scissor jack install

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: brians69d24  (Original Message)
Sent: 8/12/2007 7:31 PM

I am about to install a couple of the scissor type leveling jacks. I am starting with the front. Is there any reason why I shouldn't install them on the frame just behind the front bumper....like they do on the class c's? My only concern is that I've never recall seeing any class a's with the leveling jacks in this location....
thanks
brian



From: bluebird5750
Sent: 8/12/2007 7:40 PM

If you haven't already bought them, they don't work too well. The Damon I just bought has them installed on front and rear. I believe they are for stableizing the rig only, after you have it leveled. You would have to have some other means to level the coach besides those. I sure can't raise my coach with them, maybe an inch or, but thats it.
 
Chuck



From: brians69d24
Sent: 8/12/2007 8:14 PM

I salvaged them off a rig that was being scrapped. BAL refers to them in the catalogs as "leveling jacks" and rate them in several thousand pounds capacity. Do you still have to put planks under the wheels?
brian



From: firebug9-1-1
Sent: 8/12/2007 9:01 PM

I have them installed on my coach... see my pics... They work very well, I can raise the front wheels completely off of the ground and clear the ground by about 4-5 inches... But you have to have some strength to do it. I put a socket on an extention and use my 18 volt ryobi impact/drill to raise it.  I have never needed to raise the back of the coach up that high, But I will try it and report back. The ones I installed were the heavier duty ones.



From: firehart2
Sent: 8/12/2007 9:35 PM

How do you attach them to the frame?



From: Slantsixness
Sent: 8/13/2007 5:00 AM

I have 4 BAL Jacks (the big ones, the small ones won't lift the rig). They attach either with sheet metal screws or can be fully welded or tack welded too.

If you dont weld them on, be sure to use lock washers and or loctite with the mounting screws. they will have a tendency to come loose, even with the sheet metal screws.... and of course you don't want to lose them on the road!!

I can lift my rig (D20) off the ground with them, but not completely (all four wheels off the ground). They are not rated high enough and are unstable from 3/4 extension to full, but they sure make it a breeze to change a tire! (and you still have to use a bottle jack on the frame to change a tire... it just makes it easier to get the tire out.

Another benefit....  when you jack up the front, you take the load off the front springs, and its actually easier to get to the master cylinder (if you didn't cut a hole in the floor, which I haven't).

DO NOT USE THE REAR BUMPER AS A JACKING POINT. It will simply bend and deform. it is not a structural point; it's just a sheet metal square tube in most cases. (yeah: I know some Indians, Customs and Chieftans have those decorative bumpers, and they're not structural, either.... use the frame behind the bumper mount.)

Mine are NOT mounted to the Winnie. I simply drag them out of the box and put them up on the frame, always with a piece of wood on the ground to prevent them from sinking into the ground and defeating their purpose. Whne I finally install them, I'll be securing them on  pieces of angle steel welded to the frame, so I can get them out closer to the rig corners, instead of just the frame (mechanical advantage is a good thing here... At that point, I will still put down wood on the ground to avoid slipping/ bending/ binding of the jacks.

With the jacks (and the speed handles they came with) I can level the rig in less than 15 minutes from taking them out of the box, to having the rig as good as it gets. I don't use an electric drill either, all by hand cranking them. I think 15 minutes isn't too bad, considering the benefits are that the rig sits like a rock and doesn't wiggle at all with my family and my fat butt clomping around in it...
 
There used to be two different sets: a lightweight pair and a heavyweight pair..... all I see is the little ones anymore. They look like the ones I have, but smaller? They're rated at 5000 Lbs.... Mine are rated at 7500 Lbs.... model 24002D with the swivel handles. 2 per boxed set.

oh yeah... they have motors that bolt on to the jacks now, if you want to get fancy....

BAL:
http://www.norcoind.com/bal/products/consumer/leveling_products/levelingscissorsjack.htm

Tom



From: Member_Administrator
Sent: 8/13/2007 7:24 AM

I found that mine can be mounted with U bolts.  This is the easiest way I've seen so far.  Just need to be sure to use lock washers and thread lock to be sure the nuts don't back off while driving.  Wouldn't want one of those babies coming un-glued while going down the road!

- Sob



From: tiinytina
Sent: 8/13/2007 5:27 PM

We bought a set of 4 and Sands RV last year. Ours are semi-frame mounted in front of the front tires and in back of the rears there were some welded on C-channels under there. We power ours up and down with a cordless 18V drill and set them on 4 pieces of 2x10 pressure treated squares we keep in the basement. We can raise the front end off the ground with them.

Pat used the existing bolt holes in the jack bases with 3/8" stainless steel bolts with lock washers and lock nuts.  He drilled holes into the C-channel and frame where we put them. We check them each up and down and grease the screws with lithium grease.

tina



From: firebug9-1-1
Sent: 8/13/2007 9:40 PM

I welded mine to the frame plate I made just for them...just behind the front bumper, and also just in front of the rear bumper... but the rear of mine has been modified for storage. When they are in the up position you cant really see them unless you are looking for them