Floor Jack

[mrquacker]

I had a flat on the trailer last week, small Pop Up, and was able to change it by myself using the jack from the truck. No problem, just jack up, change tire and jack down. But it got me a thinking.

Just what size of a floor jack would I need to jack up a mid-size trailer, 28-35 foot? I'm planning on going to a larger camper in a year or so, and don't want to have to start completely over on the necessities.

I, also, have seen those roll up stands to help change the tire, but figure (hopefully) the jack will mainly be use for rotating the tires.

[wa8yxm]

What size? In theory a 6 ton jack can lift one side of a 12 ton trailer.. However in practice.. The trailer may be overweight or the rating on the jack a tad "Generous"

I would go with the Trailer's GVW sticker.. Whatever the trailer is rated as max weight.. A jack in that range should do it.

Example. On my motor home I use a 12 ton, the motor home is rated to be no more than 22,000 pounds (11 ton)

[deleted-2]

Floor jacks don't work too good on gravel or wet ground.
They're tough to position and if the jack is under the trailer with a lot of weight the jack handle is hard to pull\push down.

The 12 ton bottle jack works very well.

[craiger4]

Bottle jack.

[john_bet]

emonkemeier wrote:
I thought we were to jack the frame to lift the tires, not the axles.
Ed

Last month when I had new tires put on my 5er the tire shops big floor jacks did not have enough reach to lift it at the frame. They jacked on axle at the spring u-bolts.

[Terryallan]

emonkemeier wrote:
I thought we were to jack the frame to lift the tires, not the axles.
Ed

Jack it under the supports, and NOT out on the axle

[emonkemeier]

I thought we were to jack the frame to lift the tires, not the axles.
Ed

[beemerphile1]

mrquacker wrote:
I agree, a bottle jack would be nice. But when the tire is flat, I only had about 5 inches of space under the axle...

Run the flat tire onto one of your leveling blocks and then use the jack.

An old school scissors jack may also be an option. They are a lot shorter to get under a low axle.

[nomad297]

For tandem axles, Lynx Levelers work great.

[byways]

mrquacker wrote:
I agree, a bottle jack would be nice. But when the tire is flat, I only had about 5 inches of space under the axle. Now if I had dual axles . . .

Exactly. With the size of trailer you're looking at you will have tandems, and likely more than 5 inches. I carry a bottle jack with an adapter that sits on top to cradle my axle tube. I jack on the axle directly beneath my spring hangars.

[dakdave]

go with a floor jack,carry riece of 3/4 in plywood or similar to place under it if not on good surface.A 2 1/2 ton would be plenty big enough,i used mine to lift one front wheel on school buses in my shop all the time . be careful

[mrquacker]

I agree, a bottle jack would be nice. But when the tire is flat, I only had about 5 inches of space under the axle. Now if I had dual axles . . .

[carpetguy2]

I always carry a 3 ton floor jack in my truck box.

[gbopp]

I think floor jacks are nice if you're using them in a garage or on a smooth surface.
If you want to carry it in your RV, I agree with Randu, get a bottle jack.

[Randu]

Bottle jacks are smaller to carry and store and have better lifting capacities. My trailer is 16,000# and I carry a 10 ton bottle jack. Think I only paid 19.95 at Harbor Freight. Randu