If it was mine i would leave the wheels on , then jack it up a little and put jack stands under each corner.
that way the wheels are where they supposed to be not in the way somewhere , and you can turn them to check them out !!
Pomme.
With my sort of suspension (load sharing beam axles on leaf springs) its easy to lift the van up with my 4WD bottle jack & place axle stands under the center point of the suspension. I sometimes put the corner steadies down & have often considered but never used additional axle stands at each of the corners.
Been doing this between trips for >10 years. Makes it easy to check suspension & service breaks & wheel bearings.
Some say that it good to take the weight off the wheel bearings & stops flat spots forming on the tyres.
Cupie wrote:Some say that it good to take the weight off the wheel bearings & stops flat spots forming on the tyres.
That's the technique for cross ply tyres. Have you still got them on your van? They were prone to troubles with flat spots after standing too long. Radial tyres are different. They do flat spot a little but they don't take much running (100s of metres rather than kilometres like cross plies) to come good. These days it's not worth the effort, do you do the same thing for your tug when you leave it for a while?
The other thing is do not support your van by the ends. Van chassis flex a bit and consequently so does the body. If you leave the van body flexed the wrong way for too long you are going to have more problems with the body than you would have had with the tyres with the weight on them. They are not rigid structures. If you are going to take the weight off your tyres then jack the axles up not the ends. The springs are manufactured to take constant loads, they would be under constant load if you lived in your van.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Cupie wrote:Some say that it good to take the weight off the wheel bearings & stops flat spots forming on the tyres.
That's the technique for cross ply tyres. Have you still got them on your van? They were prone to troubles with flat spots after standing too long. Radial tyres are different. They do flat spot a little but they don't take much running (100s of metres rather than kilometres like cross plies) to come good. These days it's not worth the effort, do you do the same thing for your tug when you leave it for a while?
The other thing is do not support your van by the ends. Van chassis flex a bit and consequently so does the body. If you leave the van body flexed the wrong way for too long you are going to have more problems with the body than you would have had with the tyres with the weight on them. They are not rigid structures. If you are going to take the weight off your tyres then jack the axles up not the ends. The springs are manufactured to take constant loads, they would be under constant load if you lived in your van.
You may well be right ....
My Patrol's Radial ply Bridgestone AT tyres developed flat spots after about 65,000KM. Or it might have just been tread lifting off. I noticed it when driving slowly thru a new estate stickybeaking. Thump Thump they went. On close inspection of the tread there seemed to be a series of flat spots. But that was 2 sets of Coopers ago which never showed similar wear in over >80,000 km each set. Probably not related to standing still for long periods.
My main reason for lifting up the van (by the center spring housings) is to make it easier to do maintenance.
My tug goes for a spin every week or so so it's not the same as sitting in the one spot for months on end. But if I were to leave it stationary for several months I would probably put it on stands too.
The only reason that I consider putting down the corner steadies is to provide a bit of stability as I walk about in the van. They would not hold the weight of the van in any case.
As with most things there are lots of contra views from users, experts and the other lot. Which is why I prefixed my comments with 'some say'.
(then of course 'some say' that it is better for the wheel bearings too... but I'm sure that there will be contradictory views on that too)
We're waiting to upgrade our car so can't tow the van yet. Hubby wants to chock up the van, take all the tyres off, replace them and put them back on. Sounds simple but I'm a bit worried about the van being on chocks.
I have seen tyre companies come to local houses in Brisbane and fit new tyres on site .Sound much easier to me Your profile says you are in Sydney so sure this could be done.Yes it may cost something but consider all the trouble the alternative is.
In reply to the first question, it's OK to jack up the van, place blocks or axle stands under the axles, and remove the wheels for maintenance. No problems at all. The van will behave just as if it were standing on its wheels. Your maintenance doesn't have to be fast either. A few months, or when your new vehicle is ready, will be fine. All the best with your new rig.
p.s. Don't use concrete blocks or bricks. Many do and get away with it. Some come to grief. Don't be one of those!
-- Edited by KevinC on Monday 6th of April 2015 04:49:29 PM
