Jacking Up 5er

[LonnieB]

quote:By worknomore

The 'man from Dexter', as you referred to him incorrectly, works at an RV parts & supply store nearby, which happens to be an 'authorized' retailer of Dexter parts (as stated in my original post). ALL Dexter reps who have attended ALL the past national rallies in Goshen have gone to great lengths to discourage jacking up these rigs by the axles. Several caution references to this are in your Dexter manual also.

My apologies, I read the original post wrong.

I know Dexter discourages jacking on the axles, and the owners manual says to jack on the frame. The problem I have with this is the twist that gets put in the frame when trying to lift a trailer high enough to remove a tire. It can't be good for the frame or the interior components such as cabinets and wall panels. Maybe these trailers are engineered with this in mind and steps have been taken to make sure the frame doesn't twist?

[dieselguy]

I'm stand firmly with Lonnie on this issue. I've been around trailers of various sizes and configurations for over 40 years ... when using a jack between the spring hangars, I've never seen a bent axle. Remember ... you only need to jack the trailer up just enough to get the tire off. The following summation is just my overall take on the whole scheme of this post and replies ... In today's sue happy world with businesses trying to constantly cover their liabilities they tend to instruct their field reps to dispense information to cover every conceivable instance of failure. Years ago, most owners of trailers had the sense of mind not to jack a trailer up in or near the center of an axle ... not so in today's world. I'm not meaning to degrade any of you fellow MOCers ... just take a personal look around at the general level of mechanical skill nowdays ... sadly it fades as each generation passes. Where I work, we have new hire "mechanics" that are hard pressed to sucessfully change wiper blades. Thus field reps fearing the ever increasing situation in today's society where people just don't have the background to think things thru will say ... jack the frame up then jack the axle up hoping their advice will cover any possible scenerio for their company. 25 years ago it would have been "chock your trailer, then place the jack between the spring hangars and if possible use a piece of channel to help distribute the load."

[SlickWillie]

I'm with Lonnie and Dieselguy on this one. I couldn't have said it better dieselguy; just another CYA issue.

[helmick]

Nobody is telling anybody how to jack up their Montana. We are just relaying what we were told by Dexter.
You can jack up your own Montana anyway you feel comfortable, after all it your money. As for mine I just press a
button and all four tires come off the ground.

[ols1932]

I agree with Helmick. Jack up your rig any way you please. Don't worry about bent axles or twisted frames. Don't think about terribly worn tires caused by bent axles. I don't believe anyone on the forum is telling us how to jack up the rig. There was merely a question raised about how best to do it. I would think that some of the experiences mentioned here would give one a good idea how to jack up the rig. With tongue in cheek I've mentioned I can get all four wheels off the ground without a jack. But before I had the Bigfoot system installed, I had to jack up the rig by placing my jack under the MOR/ryde individual suspension system. I have no springs.

Orv

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by helmick

Nobody is telling anybody how to jack up their Montana. We are just relaying what we were told by Dexter.
You can jack up your own Montana anyway you feel comfortable, after all it your money. As for mine I just press a
button and all four tires come off the ground.

So, would that be Dexter and Lippert approved? Not being a smarta$$, I'm just curious. I saw a Titanium with the wheels about 3" off the ground. Looked like an old sway back mare. I couldn't believe the walls didn't buckle. The guy just dropped the rear stabilizers, then raised the front up with the landing gear.

[helmick]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

So, would that be Dexter and Lippert approved? Not being a smarta$$, I'm just curious. I saw a Titanium with the wheels about 3" off the ground. Looked like an old sway back mare. I couldn't believe the walls didn't buckle. The guy just dropped the rear stabilizers, then raised the front up with the landing gear.

I hope Lippert would approve their own Six Point System that they installed.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by helmick

I hope Lippert would approve their own Six Point System that they installed.

I think you mentioned that before. Senior moment I suppose. Sounds great. I've seen a 6 point system on SOB....didn't even know Lippert offered it.

[DarMar]

We know from driving down most roads that any given wheel must be designed to drop into a pot hole that could easily be 3" to 4" deep and sometimes more. When jacking our unit I use the bottle jack between the spring hangers. When jacking I am raising the tire no more than an inch or two off the ground so therefore any pot hole inflicts far more strain.

This seems to make sense to me so I am satisfied with my method.JMHO