Jack for trailer
 

Looking for a jack for the boat trailer. Mainly for servicing wheel bearings, brakes, etc. Needs to handle abt 5000 lbs, be portable enough to throw in the back of the truck and be stable enough to change a tire on the side of the road.. I have a 2.5 ton high lift service jack but it struggles lifting one side of the trailer and would be very difficult to load in the truck. What do you guys use?

I have changed a tire on the side of the road with nothing more than a block of wood and a shovel. Simply park on the grass or dirt, then put the block of wood under the axle so it can't drop any further and dig a small trough for the good tire to clear the ground and away you go.

I carry couple 4by4s and 2by6 board for a ramp. Nothing wrong with a jack, I always have the blocks/boards in the back of my truck with a 4way that way I never forget it. The time I get a flat is the time I forgot to load the jack. I have been looking at adding a tool box to the tongue on the trailer to store a care package for the trailer.

What kind of trailer axles do you have?

I carry a small 5-ton bottle jack, as well as a stack of 2x6s in various lengths. I've never had an issue getting a wheel/tire off with those in hand.

Your best bet is likely trying to get just just the bad axle off the ground, not the entire side of the trailer.

It might be a little over kill but I have a 25 ton bottle jack that I got from Harbor Freight, got it real cheap

Bottle jack and some 2x6s work great

Got a 3 ton alum racing floor jack from Harbor Freight recently, and wish I'd done that years ago. Light enough to pick up with one hand, strong enough to pick up the side of the trailer, but it's better to just pick up the bad axle if you can.

Used to carry a steel floor jack, but the weight was going to hurt my back some day. This jack is sweet. Low enough to get under an axle with a flat tire, tall enough to lift the trailer frame if needed, and light enough my wife can get it in/out of the truck by herself.

Such would work with LEAF SPRING axles, but not necessarily with Torsion Axles.

I have found that Torsion Axle ends that spring/hang down can be lifted lifted with a bottle jack by catching the bottom of the spindle housing with the bottle jack and lifting straight up.
(Often, aluminum I-beam trailers have Torsion Axles that hang down.)

Torsion Axles that are bolted to the trailer and spring UPWARDS are virtually impossible to lift off the ground with a jack, sans lifting the whole side of the trailer. (Often, welded aluminum C-channel trailers have Torsion Axles that spring upwards.)
However, this type of axle configuration are usually able to lift a single axle off the ground by creating a ramp with horizontally placed 2x6s.

Here's the thing: People around you are generally helpful if you can get to a joint that has tools. In recent years, I've had two issues on where I was able to limp a very short distance into 1) and RV sales & service shop and 2) a Wal*Mart Auto Center. At the RV shop, two guys came out with floor jacks before I even came to a stop as they could see the flat tire. At Wal*Mart, 2 smiles, and 2 handshakes later, I had 2 floor jacks that I used for an hour to R&R a bad brake line. Pull into a truckstop, fire station, dealership, etc. etc, IF you can, and you will be amazed at the help you receive; especially when you roll in with one of the setups we all have.

I bring my german girlfriend,,OLGA..when i get a flat tire i loosen all the lugnuts and say OLGA yougo lift the corner of the boat so i can change tire!! DONE...

And I'm sure you have Consuela to clean you interior too

I have a alum I-beam Myco trailer with the torsional axles. Basically, I have to completely unload the suspension to get the tire off the ground. Don't think a bottle jack would have enough range to do the job unless I can get under the spindle like you were saying, and it would be VERY close to the tire.

Anyone ever use airbags to lift their trailer? Where are they be purchased?

Thing about torsion axles is they tend to hold the flat tire up, unlike spring axles. So, you can easily build a series of wooded blocks/ramps to pull your trailer up on, and move them around as needed to NOT support the flat tire. Then you can change that tire without using a jack.

Don't have any experience with air bags, but they would require compressed air to work. If you want to do the jacks, a couple of heavy jacks on one side of the trailer, pumped at the same time, would work. but not as safely as the wooden block approach.

Double ram bottle jack has almost 12" of lift. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...3v_xoCMGzw_wcB

The wood blocks would work under the right circumstances. If the surface was slick or had loose pebbles, it might be a pain. I have a couple of 2X12's nailed together with an offset so the tire only climbs one 2x12 at a time. Used them to raise the front wheels high enough so I could get my vette up on car ramps. Basically, they are car ramps to get on my car ramps. When I tried to use them on a concrete driveway, they just skidded. Wound up having to
place them against the small step-up where the driveway enters the garage.

I store and work on the boat in my shop that has a slick epoxy coated floor. I KNOW boards would slid around in there.

Found some air bags online. They have a 2500 lb capacity and only need 7 psi and raise from ~3 inches up to 22 inches.. One on each axle would do the trick for my rig..If connected together, they would raise at the same rate. I would probably need a 2x12 or something spanning across the axles so the bags would have a large/flat/smooth surface to press against. A big plus would be they work on just abt any surface; mud, soft soil, uneven surfaces, whatever. Another plus is I could use them in the shop where I have an air compressor.
A portable air tank (like an old bar-b-que propane tank or similar) pressurized to 120 psi would probably hold enough air to raise the trailer a couple of times. Humm, I think I just talked myself into trying them.

http://www.savatech.com/Towing/VLB.htm

BTW, I have no affiliation with any air bag manufacture.

Please report back after testing them. It's interesting.

I am in the same situation. What kind of jack to buy to change a flat on the side of the road? My boat on the trailer is 14000 lbs. I have a triple leaf spring Eagle trailer. The distance under the axle is 8" and under the frame is 20". I'm looking for something that I could possible keep in a storage box on the trailer, like a bottle jack. A floor jack is not out of the question, but a 3 ton steel floor jack is 70 lbs for $130 from Harbor Freight and their 3 ton aluminum floor jack is 51 lbs for $200. Any suggestions?

Wood platform works wonders. Loosen lug nuts before driving up platform though. Welcome mat to sit on while changing. Changed the flat (had two, same day) in 15 minutes. ( Carry two spares) I also have a bottle jack to put on the wood platform if necessary. Tried a floor jack once that I have for the truck, just no room to move handle up and down under the trailer.

I have 1 spare. Would like to get another cheap steel wheel or cheap aluminum wheel. The wheels I have now are 16.5" rims.

I have lifted the trailer from the frame, by building the wooden platform to set the bottle jack on, with a 6 ton bottle jack.

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Yes, wait for a sale at HF, and get the aluminum floor jack, with the lowest low you can. The 8" under the axle goes away when the tire is flat, and you need a low profile jack to fit under it. Ideally, you only jack up the axle on the side needing changing, and not the whole trailer, but if it's the middle tire, good luck.

I bought the alum HF floor jack, because the steel one weighs enough that eventually I'd hurt my back picking it up and loading / unloading it from the truck. First time it was used was by my wife on a girl's trip, and she could. It weighs so little I can carry it in one hand by the handle, and it seems to be a quality tool.

I have a Harbor Freight aluminum floor jack and it is nice but does not have the power to lift my trailer or my F250. Their small bottle jacks that are low profile have a lot of power and do not take up much space but I have to keep a piece of metal to keep the small diameter ram pad from denting the tube steel on the frame or axles. I would prefer to use the boards to drive on, but as overkill I have an air bag, bottle jack, and custom cut timbers.

When I blew a tire coming back from LOTO last month, I just backed the trailer onto a curb on the good tire and changed the blown tire....no jack, no 2x6s, just a curb......and I didn't have to take the curb with me and take up space when I was done, lol

Good idea. I had a flat, changed it, 10 miles later had another. So I had to drop the trailer and drive 30 miles to Walmart(on a Sunday) for an overpriced tire.

I have had one of these for about 8 years, it works great on a tandem axle trailer. The way its shaped it feels a little safer than stacking wood blocks, + its light and easy to use

http://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Aid-Ta...N%3DB000I4JPZE

Sorry that you got a bad one. If it can't lift the weight it's rated to lift, take it back for another one. I've had good results with mine lifting my PSD, and trailer axles, but can't tell you right now how many lbs it's rated for, as I've loaned it to my BIL to help service his grain truck prior to harvest.

None the less, having multiple jacking options like you've got is a smart thing.