Removing All Four Wheels At One Time

[kdinnar]

I've ordered 4 new tires for our 2017 FC 27fb. The tire shop is a distance away. Does anyone have a good procedure for removing all 4 wheels without doing any damage. My idea was to jack up the trailer at the jack point, removing the two wheels, then lowering that side with the drums resting on blocks. Then I would go to the other side and repeat the process. How does that sound?

[AlinCal]

Do Not lower the trailer onto the drums. Lower it down onto blocks under the the axle beam close as possible to the axle to frame mounts.

[John Woodrow]

You will be be ahead to borrow or buy four jack stands. When you jack up each axle (loosten the lug nuts slightly before) put a jack stand under each axle then remove the wheel. You'll be very happy when you don't need to jack everything up twice.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by John Woodrow

You will be be ahead to borrow or buy four jack stands. When you jack up each axle (loosten the lug nuts slightly before) put a jack stand under each axle then remove the wheel. You'll be very happy when you don't need to jack everything up twice.

I would NOT place jack stands under the axle. The hollow axle will be damaged. Place the 4 jackstands under the FRAME... two at front and two at rear. When you have the AS jacked up.... look underneath and follow the frame-lines... they'll be evident if you take your time to do this right.

[Mollysdad]

I'm with you all on the jackstands, but I'd place them on the steel support beam for the axles.
Never support the trailer with the jack under the axles. They're hollow. The old style springs are okay, but not the Dexter rubber ride.

[AlinCal]

The axle beams are structural square steel tubing, a jack under the axle will do no harm other than scratch the paint.

[vintagemotor]

When removing all four wheels at once, the very first thing I do is connect to my tow vehicle (with parking brake on) and place the tongue jack just on the ground, this will safely support the front of the Airstream and also provide a "brake". Then I place my jack just behind the Airstream Jack point tag, jack it up and place 1 jack stand (curbside), replace jack to other (street side) and repeat. Make sure that you are on a hard level surface and the the jack stands are perfectly placed under the frame rails.
When re-attaching the wheels, you MUST use a torque wrench, this is so you don't over tighten the lug nuts.

Happy Airstreaming!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

The axle beams are structural square steel tubing, a jack under the axle will do no harm other than scratch the paint.

Do NOT use the axle tube as the jack point...it WILL bend, it is not structural tubing.
The axle is bent at the factory to set alignment.

Two jack stands and the tongue jack works for us.

Bob

[AlinCal]

Not structural tubing? what material is it then?
They will not bend by jacking or the ones I hauled to the dump that were original and the new ones I installed would trashed.

Jacking under the axle at the mount plate works for me.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I'm with you all on the jackstands, but I'd place them on the steel support beam for the axles.
Never support the trailer with the jack under the axles. They're hollow. The old style springs are okay, but not the Dexter rubber ride.

Ditto. You probably would get away with jack stands under the axle, but I have been told numerous times by numerous people never use the axle as a support or jacking point. The bend of the axle is very important to tire alignment. You probably would not bust anything but a slight bend will cause you problems down the road.

Placing jack stands under the frame will flex the coach if they are too far apart.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

Not structural tubing? what material is it then?
They will not bend by jacking or the ones I hauled to the dump that were original and the new ones I installed would trashed.

Jacking under the axle at the mount plate works for me.

I'm sorry, I thought you were jacking on the axle tube, jacking on the mount plate, (as in pic), is the preferred method.

The axle is structurally manufactured so it can be bent....

FAQ's from Dexter...
Why are some axles bent in the middle?

"Sometimes you will notice a slight bend in the axle that is not a “V’d” axle as described below. Sometimes to set the camber of the wheel (angular relationship to the road) the axle must be bent slightly to make it match the trailer builder’s requirements. Most times the axle is designed with a camber that takes into the consideration the load that will be placed on the axle."

If your comfortable axle jacking...go for it.

Bob

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

The axle beams are structural square steel tubing, a jack under the axle will do no harm other than scratch the paint.

Okay, others will disagree. In the interest of safety, I'll not put the jack under the axle tube.

To add some more to the equation, what size jack do you use?
If a floor jack?
I'd rather not use a bottle jack because I don't want to crawl under.
Considering the tongue jack and the other two wheels are supporting a portion of the weight.

[fran&frank]

I don't think there is any disagreement that you should not put a jack or stand on the axle (tube) itself. And that putting it on the beam between the two axles on each side of the trailer (as illustrated by Robert Cross) is a good approach.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

Not structural tubing? what material is it then?
They will not bend by jacking or the ones I hauled to the dump that were original and the new ones I installed would trashed.

Jacking under the axle at the mount plate works for me.

There has been so many folks repeat the improperly worded warning, it's now an internet fact.

Jacking a trailer under the center of the axle beam will likely bend it. Jacking on the axle tube near the mount plate...no way you will collapse this thing. That is some seriously stout tubing

[AlinCal]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

There has been so many folks repeat the improperly worded warning, it's now an internet fact.

Jacking a trailer under the center of the axle beam will likely bend it. Jacking on the axle tube near the mount plate...no way you will collapse this thing. That is some seriously stout tubing

Thanks for bringing this back to earth...

I did NOT read anyone say to jack in the center of the axle span, after all that would be foolish from a stability standpoint anyway.

I am also sure that bend the factory puts in is done with a very serious hydraulic press exerting many thousands of pounds of pressure.

[ROBERT CROSS]

I'll stay in my own Nebula thank you...


So say you...so it must be so.

Bob

[rmkrum]

Ok, now you’ve done it.

[RandyNH]

MISCELLANEOUS - Is it okay to jack up my trailer?
Dexter recommends that you do not jack up the trailer on the suspension components because there is always the potential for damage. Bent hangers, leaf springs, or axle tubes can cause bad axle alignment with bad tire wear resulting. Also, many trailer builders do not use Dexter hangers and we have no idea how strong these hangers may or may not be. Therefore, we take the conservative approach and recommend jacking up only on the trailer frame.

Source

[jim6090]

I drove to tire store with trailer. pulled trailer onto blocks one at a time. No jacking required!!!

Pulled off each rim and tire and had new tires installed. Easy, safe and pretty quick. Little bit of labor to move plastic blocks around. Whole process maybe an hour and a half.

[crispyboy]

My trailer is stored for the winter months on two jack stands under the rear vertical axle flange (close to wheel) and the tongue jack. Use a bottle jack under the frame just behind the rear axle for lifting.