phillyg
Front Royal, VA
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ExRocketScientist wrote:...... I will tell you that if you have a leaf spring suspension, you have at least two to three inches of suspension travel when jacking one wheel up before the weight on the adjacent tire starts increasing significantly. This is due to a triangular looking part that is attached to the center spring hanger that the ends of each spring attaches to with some metal plates called shackles. That triangular piece is called the "equalizer". It is an appropriate name for it. So if you follow the suggestion from a number of posters here to just jack up one wheel at a time so that it is just barely off the ground enough to turn easily, you will get the job done without damaging anything. It also won't take you a bit longer than your original plan (actually less since your original plan would not have worked due to the suspension travel and equalizers)....
What he said, and hook up your tow vehicle and raise your jacks and use wheel chocks on the opposite side. Also, place your jack as far as you can to the outer end of the axle at or near the spring attachment point. I have heard (hearsay) that you can damage the axle if your jack is closer to the centerline.
2002 Keystone Cougar 286, 8,400lbs loaded, pulled with a 2004 F150 Supercrew, 5.4, 3.73 gears. Retired and enjoying life
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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Well, it's a big debate, and it will go on and on and on...
All I can tell you is what I would do. Jack both axles up using the spring perches on one trailer side. Use jack stands under each axle. It is a big time saver to work on both brake assemblies on one side at the same time.
Don't hitch up to your truck. What are you going to do if you need a part or a tool to finish the job, and your truck is locked under the trailer?
If you lift by the axles, and not the frame, you will transfer only a minimal amount of weight from one landing gear leg to the other.
Too many people here who don't know one end of a wrench from the other giving "owners manual" advice.
If you doubt me, watch your dealer service department do this job. Be sure to let us know what you saw.
Bill and Carol
2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver
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texas_train
Central Arkansas
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timlsalem wrote:I want to do a brake job on my 5th wheel. It is setup in an RV park and has two axles. I plan to jack one side up and put 2x4 under one wheel and do the same to the other side which will leave one wheel on each side off the ground. Just wondering if I should hook up to tow vehicle before jacking it up or can I just raise the stabilizer jacks on the back. Any advice or your thoughts would be welcome. Tim L.
???? just have the level up system installed!!! then you would never again have to worry about this conundrum. Simply go to side you won't be working on and tighten the X chalk, then to the level up control box to manual, then slightly raise the side you want to work on?!?!
(Ok if you don't have an air or elect impact wrench you must first loosen the lugs before raising)
Absolute garenteed "NO stress or twisting of frame" totally stabil and safe and truck free in case you need to fetch parts 
Edited for final comment: I found this out the first day I had ours home, .. Our driveway/parking area is sloped slightly and after pushing the auto button and about 35 seconds later when level, it sits with door side tires slightly off cement! Just high enough to freely spin tires. Spoke with everyone from Lippert to Cedar Creek to our dealer and they said NO Problem!! I DO put 6x6 x12 pressure treated blocks under each of the 6 stands just to have less extension more solid.
* This post was
edited 02/02/12 10:44am by texas_train *
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Kennedycamper
Algoa, Texas
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Let me know if you find anyone willing to pay for anything that breaks when you are working on your own trailer. Lifting by the spring perch can be OK, and so can a Trailer-Aid; however, Contact your trailer's manufacturer before doing either.
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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I'm thinking, if you have to call your trailer manufacturer to ask how to jack up your trailer, or ask on an RV forum, you maybe should leave a brake job to the experts. Just sayin, a man has to know his limitations. 
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Puddles
Lafayette, Indiana
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Lagarto_Roca wrote:Yep, hook up. Otherwise, all the forward weight will be on one jack foot up front.
X2
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Puddles wrote:Lagarto_Roca wrote:Yep, hook up. Otherwise, all the forward weight will be on one jack foot up front.
X2
Not if you lift only one wheel at a time just enough to get the tire off of the ground. Some weight has a tendency to shift from one leg to the other, but not all of it. There is also a little bit of it that gets shifted to the tires on the opposite side.
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Lagarto_Roca
Austin, TX
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ExRocketScientist wrote: Not if you lift only one wheel at a time just enough to get the tire off of the ground. Some weight has a tendency to shift from one leg to the other, but not all of it. There is also a little bit of it that gets shifted to the tires on the opposite side.
True, one wheel at a time, this will work. However, IIRC, the OP was intending to service both at the same time (much easier).
My experience when trying to lift both simultaneously is the forward jack on that side will lift also, transferring the full forward load to the remaining opposite jack foot. Maybe this is not an issue, but with both down lifting to unhook, the frame sure does creak and moan. I wouldn't want to apply the additional stress to just one side, but that's just me.
Not much more in weight is shifted on the axles, as the lift/jack is carrying the transferred load on the lifted side.
2007 LBZ 3500 LT3 DRW Crew Cab, Sulastics, Putnam XDR 15K, B&W 30K-Turnover GN+Companion, Ride-Rite Air
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Lagarto_Roca wrote:ExRocketScientist wrote: Not if you lift only one wheel at a time just enough to get the tire off of the ground. Some weight has a tendency to shift from one leg to the other, but not all of it. There is also a little bit of it that gets shifted to the tires on the opposite side.
True, one wheel at a time, this will work. However, IIRC, the OP was intending to service both at the same time (much easier).
My experience when trying to lift both simultaneously is the forward jack on that side will lift also, transferring the full forward load to the remaining opposite jack foot. Maybe this is not an issue, but with both down lifting to unhook, the frame sure does creak and moan. I wouldn't want to apply the additional stress to just one side, but that's just me.
Not much more in weight is shifted on the axles, as the lift/jack is carrying the transferred load on the lifted side.
Go back and read the OP's original post closer. The OP was going to do one on each side simultaneously. I then made an assumption from there that it would be the wheels on the same axle at the same time.
I agree with you it is pretty scary to use two jacks to lift both on one side at the same time because it shifts a lot of weight from the one landing gear to the other. I would worry about the leg collapsing before something happening to the frame (even a Lippert frame -- Oh geez I said it. ). But if your axles are sort of in a gully so that your legs aren't extended much anyway, it can work out OK. I know because that is the situation in my driveway and I have done it. I will not recommend anyone else try this at home -- I'm not writing anyone a check. I have worked on the trailer other places and left it hitched to the truck. After lifting a side of the trailer, we would then put the landing gear legs down. Before doing the other side, we ran the legs up, put the one side down, lifted the other side, and put the legs down again. We had a couple other vehicles there we could have used to go get parts.
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Chrisatthebeach
The beautiful low country of South Carolina
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I was in about the same situation as you a few years back. I had access to two stout hydraulic jacks and an unlimited supply of blocks, I made sure the wheels on the opposite side were chocked and raised one tire at the time by jacking under the spring perch, which I replaced each with a cinderblock while moving the jack to the next/wheel axle and I did one side at a time. I left the trailer on the blocks while living in it and sending the wheels out for re-conditioning prior to mounting new tires. I pretty much spent 10 days on the 4 cinder blocks under the spring perches and the front legs and rear jacks for support without any issue.
I neeeded to do it this way as I was in a park where I spent the winter and needed to replace all four tires and re-pack the bearings.
I was parked on level ground and did not experience any trailer movement during the entire process.
Good luck and hope this helps.
Chris
Chris & Dianne plus two boys, both of them are Eagle Scouts.
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