I use a floor jack when ever possible but when I use a bottle jack seems like a lot of weight centered at one spot. When I use a floor jack the stress is spread out over 4 or 5 inches.Using a bottle jack all the weight/stress is centered around 1 inch. I don't feel good about balancing 2X4 on top of the disk thing at top of jack. Is there anything to dissipate the stress over a larger area when using a bottle jack? If so what is it called and do you have a link? The search term "axle protector" didn't turn up much.What do you use to jack up trailer?Thanks

I use my floor jack. Much quicker, easier to maneuver, longer handle.

This is how I do it. To change a tire on the road, I use the truck jack under the axle at the bottom of the 'U' bolt. Jacking up one tire at a time at home use bottle jack in same location. Jacking at frame to lift one side, I use bottle jack and put a 1 1/2" X 3" X 1/4" steel plate on top of bottle jack to frame, and jack up behind rear tire. Never have had a problem with a hint of damage.

I use a 6 ton bottle jack with a piece of decking board on top of the jack. Thankfully, I haven't had to do that away from home yet. At home, I hook up to the TV to give stability fore and aft.My mobile RV repair guy has a slick setup. He uses a pneumatic bottle jack, a really big one (in diameter) which a large base on it. It looks like he maybe had a metal shop fabricate him a U-shaped channel 5" or 6" long that slides up around the main rail. It has a metal ring welded on the bottom center that the bottle jack goes up inside (I'll call it a jack plate for lack of a better term). It would be difficult for the jack to slide off, and the jack plate distributes out the load over a much larger area than that one small circle.If I did a lot of long distance trips, I might consider having one of these plates made up.

How I lift depend on why I'm lifting. If it's just to remove one wheel, such as a flat tire, I use my leveling blocks to create a ramp. I drive the good wheel up the ramp, which lifts the other wheel off the ground. You can obviously just buy a ramp that's made for this purpose, but I already carrying leveling blocks anyways.If I want to lift the entire side of my RV, I put a short piece of pressure treated 2x4, maybe 6 inches long, underneath the steel frame of the RV neat the axles and use a bottle jack. The 2x4 spreads the load, although I don't think it's really necessary, and I use pressure treated wood because it's harder and stands up to the elements.

What do you use to jack up your trailer? | Good Sam Community

21 Replies

path1
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
OP here... Thanks for all replies and links. I searched using the term "axle protector" and that was obviously the wrong term.

Dakota98 wrote:
Never need a Jack,

DW just lifts the side having the flat & I fix it, same with leveling.:B

Dakota, probably going to be cheaper in long run to get a jack:B
opnspaces
Navigator II
Jan 10, 2015
I like the one that Jaxom posted better than the Old-Biscuit one as it does not need to be welded to the bottle jack.

Jaxom suggested pad
Old-Biscuit suggested pad
Jozzieo
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
Buy the one Old-biscuit posted the link to. I welded up one like it years ago, made a few and sold them to fellow RV buds, but stopped as it was just too labor intensive for me. I like the one in the link, heavy and not welded.
All RV's should be equipped with these, safety first...
jonmad
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
I think the book for my Apex says to jack on the frame.
time2roll
Nomad
Jan 10, 2015
A stack of 2x4s on the 1.5 ton floor jack to put the frame up on jack stands to replace springs.
2 ton 2 stage bottle under the axle :E to change a tire.
Peg_Leg
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
I have a 2" slice of channel iron with a piece of pipe welded on the bottom. I slip the pipe over the bottle jack screw. Then place the channel under the axle between the U-bolts for the springs.
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
6 ton jack and a couple of 4x8 blocks of wood
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Jan 10, 2015
I use my old 12 ton shorty truckers special with a 10" base on the side of the road situations. It came with a axle cradle (short legged U channel 6" long) that captures the axle and the top of the jack. I've jacked fully loaded 20k GN equipment trailers down to 1750 boat trailer axles.
Simply lifting one end of the axle 2-3" is safer than jacking the whole side of the trailer.

Now around the place here I use hydraulic floor jacks when the trailer in on a concrete pad. Makes jacking from the frame or the end of the axle a snap.

As was mentioned make a dry run at home with whatever method you choose. The side of the road is not a good place to find out that ramping one wheel won't raise the other.
Dakota98
Explorer
Jan 10, 2015
Never need a Jack,

DW just lifts the side having the flat & I fix it, same with leveling.:B
mosseater
Explorer II
Jan 09, 2015
I bought a screw jack at the junk yard out of an older F-250 and made a half sleeve out of 2 1/2" pipe which locates right on the u-bolts with solid tabs welded between. I put a piece of inner tube rubber between the axle and the sleeve and jack right under it. The jack is strong and lightweight and doesn't leak oil. It works so well, I use it at home instead of my floor jack. I can't get the floor jack under the u-bolts because it's too wide. I don't like jacking on the axle tube.