Jacking up a caravan

Useful tips on jacking up a caravan to change a wheel

Not as straightforward as it might seem - but our trusty forum members have some sound words of advice on the matter.

You can discuss jacking up a caravan on the Caravan Talk forum or if you wish to contribute to this article or provide feedback please email us.

Plagegarcon: Being new to caravanning, I thought I would start doing some research in what I thought would be a relative simple. I am now aware that you can't just put the jack anywhere on the chassis to raise the caravan so does that mean jacking points are always necessary.

klyne: As you have an AlKo chassis it's worth considering the AlKo side lift jack which are around £60 and come complete with the brackets that attach to the chassis otherwise the only jacking points recommended by AlKo is the axle tube which is not so convenient. If you use the side lift jack it is recommended that the caravan is attached to the tow vehicle.

mr_sheens: NEVER use the corner steadies to jack the caravan. It will knacker them up and could cause the caravan floor to brake. Whenever jacking up a caravan use a trolley or bottle jack on the axle itself or the axle plate. The alko jack comes with its own jacking points which bolt to the chassis. The holes for the bolts are already manufactured in the chassis by alko, to accept the jacking points.

An ordinary car jack will be ok, but be carefull as a caravan doesn't have any recessed areas like the car, for the jack to sit in. If you have a car jack with a large cup, that would be better. The last thing you want is the caravan moving whilst you're under it jacking up. Remember most caravans only have the 2 wheels instead of 4, so it tends to be a little more unstable.

Frank: Car jacks in general are unsuitable for jacking a caravan with a flat tyre due to the fact that there will be insufficient space under the axle and even less under the axle plate. Any car specific side lift jack is totally unsuitable for lifting anything other than what it was designed for.

A heavy duty scissor jack jack with a channel section contact area is the most suitable, but remember that a scissor jack will take real effort to lift from a closed position.

Personally I always carry a small trolley which can be used on the car and caravan. I also have the Al-ko side lift system.

Shop around and look on ebay. My complete Al-ko system cost £17 on Ebay and was only 8 miles from home so no postage, and the trolley jack was reduced at Nettos to £4.99 (originally £9.99).

Just make sure that whatever you use is safe. Leave the caravan attached to the towing vehicle and chock the good wheel.

navarac: To reinforce what "Mr Sheens" says, the caravan legs are steadies, not jacks. NEVER use them to jack up the van.

Spyder: As a newcomer to caravanning I observed attachments that looked like scissor jacks on each corner of my caravan. I then WRONGLY assumed that they would be capable of supporting the caravan.

To support this, I was talking to a friend of mine that has been caravanning for many years and he confessed to trying to 'jack-up' a twin axle van with the corner steadies when he found himself with a puncture and no jack!

I do believe that dealers should take some responsibility for pointing out certain things to newcomers however. When I collected my caravan there was no mention of noseweights, changing wheels, etc.etc. I was even incorrectly informed of how to hitch it to the car!

Amazing Moosehead: There are a frightening number of "experienced" caravanners out there who will cheerfully offer to help you pitch and then wind your van wheels up into the air. I quickly learnt never to to let anyone wind down the steadies unless I am very sure that they won't bend or break my van.

chubber: Another very simple precaution: don't wait until your caravan is in mid-air before doing the 'Tarzan' act on the wheel brace, you could easily pull the whole thing down.

With the flat tyre still in firm contact with the ground, just 'crack' the nuts undone before you get the outfit airborne.

You can discuss jacking up a caravan on the Caravan Talk forum or if you wish to contribute to this article or provide feedback please email us.