kojack jacking brackets

[borderbilly]

if i buy a set of kojack brackets for the van, do i need to buy there jack? i carry a halfords bottle jack, will that fit/do?

 

[IanB1485]

The little brackets which fit onto the trailer have a round bar on them , the Kojack jack has a mating round 'hollow' ( see photo) this allows the two parts to 'lock' together. A 'normal' bottle jack doesn't but has a serrated flat surface , so may slip off the bracket ( particularly if not on the level). your choice

 

[borderbilly]

Thanks for that Ian, I thought as much. Being a tight Scot I thought i would get away with just buying the brackets. Better to be safe then sorry.

 

[birdman101]

If you are already carrying a Bottle Jack then just place it under the reinforced bracket where the axle fixes to the chassis.

 

[Hutch]

Here is the Kojack bracket, it is the same as the Alko heavy duty one. One point is that you real need the van to be as close to level by raising the nose on the jockey wheel to get a safe lift.

 

[Mel]

Thought you were van shopping? If so don’t waste money on new brackets.
Mel

 

[borderbilly]

Thought you were van shopping? If so don’t waste money on new brackets.
Mel

Change of plan, better the devil I know.

 

[JTQ]

One point is that you real need the van to be as close to level by raising the nose on the jockey wheel to get a safe lift.

Which seems to preclude the caravan being on the tow car's hook, which is IMO itself a massive plus re jacking up a caravan "safely", the more so if only jacking with a direct lift jack.

I am firmly a user of the tow car for this and for using it to haul the stricken wheel up on any suitable blocks, ramp etc to get it as level as possible and sometimes to even place the jack correctly.

 

[Hutch]

You can still raise the nose with the car attached to the van, if the nose of the van is low , you will not get a safe lift using the Alko or Kojack jack points. I fully agree about raising the flat wheel by using ramps.

 

[borderbilly]

Well I've just bought a kojack from the bay of plenty, as I have been flogging a lot of fishing gear on there, my balance was healthy. Regarding change of van, just booked a service for my Lunar at end of march, will wait and see what that throws up. Happy days 😉

 

[Beachball]

Well I've just bought a kojack from the bay of plenty, as I have been flogging a lot of fishing gear on there, my balance was healthy. Regarding change of van, just booked a service for my Lunar at end of march, will wait and see what that throws up. Happy days 😉

Did you get a good price for fishing gear on there ,

 

[borderbilly]

Did you get a good price for fishing gear on there ,

Aye, I got what I wanted. The ass has fell out the 2nd hand salmon fishing gear market due to their rapid decline .

 

[Dustydog]

Here is the Kojack bracket, it is the same as the Alko heavy duty one. One point is that you real need the van to be as close to level by raising the nose on the jockey wheel to get a safe lift.
View attachment 10211

Strangely Hutch my 15 year old Kojack brackets are different, triangular compared to my original Al-ko which as you know failed dangerously. The oems were straight brackets that when under load collapsed and bent through 90degs. At the time Kojack brought out their triangular heavy duty brackets which for me have worked safely with no issues.
The following photos are like mine. I can’t find now the originals of the Al-ko failures.

 

[otherclive]

Strangely Hutch my 15 year old Kojack brackets are different, triangular compared to my original Al-ko which as you know failed dangerously. The oems were straight brackets that when under load collapsed and bent through 90degs. At the time Kojack brought out their triangular heavy duty brackets which for me have worked safely with no issues.
The following photos are like mine. I can’t find now the originals of the Al-ko failures.
View attachment 10213

Weren’t the ones that failed L shaped 1000 kg. These have been replaced by triangular 1000 kg brackets. But the 800 kg ones are still L shaped., although both types share the same fastening holes why buy the L shaped when a triangular 1000 kg is superior.

 

[Dustydog]

Weren’t the ones that failed L shaped 1000 kg. These have been replaced by triangular 1000 kg brackets. But the 800 kg ones are still L shaped., although both types share the same fastening holes why buy the L shaped when a triangular 1000 kg is superior.

View attachment 10214

No . They were dead straight and bent L shaped when they failed. I posted photos years ago but can’t find them today.

 

[otherclive]

No . They were dead straight and bent L shaped when they failed. I posted photos years ago but can’t find them today.

Cannot link to the pictures but found your old posts wrt the failure. The brackets fitted were marginal at 800 kg on your caravans weight.

Al-ko jacking stiffener plates. Catastrophy!!

In the immortal words of Mr Meldrew, I don't believe it. When we arrived I jacked up the Wyoming using a trolley jack to fit the Al-ko wheel locks. Without any warning the stiffener plate failed , literally bending over on itself allowing the Wyoming to crash back to the ground. I'll post some...

forums.practicalcaravan.com

 

[Dustydog]

Cannot link to the pictures but found your old posts wrt the failure. The brackets fitted were marginal at 800 kg on your caravans weight.

Al-ko jacking stiffener plates. Catastrophy!!

In the immortal words of Mr Meldrew, I don't believe it. When we arrived I jacked up the Wyoming using a trolley jack to fit the Al-ko wheel locks. Without any warning the stiffener plate failed , literally bending over on itself allowing the Wyoming to crash back to the ground. I'll post some...

forums.practicalcaravan.com

Well done Clive.
They were supplied and. fitted by our local Bailey dealer CS 😉. I think the original pics are on another computer rather than the cloud.

 

[otherclive]

Well done Clive.
They were supplied and. fitted by our local Bailey dealer CS 😉. I think the original pics are on another computer rather than the cloud.

That thread still contains information that is still relevant to today’s less experienced caravanners.

 

[toad a caravan]

I wouldn't have trusted the early alko brackets to hang my coat on,they must have been designed by someone without any engineering background, to me a pressed steel bracket of such meagre proportion that lacks any form of gusset or additional reinforcement is bound to failure(what was the weight safety factor?)

 

[borderbilly]

Went out to put the brackets on van, what a pig of a job! Managed to get 1 side done as i couldnt feel my finger tips due to that icy cold wind. Used my box spanner from my chainsaw and that helped, just so awkward to manoeuvre around mudflap and with limited space. Round 2 tomorrow!

 

[birdman101]

The picture of the bracket in post#14 was factory fitted on our previous Caravan and the Alko scissor jack located up in the inside of the bracket tube at the bottom where there is a notch out. The angles top just touched the floor. This bracket was not made to use with a bottle jack on the top, that is why they bent if used this way, The use of the jack and instructions were in the Swift manual Wallet.
Picture of Alko jack fitted correctly

 

[otherclive]

The picture of the bracket in post#14 was factory fitted on our previous Caravan and the Alko scissor jack located up in the inside of the bracket tube at the bottom where there is a notch out. The angles top just touched the floor. This bracket was not made to use with a bottle jack on the top, that is why they bent if used this way, The use of the jack and instructions were in the Swift manual Wallet.
Picture of Alko jack fitted correctly

Some have obtained, or made, adaptors that fit on top of a trolley jack or bottle jack to allow location within the bracket. I used a trolley jack under the axle, or the Alko side lift icw the Alko brackets. Oft times at home both might have been used plus leg steadies being repositioned as the van was going up or down.

 

[birdman101]

The Alko jack and brackets factory fitted were with Caravan as a dealer special. Never ever used the jack still in wrapping when sold the Caravan 10 years later. Only time wheels came of was when Dealer serviced, and new tyres were fitted by the tyre depot 200yds from our house.

 

[Dustydog]

My Wyoming came with a Bailey Scissor Jack and pre fitted Al-ko straight brackets. The Jack was impossible to use unless you had Popeye muscles. The trolley Jack was easy but I suspect may have caused the collapse of the bracket. When jacking the caravan moves in an arc. Is that why the bracket bent L shaped?
The bottle Jack and Kojack brackets have now performed safely for 17 years👍

 

[RogerL]

Went out to put the brackets on van, what a pig of a job! Managed to get 1 side done as i couldnt feel my finger tips due to that icy cold wind. Used my box spanner from my chainsaw and that helped, just so awkward to manoeuvre around mudflap and with limited space. Round 2 tomorrow!

I had to remove the mudflaps on my Lunar to fit the Kojack brackets - meant to re-fit them further back but never got round to it.