Hi All, Whats your advice on the following situation? I,ve just uncovered the van to find an offside puncture (valve?) now the van is too low for me to position the jack on the jacking plate at the back of the wheel,(the Motor-mover already obstructs the forward side!). Would it be ok to jack up just this once on the chassis? until I can get the axle stand on. Cheers, John
------------- Life is our Holiday enjoy it before its time to go back!
I remember from somewhere this may bend the frame of the chassis as its not designed to cope with the weight on one point, could you maybe use an alternative jack like a scissors jack on the axle even if its only to raise the thing to a position that you could use your normal jacking point. Good idea to ask.
Happened to me once and i pulled the van up on to a log,Try pulling it up on to some wood or use two jacks one under the axle just to lift it enough, to get the other under,your going to fix some thing out before it happens again.maybe on the road.
Use a decent plank eg.scaffolding board propped up by a brick to make a makeshift ramp and pull your van gently up it until you reach required height to get your jack in.Dont know what health + safety man would have to say ---but tried and tested and it works! Dont jack on your chassis rails as they can collapse sideways..and dont lift using your steadies as you can bend the screws or worse ..push them through the floor!!! I,ve seen both happen---expensive mistakes.
Most trolley jacks aren`t small enough to cope with caravan punctures, I reckon. But I believe it`s permissable to use the Alko axle to lift the van, as near to the wheel as possible. I`ve done it, that`s where the axle jacks go, with hardboard packers if you remove the wheels
But I don`t like doing it. What do others think?
------------- Peripheral people don`t have as much excitement but they sure live longer
You could try to put the jack in from the other side of the van. Where the wheel is flat the axle is at the low point, if you try to get the jack under the axle even just off the center of the axle towards the side with flat tyre it should life up that side of the van enough to get an axle stand or another jack under the axle at the flat tyre side.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.