Hello and thanks for any information. I know the manual says to only jack under the frame close behind or in front of the tires. But I'm hoping to make something safer then jacking up the whole side of the trail to change a flat on the road. My 27ft TT has 2 and 3/8" axles, but I could only find a jack adaptor for 3" and 4" axles... I ordered a 3-ton scissor jack and an axle spring perch the right size and I'll weld the spring perch on top of the scissor jack. Has anyone done this before or any thoughts? Thanks James.
Making a jack to use under axle
- Thread starter Replay13
- Start date
-
- Tags
- jaycoowners
OnTheGo
Senior Member
I would check with the axle manufacturer and let them tell you if jacking under the axle is an acceptable practice.
If done properly, jacking under the frame is safe.
Bending the axle is a possible (likely?) by jacking under it.
Following the advice in the manual seems to make good sense.
Last edited:
Stan&Sharon
Stan&Sharon
RV LIFE Pro
I used to have one of these. I never needed to use it. Sold it on Facebook Marketplace. It seemed like a good thing to have.
RPR
Senior Member
Did you order an electric or hand crank jack.
Tunce the traveler
Senior Member
The Trailer-Aid ( PLUS) is safer & faster or you can use the Lego blocks that you already carry to level your trailer when pulling into your site.
X2
Much easier than using a jack.
I remember reading here someone fabricated a piece to lift both axels up. It seemed like way to much work but I admire the creativity.
Last edited:
I ordered a hand crank one, like the ones that came with my pickup. Btw: I stopped by my local RV Parts Warehouse today and asked them how they jacked up a TT when they did wheel bearings. They said they use a floor jack right under the spring shackles.
Rob V
New Member
This is my very first post to this forum. I have a Jayco Talon 385T I too read where it said lift from the frame only. I had new tires installed at America’s tire/discount tires and they lifted the rig from the axle tubes. I wanted to compromise and I bought from Amazon a dual ram bottle jack that will fit underneath the spring perch when a tire is completely deflated. This particular Jack has enough height to lift the wheel so a fully inflated tire can be replaced. The 8 ton jack made lifting the trailer Effortless which I liked.
I tried using the Anderson wedge, and with my particular trailer it did absolutely nothing. It needed at least 3 inches more height to lift the wheel off the ground.
Hope this helps
I tried using the Anderson wedge, and with my particular trailer it did absolutely nothing. It needed at least 3 inches more height to lift the wheel off the ground.
Hope this helps
RPR
Senior Member
You may find the jack hard to crank if it has a long handle. Jack may bind a little with a lot of weight causing it hard to hand crank.
GarlicDude
Senior Member
[QUOTE Btw: I stopped by my local RV Parts Warehouse today and asked them how they jacked up a TT when they did wheel bearings. They said they use a floor jack right under the spring shackles.[/QUOTE]
Every time I've had tires changed on our trailer, America's Tire, they used a floor jack under the spring shackles.
Every time I've had tires changed on our trailer, America's Tire, they used a floor jack under the spring shackles.
camjam Jay
Senior Member
Every time I've had tires changed on our trailer, America's Tire, they used a floor jack under the spring shackles.[/QUOTE]
Same here. Have owned RV's for 24 years and have never seen any place lift by the frame. I don't even question them anymore.
camjam Jay
Senior Member
I used to have one of these. I never needed to use it. Sold it on Facebook Marketplace. It seemed like a good thing to have.
I made one out of 2x12's. Used it almost every trip when the rig i had came with china tires. Makes changing a tire quick and easy.
RoadieWingZ
Advanced Member
^^^THIS^^^ is the correct answer.I used to have one of these. I never needed to use it. Sold it on Facebook Marketplace. It seemed like a good thing to have.
GarlicDude
Senior Member
Not much help on a single axle trailer
GarlicDude
Senior Member
I bought this to have in the trailer:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Z37MQGN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
craigav
Senior Member
Thoughts to consider.
I have read many times from Lippert and RV manufactures that you should only jack the RV up from the frame but I suggest everyone consider why they say that. The answer I believe is that an axle can be damaged if you improperly jack up the RV from the axle, especially the closer to the center of the axle you are. If you do jack up the RV from the axle and damage it then I believe you will find the guidance to not jack up the RV from the axle is that such damage is on you and not something the warranty will cover.
Having that in mind, an axle that has the leaf springs underneath and if you jack up the rv from the leaf spring plate, the load of the RV is being distributed to the frame via the leaf springs. The axle is merely resting on top of the springs and in jacking at that location will create to no risk of damaging the axle. In fact the axle loading would be less in that scenario as the axle is simply resting on the spring pack. When the axle is below the leaf springs more care needs to be taken, a jack cradle that fits the axle or directly on the U-Bolts will help distribute the load. I would prefer to have a jack cradle that fits the axle tube diameter exactly if possible perhaps with a heavy duty rubber section between the jack cradle and axle tube especially if the cradle is not a perfect match for the axle diameter.
While jacking from the frame is recommended, the recommendation is to protect the axle and not to protect you. For those who have jacked up the RV from the frame and those who may plan to do that, you will find that you need a very high lift jack or blocks of wood under the jack in order to jack up the RV enough to change the tire. When you do that you will notice that the RV is leaning a lot and in many cases very unstable. Jacking from the frame especially if you are on the side of the road that is not perfectly level increases the danger especially if the side you are jacking is the uphill side. Not only does this create a danger for the jack to slip out from the RV but also puts a lot of stress on the suspension for the side not being jacked up.
In any case, just thoughts to share and for sure never jack up an RV from the center of the axle (or any further out from the tire than required) and if you jack up at the axle, have the jack under the leaf spring plate, or at least leverage the carrier U-Bolts but again in the case the axle is below the leaf springs it would be much better and safer to have a cradle that matches the axle tube diameter and the cradle cup matching the jack lift piston diameter and jack the RV no higher than necessary. ~CA
I have read many times from Lippert and RV manufactures that you should only jack the RV up from the frame but I suggest everyone consider why they say that. The answer I believe is that an axle can be damaged if you improperly jack up the RV from the axle, especially the closer to the center of the axle you are. If you do jack up the RV from the axle and damage it then I believe you will find the guidance to not jack up the RV from the axle is that such damage is on you and not something the warranty will cover.
Having that in mind, an axle that has the leaf springs underneath and if you jack up the rv from the leaf spring plate, the load of the RV is being distributed to the frame via the leaf springs. The axle is merely resting on top of the springs and in jacking at that location will create to no risk of damaging the axle. In fact the axle loading would be less in that scenario as the axle is simply resting on the spring pack. When the axle is below the leaf springs more care needs to be taken, a jack cradle that fits the axle or directly on the U-Bolts will help distribute the load. I would prefer to have a jack cradle that fits the axle tube diameter exactly if possible perhaps with a heavy duty rubber section between the jack cradle and axle tube especially if the cradle is not a perfect match for the axle diameter.
While jacking from the frame is recommended, the recommendation is to protect the axle and not to protect you. For those who have jacked up the RV from the frame and those who may plan to do that, you will find that you need a very high lift jack or blocks of wood under the jack in order to jack up the RV enough to change the tire. When you do that you will notice that the RV is leaning a lot and in many cases very unstable. Jacking from the frame especially if you are on the side of the road that is not perfectly level increases the danger especially if the side you are jacking is the uphill side. Not only does this create a danger for the jack to slip out from the RV but also puts a lot of stress on the suspension for the side not being jacked up.
In any case, just thoughts to share and for sure never jack up an RV from the center of the axle (or any further out from the tire than required) and if you jack up at the axle, have the jack under the leaf spring plate, or at least leverage the carrier U-Bolts but again in the case the axle is below the leaf springs it would be much better and safer to have a cradle that matches the axle tube diameter and the cradle cup matching the jack lift piston diameter and jack the RV no higher than necessary. ~CA
Lauren8363
Member
RV LIFE Pro
I have been jacking under the shackles for as long as I remember. Dad was a Heavy duty mechanic and he taught me that.
Lake Huron
Senior Member
When my mom and dad bought their first tt, dad asked me what i do. I said frame only. Lifting from the axle is a bad idea due to the good possibility of it being bent and causing tire(s) to wear our faster and unevenly. I told him to call Dexter Axle since that's who's axle is under their trailer and see what they say. Per, not the front desk lady but an engineer there, and I have no idea how he was able to speak with one of them, but was told DO NOT lift from the axle. Frame only. On that trailer and every trailer he has no matter what brand axle is under it.
I use a 6x6 that's about 8" long and a 20ton bottle jack on top of that and lift off the frame on my Northpoint. That 20 ton lifts it with ease and fairly quickly.
This past season we had a tire go down on us on a trip. From the time I started to disconnect the trailer from the truck until I had it reconnected and ready to roll back down the road it took me 20 min to change it out.
It would have taken longer to make and complete the call to the auto club or Good Sam to get someone out that it did to actually do it myself.
Besides, I know it's done right, and on the first time.
I use a 6x6 that's about 8" long and a 20ton bottle jack on top of that and lift off the frame on my Northpoint. That 20 ton lifts it with ease and fairly quickly.
This past season we had a tire go down on us on a trip. From the time I started to disconnect the trailer from the truck until I had it reconnected and ready to roll back down the road it took me 20 min to change it out.
It would have taken longer to make and complete the call to the auto club or Good Sam to get someone out that it did to actually do it myself.
Besides, I know it's done right, and on the first time.
Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days
- Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
- Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
- Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
- and much more...
