Safety question

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.

my F 53 with 22.5 tires I can slide under even with my belly not hitting LOL

For oil and filter changes on engine and Allison tranny I can squeeze under without using jacks, most times just drive front tires up on jack pads for added space. I don't change tires on our rig and certainly would not consider relying solely on our coach's power gear jacks for doing service work where rig tires were not firmly on the ground. Sure, it adds extra time to the job but the proper set up for safety reasons allows me to do the task effectively, I don't like being in a hurry due to safety concerns.

Actually, my answer is SOMETIMES.

If I have safe room with the suspension all the way down, I don't bother with safety stands.

If close or I wouldn't have room where I want to work with the suspension all the way down, ABSOLUTELY I use jack stands or block the suspension.

For oil changes no. Did not need to. At 6'2" by 300 pounds I could slide under jacks not needed.. I occasionally used a 2x12 for an extra inch and 3/4 but... Not often. Mechanic did not either.

Tire change yes. but I did not actually do the tire change .

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.

I can get to my drain plugs & filters without jacking up the motorhome. If I'm just doing a routine oil & filter change, then I usually won't jack it up. If I want to perform a more complete inspection, then I'll jack it up to give me more maneuvering room. I don't bend so well anymore! LOL

As others have said, always put jack stands under the rig if you do raise it up. The hard part is finding jack stands that will support the weight of the rig.

IF I remove a tire (not an easy task on many class A's, the lug nuts on ours are torqued to 475 ft-lbs, and the tire/wheel probably weighs 150+ lbs.), I put the tire under the side of the chassis to give some added protection should a jack or stand fail. I do the same when working on my cars.

Be safe!

~Rick

I saw the after effects of someone who raised their RV on its jacks at the FMCA rally in Perry, GA. He then went under to work on something (can't remember} but was directly under the differential when the jacks failed. That was an end of life event.

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.

^^^^^^ Double what jcd1 said! Never relay on your RV jacks.