Looking for Recommendations on Floor Jacks

Interesting theory.
My 12t shorty hyd jack has non of your limitations you mention.
And my trailers (rv and commercial) axles don't travel in a big enough arc to be any kind of a issue.
This old jack is heavy and made all 1.2 million miles when I was towing for a living. It also been in three different 5th wheel rv trailers with countless thousands of miles for over 30 years.

Guess we have differing experiences with hyd bottle jacks.

My main issue with bottle jack is the short handle. Not because it limits power or anything. If that was issue, get the bigger jack. But with the jack under the vehicle a longer handle will not swing. So to work the jack you need to be under the vehicle. But as you pump you can see if jack is under pressure to slip or lean, so fall unlikely. If the vehicle falls at this point injury is very unlikely, you had room to get in there at bottom of fall.
Now some jack lean when lifting 1 end of a axle can't be avoided. The end of axle goes up in a arc, centered at ground/other end tire contact. The real danger is when you think you are high enough, remove the flat, discover the inflated tire will not fit. When you get under to lift more, you are at risk. A fall will let vehicle drop below where it started, no more room for you. And as you jack it up, more jack lean.
Another issue is the limited travel of jack. A short jack that will fit under the axle with flat, but run out of lift before you can get tire back on.
Now I bet most RVers still carry something to pull the trailer on to level. Pull the flat onto that kind of ramp, get the center of axle as high as normal. Only need to jack up enough to get ramp out. The shorter lift means the jack does not need to lean as much.
Any jack will be a fairly big hammer beating on things if not secured when traveling. And bottle jacks, if stored laying down are known to leak. Now they don't hold much fluid, and it is a pretty thin oil, so you might not notice the leak. But next time you need to use it, and get close to full stroke, the jack will notice it.

ssthrd wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I assume you mean for the 5er. I've had one flat in 18 years. Used a 12 ton bottle jack.

^ What I have + wooden blocks.

Same here w/ 1 blowout in 40+ years of pulling trailers. Keep it simple. And I don't believe a 1 1/2 ton floor jack is enough for anything but a car.

I’ve used bottle jacks for many years on my trailers, I even went so far as to, cut a pipe coupling (larger than the trailer axle) in half and weld it to the top of the jack ram. It makes for a very secure, stable jack point.

However, on our 5er, I just used the hydraulic auto leveling to lift trailer high enough to change a tire or whatever maintenance required ( tire rotation, bearing pack, brake work, ect)! ;) memtb

Bunker wrote:
I am going on a long road trip and I am trying prepare. Do you all use a floor jack when you have blow outs or do you just use the truck's jack? I was looking at getting 1 1/2 ton floor jack to carry with me.

Thanks.

Many do that carry a floor jack do not understand when you need that jack you are unlikely to have a major component required to safely use that jack, the floor. They are designed to operate on a hard smooth surface. As the lift platform goes up, it moves back in relation to wheels. On a floor, the carriage rolls to stay under load. Most times on the side of road the wheels sink, the platform slips on axle, vehicle falls.

JIMNLIN wrote:
truckers Special 12t shorty hyd bottle jack placed under the axle next to the U bolt. This lifts one end of the axle enough to remove the flat and install the spare.
If you use the drive on blocks make a dry run at home. Some have found out the drive on ramp wasn't tall enough.

Test at home is a good plan no matter what system you use.

truckers Special 12t shorty hyd bottle jack placed under the axle next to the U bolt. This lifts one end of the axle enough to remove the flat and install the spare.
If you use the drive on blocks make a dry run at home. Some have found out the drive on ramp wasn't tall enough.

2oldman wrote:
I assume you mean for the 5er. I've had one flat in 18 years. Used a 12 ton bottle jack.

^ What I have + wooden blocks.

I assume you mean for the 5er. I've had one flat in 18 years. Used a 12 ton bottle jack.

What "Cummins12V98" says...but the economy model...aka wood blocks.

Much safer than crawling under the RV. TrailerAid Plus is lightweight but plenty strong enough to carry this 7k load.