Jacking Individual Wheels on a Sloped Driveway

[DavidBo]

Hey folks,
I have a MiniLite 2104S with two of the ever-popular torque-flex axles. I keep it in a storage yard most of the time, but I have a few upgrades and scheduled maintenance items coming up so I'm going to bring it home for awhile.
Like most of suburbia I have a mildly sloped driveway. I can get the trailer level enough, but that requires considerable blocking up of the tongue jack. One of the projects in store is to repack the wheel bearings, and I'm very leery of raising the trailer on jack stands to pull the wheels considering the slope. I'm fine doing one side, or even one wheel, at a time. My concern is overloading the tongue jack or some other component or possibly setting up a very unstable configuration.
It's well known that trailing beam axle setups should be lifted from the frame and never from the axle itself or risk bending the tube. I'd like to play it safe by raising each wheel individually, and I have a bottle jack that will fit under the spindle end of the trailing arm which would work perfectly as long as that's safe lifting point (arrow in picture). I am concerned about overloading the rear axle since that is already somewhat stressed by the slope, so I might lift the frame on that side just a little to unload the suspension a bit or maybe just lower the tongue jack enough to even the trailer up with the driveway.
Has anyone dealt with this issue before? I really like this little trailer and I'd rather not bend anything important. Thanks as always for any input!

[Sweedish15]

I’m on my second trailer, both having the same dexter axles. I have always lifted a single wheel or both side wheels by jacking on the axle tube. Never thought to jack at the point you indicated. The frame is too high up to jack at the frame.

This could be the wrong advice, but I’ve never had a problem.

[jeff64]

I've always jacked mine up between the axles on the frame. You don't need to be any higher than wheels off the ground. Using a 11T bottle jack setting on top of enough Lynx blocks with the cap on the stack or equivalent stack of stable lumber and a piece of wood on the top of the jack piston against frame rail should put you in range. Chock opposite wheels. Put stabilizer jacks down before you take the wheels off. The idea of lifting on the tube or trailing arms doesn't thrill me much. Either that or check out the trailer aid plus. Anybody else?

[Lins]

Our driveway is also sloped and I've attached the trailer to the truck before to do wheel bearings as extra insurance. I jack up close to the axle/frame attachment area. Always make sure and block up the frame or use jack stands in case the bottle jack slips.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Lins

Our driveway is also sloped and I've attached the trailer to the truck before to do wheel bearings as extra insurance. I jack up close to the axle/frame attachment area. Always make sure and block up the frame or use jack stands in case the bottle jack slips.

This is a great method not only for sloped driveways but also on supposedly flat ground. The Tow Vehicle provides complete control over trailer movement and pretty much assures it won't move and fall off jack.

As for jacking, I just use a 20 Ton bottle jack. . and jack between the axles on the frame. The top saddle on the jack has a groove in it that allows the sharp edge on the frame to fit in and keeps it from slipping sideways.I like the larger jack because it has a bigger base (and I already owned it) I'm only lifting a ton and a half on one side of my trailer but doing it right where the frame carries all the weight so no chance of flexing it where it wasn't designed to flex.

Yes, one should always use blocking or jack stands regardless of how good you think your jack is.

[windsurfdog]

Between the axles on the frame...unless you want to risk damaging the axle assembly.

And make sure you double check your tightened lug nuts...don't ask me how I know...

[DavidBo]

Originally Posted by Lins

Our driveway is also sloped and I've attached the trailer to the truck before to do wheel bearings as extra insurance. I jack up close to the axle/frame attachment area. Always make sure and block up the frame or use jack stands in case the bottle jack slips.

Now why didn't I think of that?
That is far more trustworthy than the tongue jack. The nose of my truck will stick out in the street a bit, but I'll play hooky from work some weekday when the traffic is minimal.
Thanks for the info!

[DavidBo]

I found a pretty safe way to remove all 4 wheels while parked on a moderately sloped driveway. A buddy of mine has an Rpod, so I borrowed his spare to use with my own. I made sure one side was well chocked, then raised the other from the frame between the axles with my floor jack. Before lifting I measured the distance between the front axle center line and the top of the wheel well for future reference. I lifted just high enough to clear both wheels so they could be removed, then installed one of the spares on the front axle. I lowered the trailer to the height measured earlier, using a jack stand to support the frame by the rear axle. I chocked that wheel up then repeated the same on the other side (see picture). Now I have all 4 wheels in the back of my truck ready to go to the tire shop and my trailer is safely supported and chocked. This might not work for everyone, but it did for me.
On a side note, while I was reinstalling my wheels freshly shod with Made in the USA rubber, I noticed way too much play in the right rear wheel hub. I pulled the grease cap off and found the spindle nut over a turn loose. According to the manual that nut should be finger tight, I'm glad I was able to correct that factory oversight before I took any long trips (the trailer is almost brand new). Probably a good idea to give that a check on any new trailer, since factory quality control appears to be something of an afterthought.
Happy camping!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by DavidBo

On a side note, while I was reinstalling my wheels freshly shod with Made in the USA rubber, I noticed way too much play in the right rear wheel hub. I pulled the grease cap off and found the spindle nut over a turn loose. According to the manual that nut should be finger tight, I'm glad I was able to correct that factory oversight before I took any long trips (the trailer is almost brand new). Probably a good idea to give that a check on any new trailer, since factory quality control appears to be something of an afterthought.
Happy camping!

The loose wheel bearing is one of those things that's hard to point a finger at the actual offender. Was it the person who installed the races in the hub or was it the person who mounted the hub and remaining bearing parts on the spindle. Usual practice in the field is to tighten hub nut to 20 or more foot pounds while rotating the drum/hub. This finishes the seating process on the bearing race, then backing off and re-tightening to finger tight finishes the job. Final installer that also adjusted bearings probably ASSUMED that the race was fully seated.

It's always a good idea to check wheels for any looseness after they have some miles on them that will reveal any problems like you discovered. This is why the factory recommends checking lug nut torque.

[Hoyt]

I agree with checking and rechecking. And wheel nut torque is important too. I changed from my winter tires to summer this spring and then noticed a week or two later that I was missing a nut on the passengers front. I must have only torqued 5 on that wheel. Until then I wasn’t in the habit of re-torquing. I am now. After I repacked the bearings on the TT I put the torque wrench in the truck and after 50 miles or so I stopped to check torque and hub temperature.
Which reminds me it is still in the truck.

[DavidBo]

Originally Posted by Hoyt

Which reminds me it is still in the truck.

Like any tool, it's a good idea to keep torque wrenches handy, just remember that the click-type wrenches are calibrated instruments and need to be handled and stored carefully. It's particularly important to unload the internal spring after use by backing the torque down to zero; leaving the spring under compression will eventually affect the wrench's accuracy.
Just a little something I learned a lifetime ago in A&P school.

[Littlehouse]

Thanks for all this info. Between the wheels on the frame it will be. So the flexing doesn’t hurt the axles? Is there any way to deal with the flexing?

[Hclarkx]

Originally Posted by DavidBo

Like any tool, it's a good idea to keep torque wrenches handy, just remember that the click-type wrenches are calibrated instruments and need to be handled and stored carefully. It's particularly important to unload the internal spring after use by backing the torque down to zero; leaving the spring under compression will eventually affect the wrench's accuracy.
Just a little something I learned a lifetime ago in A&P school.

I'm fortunate to be old enough to have a dial-type torque wrench; the type that has a 14" long pointer and a scale adjacent to the handle. It's indestructible; I've had it for 62 years. And it makes a great breaker bar. I have ratchet click-type torque wrenches but they don't leave my shop.

[pgandw]

I also have a moderately sloped driveway - just enough that I couldn't get it quite to level with just the tongue jack at full extension from blocking at full retraction while hooked up to our minivan. I used a bottle jack under the tongue to get more blocking under the tongue jack. Having a single axle trailer makes these situations easier, a 3T jack is plenty adequate for any job on the camper.

But the plastic chocks, and the ease with which they slide on my concrete driveway scared DW (and me, truth be known). Replacing the plastic chocks with the Harbor Freight rubber ones ($5 each with coupon) has made things a lot safer, and we a lot more comfortable in working inside the camper when setup in the driveway. The Harbor Freight chocks are high enough and shaped well enough that the camper wheels don't move at all when chocked, even with the tongue jacked pretty high.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Rflick]

Thanks to all for this important information and tips for lifting and wheel bearings. This help is what makes this forum so great!
Ron in snowy Elkhart, Ind.