What Jack for Service

[bigb56]

Those of you who do all your own service what are you using to lift your motorhome? Last time I used both of my 3 ton floor jacks to lift the rear of my 11,000 lb rig but it felt like they were at the limit. I am looking at either the Harbor Freight Air/hydraulic 22 ton floor jack or the 20 ton Air/hydraulic bottle jack. I work in my garage but a hoist is out of the question not only because the ceiling is not high enough but the logistics just aren't there, it has to be something portable. I know most class A's weigh a lot more than mine so if the HF stuff is working for you or not I'd like to hear.

[K Charles]

Use the leveling jacks and some good jack stands. I use wooden blocks cut from a 10" X12".

[jeff0210]

I have the 20 ton air from harbor freight, and some 6000 pound jack stands. Work so far. Safety First.

[Dutch Star Don]

I have the 20 ton air/hydraulic HF jack for lifting the coach when a wheel needs to come off. Otherwise, I DON'T like lifting the coach with jacks as there is just too much that can get tweaked. I use ramps under the wheels, 2 x 8's three high. I only use one under the inside dual on each side of the rears. On my coach, that gives me enough room to get my fat butt under it for servicing.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by K Charles

Use the leveling jacks and some good jack stands. I use wooden blocks cut from a 10" X12".

Thanks but no leveling jacks on my rig. I do have heavy duty stands and big chunks of gluelam and heavy ramps though.

[bigb56]

Sounds like the 20 ton Air over Hydraulic bottle jacks get the vote both here and from the guys over on my welding forum

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I have the 20 ton air/hydraulic HF jack for lifting the coach when a wheel needs to come off. Otherwise, I DON'T like lifting the coach with jacks as there is just too much that can get tweaked. I use ramps under the wheels, 2 x 8's three high. I only use one under the inside dual on each side of the rears. On my coach, that gives me enough room to get my fat butt under it for servicing.

Don are you saying you use the ramps on the inside only and let the outside wheel hang? I made ramps from 2X8s too but for the rears I made 2 for each side and fastened them together with plywood on the bottom.

[Dutch Star Don]

Originally Posted by bigb56

Don are you saying you use the ramps on the inside only and let the outside wheel hang? I made ramps from 2X8s too but for the rears I made 2 for each side and fastened them together with plywood on the bottom.

For the couple of hours I have the coach up on ramps for service, I just run the inside dual on a ramp. I also have a tag axle. I don't run it up on ramps either.

[nehog]

I use my leveling jacks but you MUST have either cribbing or jack stands for safety no matter what you use. Not all leveling jacks can lift your coach, but mine sure can! Keeping things simply I use cribbing as jack stands rated for the coach's weight are both expensive and actually difficult to find!

[Bigd9]

Brian, your entire RV weights around 11,000 or 5 1/2 tons. Remember the larger the jack, the heavier and more cumbersome it is to move around. Unless you plan to get a larger RV in the near future, I would think a 4+ ton jack would work. Look at the Trolly Jack and consider if it would work for you.

[FrogHollow]

We purchased our first Class A last summer. A 1996 American Dream. I have a heavy truck shop floor jack that would not work, the coach was just too low to the ground to pump the handle once the jack was under the axle. And I did not want to lift the coach with the levelers to get it high enough I could pump the handle. So I purchased an Esco 10390 22 Ton Air/Hydraulic floor jack. More money than most of the 22 ton jacks I looked at but I think it was worth it. Very well made and works perfectly. I lift one side at a time on the rear axle then place 3" x 24" x 24" pads under the duals. I stack a pair of these for 6" of lift. I block with 6 x 6's under the hitch for safety and then lift the front with the jack centered under the I beam, put a pair of pads under the front tires and heavy jack stands under the frame. This gives me enough room to roll under the coach on a creeper. This is working out very well as I clean things up under there and work though my list of things that need to be done.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by FrogHollow

We purchased our first Class A last summer. A 1996 American Dream. I have a heavy truck shop floor jack that would not work, the coach was just too low to the ground to pump the handle once the jack was under the axle. And I did not want to lift the coach with the levelers to get it high enough I could pump the handle. So I purchased an Esco 10390 22 Ton Air/Hydraulic floor jack. More money than most of the 22 ton jacks I looked at but I think it was worth it. Very well made and works perfectly. I lift one side at a time on the rear axle then place 3" x 24" x 24" pads under the duals. I stack a pair of these for 6" of lift. I block with 6 x 6's under the hitch for safety and then lift the front with the jack centered under the I beam, put a pair of pads under the front tires and heavy jack stands under the frame. This gives me enough room to roll under the coach on a creeper. This is working out very well as I clean things up under there and work though my list of things that need to be done.

That's a sweet jack and very tempting but I would never use it enough to pay for itself!

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Brian, your entire RV weights around 11,000 or 5 1/2 tons. Remember the larger the jack, the heavier and more cumbersome it is to move around. Unless you plan to get a larger RV in the near future, I would think a 4+ ton jack would work. Look at the Trolly Jack and consider if it would work for you.

Pete, I can't find the Trolly Jack. A search brings up multiple Trolley Jacks but they are just floor jacks and I already have those, a 3 ton and a 3.5 ton and they do struggle with the rear end but do fine on the front.

[Bigd9]

Trolly Jack and floor jack are basically the same thing with a few differences. Trolly jacks are more heavy made, where as floor jacks are more for DYI people. Sorry, Dad always called them Trolly Jacks for some reason.

How much does your RV weigh on the rear axle vs the front axle?