ATM my newish caravan is in the drive being prepped ffor a few trips but down the road I am obviously going to have to park it for extended periods of time. I'll need to take the weight then off the tyres. (As an extra benefit I figure that it will be less attractive to anyone wanting to drive away with it.)
I am expecting to
screw the jockey wheel down fully
Jack up one axle at one wheel and then place a support under that end of the axle
Repeat for the other three wheels
Screw the four corner stabilizers down
Obviously I'd need to buy four car stands for a start.
Any advice anyone? Faults with my process? On any alternative ideas?
Opinions on what interval of parking is it worth going through the drama would also be appreciated.
-- Edited by colinoldncranky on Wednesday 10th of February 2016 10:01:30 PM
Colin - I really do not think it gives any advantage - modern tyres do not "flatspot" like nylon corded tyres back in the 70's and you will be spending money on stands plus have the trouble of mounting the van on the stands and then dismounting. I'd just park it, put a chock on the wheels, handbrake off and then put the stands down so they are just contacting the ground and not raising the van.
If someone wants to steal it they will and being on stands is no barrier. Life was mean't to be simple so why complicate it?
Chock the wheels, then wind down the jockey wheel, put bricks under the tow hitch ball receiver to level the van. I then remove the jockey wheel and lock that in the garage. Last put the 4 stabilisers down, gently - only supporting, not trying to lift.
When our van is home undercover, I set it up level then position jack stands with a wind ups purchased from a caravan parts store at each chassis corner, wind up until the stands are taking some load and leave until next trip.
Have a block of wood under each stand, once I did not, one stand got wet and the AL started to corrode.
Since the van is level, test out the 3 way frig for operation a couple of days prior to the next trip.
When our van is home undercover, I set it up level then position jack stands with a wind ups purchased from a caravan parts store at each chassis corner, wind up until the stands are taking some load and leave until next trip.
Have a block of wood under each stand, once I did not, one stand got wet and the AL started to corrode.
Since the van is level, test out the 3 way frig for operation a couple of days prior to the next trip.
Peter
I was told to run the fridge at least every couple of months - but then again it depends on how ofter you go on your trips :)
Hi Colin
My caravan is parked on the front lawn when not in use, I remove all wheels, for security reasons & the van sits on 6 jack stands.
2 large jack stands go under center pivot assembly that holds the 2 springs. These jack stands are the 2 tonne rated ones from repco
4 smaller jack stands go under axles near brake drums. Caravan is then leveled & then corner stabilizers are lowered.
I have had a 15 amp electric plug wired into the fuse box on front of house so the fridge can be kept running & batteries charged in the van. We use caravan fridge as 2nd option ( drink fridge ).
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The wish bone will never replace the back bone.....
Air Command (the Aussie makers of the Ibis range of air cons) told me recently to run your air con every month for a few hours or you will have problems with it (this is after we didn't use last winter and we had problems with it - fortunately under warranty). I presume this also applies to our house air con.
As far as winding down the corner stabilizer legs, when I had my van into its maker (Supreme), they said never wind the legs down too hard. You should be able to slip a piece of tissue paper between it and a hard surface. If you crank up the frame, you will also twist, stress and damage it
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
If you leave the van with weight on the wheels, the wheel bearing races can get dented where they sit, depending on how heavily loaded they are. I don't jack my van when I park it (I probably should) but when I start off on a new trip, I drive quietly for the first 20 km or so and then stop to check the tyres and bearings to see if they are heating unduly. Until now, everything has been OK.
The short answer is that this was advantageous to do back in the cross ply tyre days. There is no longer any need to do this with radial tyres. in a word WOFTAM
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
I always prop up the A frame with a chassis stand at home so the jockey wheel is not under constant load, it only has weak little bearings, and the tyre splits, but like any vehicle, the wheels and axles are built to take load and bounce around, modern tyres are made to take it, I only ever prop up the axle when the call out mechanic comes to do the brakes and wheel bearings (once a year) to make it easy for him, (and lessen the labour time on the job) why put down the corner stabilisers unless you are living in the van? They are not meant to take any weight.
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Bevan
Friendship is not a relationship with someone whom you've known for a long time, but with someone you trust, under any circumstances.
Hi Bevan,
My thoughts about corner stabilizers are, they are meant to stop any movement of the van on the springs ( when walking around inside van, also wind gusts ) I wind stabilizers down till they touch ground, then one turn of handle to load .
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The wish bone will never replace the back bone.....
