Bottle (or other) jack?

[Usc4duke]

Any recommendations on a jack for my travel trailer? How tall do I need it to be able to go?

I have a 2021.5 Forest River Salem FSX 178BHSX - weight is about 4000 pounds.

[HangDiver]

I use a 4k pound bottle jack for my Micro Lite (GVWR ~ 4k lbs) with several sizes of wood blocks to get the appropriate height to lift the trailer. Once while changing a trailer tire on very soft soil the weight of the trailer simply pushed the jack into the ground, thus the wood blocks.

[TitanMike]

I carry a jack that's way more than my trailer needs weight wise. A 12 ton bottle jack. I prefer it to the smaller jacks because the base is large enough it doesn't sink into softer surfaces. Also makes it easy to jack up my TT when needed without having to strain my arm when in close quarters.

Also works great for lifting my truck by the the spring perches.

[debit]

X2 on the 12 ton, plus a floor jack and lots of those blocks of wood.
---------------------
Ram 2500
Surveyor 251rks

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by debit

X2 on the 12 ton, plus a floor jack and lots of those blocks of wood.
---------------------
Ram 2500
Surveyor 251rks

I have the same thing, along with jackstands because I just removed all 4 wheels to replace two bad tires and also to grease the bearings.
But I won't take the bottle jack with me nor the jackstands. That's why I have roadside assistance.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by bikendan

I have the same thing, along with jackstands because I just removed all 4 wheels to replace two bad tires and also to grease the bearings.
But I won't take the bottle jack with me nor the jackstands. That's why I have roadside assistance.

Every time I've had to change a tire on my TT (2 times since 1995) I had the job done before any "Roadside Assistance" could have been even dispatched. [emoji41]

[Thomas ho]

easy up. pull trailer forward ,sits under axle. got mine at academy sports. 30.00.

[Larry-NC]

After many experiences in my risk-taking youth with jacking cars up on soft gravel shoulders with cars whizzing by at 65 mph, I got this one. It only works for double-axle (or more) trailers. You leave the trailer attached to the tow vehicle and pull/back it so the good tire goes onto this ramp. It will lift the adjacent tire high enough to clear the ground. You can also use it for greasing, etc.--just do one wheel at a time. The base of this ramp has enough surface area to avoid ground sinkage and stability is much better than the base of a bottle jack base.

I have a hefty trolley jack I use at home, but at 73 lbs, it's a nuisance to take on the road. It's even a nuisance just to carry it up the stairs and outside from my basement shop.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Usc4duke

Any recommendations on a jack for my travel trailer? How tall do I need it to be able to go?

I have a 2021.5 Forest River Salem FSX 178BHSX - weight is about 4000 pounds.

You are never going to lift more than one side, so you shouldn't need much more than half of that.

[upflying]

This is the one I carry in my TT. Bottle jacks are dangerous without a jack stand. Your flat tire change will always happen on a non-level, soft shoulder.
https://www.powerbuilt.com/products/...nd-bottle-jack

[raytwntrvlr]

My TT has tandem torsion axles. I tried using various jack setups to raise up for tire changes and maintenance purposes. All seemed to dang dangerous. So I built a simple ramp system of three layers of 10 inch wide yellow wood. Each layer about a half foot longer than the one above it. The top one being easily long enough to safely hold one tire which, on my trailer, lifts the other tire high enough to remove.
I have used this simple ramp many times for bearing service as well as tire installs and once for a roadside flat tire repair.
Using this system, the TT remains hitched up so there's a bit of security there.
The length of the cutoff is a big deal. If you make the overlap to big the bottom one will hit the other tire before it's off the ground.
My tires are close together so I had to mess with that dimension a bit to get it right.
I believe there's a company that makes something similar. That's where I got the idea.

[Scubanut]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

After many experiences in my risk-taking youth with jacking cars up on soft gravel shoulders with cars whizzing by at 65 mph, I got this one. It only works for double-axle (or more) trailers. You leave the trailer attached to the tow vehicle and pull/back it so the good tire goes onto this ramp. It will lift the adjacent tire high enough to clear the ground. You can also use it for greasing, etc.--just do one wheel at a time. The base of this ramp has enough surface area to avoid ground sinkage and stability is much better than the base of a bottle jack base.



I have a hefty trolley jack I use at home, but at 73 lbs, it's a nuisance to take on the road. It's even a nuisance just to carry it up the stairs and outside from my basement shop.

Wish that drive on would work on my wide spread axles, on my tandem axles it won’t lift the other tire off the ground. If it was a torsion suspension I’m sure it would work fine but not on my leaf spring setup.

[jimmoore13]

Jack: I agree with the bottle jack recommendation. I have a 6000# (wet) rig, so I have an 8 ton bottle jack. Lots of lift to spare.

The big problem is the stack of blocks needed to get the jack high enough to lift on the frame. 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 dimension lumber is great, but heavy and hard to store. These, however, are not. https://smile.amazon.com/Blockaholic...2670323&sr=8-7
I would, however, bring one solid 2 x 8 x 8 to top the stack. A jack can put a lot of pressure on the plastic blocks. These are rated to hold the weight of the camper on its tires, but a jack concentrates the pressure.

Meanwhile these blocks (or other "Lego" blocks like them) are wonderful for the stab jacks, for leveling, even for a short step at the bottom of your stairs when on a slope. I have about 16 of these blocks, and I often us most or all of them when setup on side slopes.

Next, you need a good digging tool to carve out a level spot for the stack of blocks. I like a pick-mattock. I use it for many purposes including digging a hole for the uphill tires on lakeside side-slopes...when the Anderson Levelers aren't enough. Unlike a shovel, the pick mattock doesn't take no for an answer in hard soils.

My bottle jack lives permanently in my truck-bed tool box along with the Viair compressor, grease gun, tool box and so on. The bottle jack is small.

When jacking, I have the tow vehicle connected...even in the driveway, and I drop the tongue jack and lift the tongue and TV several inches so that the pivot point doesn't sag as I lift.

The final piece of my puzzle is my truck's scissors jack. I can lift my rig by the frame until a substantial portion of the load is off the axles. But I use the scissors jack under the spring/axle mount and lift the flat tire off the ground...leaving the other axle in contact with the ground. This little assist saves a LOT of lifting on the frame...especially in tough roadside conditions.

As for roadside assist, in MOST of the places we go, there is no cell service. Roadside assist doesn't exist.

I have no problem with the trick cam-shaped axle lifts or the tire-ramp lifts for the good tire. But there are many situations I'm in regularly where these simply won't work. Soft ground, uneven terrain, and so on can defeat these methods. A bottle jack and a substantial pile of blocks, along with the scissors jack for the axle, would be very hard to defeat.

Meanwhile, if I can call Triple A, the jack can stay in the toolbox.

[mnoland30]

An Anderson Trailer Leveler worked great on my torsion axle both times I needed it. My F-250 comes with a bottle jack, which would work also.

I once failed to chock my trailer wheels before I unhitched, and the trailer jack fell off of my wooden jack stand support. I keep a HI-LIft jack behind the second seat in my truck, and it was what was needed to lift the tongue's jack back up on the block.

[Wilco]

I carry a 6 ton bottle jack in my truck. I also found that my truck scissors jack will work for the trailer. I usually lift with the bottle jack and run the scissors jack up in case the bottle jack slips or sinks into the ground.

[SmackIt]

This is my 2021 Surveyor. I'm guessing the Trailer Aid plastic block unit doesn't work well this type of axle setup? I'm thinking a bottle jack, or that fancy Powerbuilt 3 Ton All-in-One UniJack, should be onboard at all times. Question: Where do you lift the trailer from, where is the safest place to position the jack?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by SmackIt

This is my 2021 Surveyor. I'm guessing the Trailer Aid plastic block unit doesn't work well this type of axle setup? I'm thinking a bottle jack, or that fancy Powerbuilt 3 Ton All-in-One UniJack, should be onboard at all times. Question: Where do you lift the trailer from, where is the safest place to position the jack?

MOST bottle jacks have a top with both "checkering" on top with a small channel through the middle. This top can also be screwed out to adjust the low height of the hack.

On the type of axle pictured I've always placed the jack right under the two u-bolts that clamp the axle to the bottom of the spring, and align this "channel" so the rounded surface of the axle is cradled in it. This will keep it from slipping off the round surface with a load on it. This part of the axle is supporting the weight of that part of the trailer and lifting here won't cause any damage to the axle.

As for a 3-ton Jack, in my experience this size is a little small for EASY use. Yes, it will lift the load but the base is small and will take a lot of effort. Jacking up an axle is usually done in an uncomfortable position and again in my experience, a larger jack is a lot easier to use. The bigger ones also have larger bases that are more stable, even if you have boards/blocks under it.

I had a 6 ton early on and gave it away in favor of a 12 ton. Trailer only weighed 6500# but like I said above, too much work and too unstable for my taste.

All kinds of 12 ton jacks available in the $40 range. Just make sure you get the taller profile, now one of the shorter versions.

[Thomas ho]

i kkep 1 ,,20 ton bottle jack ,1 12 ton bottle jack from Harbor freight , and some blocks of wood . i jack up under axle near u bolts. You are not going to bend a axle , some say you can, but i really doubt it. Tire shops just slide a floor jack under axle and pump .

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by SmackIt

This is my 2021 Surveyor. I'm guessing the Trailer Aid plastic block unit doesn't work well this type of axle setup? I'm thinking a bottle jack, or that fancy Powerbuilt 3 Ton All-in-One UniJack, should be onboard at all times. Question: Where do you lift the trailer from, where is the safest place to position the jack?

You're kidding, right? That is exactly the suspension that the ramps are designed for. Yes, it's true that the "equalizer" rocker bar between the two leaf springs work against you (ramped end goes up, flat end goes down), but the ramps are high enough to overcome that.

Watch

this video

. And

this one

.

I bought mine for about $37 on eBay, then found they were $33 at Walmart. Free shipping if you select Ship-to-Store.

[Scubanut]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

You're kidding, right? That is exactly the suspension that the ramps are designed for. Yes, it's true that the "equalizer" rocker bar between the two leaf springs work against you (ramped end goes up, flat end goes down), but the ramps are high enough to overcome that.



Watch

. And

.



I bought mine for about $37 on eBay, then found they were $33 at Walmart. Free shipping if you select Ship-to-Store.

As long as you don’t have the wide axles like on my trailer they should be fine. Trust me they don’t work on my trailer.