Jacking Trailer

[Timothyk86g]

Hi All,

I have a 1996 Four Winns 200 horizon on the original Four Winns boat trailer. Boat is about 3700lb with motor. It's a tandem axle trailer. I need to jack the trailer (with boat on it) to take all 4 wheels to the shop for new tires.

I'm wondering, are there any points on the trailer that I should avoid putting a jack under? Any points that might twist and bend or is any spot within a few feet of the axles fair game?

Thanks a lot. As with many other things, I can think of a few ways to do it (floor jack, tonuge jack trick...), but not sure if i'm missing something that I should be considering.

Thank you!

 

[JASinIL2006]

I jack mine by raising the trailer tongue jack as high as it will go, then putting a jack stand under the coupler and lowering the tongue onto the jackstand.

Then I jack up the frame at the rear (I have two jacks) until the tires are well off the ground, then I put jackstands under the frame at the rear, and lower the frame onto the jackstands. Pretty simple and straightfoward.

Just be sure to use a jackstand at the tongue. You don't want to use the trailer jack and have the whole thing roll forward and off the jackstands in the rear.

 

[dingbat]

Wouldn’t be easier to just take the trailer to the shop to have the tires changed?

 

[Starcraft5834]

I'd jack it off ground and put cinder blocks under frame and fill odd space with 2x6's or something.... jack stands are great until they slip.. i changed out axle once and used blocks/wood and jack stands.. felt safe under it, jack stands alone? no way!

 

[JASinIL2006]

My jack stands will not slip... they have a pin that runs through them (see below).

I'd far sooner trust my neck under something heavy to a jack stand than cinder blocks. Cinder blocks can shatter under a concentrated load. They're fine for walls, but for supporting a load focused in a small area. Very dangerous.

 

[matt167]

At work, we jack between the wheels, on the leaf spring pivot on a tandem. You can put jack stands on the frame for an extended period of time

 

[Stinnett21]

I jack the axles. I put the bottle jack just far enough from the wheel to get the jack stand in between. Drop it onto jack stands as close to the tire as I can and still be able to spin the tire. This is the way it has sat for 18 winters.

 

[Timothyk86g]

interesting! I’ve read to never Jack the axle because it can bend the axle and stress the leaf springs. Is any of that true? Because that’s how I’ve always jacked my cars and I’d prefer doing it that way.

Quick question on the frame jacking - can I Jack from the rear horizontal frame piece? Essentially in the center of the frame and jacking both sides at once? Or should I Jack one side at a time?

 

[Timothyk86g]

Wouldn’t be easier to just take the trailer to the shop to have the tires changed?

Great question. I live in southeast PA where marine mechanics are booked 4-5 weeks out and automotive mechanics won’t touch anything boat or trailer related. Sucks

 

[JASinIL2006]

I don't find jacking up the trailer to be a particularly difficult task. I do it every winter so the boat and trailer aren't sitting on the tires. Takes about 5 minutes.

 

[Timothyk86g]

I don't find jacking up the trailer to be a particularly difficult task. I do it every winter so the boat and trailer aren't sitting on the tires. Takes about 5 minutes.

I tried jacking just one side today and the entire trailer started going up. The tongue was in the air and the other side was going up. What was I doing wrong?

 

[Stinnett21]

interesting! I’ve read to never Jack the axle because it can bend the axle and stress the leaf springs. Is any of that true? Because that’s how I’ve always jacked my cars and I’d prefer doing it that way.

Quick question on the frame jacking - can I Jack from the rear horizontal frame piece? Essentially in the center of the frame and jacking both sides at once? Or should I Jack one side at a time?

Mine are torsion axles but I used to have leaf springs and did it the same way for years with no ill effects.

 

[Stinnett21]

I tried jacking just one side today and the entire trailer started going up. The tongue was in the air and the other side was going up. What was I doing wrong?

Is this a tubular steel trailer, c-channel? What do you have? If you truly jacked just one side I do not see how its physically possible the other side came up with it.

 

[Timothyk86g]

This is how the trailer is currently sitting. one wheel off with a Jack stand under the axle and I jacked the trailer from the connecting joint where the leaf springs connect. is this ok?

 

[Timothyk86g]

Is this a tubular steel trailer, c-channel? What do you have? If you truly jacked just one side I do not see how its physically possible the other side came up with it.

 

[H20Rat]

I'd jack it off ground and put cinder blocks under frame and fill odd space with 2x6's or something.... jack stands are great until they slip.. i changed out axle once and used blocks/wood and jack stands.. felt safe under it, jack stands alone? no way!

Brave man trusting cinder blocks! I've seen them break with no warning. They aren't meant to be used for holding weight.

In any case, never get under anything that is supported by a single point of failure. I almost always utilize multiple redundant stands &/or keep the jack in place with some tension + stands.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Brave man trusting cinder blocks! I've seen them break with no warning. They aren't meant to be used for holding weight.

In any case, never get under anything that is supported by a single point of failure. I almost always utilize multiple redundant stands &/or keep the jack in place with some tension + stands.

they are used to hold houses up too... you know.. foundations... they will hold a boat too

 

[Starcraft5834]

My jack stands will not slip... they have a pin that runs through them (see below).

I'd far sooner trust my neck under something heavy to a jack stand than cinder blocks. Cinder blocks can shatter under a concentrated load. They're fine for walls, but for supporting a load focused in a small area. Very dangerous.



View attachment 343765

they hold houses up all the time..........

 

[JASinIL2006]

Correct, but the load is distribute evenly across all the surfaces, not concentrated in one spot. It's not a safe way to support a jacked up vehicle, especially if a person will be underneath it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Where is the popcorn emoji when you need it

Jack stands and jacks, never a cinder/concrete block