate and is already carrying the weight. I don't like having to build a taller platform for the jack to reach the frame or how much higher you have to lift to get the tire off the ground. In a multi-axle configuration you have other options such as Andersen RapidJack which can be used to avoid jacking completely.