Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 12:43
Phill - The major problem you'll encounter is whether to jack just the axle or the van chassis.
Usually, jacking the axle directly behind the flat tyre is the quickest and simplest method.
However, many vans have limited wheel-arch-to-wheel clearance - so that if you jack the axle, the wheel travels further up into the wheel arch - then you find you cannot remove the wheel, because there is inadequate clearance in the wheel arch for the wheel to come out.
In this case, you need to jack the caravan chassis, so that you have adequate wheel-arch-to-wheel clearance, to allow for wheel removal.
Jacking on the chassis means that you need to jack for greater height before the wheel leaves the ground.
I would
check with your caravan manufacturer for their jacking position recommendations - and even do a
test jacking before you travel.
The biggest single problem with jacking the axle is that once a tyre is flat, the axle is usually quite close to the ground, and you need a very low profile jack, or need to dig a hole to get the jack under it.
Jacking the chassis is usually much easier, but you need a jack with adequate lift height - bearing in mind that you need to raise the axle from a very low position, with a flat tyre, to quite a high position, that enables wheel removal.
Naturally, flat tyres always happen in the most inconvenient
places - on soft ground, muddy ground, or on a side slope! - usually making life more interesting, than you really need it to be! [:-)
Cheers - Ron.
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