Placement of Jack

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
When you are jacking up your unit to either change a flat or adjust brakes etc. where should one place the jack. I use a hydraulic jack and on my current trailor I have placed it on the axle as close to the spring assembly as possible. Can you damage the axle or is this best? Doug
 

sislv

Tom & Sharol
Jacking point

From what I have read DO NOT jack on any of the axles. Jack on the trailer frame. Our dealer even was unaware of this and I insisted they NOT jack on the axles to raise our wheels to adjust the brake shoes. They had a good floor jack that they used on the frame near the wheels and it had enough lift height to raise both wheels off the ground. They said the axles didn't drop that much when the trailer was raised.

Tom
 

nhunter

Well-known member
I jack everything up by the axle and have never had any problems. Check out your factory truck jack, I bet it won't reach much past your axle. I am wondering of the ill effects of jacking the axles though.
 

dieselengineer

Charter Member
The axle tube is a thin wall tube and can be damaged by the head of the jack due to the high point loading. What I have done was to fab up a little upside down bridge thing. In this way, the weight is supported on the springs down to the jack. The jack doesn't touch the axle tube.
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
I had problems with one of my axles and took the trailer in to a trailer co. to have the alignment checked. I asked them where to jack the trailer because I had the same question. They said you can jack on the tie plate (the piece of steel that ties the spring to the axle). It makes sense that this point would be safe because that's where the weight of the trailer is transferred from the springs to the wheel.
If you look at Al-KO's Owner's manual, page 30, you can see the layout of the springs and tie plate. Now if you have the configuration that has the tie plate on top of the springs, I'm not sure what to do.
This would also be a good question for Scott to weigh in on since the Al-KO owner's manual states you should follow the trailer manufacturer's recommendation. I haven't been able to find anything in the material I received that gives me that information.
 

nhunter

Well-known member
I have always placed under the spring bracket but never gave any thought to caving in tube! Yikes
 

sislv

Tom & Sharol
AL-KO Kober Axles

On page 12 of the AL-KO Kober axle owner's manual they state:


"Never use the axle or any portion of the suspension to lift or support the trailer. This will damage the axle and lead to premature failure which could result in property damage, serious personal injury, or loss of life."



Here is the link to their site: http://www.al-kousa.com

Look in the owners manual for more info.

Tom









 

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
Interesting reading and a well written and described manual. Learned a few things.../Doug
 

Loco

Well-known member
I have been Fire apparatus service tech for 27 years . When they say not to lift the trailer with the axles or suspenion. That does not mean you can not jack one wheel at a time up to change it. It is good to stay on the spring plate and not the axle tube. I have use a good piece of oak 2x4x6 to even out the load when I can not get to spring plate . Never put a flate spot on a tube this way. They mean if you need to raise the whole weight of the trailer up. Do it with the frame.
 
Last edited:
Top