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LosAngeles's avatar
LosAngeles
Explorer
Apr 04, 2020

this 20 ton bottle jack? this air compressor?

this 20 ton bottle jack? this air compressor?

Hi all - I have a F350 crew cab long bed gasser, with a pop up truck camper always on it, that is about 2,700 lbs wet.

If I happen to get a flat tire… it is my understanding that the Ford OEM jack wont be appropriate to jack up the truck with the camper on it.

Would this 20 ton bottle jack be good?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000234IT4

Anything else I need?

also - novice question - any other tips for how to safely jack up the truck to swap a wheel?

and secondly… I need an air compressor for blowing out the air lines in our pop up camper when I winterize it…. also on the chance that I need to air down the tires due to sand … I need a compressor to be able to air back up. They are 18” All Terrain Wranglers. LT 275 / 70R x 18 E

VIAAIR have been recommended. Supposedly this is a good size for my tires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X9B32M

Any thoughts on this model?

Thanks :-)
  • I would avoid the $30 Chinese bottle-jacks, as reports of failures are semi-common. As it turns out, older Ford Superduty and current Ford Sprinter Vans come with either a Ford OEM YELLOW 4-Ton or RED 6-Ton bottle-jack, 2-stage. I went to my local Ford dealership and confirmed you can buy them new from Ford for about $200, and confirmed they were in the new Sprinter Vans on the lot. Many of these jacks end up in junk yards and on eBay for ~$50. I bought the RED 6-Ton, and the two stage action goes from a squat 8" to tall 18-1/2". Home Depot and others sell a BLUE "Ford" 6-Ton bottle-jack for ~$25, but I'm cynical it's actually a Ford OEM jack, and am certain it's quality is far less than the YELLOW and RED jacks. Search on eBay, and you'll see the YELLOW and RED jacks. I'm also keeping the simple screw jack in my F350. The screw jack might be able to support the weight of truck+camper on one wheel, but the issue is how physically demanding it will be to turn the crank when so much weight is present. For a given weight, the higher duty jack will be easier to crank/lever.

    --SiletzSpey
  • Too much thinking....
    You have an OE Jack that is capable of lifting a wheel at the rated load of the truck, at a minimum.
    You can buy any bottle jack of sufficient capacity and have some cribbing, which one needs to level up a truck and put under jacks on a TC rig anyway. And with those 3 items, if you can’t change a tire, your best to stay in cell service and have a roadside assistance membership.
    Nothing more to consider really.
    Good tip on the old Ford OE jacks. Didn’t know they were 2 stage hyd. Sounds like they could be handy.
  • My F350 dually come with yellow jack.
    I "managed" to make it fail. When I was lifting something light and went too high, the piston come out of the housing. Chinese jacks never did that.
    Ford guarantee got it replaced.