1999 American Dream Jacking instructions

RLS7201 wrote:
I see all sorts of replys as what not to do. Does any one know how to raise the MH to change tires?

Doug, why can't we raise our MHs with the hydraulic leveling jacks to change the tires? Most leveling jacks are rated for the weight of the coach. One would think that the frame mounting locations shouldn't be a problem. We all know jack stands are required.

Richard

Because the only thing keeping that RV up is hydraulic line pressure. If the line burst or a solenoid failed, or even if a jack mount plate broke loose, the RV would come crashing down in about 2 seconds and anything/anybody under or close by can be hurt or killed. If you do raise the RV with leveling jacks, install jack stands to support the RV if the jacks fail. BTW, I have experienced all 3 failures I listed above. NOT changing tires, just a failure of the jack system. NOT even a good idea to raise the RV with the jacks and crawl around underneath. You see reports all the time from people dying working on their Cars at home with no one around and the floor jack failed and the Car crushed them. AND, ALL the Leveling Jack manuals state to NOT change tires with the jacks(CYA). Doug

Ro646a wrote:
Assuming that the tire store uses their equipment to lift one corner of the coach at a time, won't that twist the body of the unit, possibly causing issues with the windshield??
That is my concern.

Raising the tire to clear the ground will not twist the frame. It is when you raise a LOT higher that the frame twisting happens. Doug

The last time I had a set of tires changed, I raised the coach on it's own jacks only high enough to give the shop's jack easier access. Since they only needed to lift the axles enough to clear the tires off the floor, there was no worries about frame twisting.

From personal experience after 90000 miles with an American Tradition I learned the hard way, if you are leveling or raising just one side of the coach, MAKE SURE you raise the single jack in the front first to allow the coach to pivot on that single point. Failure to do this can definitely pop or crack the windshield on these coaches. Unfortunately I proved this to be correct!!

Ed Headington

dougrainer wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:
I see all sorts of replys as what not to do. Does any one know how to raise the MH to change tires?

Doug, why can't we raise our MHs with the hydraulic leveling jacks to change the tires? Most leveling jacks are rated for the weight of the coach. One would think that the frame mounting locations shouldn't be a problem. We all know jack stands are required.

Richard

Because the only thing keeping that RV up is hydraulic line pressure. If the line burst or a solenoid failed, or even if a jack mount plate broke loose, the RV would come crashing down in about 2 seconds and anything/anybody under or close by can be hurt or killed. If you do raise the RV with leveling jacks, install jack stands to support the RV if the jacks fail. BTW, I have experienced all 3 failures I listed above. NOT changing tires, just a failure of the jack system. NOT even a good idea to raise the RV with the jacks and crawl around underneath. You see reports all the time from people dying working on their Cars at home with no one around and the floor jack failed and the Car crushed them. AND, ALL the Leveling Jack manuals state to NOT change tires with the jacks(CYA). Doug

Thanks Doug,

As you and I both know, jack stands are absolutely mandatory.
It looks like your concern is hydraulic pressure failure, which I agree with. I had hydraulic line failure when trying to lift my coach off the jack stands. I was stuck there until I replaced all the old lines.

Richard