Help with leveling 1984 Ford Corsair
I’m a novice RV’er and got into it last year with a great deal on a 1984 Ford Corsair on an e350 body. It’s in decent shape and I’m just about to completely redo the roof. I’m hoping you guys can help...
Forum Discussion
You can't lift the chassis by the rear bumper. It's nowher near strong enough; you have several tons of weight to support.
For jacking up (to change a tire, for instance), typically you'd position the jack under the rear axle underneath the spring attachment point for a rear wheel, having securely chocked the diagonally opposite front wheel first. (I don't know if it's the case for your chassis, but some years some of the E series chassis use a driveshaft brake for the parking brake, which means that if one of the rear wheels is not touching the ground there is absolutely no braking to prevent the vehicle from shifting.)
For jacking the front wheels, it's a somewhat similar concept; the jack point is along the wheel's I-beam of the twin I beam suspension, with the factory jack (at least on my rather newer chassis) being intended to lift via a peg on the I-beam. With a bottle jack, it's easier to just jack the bottom of the I beam itself.
For leveling when camping or whatever, assuming you don't have built-in leveling jacks (and I suspect you don't) it's far easier and safer to use some sort of ramps. I carry a collection of various lengths of 2x10 with beveled ends, stacked as needed to get level. A reasonably level camp site rarely needs more than one or two on a wheel. For the dual rear wheels, two sets are needed per side so both tires are supported. There are also interlocking plastic bricks, somewhat like oversized Lego, that are available and commonly used.
For jacking up (to change a tire, for instance), typically you'd position the jack under the rear axle underneath the spring attachment point for a rear wheel, having securely chocked the diagonally opposite front wheel first. (I don't know if it's the case for your chassis, but some years some of the E series chassis use a driveshaft brake for the parking brake, which means that if one of the rear wheels is not touching the ground there is absolutely no braking to prevent the vehicle from shifting.)
For jacking the front wheels, it's a somewhat similar concept; the jack point is along the wheel's I-beam of the twin I beam suspension, with the factory jack (at least on my rather newer chassis) being intended to lift via a peg on the I-beam. With a bottle jack, it's easier to just jack the bottom of the I beam itself.
For leveling when camping or whatever, assuming you don't have built-in leveling jacks (and I suspect you don't) it's far easier and safer to use some sort of ramps. I carry a collection of various lengths of 2x10 with beveled ends, stacked as needed to get level. A reasonably level camp site rarely needs more than one or two on a wheel. For the dual rear wheels, two sets are needed per side so both tires are supported. There are also interlocking plastic bricks, somewhat like oversized Lego, that are available and commonly used.
