Now I know why jacks are punching through

tmmar · 06-11-2013, 03:29 PM

I bent a jack pad on my coach when I was at Freightliner in Gaffney and was getting ready to level my coach. Backed into a spot and lowered the jacks and there were cement wedges that you see in the front of parking spots in malls, etc. that I didn't see. The jack came down and slid off the cement wedge and bent the pad almost in half. Looked ugly but still was ok and it didn't punch through. Contacted Equalizer for replacement pads. I received the pads and the new pads were hexagonal and mine are round. I removed the old pad and compared it to the new pad. The steel on the new pads is 1/2 the thickness of the old pad that I removed so I can see why the new one punch through. I called Equalizer and they assured me that the new pads will not punch through. I am hoping that they are right because, as I said, the steel on the new pad is 1/2 the thickness of my pads. I didn't change the second pad because I am concerned about the durability of the new pads so I will just keep it as a spare. Hopefully the new ones will hold up.

Sorry this post is so long but wanted everyone to know that Equalizer is really scrimping on their product.

OldCoot · 06-11-2013, 03:35 PM

Might not be a cheaper steel just because it is thinner, might be a higher strength carbon steel which would be much stronger. Why not straighten the old one or take it to a welding shop and let them straighten it with heat?

tmmar · 06-11-2013, 03:45 PM

I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that the new one is not carbon steel. It just seems that they are punched from a sheet of thin metal. Also, my old one is over 1/4" thick and not sure it could be straightened without ruining the pad.

Himcules · 06-11-2013, 04:09 PM

can you take pictures so we can see the difference? tia!

OldCoot · 06-11-2013, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that the new one is not carbon steel. It just seems that they are punched from a sheet of thin metal. Also, my old one is over 1/4" thick and not sure it could be straightened without ruining the pad.

You can do a quick spark test and notice the difference in the spark given off. Just because it is 1/4" thick does not prevent it from being heated and straightened with destroying it. A little heat and a crescent wrench will do wonders for straightening steel.

tmmar · 06-11-2013, 04:42 PM

Hopefully this will work. Old on left, new on right.

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OldCoot · 06-11-2013, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

Hopefully this will work. Old on left, new on right.

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New one looks to be 3/16" thick and was sheared, not punched. Old one is definitely thicker matl and looks stronger strictly because of the gussets, but if the new one is a higher carbon steel it might be stronger.

Himcules · 06-11-2013, 07:10 PM

boowho · 06-11-2013, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

Hopefully this will work. Old on left, new on right.

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The new one looks just like the ones they sent me.

If you think THOSE are not strong enough, you should have seen the original ones that came off my coach.

Was a single sheet of 3/16 inch steel plate, without the gusset that meets the piston.

Replacement are TWO pieces of 3/16 stock welded together PLUS the gusset. Eq Sys told me they tested the new ones to 12K lbs with no failure.

I can't tell from the picture on the right if it is a single sheet or two sheets of material.

Boowho??

tmmar · 06-12-2013, 08:11 AM

boo,
The new one they sent me (on the right in the picture) appears to be single ply. And, as you can see, the old one from my coach is much more substantial than the new one which is why I left one of the old pads on my coach instead of changing out to the new one.
Tom

boowho · 06-12-2013, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

boo,
The new one they sent me (on the right in the picture) appears to be single ply. And, as you can see, the old one from my coach is much more substantial than the new one which is why I left one of the old pads on my coach instead of changing out to the new one.
Tom

Tom.....

I'm amazed that they'ed send you single ply pads, when the doubled ones are available. Did you ask for Mike Lehman (or maybe Layman)?? I'm pretty sure that was the name of the guy that sent me 4 replacement pads.

When I pull the jacks up on Saturday, I'll try to snap a picture while in the half-raised position to show what I actually got from them for replacements.

Boowho??

tmmar · 06-12-2013, 10:44 AM

Bill
I called them yesterday as I was installing the new pad and expressed my concern about the pads not being strong enough. I spoke to a Mike who said that the ones I received were the 'new, approved pads for the Berkshire diesel line' and they would not punch through. So, I can only go by what they are telling me. Can't say that I am happy with it but I don't have any other options available. As you can see from my picture, the new ones are about half the thickness of the old pads.
Tom

wnytaxman · 06-12-2013, 03:48 PM

Tom,

I bought plastic jack pads that I put under my steel pads. It helps to protect the steel and it also forces me to check under the coach before I put the jacks down. Just a thought that may eliminate the potential problem.

Ed

OldCoot · 06-12-2013, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boowho

...I can't tell from the picture on the right if it is a single sheet or two sheets of material...

The marks on the new one are shear marks, it is a single thickness. If it were 2 thickness' it would be 3/8" thick and be thicker than the original one on the left which was stated as 1/4" at least that's what I understood.

BamaCorner · 06-12-2013, 04:34 PM

I recall someone saying they were real difficult!

boowho · 06-12-2013, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaCorner

I recall someone saying they were real difficult!

Easy to put on, assuming you're not to fat to fit under the coach (I am)

Getting off the old ones is the problem. Or at least it can be.....

Boowho??

tmmar · 06-12-2013, 05:31 PM

Bama,
The pad I changed was a very easy job (I only changed 1 of the pads even though I ordered 2 because the new pads are so much thinner than the ones on my coach- you can see the picture I posted above). I have a compressor and an impact wrench. Got a 1/2" hex head socket and it took the old bolt out very easily. The same with the install. I was very surprised how easy it turned out to be. I was expecting all types of problems but thankfully they didn't happen.
Tom

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