Safety question
Any of you guys with Class A's ever use your leveling jacks to raise the rig for oil changes and tire replacements? I've heard of yes and no on both issues. Thanks, Skip
Forum Discussion
rlw999 wrote:Dutch_12078 wrote:
I can crawl under our gasser without the jacks deployed for an oil change, but raising the front a few inches gives me a little more elbow room. Since a failing jack in this case won't endanger me, I don't drag out the jack stands.
This still sounds like it could be unsafe -- if the jack fails suddenly, the suspension is going to compress a bit so if it was a tight fit before, it might be on top of you when it comes down. And it might be when you slid under a frame member to pick up the drain plug that rolled away... maybe you kicked the jack while you were scooting over and knocked off the hydraulic line.
For oil changes, I slide in from the front center of the coach nowhere near the jacks. I've never seen a straight RV hydraulic jack fail so badly it instantly collapsed. I have seen a jack fail with a broken fitting and another with a blown hose. In neither case did the jack retract fast enough to cause any significant deflection of the suspension. Kick-down jacks are different story, but I don't have those. We could play "What if" games all day, but the fact is there's likely more risk when placing the jack stands than there is leaving them out for oil changes for me with my coach.
