F350 where do I jack from? / would this plan work?

[LosAngeles]

F350 where do I jack from? / would this plan work?

Hi all - first truck, so learning as I go.

So I don’t want to spend a ton of $ on a high end jack…

I picked up this 6,000 lb capacity jack - Powerbuilt 620471 Unijack -
(Rig weights 11,300 lbs loaded)
The jack has a height range of 11 inch to 21 inches.
Got the 6,000 lb version.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJJZ5NI

So my Sidewall height is 6”
Front Axle heights are about 12” or 13” approx.

So if I have a flat, then Axle would be approximately 7” up (maybe a little more due to the tread thickness) correct?

So I can’t get the jack under the axle, when i have a flat…. as it only contracts to 11”

However I always carry some Lynx Levelers with me, so I could easily make a 4” or 5” ramp of Lynx Levelers… drive that flat tire up onto the Lynx Levelers, get jack under the axle, Jack it up, Remove lynx levelers. Swap in the spare tire.
Would all that work?

Secondly…. It isn’t clear to me exactly where I should exactly put the jack. I believe it is “under the axle” but where exactly?

thanks!

[Buzzcut1]

Gotta love my wife, towing her horse behind the tc she had a blow out on I5 near the grapevine. She was solo. I had made sure we had a 12 ton bottle jack 30" 1/2" ratcheting torque wrench proper extension and socket on board plus a full tool kit. Inner dually went, half tore off the fender. she changed the flat, unbolted the fender and was on her way in just over an hour

[Edd505]

manuals, what a concept


Ford Truck Forum

[jimh406]

I’m not really sure why you’d want a marginal jack. I bought a 12 ton bottle jack after someone where suggested that size. It’s actually not that much or that much larger at $50 or less.

[HMS_Beagle]

A few people here saying you are only lifting 1/4 the weight. If you put the jack under the axle as close as you can get it to the tire, you will find it will lift a significant amount of weight off of the other tire as well. Particularly true on a dually. The jack is going to be about 1/4 of the track inboard, at best. That will increase the load on the jack by 33%. In addition there is roll stiffness in the suspension which will load the jack further, any anti-sway bar further still. If the wheel has 3000 lb load your jack may see 4000 or even 5000 lbs.

[DWeikert]

Not really helpful to the topic but hopefully it'll give some a laugh.

A year or so ago I had to replace the cooling hoses for the Allison transmission on my Silverado. Removing the passenger side front tire and fender liner was the easiest way to get to the lines and while I had the truck up on jacks I figured I'd change the front shocks at the same time.

I use a bottle jack under the frame then lower the truck onto a jack stand also under the frame. To mount the shock it was easiest to use the bottle jack to raise the front axle (independent suspension) to fit the shock. To do this I had to use the adjustment on the bottle jack as it was significantly lower than the frame. So, after a long day changing coolant lines and replacing one shock I had the tire back on and was ready to start the driver's side shock. I put the bottle jack back under the frame but because of the adjustment I made to install the shock I couldn't lift the truck high enough to get the jack stand out. So, lower the bottle jack, adjust the post height so it will lift the truck higher jack it back up and remove the jack stand. Lower the bottle jack and now I have the jack post adjusted so high with the jack all the way down it's still supporting the truck. Jack it back up, reinstall jack stand, lower the jack and adjust the post height, raise the truck again, pull out the jack stand and lower the jack. Now I can pull the jack back out but I realized when I pulled out the jack stand I had positioned it under the step/nerf bar and when I lowered the truck it was now being supported by the jack stand under the nerf bar. Soooo, jack it back up one more time to get the jack stand out from under the nerf bar. After that I decided it was best to wait and do the driver side shock the next day.

I now return the thread to its original topic.

BTW: I use a 12 ton jack. Overkill perhaps. But as Colonel John Hannibal Smith likes to say, overkill is underrated.

[JRscooby]

Kayteg1 wrote:
My wife got her DL when we've been married already.
At the time I made her change the wheel so she knows.
Would she do it today, since years passed? I doubt it, but at least she has an idea.

Under DW's car I have painted the marks where she needs to put the jack. Right size socket and loong breaker bar. About once a year, she "helps" me rotate her tires. In her late '60s I would hope somebody would help, but I know she can if needed.

[Kayteg1]

My wife got her DL when we've been married already.
At the time I made her change the wheel so she knows.
Would she do it today, since years passed? I doubt it, but at least she has an idea.

[JRscooby]

I'm glad the OP is thinking and asking about this.
A screw jack, or any other, the more weight your lifting the harder it is to operate. If you pull the flat up on some kind of ramp, get center of axle as high as normal, then jack, it takes less travel while lifting the load. It also reduces the chance of getting flat off and discovering you are not high enough to get the good back on. And jacking up more, with no wheel in place, is the "best" chance of injury or damage if it falls.
Back in the day, flats where more often. Many, if not most, learned about tire changes before we learned to drive, watching/helping Dad. Now it does not happen often. But I still say everybody should do it on a nice day in the driveway. In the dark, cold rain, traffic rolling past, is not the best time to learn how to do it.

[noteven]

As others mentioned the factory jack will have capacity to raise one wheel of the truck when fully loaded.

They are mechanical screw jacks so will not come down suddenly, accidentally or otherwise.

Bottle hydraulic jacks are very reliable in my experience but I will not trust a hydraulic only support under a vehicle.

[mellow]

The times I have changed my tires I have released the turnbuckles and raised the camper off the truck to take the weight off then used a 6 ton bottle jack to jack up the axle to change the tire.

[BurbMan]

The factory jack should be rated for a fully loaded truck (GVWR) plus a safety margin. Aside from a camper, you might have other cargo that's not able to be unloaded roadside to repair a flat tire, maybe gravel, mulch, bricks, whatever. Also remember that the jack isn't lifting the whole loaded truck in the air so you can work on it, it's only lifting one corner a couple inches so you can change a tire.

[Grit_dog]

BB_TX wrote:
What you are suggesting should work I guess. But why carry all that extra equipment when the OEM jack works fine. My jack on my 2012 F350 is behind the back seat out of sight until needed and works fine with a flat. I know as I had a blowout a couple years ago. Placed jack under axle near springs. Should have read manual, but on side of busy highway and in a hurry to get off, I didn't.

LA likely hasn't changed a tire before.

[Kayteg1]

You better check what the ratings are about.
Usually 3 ton jack has purpose of lifting passenger cars, who whole are below 3t.
Years ago I had bus conversion who weight 16t.
Having 5t jack stand, I figured the stand should support rear corner. (they should have big safety factor afterall)
When I open the hydraulic jack valve to lower it, the 5t stand split with no visible resistance. Just like knife in soft butter.

[theoldwizard1]

I like the Unijack ! I bought one for my son-in-law for their TT.

I would have bought the 4000 lb version because it has a minimum height of 8-5.8". Remember you are only picking up about 1/4 of the total weight.