Do you carry a jack? If so what kind.

[LetsRV]

Have a 30ft Class C on the Ford E450 chassis. It does have a spare tire carried under the coach.
While I do have road service available what if I have a flat and don't have cell phone coverage??

Now I'm thinking maybe a jack wouldn't be a bad idea.
Looks like I'll need something around 15,000 lbs.
Any suggestions??

[Dusty_R]

Desert Captain wrote:

DrewE wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
Something else to be considered while we discuss jacks...

Do you have a safety jack stand or are you willing to bet your life on the jack alone? I will not crawl under any vehicle that is lifted-supported by just a jack. If it fails and you are underneath the rig bad things are going to happen quickly.

While rare, jacks do fail, had a 6 ton model that jacked the coach up just fine and then immediately began to slip back down {a seal had dried out and was leaking hydraulic fluid}. My new jack is an 8 ton bottle style.

There's no need to crawl under the vehicle while it's supported by the jack when changing a tire, so jack stands are unnecessary for that particular case. Still, the advice to never do so is spot-on. At least my motorhome has sufficient clearance underneath for me to crawl around relatively easily without jacking it up. My Honda Fit is quite a different matter.

Lacking a jack stand, properly laid up cribbing is a viable alternative. (It's worth noting that many jack stand weight ratings are per pair. A set of six ton jack stands are usually rated at three tons apiece and would be marginal or insufficient for the back axle of many class C's.)

You may not have to "crawl" per se to be exposed to disaster should a jack fail. Pulling that inner dually off you will probably be head and shoulders inside of the wheel well pulling, jerking and shaking the rig.... do yourself a favor and always use a jack stand {of the appropriate rating}.

:C

That is why I added a remote hand pump to my hydraulic jack. I still have to crawl under to place the jack. But I'm out to the side when pumping the jack up.

Dusty

[pnichols]

I don't carry jack stands along, but I do carry wooden elevator steps and 2x6 wood pieces along for leveling at campsites. I can use these for a jack base or axle/spring-mount support on all kinds of sand, dirt, gravel, rutted, muddy, and slanted surfaces. Making multiple use of things helps with fitting eveything into the storage compartments.

[Desert_Captain]

DrewE wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
Something else to be considered while we discuss jacks...

Do you have a safety jack stand or are you willing to bet your life on the jack alone? I will not crawl under any vehicle that is lifted-supported by just a jack. If it fails and you are underneath the rig bad things are going to happen quickly.

While rare, jacks do fail, had a 6 ton model that jacked the coach up just fine and then immediately began to slip back down {a seal had dried out and was leaking hydraulic fluid}. My new jack is an 8 ton bottle style.

There's no need to crawl under the vehicle while it's supported by the jack when changing a tire, so jack stands are unnecessary for that particular case. Still, the advice to never do so is spot-on. At least my motorhome has sufficient clearance underneath for me to crawl around relatively easily without jacking it up. My Honda Fit is quite a different matter.

Lacking a jack stand, properly laid up cribbing is a viable alternative. (It's worth noting that many jack stand weight ratings are per pair. A set of six ton jack stands are usually rated at three tons apiece and would be marginal or insufficient for the back axle of many class C's.)

You may not have to "crawl" per se to be exposed to disaster should a jack fail. Pulling that inner dually off you will probably be head and shoulders inside of the wheel well pulling, jerking and shaking the rig.... do yourself a favor and always use a jack stand {of the appropriate rating}.

:C

[DrewE]

Desert Captain wrote:
Something else to be considered while we discuss jacks...

Do you have a safety jack stand or are you willing to bet your life on the jack alone? I will not crawl under any vehicle that is lifted-supported by just a jack. If it fails and you are underneath the rig bad things are going to happen quickly.

While rare, jacks do fail, had a 6 ton model that jacked the coach up just fine and then immediately began to slip back down {a seal had dried out and was leaking hydraulic fluid}. My new jack is an 8 ton bottle style.

There's no need to crawl under the vehicle while it's supported by the jack when changing a tire, so jack stands are unnecessary for that particular case. Still, the advice to never do so is spot-on. At least my motorhome has sufficient clearance underneath for me to crawl around relatively easily without jacking it up. My Honda Fit is quite a different matter.

Lacking a jack stand, properly laid up cribbing is a viable alternative. (It's worth noting that many jack stand weight ratings are per pair. A set of six ton jack stands are usually rated at three tons apiece and would be marginal or insufficient for the back axle of many class C's.)

[j-d]

Nels&Connie wrote:
i have to use a big gear puller to get the outside duel off. (anti seize is your friend) the fronts are no problem.

There's a 9th hole in the wheel lug pattern, between two of the actual mounting holes. It's about 7/16". I tapped that wheel on all 7 of our wheels 1/2" fine thread, like boat trailer lug bolts. I can thread a lug bolt in one of the holes,and use a wrench to push the wheel off that rust. The rear wheels have to be installed with the two valves one stud hole off from directly opposite. Otherwise the lug will screw into the inner wheel instead of push on it.

[CloudDriver]

Nels&Connie wrote:
Ford rims are hubcentric, i have to use a big gear puller to get the outside dual off. (anti seize is your friend) the fronts are no problem.

A few years ago when I wanted to replace the rear brake pads I discovered that no amount of prying or hammering would get the rims off the rear hub. As shown in the picture below, the rims are a tight fit to the hub so that they are centered. They had rusted together. The only way I could break them loose was to put the lug nuts back on finger tight, drop off the jack, let the RV roll forward a bit, then sharply apply the brakes. The lug holes are oversize for the lug bolts, so the rims could move slightly to break free from the rust.

After the brake job I put some caliper grease (I didn't have any anti-seize) on the hub in the hope that the rims won't get stuck again.

[pnichols]

For a flat tire in one of the rear dual sets, it is possible to drive short distances very slowly to get off busy roads to a safe location for tire repair.

We once drove around 5 miles on the road shoulder with one rear tire flat to get to a place where the tire could be repaired. We drove very slowly and our Class C is only a 24 footer, with a loaded weight less than 12,000 lbs.. The Load Range E good tire in the dual set that we drove on in the rear went on to give many years of service, so it was not damaged by the few miles of serious over-loading.

[Nels_Connie]

Check your spare, the one that came mounted under my RV was a D rated tire. The lugnuts are only 150lbs so they break loose easy with a long handle breaker bar. Ford rims are hubcentric, i have to use a big gear puller to get the outside duel off. (anti seize is your friend) the fronts are no problem.

[Desert_Captain]

Something else to be considered while we discuss jacks...

Do you have a safety jack stand or are you willing to bet your life on the jack alone? I will not crawl under any vehicle that is lifted-supported by just a jack. If it fails and you are underneath the rig bad things are going to happen quickly.

While rare, jacks do fail, had a 6 ton model that jacked the coach up just fine and then immediately began to slip back down {a seal had dried out and was leaking hydraulic fluid}. My new jack is an 8 ton bottle style.

I also carry a small compressor, large lug wrench, tire repair kit, wooden blocks etc., essentially any and everything needed to safely change and or repair a tire. I'll call Coach Net but if they cannot get to me in 30 minutes or less, which often may be the case, I will change it myself and get out of the "Dead Zone" on the shoulder of the highway-interstate.

:C

[Hank85713]

As noted a 6t or better bottle jack with some short boards for placing it on are fine. As to the lug wrench, I got one of the electric ones from harbor freight and a set of wheel lug sockets. If you read the torques spec on the lug its 100+ lb/ft and it takes a bit to get there. A cheater pipe helps but............... I also carry a HF 1/2in drive torque wrench.

A small jack might be nice for the spare as you may need to have to raise the side to access the tire and to do that another jack could be required. I have only used mine to add tire extensions but the stuff worked. Also Camp WOrld sold/sells an extension for the spare which allows you to check the pressure WITHOUT having to crawl under the bus to do.

Just some thoughts.

Run the generator for AC and have a good extension cord available to plug into the outside outlet.

[j-d]

I agree with having your own Jack, Stand, Wrench, and Soft Ground Board on board. You can supply what ERS might be missing, let a good Samaritan help you, or worst case, tackle it yourself.

I have a short 10-ton that HF sold awhile ago, and it works. Would rather have the double-extending 12-ton noted above.

Drew's right that a six-ton, even a four-ton, CAN lift one corner of a 31-ft Class C. Problem is, the handle effort that would be easy standing next to the coach, is VERY difficult when you have to operate the jack "crawlin' on yer belly like a reptile." That's why I like the 12. Much bigger, say 20, and the jack gets heavy to place. And maybe too tall to get under the axle when the tires aren't aired up.

[jungshin]

i carry an 8 ton bottle jack breaker bar, cheater bar and tools to cahnge it if i need to.

i find the bottle jack works well for frame leveling with jack stands instead of using boards under the tires, less house shake when kids are rambuntious

[crasster]

10 Ton Bottle Jack. Cheap and does the job. Also bring a 3ft breaker bar and a good quality socket that fits your lugs.

[Bionic_Man]

I wouldn't want to rely on roadside assistance for a tire change. My sister had two tread separations last year. The first one happened about 20 miles east of Denver, and she was on the side of the road for more than 4 hours waiting for service. And when the first guy came, he didn't have a jack adequate to change the tire.

She had a second tread separation on the next trip. Close to the same location as the first, and again was told it would be a "couple hours" before Good Sam could get someone out to her.

I changed that one myself.

So yes, I would get one of the jacks that is suggested here. And I would also get a large breaker bar for the lugs. I think changing her tire took me about 10 minutes. I had extra motivation due to the "excitement" of changing the tire street side on the interstate with cars and trucks flying by at 75 MPH. Which was still better than waiting hours for someone to help.

[Dusty_R]

We have a hydraulic jack that I added a remote pump to. It sure is nice to be able to be able to jack up a rear wheel kneeling beside out mh rather than laying under it.

Some where on the inter-net I found how to convert the jack.

Dusty