BobB

boblomquist · 05-21-2009, 10:49 AM

I'm a new Streamer so please excuse the question. Do I need a special jack in the event of a flat tire?

Silverhobby · 05-21-2009, 11:18 AM

Any jack will work that is rated for the weight it is lifting. A floor jack will be a bit easier to get under the jack point if there is a flat. Be sure to use the jack points that are labeled on the under belly. Otherwise, you will damage the metal underneath the trailer. The BAL stabilizers under your trailer are not to be used to lift the trailer. As the name implies, they are for stabilization.

OB Bambi · 05-21-2009, 11:18 PM

At the labeled spots, if you don't have auto-club with a floor jack around, I would use the jack that is in my Expedition. My guess is that the jack in your tow vehicle is up for the task. I think it would be better if you used a small block between the jack and the Bambi. Besides blocking the other wheel. You will want to lower the tongue jack so it hits the ground. That way the jack will not be pushing up while pushing down the tongue and tow vehicle if still hooked up. My guess is that if you have to change a tire then you would only jack it up at the point behind the wheel. Finally you might want to ask this question on the forum site under wheels and tires. I think you would get a lot more traffic on it and (selfishly) I would like to read how others have done it. (I have only jacked my Bambi up in my driveway to adjust the brakes). Infatically, never jack it on the axel.
Randy

TBRich · 05-22-2009, 12:20 AM

Welcome to the forums! Glad you could join us...

There is only one "official" jack point on each side of a 19' Bambi...about half way back between the axle and the rear bumper. It may or or may not be marked on the underside with an aluminum diamond. Ours is not...it does, however, have and arrow label that points toward the correct spot...which is on underside at metal frame/beam which is inside the belly pan...it's extremely important to be sure you jack on that beam or you will puncture the belly pan... We have had to change a flat tire while on the road...we used a bottle jack at the jack point with a couple of pieces of wood between the top of the bottle jack and the trailer to help distribute the pressure...and we placed the jack on wood blocks for additional height...even then we did not have enough height to get the tire off, so we used the jack from the truck, placed it under the axle bracket (NOT the axel itself!!)...there is a flat spot on the bracket that holds the axle that is good for placing the jack. We left the bottle jack in place and added jack stands front and back just in case any of the jacks failed... Next time we need to do this, I don't think we will bother with the jack point...we'll go for the axel bracket and use jack stand for support. There are a lot of threads that deal with jacking up a trailer...but having a single axel trailer puts you in a special class because you can't "fudge" like you can with double or triple axles units...if you get a flat, you have no choice but to jack the sucker up! Before I had to actually do this, I was paranoid about it happening...now that I've done it, the "fear" is gone. I know it can de done fairly easily...that first time it took us longer to get the trailer jacked up high enough than it actually took to change the tire. Just take it easy and be careful.

Phoenix · 05-22-2009, 02:54 PM

We had a blowout near Mexican Water (or Mexican Hat, can't remember the exact name) in northern Arizona, near the turnoff to Monument Valley. Because I pulled off the highway into the sand (and sank up to the axle), we could neither get the spare out or get a jack under the trailer. We waited for hours for a tow truck to come from Cortez, Colorado with a floor jack (the alternative was to wait the same amount of time for someone to come from Ship Rock, New Mexico -- We were in Arizona!); and the tow charge was $450. Oh, we were also stuck in the sand!

Anyway, we now carry a floor jack in the bed of our pickup; a very cost-effective and time-saving alternative to relying on AAA or other roadside assistance. We checked with other pickup and RV owners, but everyone had the standard jack that came with their vehicles (same as us). A big lesson learned...

(By the way, our tow coverage reimbursed the charges; but it was a long day waiting for help on the side of the road. Also, not much selection in trailer tires in Cortez; although we did find that the Goodyear dealer had two Carlisles, so we didn't have to buy a Marathon replacement.)