Jacking Options for Frame-Laying Trucks

[epon]

Wondering what folks do when they need to jack up the truck on the road for a tire change due to a flat. I need to drive up on blocks to get a floor jack under the frame and I suppose that could be done on the road as well but cant easily be carried. I've seen the 4x4 bags that are filled with exhaust, or maybe a stubby bottle jack and a jack stand behind the seat.

I'm also curious if people have designed in a way to get a bagged truck that lays frame on a flat bed that has suffered an air system failure. The most graceful solution I can muster is a hidden hitch on the rear behind the license plate and the front something borrowed from the race car world and a hold in the bumper for a screw in hook eyelet. Hope to never need it but would be pretty happy it was there if I did.

TIA

[andrewmp6]

For a flat you could carry a set of race ramps in the bed.Total air lost would be a nightmare to have it dragged up a rollback.

[hellbent72]

I have a old bumper jack from the late 60's to get under the bumper to jack it up but also carry 4 schreader valves to screw into my air bags to air them up if i blow air lines or have a pump or valve failure

[blazer2007]

How about some jacks like in the indy cars?

[epon]

I looked for those frame jacks once which were hard to find, expensive and didn't have much travel. I thought about trying to adapt one of these and carry it behind the seat with a jack stand: http://www.easternmarine.com/electric-trailer-jacks/

[chevyrestoguy]

My '64 is all static (no air ride) but low, and it's a pain to get the rear wheels off. I have to jack up the frame forward of the rear end, and put it on jack stands. Then, disconnect the lower coil spring cups and remove the panhard bar. I still can't get the wheels off until I pull the wheel off of the studs and lower the rear end down another 2". Then the wheel can be removed. It gives me a headache thinking what kind of hassle it'll be if I blow a tire when I'm out driving. I have to think of a good method that isn't difficult and doesn't require a ton of equipment.

I really like the trailer jack idea. Just curious how to attach it to the frame. Maybe pit pins? Would you need two jacks (one on each side)?

For options, you could use a folding jack stand
Amazon.com: 2 TON FOLDING JACK STAND, One Pair...

And a low-profile scissor jack, like the full-size GM cars had back in the late '80s-early '90s.

[newbe351]

I have a static drop as well. I carry a Hi-Lift jack like the Jeep people carry. To get a rear tire off I hook it under the bumper (kind of like the old car bumper jacks) and jack the frame up until the wheel comes off the ground. This provides the clearance to get the tire out of the wheel well. On the front, I carry a hydraulic scissor jack that I put under the lower coil spring cup on the control arm and jack it up. I had to go with 17-inch rims to have the clearance for the scissor jack; it wouldn’t go under with the 15-inch rim if it was flat.

[epon]

Hi-Lift is probably the way to go. I've got a roll pan on the rear so maybe I'm looking at a hidden hitch and flip down license plate.

For the front bumper maybe a T shaped hole could be cut like the 4x4 folks have if one couldn't access under the bumper.

I happened across this chrome rim killer (Lift-Mate) that could maybe be padded with towels in the event of an airline failure before a more permanent solution was found.

newbe351, how do you carry your Hi-Lift? I've got a 2x4 piece of steel bracing the back of the cab floor that I'm thinking of fabing up a rack to hold the jack, a jack stand, air valves and a battery kill switch.

[epon]

should also add in a way to carry some wheel chocks.... safety first

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by epon

should also add in a way to carry some wheel chocks.... safety first

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but safety first would be having a truck that doesn't fall to the ground in the event of an air suspension failure.

[epon]

Tx Firefighter, any suggestions on how best to connect a Hi-Lift jack to the back of a truck with no bumper and a roll pan?

[Tx Firefighter]

Receiver hitch behind the license plate. Then build a slide in insert to go into the hitch when needed.

[Special-Ed]

i like the hydraulic indy jack concept myself... my buddy pat is an engineer for an indy team... time to call him.

most rv stores carry an assortment of leveling jacks that could be modified and attached to the frame at the 4 corners...

in fact i am now seriously thinking of doing this on my upcoming k5 blazer build.
everybody has a vehicle that has air bag and can go up and down... i cant think of anyone that has the ability to take the tires off the ground. considering i am building a daily driver it would be pure excess to be able to lift the car with a button press to change a flat or rotate the tires or hell to even do a brake job in the driveway without having to put it on a lift or get a floor jack out. #first world problems!!!

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Receiver hitch behind the license plate. Then build a slide in insert to go into the hitch when needed.

That's the way to do it. The slide in feature also ensures a good positive engagement.

[epon]

Anyone happen to have a photo of a slide insert preferably in action?

For the front, T shaped hole in bumper near one of the frame rails sufficient to get both wheels off the ground?

[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by epon

Anyone happen to have a photo of a slide insert preferably in action?

For the front, T shaped hole in bumper near one of the frame rails sufficient to get both wheels off the ground?

These are neat



But you can also get the "wheel" style which is alot like what you'd find on the front of a trailer.

Maybe I didn't read all the way, but if your bagged, why can't you get enough lift to get the wheel off the ground? My last bagged truck could go full lift, and then you support the a-arm with a 2x4 or a brick, squat the body down and it lifts the wheel about 3" off the ground, enough to change a tire.
The truck before that ran air-cannistors, and we could actually suck the wheel up to 3-wheel like a lowrider. Easiest tire change ever.

[epon]

I like those, hadn't seen them before, whats the name? I'm mainly looking for a solution that is both able to lift the truck off the ground if something happens to the air system and be able to change a tire on the road.

[epon]

Looks like they're called FastAway Flip Jack which is just an add on to the rv style jacks. Probably out of my budget after pricing the jacks too. Manual Hi-Lift and an adapter for a trailer hitch and a hole in the bumper sounds more feasible.

Still wondering where people are carrying their Hi-Lifts.

[familyfast64]

Let's not forget about weight tho. Surely four jacks would be convenient but at least another 150lbs after bracing. But some Indy, carbon fiber/titanium race jacks would be cool

[Desert.Chevy]

I also would like to figure out an answer to this before this may be a problem with my static drop I have.

Anyone with a bagged truck figure this out yet?

[epon]

Did some more digging and found this place

Not wild about the T-hole and locating hole in the top of the frame rail for the jack tip but seems solid:


And with a roll pan I'm heading towards something like this in a reciever bar for a hidden hitch behind the flip-down plate:


Planning to carry the jack behind the bench seat on the bottom of a steel rack that holds 2 chocks, fire extinguisher, relays for the compressors and remote jumper terminals for the battery.

[fastbagged68]

Just a thought...... What if you put a hidden trailer hitch behind the rear license plate..... Remove your license plate stick a piece of square tubing in it and use that as a jack point. You could do the that to the front bumper too, but then you would need to have a front license plate.

[epon]

Yeah, thats what I meant by reciever bar and the flip down plate for the rear. Front doesnt look like theres room for anything but a hole in the bumper for the jack.

[epon]

Slow but sure progression, got my jack and rack situated. Need to get making up some bracket forms and visit the steel shop and figure out how to attach the brackets that hold the Hi-Lift. Thinking (bolted or welded?) L bent piece with a thick grade 8 bolt sleeved with some rubber hose through the Hi-Lift and wing nutted with a large washer. Can easily weld in pieces of bar stock and L stock to hold the tool box and chalks in place. Not quite sure what to do on the extinguisher yet. Small grey box to far right is square d pressure switch and above it will be remote battery jumpers, circuitbreaker and relays for compressors.

DSCN5497

[epon]

It's getting time to figure out how to connect the jack to the truck and thinking that for the rear, in a hidden hitch behind the flip down plate, something like this:


and placing the jack to the side (parallel to tailgate) will allow for the angle to change easier without binding as it goes up. Ive chosen a Hi Lift adaptor with the steel bar that should fit in a hole in a reciever bar nicely. The other idea was to fabricate something that would bolt to the trailer ball location to receive the bar off the jack adaptor.


For the front, the most elegant solution I can muster is two holes in the front bumper to allow the bar to lift at the frame on either side. Maybe a bar connecting the frame rails would allow for a single hole in the center.

Rack is pretty much done: