jacking up travel trailer with leaf springs
Ours broke completely in two. Reading and understanding the operational manual is all the more important and necessary. You want to place the jacks close to the wheels and use the frame to lift on. We have leaf springs compatible with all major vehicle manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Toyota, Mercury, and Nissan. Bottle jacks have different lifting ranges from 9 inches to 18 inches. When you get a tire change or any service, the axle will be abused by "mechanics" with no clue. Trailer Leaf Spring Check twice if necessary. The average lifting capacity of a bottle jack is around 40,000 pounds, and the average lifting height ranges between 9 and 18 inches. I have a Dutchmen 25 ft. TT. I?ve always placed the bottle jack right under the spring pack. You are correct to jack the trailer there, it is safer and easier. Follow the process for the other three corners each at a time. My 15-inch rims on my travel trailer required 90-110 ft-lbs of torque. Some leaf springs have hooks or flat ends. How to jack up a travel trailer to change a tire? Do not use this link to ask for help with RV-related issues; Ask those questions in one of our forums. What to Know About Replacing Trailer Leaf Springs, Wagoneer / Full Size Cherokee / J10 / J20, Cutaway Van / Motorhome / Bus / Stripped Chassis, F600 / F650 / F700 / F750 / F800 / F9000 / LN9000, How To Choose Replacement Trailer Springs. Here's how I raise ours with torsion axles. Use thread locker adhesive to help keep new bolts in place. I've jacked my rv and commercial trailers std leaf spring suspension under 1750 lb axles up to 11000 axle tubes. axles = 7,000 lb., two 5,000 lb axles = 10,000 lbs., etc. The cost of a 2 ton starts at around $6, while the price of a 20-ton bottle jacks starts from $64. We didnt have the option to take off the spring first so we measured from eye to eye with the spring on the trailer and tried to find the closest match in the number of leaves, weight rating, and width. WebI would then lower that side onto appropriate, (read: weight capable), safety jack stands. This can cause permanent damage to your frame. Here are a few inspection tips for the leaf springs: Look to see if the trailer is leaning to one side or the other. Flat Jack Pad: A Flat Jack pad is required when you might want to levitate the suspension. Keep a pry bar on hand to help remove challenging bolts. Then I place 2 jack stands. Once the jack is positioned, you can safely start jacking your trailer. Put the lug nuts on the tire and tighten with your lug nut wrench. The manual says to lift on the frame. You may utilize those according to your requirements. Weather, aging and weight overload can deteriorate your springs over time. Use Torque Wrench To Tighten U-Bolt Nuts, 15. They are only designed to stabilize the trailer and are not meant for lifting. If you only have a couple of wheel You can tighten this more than the shackle side but you still want it to be loose enough to allow the leaf spring to move and bend. Of course you won't be clearing any obstacles taller than the axle. The way I understand it, you must drive the good wheel up onto a ramp to lift the bad wheel up off of the ground to facilitate replacement of the bad wheel/tire. Apply the handbrake and parking brake before jacking up the trailer. If youre new to jacking up your travel trailer, its always important to ensure that you take some safety precautions while you master the process. The pad has to be put on top of the jack. Is there any harm in lifting at this point? The springs should be replaced in pairs as well. There are actually quite a few good choices of jacks you can choose between. If they just wont budge you can use a torch to heat the bolt which will hopefully loosen it. While other models will hold 6,000 pounds and raise the trailer 21 inches. Lift the trailer up until the tire is just off the ground. The biggest issue is not really the location although that may be a close second. Doing so can cause serious damage to these pressurized parts and are costly If you only replace one it may cause uneven wear and improper alignment of your trailer tires. Being a vehicle owner makes basic roadside maintenance skills vital. Can't use the leveling boards or trailer aid system because our trailer has wide spacing between the wheels. Your access to this page has been blocked. Step 1: Preparing Your Trailer for Surgery In order to make sure your trailer stays put, we recommend chocking your wheels. The first thing you need to know is what the weight rating on your trailer axles is. Works great. Once youve lined everything up you can insert the bolt. Depending on the size and weight of the trailer this could be an easy or a fairly difficult task. www.TheSavvyCampers.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.. Our rig is too heavy to crank jack under frame, I jack under leaf spring near end of axle when checking brakes and greasing bearings. Do not place the jack below any other suspension parts, torsion axles, or leaf springs! 402. This action means that you get a smoother ride when you travel. These come in different sizes and can hold between 2 and 50 tons. I had a 2x4 split causing trailer to drop about an inch after tire was on and ready to drop. Educate yourself about the travel trailer. We figured that the springs had spread about an inch so we went with the 25 1/8 inch leaf spring. Plus, Brandon shares a Choose your replacement by noting your axle capacity, the number of leaves on your existing springs and what type and size your springs are. I've carried a truckers special 12 ton shorty Hydraulic bottle jack with a 10"x10" base that I slide under the end of the axle tube next to the U bolt on std leaf spring suspension on any vehicle I've owned. The vast majority of travel trailers and 5 th wheels use a leaf spring suspension to absorb road shock. Knowing how to jack up a travel trailer properly will be a great help in such conditions. Our travel trailer weighs 9,000 lbs so it took 2 large jacks to get one side off the ground. Here's everything you need to know about replacing travel trailer leaf springs. Depends on your axle type and sometimes access. It takes 30 seconds to lift a wheel off the ground without jacks, jack stands, no laying on the ground. How To Jack Up a Travel Trailer or 5th Wheel to Change a Tire There will be a chance that the jack slips down at any time and causes an accident. Tighten the U-bolts so they are snug, you do not need to torque them to the correct poundage yet. I reused the U-bolt plate because it was better quality than the new one. 2) I put my bottle jack under the trailer frame that the suspension is welded to. RV.Net We also got springs that were rated for a little more weight than the original ones. Bottle jack. When I looked at the thickness of the axle tube when Lippert replaced the axle believe me you would definitely reconsider ever jacking on the axle tube with a bottle jack. Jacking up See Also:How To Install An Electric Tongue Jack On A Trailer. They are usually single-axle or dual-axle trailers, and jacking either is fairly similar, provided you have considered the weight difference. If you have no clue what the backing plate is, here is an image: One reason you are supposed to avoid using the axle tube is that most travel trailers come with a torsion design and the weight on the axle could damage it. Ensuring that you have the right equipment and working in a structured sequence can significantly reduce the effort and risk required to jack up an RV trailer. Make sure you check what kind you will need to go with the size and style of leaf spring you are using. All Right Reserved by AutoSolutionLab. We have already mentioned several good spots. Personally I just keep a bottle jack handy and a few of my leveling boards and jack the axle up and do the service that is required (like change a flat tire). Follow these steps to calculate the right size spring for your replacement: Always replace your trailer springs in pairs for a balanced load. Jack up Therefore, if you are the owner of a travel trailer you should make sure you are familiar with the process necessary to change one of your vehicles tires. once every 12,000 miles or when you notice any sagging, corrosion, cracks or uneven riding. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There is an I beam that rests there and it is a very easy-to-access spot that is safe for your trailer. Scissor Jacks: Average weight of a scissor jack is 6.3 lbs which is around 3 kg with 3,300 lbs weight lifting capacity. 12 Best Travel Trailer Brands to Explore in 2023, The 8 Best Travel Trailer Tires on the Market in 2023. If they do I can't find it. These are very user-friendly jacks but, as the figures suggest, cannot be relied on for heavy lifting. We used two 4 ton jacks. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. This way your just lifting one end of the axle If you fit a spare tire, you will want to loosen the nuts on the affected tire while still on the ground. Lets face it - dealing with lukewarm water on an icy cold day is not pleasant! I'm buying stuff to outfit my new travel trailer and have this question. There are four built-in stabilizer jacks in the four corners of the travel trailer. When you go to change a flat tire on your travel trailer you will need the following items: The latter two pieces of equipment are interchangeable depending upon which type of travel trailer you are attempting to change a flat tire on. You should always replace the U-bolts (click to view on Amazon) whenever you change out any leaf springs. The trailer leaf spring cost around $20. 1)Be sure to raise the stabilizers. They may have a point as the warning placed in many models owners manuals may not be accurate. Leaf springs give your travel trailer much-needed cushioning against bumps and vibrations, but they are not one-size-fits-all. RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers: How to jack up a These are much more conducive to lighter motor vehicles and smaller trailers. You should never replace just one leaf spring, they need to be replaced in pairs or all of them. If you dont feel comfortable working on your own trailer have a professional do it for you. Further, they say that they (the axle manufacture) don't have control over the support brackets, etc., that trailers manufactures install and they highly recommend that you do not jack a trailer on the suspension components unless that is called for in the trailer's owner's manual. The most common jacks are Bottle jacks, Scissor Jacks, and floor jacks. If you get larger leaf springs or ones that are rated for more weight than the old ones dont go too high. Most leaf springs have two eyes at each end, where the bushings are. You would have to check the gross weight of your trailer and the location of the best jack point on it to make this determination. The good Bottle Jacks: Unlike the name, a bottle jack is more like a gas cylinder. The other option if you want to use the frame is 2 jacks spaced out but jack them at the same time or very slowly back and forth between them so as not to twist the frame. Start by chocking the wheel on the opposite side, sliding the jack under the frame near the tire to be changed, and jack it up. After safely securing your vehicle with wheel chocks, you will want to use your lug wrench to loosen but not remove the lug nuts on the wheel of the flat tire. After you have these materials laid out in front of you, you will want to take your wheel blocks and place them behind every wheel on your towing vehicle and travel trailer (except for the flat tire). What Is a Travel Trailer: A Comprehensive Guide to RV Living, How to Level a Travel Trailer: Step-by-Step Guide for a Safe Stay, How Wide Is a Travel Trailer? Lower your jack until the trailer rests on those stands and then change your tire or do other maintenance work. Favor jack stands over other alternatives such as wood blocks or bricks. Bottle jacks work great, using two is recommended. You can use the new ones or reuse the old one if it seems better. When you are finished fixing your trailer, bring back each jack from its place by following the same method. Extensions: Distance between the ground and a travel trailer is around 16-25 inches. You are using an out of date browser. Previously parked TT on lawn along side of house or gravel at a storage place. Each leaf is made of steel Had 3 flats when we had our tandem axel trailer. Always make sure a wheel chock is in place blocking your trailer from moving. On average, these jacks weigh around 6 pounds with a lifting capacity of around 3,300 pounds. Having a vehicle up on jacks may make it more unstable in high winds. Place the jack on the jack stand, and adjust the height of the jack by plugging the extensions. As long as a person places the jack directly under the spring pearch there is no way to damage the axle tube. You can now finish removing the nuts holding the U-bolts. You dont want to take off the lug nuts completely, just get the first turn done so you know they will come off easily later. Bad Alternator Diode Draining Battery [Explained], Can A Bad Alternator Cause Loss Of Power [Explained], Can A Bad Alternator Cause AC Problems [Explained], Oil Leak On Alternator [Why + How To Fix], Alternator Smoking When I Hook Up Battery [5 Easy Fixes]. However, some people do ignore that advice and use the axle section that is closest to the wheels without any problem. you will probably These are the types of jacks you will find in vehicle service centers and shops, and we highly recommend keeping one of these where you store your RV. The hardest part about replacing leaf springs on any trailer is getting the correct size. So how does one safely jack a trailer? We travel full time in our RV and write about what we learn and share our experiences. Inspect the leaf springs on your trailer at least Once the jack is in the proper position you can raise your travel trailer until the flat tire is off of the ground. Don't see any info in my manuals and some people do it under the frame or under the axle in videos. It's best to jack up by frame, (I try to at home with my floor jack) but on the road, anyplace I could find sturdy would work for me. The center bolt of your leaf spring is known as the center point. Before jumping on learning how to put travel trailer on jack stands, let me introduce some commonly used If your browser is out of date, try updating it. Lubricate them as needed to prevent premature wear and increase their longevity. Always wear personal protective gear while removing and replacing your leaf springs, especially when rust and dirt are present. I've done bearing service on other trailers, never on a longer travel trailer. Finally, the hydraulic bottleneck jack is a good option as well. The leaf spring on our 32 foot travel trailer was 26 inches from eye to eye when on the trailer. Never jack up your travel trailers axle tube as you can cause permanent damage.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'thesavvycampers_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_10',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thesavvycampers_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Make sure to watch your brake lines as to not place the jack under to crunch any working parts of your unit. What to Know About Replacing Trailer Leaf Springs The axle may be one of the easiest locations to use to get the clearance you need. Is it a good idea to store your trailer with the tires off the ground. Is it ok to lift one wheel at a time? And I don't mean to imply that. Before jumping on learning how to put travel trailer on jack stands, let me introduce some commonly used jacks. Jul 30, 2010. Chock all wheels that are not being lifted, and keep your tow vehicle attached but turned off. Most vehicle axles have the capacity rating listed on a sticker or plate, but you can also check in your owner's manual. Jacking up a vehicle with leaf springs For any RV being raised up with a So without further ado, lets take a look at how to jack up an RV trailer safely and efficiently. Basically, where you jack up your trailer will be up to you, not as an escape to the issue, but you know your trailer the best and know the strongest points that will give you the best clearance. Locating the jack with the suspension might damage the trailer. Just follow the above steps to jack it up.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'autosolutionlab_com-leader-3','ezslot_15',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-autosolutionlab_com-leader-3-0'); Yes. Scissor jacks are recommended for lifting light weights vehicles like cars. Uneven or soft ground may increase the likelihood of movement. I started by loosening the nuts on the top center of the leaf springs. Contact a representative to learn more about measuring for and choosing the right spring for your vehicle, and shop truck and travel trailerleaf spring replacements today to take advantage of our one-year warranty program on all new leaf springs. Its up to you. As you inspect, look for the following: Wipe your leaf spring and mounting plates clean and pat them dry regularly to minimize the chance for buildup. So long as you have the proper tools and the right size of leaf spring to replace the old one with its not that difficult. First off, forget about using your trailer-stabilizing jacks to help you lift. Measure from the center of the front bushing in a straight line to the center of the rear bushing for DOUBLE-EYE if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'camperfront_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_7',145,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-camperfront_com-large-leaderboard-2-0');Step 6 Complete removing the affected tire and inserting the spare tire or completing necessary maintenance. Correct Jacking/Lifting Most trailers use leaf spring suspension with the springs attached to a teeter-totter equalizer between the two axles to allow some independent movement of If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. This will be near the tires in the middle of the frame. Both of those options would also depend on how heavy your trailer was at the time. We were in a bind and had to call someone to replace the broken leaf spring for us. Mine is a 30' Wolf-pack two axle toy hauler. You may not have a choice either but if you can, it may be best to look for a better location that still gets you the right clearance. I have been camping most of my adult life and am passionate about having the best camping equipment as well as writing. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Its also recommended to re-tighten all the lug nuts on the tires after about 50 miles. my TT and cargo trailer have double axles. After loosening the lug nuts, you can remove the flat tire and replace it with the spare tire. Step 4 Place the jack on the frame just behind the axle or rear axle in the case of a dual-axel trailer. Place the jack in your manufacturers recommend area, this will typically be on the frame of your travel trailer. At a minimum, check your trailers leaf springs every 12,000 miles or if you observe drooping, corrosion, fractures, or rough riding. Doing so can cause serious damage to these pressurized parts and are costly to fix. This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Replacing flat tires and general upkeep are some of the most routine maintenance activities youre likely to encounter. To find the correct torque poundage you will have to look up what the U-bolt manufacturer recommends. How to Jack Up a Travel Trailer: Can You Jack Up By the Axle? The recommendation is to place the jack on the main frame beam close to the wheel you want to lift off the ground. This bolt will align with the leaf spring hanger on either the top or bottom of the axle depending on how your trailers suspension system is made. Once your travel trailer is back on the ground, you can tighten the spare tire. (. However, if you are prepared and familiar with the process you should be able to easily change out a flat tire for a spare. Place the wheel chocks under the wheels. This is not essential for single-axle trailers but still recommended. Once your flat tire is off the ground, you will need to fully remove it and replace it with the spare tire and then align the spare tire upon the wheel studs.
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