Flat Tires, Air Jacks, Etc

[BroncoHauler]

Bryan,

Thanks for the tip on this jack, it looks quite promising, especially with the broad base. Do you happen to have the approximate dimensions of the jack?


Herb

[FunHog]

I have been following this thread with some interest. For jacks, we use a modified Ford jack and a HiLift that we carry on our spare tire carrier. We are going to add a second modified Ford jack as soon as I can get to the junk yard and pick a few of them up.

I like the Ford bottle jacks as they are light, strong and don’t leak. That means that I don’t really need to carry a jack stand.

I have tested this setup several times off road with great success. The worst situation was on a trip down in Mexico, one of the vans in our group had a rear wheel failure which sheared all of the wheel studs off the back axle (as the wheel and tire were destroying themselves) sitting the van down on its rear brake rotor. Fortunately for them they had correct tracks on the rear axle so all we had to do was lift the van, pop off the correct track, scrounge a spare wheel and tire from another van and we were off… The van had come to a rest off the road on a soft shoulder tilting towards the side that didn’t have the wheel. We used two Ford jacks and the HiLift to lift and secure the van while we made repairs.

The mods I made to the Ford Jacks are to make removable “Sand pads” and enlarge the saddle on the top. Cheap, rugged, dependable. I’m thinking of adding an adapter to my cordeless drill to make the whole operation go just a bit faster, but that would add another piece of equipment…

Bottom line, what ever jacking system you have, practice with it several times in the driveway before you hit the road.

Cheers,
John

[DUKCSUN]

I pulled this from a website that sells them:

Size: 3 ton
Length: 9.75
Width: 9.75
Height: 12.25
Applications: Great for Trucks, Jeeps and SUV's. Also Works on Decks, Foundations and Other Construction Projects.
Load Capacity: 6000 lbs.

It claims a height range from 11"-21".

Its a pretty wide base....

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by bryanlaws

Well, I think my search for the perfect jack is over. While walking through Pep Boys/AutoZone the other day looking for a 2-stage bottle jack I came across this nice little item (see pic/link). It was about $30 and I thought I would give it a try since it had a lot of the things that I wanted in a jack system for the van...:

http://www.alltradetools.com

Found it at my local Kragen Auto Parts for $29.99. Bought it, but haven't even unboxed it yet.


Herb

[DUKCSUN]

Not sure of your van's setup but I found that it fit in the rear "shower compartment" nicely.

[jage]

Originally Posted by kzemach

Since I was so paranoid of knocking the van off the jack, I started to jack the axle just barely (tire still on the ground), then loosened the bolts but left them on, then jacked the van, then took them off so that I wasn't wrenching on them with the van up in the air.

That's actually the "correct" way to do it, except you're supposed to break the lug nuts loose before jacking at all, regardless of jack type.

Other than getting them spinning I wouldn't back them off too much before jacking all the way, as they still need to hold the tire if the jack fails during jacking (as the van falls on the tire you don't want the last few threads only).

[kzemach]

Originally Posted by jage

That's actually the "correct" way to do it, except you're supposed to break the lug nuts loose before jacking at all, regardless of jack type.

Other than getting them spinning I wouldn't back them off too much before jacking all the way, as they still need to hold the tire if the jack fails during jacking (as the van falls on the tire you don't want the last few threads only).

Cool, thanks. I first read the Ford manual, and it said to jack first, then do the nuts. That seemed, um, dangerous??? Like I want to be wrenching on lugnuts with my van up in the air. I had jacked up just a tad (not off the ground, mind you, but to relieve some pressure on the tire) prior to loosening. Next time I'll follow your advice and break them free first. Thanks.

[DUKCSUN]

Totally agree with Jage. I've seen cars fall off the jack when a user had to really lean on the lug nuts. I have to say, this jack (pictured above) is awesome in that respect. I've worked under/around large vehicles most of my life (tractors, dump trucks, etc) and I don' think I've ever seen a more secure jacking point and connection to the axle. Always loosen/break the lug nuts before you put the thing in the air.

The other key tool that I have in the van is the Max Ax. I've used it to dig a hole to level the van, cut trees/limbs to get them off the roads recently opened to snow melt, make a channel for water used on the rear shower. If I were to find myself in a place that's not 100% level to jack up a flat, the Max Ax would be able to level almost anything.

Now I feel really ready to go into the back country and handle almost everything short of mass disaster.

[louie]

Originally Posted by DUKCSUN

Well, I think my search for the perfect jack is over. While walking through Pep Boys/AutoZone the other day looking for a 2-stage bottle jack I came across this nice little item (see pic/link). It was about $30 and I thought I would give it a try since it had a lot of the things that I wanted in a jack system for the van: Wide-Stable Base, Good connection between jack and axle, jack stand capability, Adj top, and long stroke for the big tires.

I'm not having any luck seeing the image for this jack. Is there a link posted to Kragen/Autozone/PepBoys that shows this jack. This sounds like exactly what I have been looking for. Thanks for the tip.
L

[charlie56]

Well its been awhile but I think this is the one.
http://www.alltradetools.com/catalog/54 ... stand.html