How do you jack up a Curtis Wright/Early Airstream?

[chris hart]

I wanted to jack up my Curtis Wright today to take a look underneath. I remember that the guys that put temporary used tires on it at a tire shop had trouble getting the CW jacked up. There doesn't appear to be a very sound place to put the floor jack. I believe the tire shop just put the jack under the leaf spring bolt and crossed their fingers. Turns out that the tire was a little too wide to slip between the hub and the fender skirt. They tried jacking the axle but no luck. The tire wouldn't fit. I thought about flipping the axle but that seems to be a whole new can of worms. How do you guys jack up old tube frame Airstreams or CWs? Thanks for any tips. Chris

[68Streamline]

Hi Chris,

On my 47' I place the jack behind the wheel where the steel support above the leaf springs meet with the c channels.

[chris hart]

Thanks for the reply! I looked at that area and saw that about 2" of aluminum C channel (outrigger) extends below that metal plate. It seems like the jack might crush the outrigger up and into that metal plate. Is that outrigger much beefier than the others? I would think so since the whole suspension seems to be attached there. Do you use a piece of plywood to help distribute the weight and avoid damaging the belly pan? My belly pan isn't that great so no worries there! Chris