caravan jack

[mcwillcl]

Afternoon all
hopefuly i am nae tempting fait here with this question!!!
what do you carry incase your van gets a flat for jacking it up to change the wheel? scissor jack bottle jack car jack trolley jack?
just i am wandering what other caravers carry incase of emergency?
answers on a post card hahaha

[outnumbered]

do not carry one, i use green flag. wouldnt want to be changing one on the road side let the experts do it .also there was not a alko jack with the van when i purchased it

mike

[JamesV70R]

Just use the vans legs to lift the van on the side you've got a blown tyre? Might have to put your back into it but its not like they aren't designed to support some weight.

With the boats I'd use a combination of a high kerb in a services, the car jack (volvo screw jack thing), and anything solid in the car to actually take the weight once I've jacked it. Changing it wont take many minutes.

Only thing to make sure you do while at home is remove all the nuts/bolts from the trailer wheels, and apply a decent amount of copper grease to them - to make sure they come undone when you're stuck at the side of the motorway!

[60041]

I have only had 2 or 3 occasions when I have had to change a wheel away from home and only once on the roadside (thank goodness). I use a car type scissor jack, but if the tyre is completely flat, the van needs to be run up a levelling wedge first before the jack will fit under the axle tube. Its a horrible job.
A friend of mine has bought a Kojack but has yet to try it out, other people speak very highly of them:
http://www.purpleline.co.uk/products-kojack.php

What ever you do, never ever use the corner steadies to lift the van, they are not designed to do it and may well collapse under the weight, or twist the caravan body. The hint is in the name: Corner Steady, not jack!
Also, do not grease the bolts, they rely on the friction between the taper and the wheel to stay tight and the torque figures are for dry threads, a lubricated thread will be tighter for a given torque and could well distort the wheel.

[outnumbered]

do not use the corner steadies to lift the van up thats all they are steadies, you will
a damage the legs.
b damage the chassis.
c damage your back.
i have yet to see if you can lift 1700 kg with the corner steadies. also remember that the caravan chassis is lower so if you have a complete flat you will have to run the caravan onto a block to get the height for the trolley jack etc.
on a lighter note you could try this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yIRlLUUmdA

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by 60041

I have only had 2 or 3 occasions when I have had to change a wheel away from home and only once on the roadside (thank goodness). I use a car type scissor jack, but if the tyre is completely flat, the van needs to be run up a levelling wedge first before the jack will fit under the axle tube. Its a horrible job.
A friend of mine has bought a Kojack but has yet to try it out, other people speak very highly of them:
http://www.purpleline.co.uk/products-kojack.php

What ever you do, never ever use the corner steadies to lift the van, they are not designed to do it and may well collapse under the weight, or twist the caravan body. The hint is in the name: Corner Steady, not jack!

you beat me to it lol

[60041]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

you beat me to it lol

Maybe I can type faster than you can!

[JimDay]

I carry a small trolley jack in a plastic case in the boot all the time as I have never trusted scissor jacks of any kind no matter who makes them.

One more point against the use of the CORNER STEADIES on some makes of caravans they are partially attached to the caravan wooden floor and lifting the van on them can split / de-laminate the floor causing expensive damage , I know as this happened to the father in laws van some years back when some bastewards tried to thieve it and they left the full weight standing on one front leg while they came back in the dark to try & nick it the floor was a right off on that corner & it had to be repaired by the professionals cost a fortune lucky he was insured.

[JamesV70R]

Uprate the legs? Reinforced plates around the mounting points? I'd have thought they would have been mounted on the solid metal part of the chassis rather than the floors - surely the same cracking/colapsing issue would happen if you had 3 or 4 people of "a larger stature" in the van at once ...

Also - you've never put a small amount of copperslip on your cars bolts before you retorque them?

I've never had any issues on any of the boat/rib trailers, and believe me, they have a harder life than a caravan does! Immersion in sal****er for starters ...

[60041]

From the Bailey Caravans 2011 Owners Handbook:

Page 2-11; "Always ensure mating surfaces and bolt seating areas are clean and dry. Wheel bolts should never be lubricated"

Page 2-12: "Under no circumstances should the corner steadies be used as a jack, they are only a means of stabilising the caravan"