Ramps?

[beenthere]

I just bought the 12 ton jack stands air up coach put the level blocks under them and extend to the level jacks..i could air down but what for. I have plenty room when greasing n checking

[Darin1960]

Andy , this post is timed perfect, I built 6 ramps today 2×12 also but I stacked them 4 high for a six inch rise . They are heavy. The length worked out perfect . I Bought 12 , 8 footers and cut the first one 5'6" which left 2'6" and cut the next one 4'6" which left 3'6" so this way I had the longest one 5'6 the next one 4'6" and the next 3'6" and finally the 2'6" and had no waste. I padded my creeper and still can get under anything including the front axle . As far as the zerk fittings I always clean them before greasing them , don't want to possibly shoot any dirt or grime in the joint..

[Darin1960]

Mobilemike I get what you are saying but for me , doing my own mechanical and maintenance is as fun and satisfying as a round of golf. I don't golf , hunt ( nothing against it).fish , bowl, play cards go to ball games or any of that fun stuff because I am in heaven with greasy or dirty hands . People laugh at me but even in the day I got married back in 1992 , I was building a barn ( by myself ) and worked on it till about an hour before the wedding. My brother in law still aughs about that. As far as certain things like alignments and getting new tires installed , that is the only time I ever hire any work out.

[Darin1960]

Been there that is good , I am going to get me some heavier jackstands as well , and with my air bags inflated I have all sorts of room but I want jacks under there when I do that. Glad I changed mind on pit but am going to get me a lift for cars and pickup.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I service my own coach in my side yard. I have wooden ramps 2"x 8", stacked three high. With my coach aired up, the additional 6" gives me enough room to get around under the coach with a creeper or just crawling. The only reason I need the ramps is to lube the grease fittings and drive shaft. I can change both the engine oil and generator without the ramps and without needing a creeper o access the oil filter.

In your situation, I would do the servicing, engine oil and generator and then pay someone to crawl under, like Speedco to do the lube fittings. This could be done during any trip where you find a truck service place.

Speedco has changed since Love's bought the business. There is no reference to MH's on the Speedco website now. I emailed Love's and asked about servicing MH's; I was told each Speedco location sets their own rules for MH's and pricing, and calling was the only way to gain that information. I no longer have that email response due to computer glitch.


I now patronize a local HDT repair shop that works on MH chassis too.

[Isaac-1]

I too have been thinking about adding a service pit to the shed where I store my coach, though not one that large, I was thinking about 36 - 42 inches deep, this would give me good sitting headroom under the coach, sitting on a rolling chair with adjustable height. Also I was thinking a shorter pit placed just inside the entry door, this way I could use it to work on either the front or back end of the coach depending on what needs work, either pull in straight or back in as needed, so a pit maybe 8-10 ft long.

[FIRE UP]

Darin
Go ahead and build your pit. I’m like you, I’d rather do 99.99999% of all my own work. And a fair percentage of that work is UNDER the rig. Getting one of these beasts up high enough to sort-of “comfortably “ creep around under it even my modified creeper ( I put urethane skate type wheels on it) is tough to do.
I’ve worked in pits and while having a lift would be the ultimate, a pit will definitely suffice. Let the worry warts worry about “fumes, floods, catastrophic world ending phenomena “, build your pit!
Scott

[wackymac]

Here's what you need. It cost him about $20,000. I helped build it.

[Unplanned Tourist]

Pits are great, wish I had one.
Blocks/ramps are next best, but a pain to lug around, but I do it.
Happy Glamping.

[Darin1960]

After I built my ramps yesterday, I rolled all under my coach. could get around well. Added some padding to my creeper,still need some more pad but I layed under there for 30 to 45 minutes and felt pretty good. I keep some of those 2x2 foam dense foam pads that interlock for kneeling and so forth so I hooked three together and laid the right under the front and easily scooted right under the generator area with out the creeper . That little bit of pad really helps on a cold hard concrete floor. My ramps raise the coach 6 inches and if I were to inflate the air bags and ad some heavy duty jack stands , I would really have room , but working on some areas where things are already pretty high up like the air tanks or oil filter , the extra 6" lift makes reaching them a bit more difficult. I saw a video of a guy who is working on a creeper that will transition from a flat creeper to a chair via small battery powered actuators and so forth , and it had the ability to raise up the head and shoulder while under the vehicle with a button or lever. Funny, I was sitting here thinking about a creeper that would do just that and I googled it and found one . It is still in production and not offered for sale and I bet it will be expensive. So my wheels in my head are turning and I,m thinking of how to build something relatively inexpensive that will at least have some easy adjustments and position changes . I am thinking , a light weight frame, smooth wheels or over sized a bit , extra soft padding , perhaps some lumbar adjustments, like on some cars and a built in motorized lift that would raise you up somewhat from perhaps the hip area all the way to your shoulders and head. Maybe not even motorized but use some sort of mini hydraulic pump and small cylinder. I might do some experimenting .

[Darin1960]

Some thing like this but modified , might be too big but say it were mounted along the side with the correct brackets , you could pump with hand ( modify handle) thus raise your upper torso area then you push all the way down to release . Again , this might be too big but some hand operated pump system , gotta be something out there.

[FIRE UP]

Darin,
It's not gonna help you but, quite a while ago I was digging around, looking for creepers since all that are on the market are pure junk and found this one. I was ready to push the "order" button and found it's not available. Can't figure out why. To me, it's great. But, like I stated earlier, I put 3" Urethane Skate wheels on mine that pivot and man, what a difference. Anyway, just for grins, take a look at this one.
Scott
https://www.autogeek.net/kreepster-deluxe-creeper.html

On edit: I'm still thinking of building one identical to it.

[mobilemike]

I have worked under these before.

[Darin1960]

Fire up , that is nice , If this ling works check it out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ68kjRMHys