Just purchased a coachman 460 VIP 2016 I am unable to find the wheel jack looked in all the obvious places, is there a hiding place for it?
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Missing wheel jack
- Thread starter Landcruiser
- Start date
My caravans with spare wheel never came with a jack, or wrench Bizarre I know but expect no less from the caravan industry.
I bought my Coachman VIP 575/4 new in 2016 and it came with everything, except for a jack, jacking points or any other means of changing a wheel on the caravan. Unfortunately, you will have to buy a jack and if you go the Al-Ko side jack route you will have to buy the jacking point brackets too. Fortunately your caravan's chassis will have the holes present to mount the said brackets.
The Al-Ko side jack is very similar to the jack many cars have. I only ever used it to get the Al-Ko wheel lock fitted or to get a Lock "N" Level under the wheel, when I was experimenting with faster way of achieving either task. All it really proved was that the jack never inspired me with confidence, it needed quite a bit of effort to jack the caravan up and always seemed a little bit wobbly. If I needed a jack in future I would look at the "KOJACK" from Purpleline.
Moving on, if you have only just bought your caravan I strongly recommend you remove the spare wheel from the Al-Ko underslung carrier, if that's where your spare is located. If it hasn't received regular attention I can guarantee you will struggle with the carrier itself, the spare wheel retaining nuts will be rusted solid, the steel spare wheel will also be going rusty and the tyre will have sidewall damage from the tubes of the carrier. You don't want to find any of this out in an emergency. I've removed the carrier completely, given the spare wheel some TLC and it now lives in a bag under the bed.
Finally, check the date of manufacture on your tyres, they could be potentially over seven years old if they haven't been changed. The general recommendation is that they are changed at five years. Although it's not law, some insurance companies insist on this.
Sorry to be the bearer of less than good news but, I honestly believe that after 2016-17 the quality of caravan construction including Coachman has declined due to the massive increase in demand. For that reason I wouldn't swap my Coachman for another or for any other make at the moment.
Enjoy your new caravan, you have made an excellent choice.
The Al-Ko side jack is very similar to the jack many cars have. I only ever used it to get the Al-Ko wheel lock fitted or to get a Lock "N" Level under the wheel, when I was experimenting with faster way of achieving either task. All it really proved was that the jack never inspired me with confidence, it needed quite a bit of effort to jack the caravan up and always seemed a little bit wobbly. If I needed a jack in future I would look at the "KOJACK" from Purpleline.
Moving on, if you have only just bought your caravan I strongly recommend you remove the spare wheel from the Al-Ko underslung carrier, if that's where your spare is located. If it hasn't received regular attention I can guarantee you will struggle with the carrier itself, the spare wheel retaining nuts will be rusted solid, the steel spare wheel will also be going rusty and the tyre will have sidewall damage from the tubes of the carrier. You don't want to find any of this out in an emergency. I've removed the carrier completely, given the spare wheel some TLC and it now lives in a bag under the bed.
Finally, check the date of manufacture on your tyres, they could be potentially over seven years old if they haven't been changed. The general recommendation is that they are changed at five years. Although it's not law, some insurance companies insist on this.
Sorry to be the bearer of less than good news but, I honestly believe that after 2016-17 the quality of caravan construction including Coachman has declined due to the massive increase in demand. For that reason I wouldn't swap my Coachman for another or for any other make at the moment.
Enjoy your new caravan, you have made an excellent choice.
Many Many Thanks for taking the time to explain this was very helpful.👍
I have just bought a 2013 Caravan , and I decided to check the tyre pressures.
It was evident that the service that the dealer was supposed to do did not include checking the Tyre Pressures as the Metal Valve Cap had fused itself to the tyre valve and could not be undone, even using grips on the tyre valve and on the valve cap.
So I decided to remove the tyres and take them to a tyre depot.
I had read that a small trolly jack is better for using on caravans the one I had being a 2 ton one was a waste of time as to go under the axle it has to be under the chassis and I was not strong enough when lying on the ground at the side of the caravan with one hand to push the lever down.
Fortunately I also took a 7 tonn Bottle Jack (£15 on eBay) which is ideal and lifted the caravan easily.
So I would advise anyone with a Caravan, get a decent Bottle Jack just in case you are the one who has to jack your caravan up.
It was evident that the service that the dealer was supposed to do did not include checking the Tyre Pressures as the Metal Valve Cap had fused itself to the tyre valve and could not be undone, even using grips on the tyre valve and on the valve cap.
So I decided to remove the tyres and take them to a tyre depot.
I had read that a small trolly jack is better for using on caravans the one I had being a 2 ton one was a waste of time as to go under the axle it has to be under the chassis and I was not strong enough when lying on the ground at the side of the caravan with one hand to push the lever down.
Fortunately I also took a 7 tonn Bottle Jack (£15 on eBay) which is ideal and lifted the caravan easily.
So I would advise anyone with a Caravan, get a decent Bottle Jack just in case you are the one who has to jack your caravan up.
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