Jack help?

[bobaganoosh]

We have a 19ft single axle 2005 International. Had a tire blowout that peeled completely off the rim on the drivers side. Fortunately we had AAA because the rim was resting on the shoulder & there was not enough clearance to get a conventional jack anywhere to change the spare. i would like to have that ability. Has anyone experienced this? Any suggestions?
Thanks!

[Wingeezer]

Hmmm, Interesting! How did AAA handle it?

I would have thought that even with the trailer resting on the rim, there would have been enough clearance on the axle at some point not too far from the hub to get a smallish bottle jack under it. No?

If not, I know you can get scissors jacks for peanuts that probably fold down to just a couple of inches in height when fully compressed - wouldn't that do the trick?


Brian.



PS - Great Forum name! I have always had a fascination with the Hindu God "Ganesh" - you know, the elephant with many arms and a little mouse for a buddy!

Trouble was I could never remember his name. But then I remembered that "Babar" is also an elephant. Now - I don't forget, ......... "Babar Genesh" is
my mnemonic!

[Phrunes]

Get a hilift jack, very versitile and has saved my bacon more than once

[reddogfox]

Two years ago when I had a flat tire on the trailer I had trouble getting my old bottle jack, that required 9 inches of clearance, under the trailer. I succeeded in changing the tire that day by pulling the flat up on two pieces of 2 inch plank that I carried for leveling the trailer. Before my next trip I replaced my old jack with new 4-ton Torin Big Red Double Ram Bottle Jack with a lifting range from 6 5/16” to 15 3/8”. I bought it from Northern Tool.

[Phoenix]

Love that eggplant!

After a similar flat on our 19-foot Bambi up near Mexican Water, AZ, on the Indian reservation, where we had to wait almost six hours for a tow truck to come from either Colorado or New Mexico, we bought a floor jack and carry it all the time.

I know this is overkill, but there is no way I am repeating that incident. We have also switched to 16-inch wheels and Michelin XPS Ribs, also overkill; but it has greatly reduced our anxiety when towing in the desert southwest in the summer.

If weight is a concern, Costco has an aluminum racing floor jack that is much lighter (but also more expensive). We bought our jack at the next WalMart we stopped at, for about $35, which was much cheaper than the $400+ we paid for the tow truck driver to dig what was left of our Goodyear Marathon out of the Lake Powell-like sand we were stuck in up to our axles. We had just bought a new Tundra and hadn't transferred our pickup accessories (including jack) to our new pickup. Dumb! Luckily, our insurance company reimbursed us for the tow.

[TBRich]

Welcome to the forums! Another Tucson with a Bambi! Great!

When we had a flat we used the jack that came with our TV, a Tacoma...in combination with a coule of jack stand for safety's sake. It's never fun. especially if you are not on a solid surface. We were luck and pulled into a fast food place onto a concrete slab...in dirt I don't know if we've ever have gotten it changed. Then when I put Centramatics on our Bambi, we like to never get the wheels back on...not very much clearance with the wheel well. We finally made it after struggling, but others have suggested setting some of the air out of the spare to make it easier...then re-inflating it to full pressure. If we every have that problem again that's what I'm going to do. When we had the flat it didn't seem to be an issue.

[tvoneicken]

Originally Posted by Phrunes

Get a hilift jack, very versitile and has saved my bacon more than once

How do you use a hi-lift jack on an airstream? Rear bumper? Yowza!

[Phrunes]

Originally Posted by tvoneicken

How do you use a hi-lift jack on an airstream? Rear bumper? Yowza!

Ahhhh, to the unitiated: your common hilift has a thousand uses! It can be combined with many accessories, such as: a wheel lift; a bumper lift; a block and dead man spade for winching (i have actually unstucked meself by winching with my hilift), it works great if the tongue jack on your AS craps out (I have done this too). It can lift a flipped horse trailer on the highway freeing the poor equine's legs from beneath the tangled mess (done that too), it can lift a 10 person spa onto a flatbed with only two guys a couple of boards ( yep, done that too), you can run over it and it wont break (that too)...the list is endless!

But...for the AS lift I was thinking more along the lines of using a lift mate attachment around the axle and viola yur lifting up to 5,000 lbs.

[Phoenix]

Just checked the Internet to see what a hi-lift jack is. Wow, I haven't seen one of these since our old 1953, 3-hole Buick Roadmaster. My dad lost a finger in that one back in the middle of the last century. Didn't know they still made these...

[Phrunes]

Nearly every offroader has one for recovery or tire changes. Mine is mounted in the bed under the rail. My truck is too tall for a standard floor jack or scissor lift to change a flat if needed and it's only lifted 4" with 35" tires. The key to these jacks is to understand the fulcrum effect: the higher you go, the more it tilts. When using one set the base in at an angle equal to the height you anticipate lifting..otherwise "whoa nellie!"

[tvoneicken]

Originally Posted by Phrunes

But...for the AS lift I was thinking more along the lines of using a lift mate attachment around the axle and viola yur lifting up to 5,000 lbs.

Ah, I wasn't aware of this accessory, thanks for pointing it out. I'm wondering though how safe that is on an airstream where the tire is quite recessed with respect to the wheel well. I'll have to hold my hilift next to the wheel to see, but even if the top of the jack clears the wheel well, the chances of banging up the skin if anything moves the wrong way seem pretty darn high. Also, this wouldn't have helped the original poster, 'cause you can't change that tire out while it's jacked up like that (unless you have a stand to put underneath).

[Phrunes]

Yeah, I agree. But the original poster couldn't get a jack underneath. I was thinking that he could use the hilift to get the tire off the ground and lift the axle enough to slide in his TV scissor jack. I also ALWAYS put a jacket or blanket between the jack and the item being lifted to cushion the upright. In true McGuyver fashion, or is it McGruber?...if he left without a chock, and all he had was the hilift, he could remove another tire from the AS or TV or use TV's spare to slide under as a chock. Not a perfect solution, but if it's about safety...I'd assume some added risk in lieu of sitting in the desert without water or cell service for hours trying to flag down the one car that is piloted by the "hitcher"! Hahaha

[bobaganoosh]

Thanks for all the great info! Phoenix - Our flat was near Big Water-Lake Powell. Unfortunately, AAA decided to send someone from Kanab vs Page but at least they came. He used a racing floor jack as well and was able to slide it far enough under to catch the axel. Like other AS "newbies" it was not until we had the flat that we discovered there was a spare but no jack or lug wrench. Clearance might have been ~ 4". Not enough for most bottle or scissor jacks. Many great suggestions. Next time we will be better prepared!

[Phrunes]

Bobaganoosh,
A completely different direction; but borrowed from my offroad travels and recovery is xjack. These come in many flavors, such as exhaust fill, 12v fill etc. Basically it it a large airbag that inflates via the tailpipe or its own 12v pump. They work surprisingly well and roll up into a light camper friendly size. Many in the offroad community also use these because a diff equipped with an ARB air locker provides easy access to a proper air pump. The exhaust ones are an interesting concept for RVing. I wouldn't trust one to go underneath the trailer, but it would give you the necessary lift to secure the trailer before commencing work. These things are nearly flat when deflated, and conform to irregular surfaces such as a boulder, a tire that's come off its rim etc. Just do a search for xjack or airbag jacks.