Jack placement for axle under springs Jayco 145RB Baja Addition

[KTVStriker]

Question about jack placement on a Jayco 145rb Baja Addition. On these trailers these axles are under the springs so my question is when you have to replace a tire where do you position the jack? Hope this makes sense.

[spdorje]

Originally Posted by KTVStriker

Question about jack placement on a Jayco 145rb Baja Addition. On these trailers these axles are under the springs so my question is when you have to replace a tire where do you position the jack? Hope this makes sense.

I would check your manual. Our is a tandem axle and the manual says do not place the jack under the axle as the weight can damage it... Frame is the place to place the jack. Ours is a tandem axle and we have a ramp to drive onto that lifts the axles for access to the flat.

[JEFF1963]

Concur with jack directly beneath frame. My little guy (154BH, Baja Ed.) is much like yours, and my manual admonishes me to ALWAYS place the jack directly under the frame, NOT the axle.

[ttavasc]

Both the Jayco manual and the Dexter manual that I've read caution against lifting with any part of the axle or suspension system, rather lift against the main frame rail. For my 195RB Baja I carry a small 2-ton bottle jack that I set on top of a stack of 1 foot square leveling blocks and position it under the main frame rail just behind the rear attachment point for the leaf springs. Make sure and chock both the front and rear of the opposite side tire as well as leave the trailer hooked up to the TV.

[seadeals]

I recently needed to adjust brakes on my new Whitehawk. I could not get the tires to even come close to locking with the controller at max setting. This meant I needed to lift the wheels off the ground for adjustment. Reviewed a number of threads here and ended up buying a bottle jack and a 4x4, which I cut into 1' pieces to use as cribbing under the jack. I placed it just in front of the forward leaf spring mount. There is a doubler on the frame there. I have a small plywood piece with a divot for the jack head to reduce scratching and stress on the frame. I figure the setup is overkill; but it was sweet how easy the whole trailer side came up and lifted both wheels. In a bad roadside situation, overkill could pay off. This got me thinking of a related question. How is using a ramp on the "good wheel" any different from jacking under one axle on a double axle trailer? Wouldn't that be the same stress on the axle and leaf springs?

[schrederman]

On the newer trailers with the axles spread apart, the ramps don't work. I used a ramp on mine and still had to jack it up. I only put this out so anyone with a similar situation might save his/her money and not buy the ramp.

[Hohenwald48]

I've been placing the jack under the axle for 40 years with no problem. Now I don't place it in the middle of the axle but get it as close to the tire as possible. Usually under the spring mount or on the u-bolt. When changing a tire you're not really lifting that much weight. You're just compressing the spring enough to get the tire off the ground.

[KTVStriker]

Thanks for all the information, I will definitely lift on the frame just to be safe.