Jacking up your vehicle

molly 2

molly 2

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What do you carry to jack up you're motorhome in case of a puncture .the jack that comes with a coach built motorhome tool kit would not be suitable to safely jack up a motorhome .or would you depend totally on a recovery company .
 
Hydraulic jack as backup

I have a medium sized jack

I guess it it worth estimating the
front wheels carry 750 kg each
Rear wheels 1000Kg
So a 1.5 or 2 ton capacity is safe

But you need suitable wooden blocks as well

Belt & braces but yes recovery !

Tempting fate but....We have only had 1 tyre go flat (faulty valve).
We were on a campsite
Called recovery safer more reliable and paid for ! maybe have to wait !
They were VG arrived after 40mins the job maybe 30 mins and they are instructed to always check the engine oil
Worst case scenario(almost) miss a ferry and have to pay again/more...Travel insurance
 
helen262 said:
An AA card as with the stupid design of the rear wheel arches on our motorhome even a lot of tyre places cannot remove the rear wheels, it takes two trolly jacks and one of them has to be a very high lift jack.
Click to expand...

We have an inflation kit but not used yet, or, an AA card. I don't like the thought of laying in the road and faffing about with jacks any more.
 
a 6 ton jack, a breaker bar ,a camping mat to lie on, and a cordless drill to spin off the wheelnuts once loosened. a heavier duty jack is slower but a lot easier to operate and takes up about the same space
 
Had a tyre delaminate on a gravel road in a Scottish forest. No phone signal...

I use a bottle jack, a hefty lump of wood and the wheel nut tool that came with the van. Quite a small van though.
 
Standard Jack

The standard jack, supplied with my motorhome, is perfectly safe for jacking up, one wheel at a time.

It's a Renault Master based coachbuilt, but I don't need it for changing to the spare, because I don't carry one. All the wheels have a permanent punture sealer installed, and I carry a 12v compressor.

I carry the jack, in case I get stuck, and need to lift, in order to put something under the wheel, for extra grip.
 
Jacking up the van is not the only issue I have swapped the wheels around at home a couple of times and used the supplied jack (Renault Master ) no problem the bigger issue is getting at the spare wheel.On the Renault it is slung centerally at the back just behind the rear axle and weights a ton when you are laid on your back trying to lower the frame and then pulling it out. So to do this at the roadside would be a nightmare.......I vote Breakdown call out for me.
 
Just as important as carrying a good enough jack is knowing WHERE to use it! The correct jacking points are not always known and often not used (ever noticed the amount of crushed sills on vans?)
 
Ref using a torque wrench to undo the bolts... I have always understood that is not recommended as can damage the calibration?
I don't know if this is just a tale or not, but I've never put it to the test and keep the Torque Wrench for final tighten only.

Not actually tried the supplied bottle jack on my van to raise it since I got it. Think I will do so to check it as carrying a trolley jack around would be a major PITA.
 
that tyre looks a bit flat

now , where's that can of sealant ? rg3A3M3.jpg
 
***** said:
I carry the normal Fiat jack and a small hydraulic jack just in case extra lift is required. The Fiat jack will lift any of our vans wheels and it HAS been used in anger. The most important things are good sturdy blocks and a good base to sit the jack on to. Also a torque wrench which will also double as a loosening the nuts bar.
Our van is 4500kg .
No use at all having an inflation kit (micky mouse gear) and as I found out earlier this year, a wheel can spring a lea!. Yes, a wheel and not just the tyre. We had to source a new wheel. (I wrote a thread about this)
Here it is
https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forum...3-spare-wheel-cautionary-tale.html?highlight=
Click to expand...

Just read your thread ref spare wheel .... confirms why the benefit of having one outweighs the weight savings of not carrying one. My last 2 cars came with no spares, and first thing I did was buy one. Never used them, but that is not the point.

There was a comment also about accessing the spare wheel ... when I got my VW T5, it took nearly an hour to undo the two nuts that held the wheel up in the underslung carrier. Long breaker bar, lots of freeing agent and totally knackered (me that is) afterwards :(
Fortunately this was on my driveway when I was checking access to it! And afterwards was much easier (too easy as those wheels are a big theft target)
Always make sure you can access the wheel easily!
 
The reality is, that there will always be out of the ordinary, examples, but having breakdown recovery, should cover any of these issues.

Personally, I've only had to change to a spare, once, at the side of the road, many years ago, when a re-treaded tyre, shed it's re-tread.
That's in well over 50 yrs of motoring. Checking wheels/tyres is a very important job, that should NOT be overlooked.
Unfortunately, many motorists/truckers, neglect to do this, on a regular basis.
 
Fazerloz said:
I carry a hydraulic jack and breaker bar for the wheel nuts.
Click to expand...

likewise! it will take 10 minutes maximum to change a wheel as opposed a couple of hours possibly blocking high speed traffic, i know what is safer in the long run,
 
I have a small compressor and a puncture repair kit. If it's a nail or a small hole it can be repaired safely at the side of the road without removing a wheel. The kit I use was bought from Mac Tools many moons ago and uses a string type of sealer to push into the hole. Popular with motorbikers. I also have a power bar and good socket, bottle jack and some bits of hardwood to sit the jack on for worst case scenarios.
 
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