Yet another jacking question

[Sam Vimes]

The advice I came across when preparing to jack up my caravan was to do it with it coupled up to the car. I'm wondering why this should be.

I can see that potentially the jockey wheel could be lifted off the ground but this seems unlikely to me given that in my case there's a nose weight of 75kg pushing it down and the jacking point is way back at the axle.

The reason this has come to my mind is that I have to take both wheels off to take them to have tyres fitted. I've got the spare on one side but I can't see any reason for not leaving the other side on the jack and the caravan not connected to the car - ensuring the jockey wheel is in contact with the ground. It will still have three points of contact.

 

[Mr Plodd]

If you jack one wheel off the ground, even if the brake is applied there is a real danger of the caravan pivoting around the the opposing wheel. The jockey wheel ISNT braked so can/will rotate AND swivel.
Hence the advice to only jack when hitched to a towing vehicle. Entirely logical if you think about it.

 

[GaryB]

If you jack one wheel off the ground, even if the brake is applied there is a real danger of the caravan pivoting around the the opposing wheel. The jockey wheel ISNT braked so can/will rotate AND swivel.
Hence the advice to only jack when hitched to a towing vehicle. Entirely logical if you think about it.

It's surprising just how easily a single axle caravan can do that, my drive is completely flat but the caravan starts to slew round very easily. I now have a driveway security post which I attach the caravan to before jacking.

 

[otherclive]

If like you I needed to take the two wheels to have tyres fitted I put the caravan nose against a house wall, and being extra cautious I placed a breeze block either side of the jockey wheel. Could have just wound the jockey wheel in to its slot I guess as an alternator option to stop it rotating.

 

[RogerL]

The advice I came across when preparing to jack up my caravan was to do it with it coupled up to the car. I'm wondering why this should be.

I can see that potentially the jockey wheel could be lifted off the ground but this seems unlikely to me given that in my case there's a nose weight of 75kg pushing it down and the jacking point is way back at the axle.

The reason this has come to my mind is that I have to take both wheels off to take them to have tyres fitted. I've got the spare on one side but I can't see any reason for not leaving the other side on the jack and the caravan not connected to the car - ensuring the jockey wheel is in contact with the ground. It will still have three points of contact.

The jockey wheel has no sideways stability - once the jacked wheel is almost clear of the ground, the caravan is free to rotate sideways using the other wheel as a pivot, which may tip the jack over - especially the Alko sidelift jack or a simple bottle jack - got the T-shirt!

It doesn't seem to be a problem with a trolley jack or a heavy-duty air jack as used by many mobile technicians.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Good points, thanks. I do use a trolley jack and planned to wind the jockey wheel right down and put some wood around it but......

Plan B is to try and see if my car space saver wheel will go on the caravan.

Plan C is to take them one at a time.

 

[Mr Plodd]

You will STILL need to jack your caravan up to fit any spacesaver wheel.

 

[Sam Vimes]

You will STILL need to jack your caravan up to fit any spacesaver wheel.

And there's me thinking I could fit it without jacking it up😉

The point of using the space saver is that I can jack the van up with it coupled to the car. Fit the space saver then let the van down and then uncouple it.

Drive carefully to garage avoiding potholes and sheep.

 

[otherclive]

Does Spacesaver have same PCD and fastener diameter holes as caravan?

 

[Sam Vimes]

Not sure... The thought only came to me this morning over my porridge.

 

[RogerL]

If you can find some wooden blocks that would support the caravan axle end plate, you could jack it up attached to the car, remove the wheel, drop the caravan down onto the blocks and then unhitch and take the wheel to the workshop - with the reverse when you need to refit it.

 

[GaryB]

Does Spacesaver have same PCD and fastener diameter holes as caravan?

Unlikely as both the PCD and centre hole will probably be different, plus a space saver isn't designed for the additional load of a caravan. Back in the 90's my uncle had an adaptor for his caravan to allow his car spare wheel to be used, no idea where it came from but it was a commercially available product.

 

[otherclive]

Unlikely as both the PCD and centre hole will probably be different, plus a space saver isn't designed for the additional load of a caravan. Back in the 90's my uncle had an adaptor for his caravan to allow his car spare wheel to be used, no idea where it came from but it was a commercially available product.

My XC70 Space Saver was rated okay for towing with the recommendation that it be fitted to the front of the car. All my other tow cars had full size spares but not necessarily identical wheel diameter or material to the OEM alloys IE Skoda Superb AWD estate.

 

[RogerL]

Unlikely as both the PCD and centre hole will probably be different, plus a space saver isn't designed for the additional load of a caravan. Back in the 90's my uncle had an adaptor for his caravan to allow his car spare wheel to be used, no idea where it came from but it was a commercially available product.

Back in the '90s, some caravans were still light enough to only need car tyre load ratings - and the 13" 4-stud wheels fitted to Alko chassis were the same fitment as Vauxhall 13" wheels, apart from the offset - maybe some brands as well

 

[Sam Vimes]

If you can find some wooden blocks that would support the caravan axle end plate, you could jack it up attached to the car, remove the wheel, drop the caravan down onto the blocks and then unhitch and take the wheel to the workshop - with the reverse when you need to refit it.

This could be Plan D

I did find my old axle stands at the beginning of the week but they were so rusty I wouldn't trust them, so took them to the tip.

 

[GaryB]

My XC70 Space Saver was rated okay for towing with the recommendation that it be fitted to the front of the car. All my other tow cars had full size spares but not necessarily identical wheel diameter or material to the OEM alloys IE Skoda Superb AWD estate.

Mine's the same but I got the impression Sam was talking about using the space saver on his caravan?

 

[GUMPY]

When I did mine:
I jacked it up swopped one wheel to to the spare.
Took wheel to be sorted
Jacked it up and replaced the other wheel with the one that had been done.
Took that to be sorted
Jacked it up and replaced the spare.
Yes it's a faff coupling and uncoupling the car but at least it won't rotate.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Why bother?
For the sake of a few quid extra you can have a mobile fitter come to you and do it all on site.
At least it saves all the angst of getting them off, transporting them to wherever you get your new tyres then taking them back and refitting them.

 

[RogerL]

Why bother?
For the sake of a few quid extra you can have a mobile fitter come to you and do it all on site.
At least it saves all the angst of getting them off, transporting them to wherever you get your new tyres then taking them back and refitting them.

Sam's location may preclude mobile fitters.

 

[otherclive]

Mine's the same but I got the impression Sam was talking about using the space saver on his caravan?

He was but I thought your post intimated that a space saver couldn’t be used on a tow car whilst towing. But that’s not necessarily the case. The space saver should be rated for the cars GVW and max axle weight so load wise it’s okay. Some car makers don’t recommmend using one for towing. But certainly Volvo didn’t recommend against it. GM also didn’t advise against it for an Antara. But my XC70 space saver was not only skinny it was 2 inch less OD than the main tyres. 🙈

PS looking at my posts going back to 2011 Volvo in fact recommended fittting it to the rear axle if towing as the Haldex could cope with the diameter mismatch over what would be a relatively short distance in the cars overall usage. I did put it on the front once when not towing and posted a picture of the cars odd stance in the Volvo Owners Club site.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Sam's location may preclude mobile fitters.

It precludes a lot of things 🙄

 

[Hutch]

When I changed both tyres at the same time, I jacked the van on one side with the van attached to the car, replaced the wheel with the spare.

Removed the car from the van, raised the jockey wheel so the van was fairly level, and loosened "just" the wheel nuts on the other wheel, lowered the stays to just touching the ground and lifted the van on the Alko points, ensuring the stays were always close to the ground .

Wheel off and trolly jack and axle stands under the axle , stays all down nice and safe. Tyres replaced, repeat the action but in reverse.

 

[Jcloughie]

A couple of time I have located a tyre depot with a lot of room. I tow there and leave the car hitched to the van. It is then a straightforward job for them to jack the van up using their industrial trolly jacks. But you need to warn them to put the jack under the axel plate. Otherwise they will jack under the chassis.

John