2021 Tab 320S: Place trailer on Jack Stands w/ Both Wheels off?

JabGopher · July 2021

Hi All,

Has anyone successfully jacked up the trailer and placed it on jack stands while having both wheels off?

I've been wanting to change out the tires sooner than later to Goodyear Endurance. Ideally, I'd live close to a nucamp dealer that I trust and can tow the trailer and get it serviced. However, this isn't necessarily possible now.

Therefore, I'm trying to think if I can jack up each side, place a jack stand on each, draw down the 4 stabilizing legs, in order to dismount the wheels and take them separately to get the tires swapped.

Has anyone done this?

One alternative I can also think of is to buy some cheap steel wheels to mount on them temporarily and lower the trailer, tire-less, on wooden blocks.

Thanks!

Mouseketab · July 2021

We've done that with my 07 Dutchmen when replacing the bearings. We jack it up, and we have four jack stands and a floor jack underneath it in various places. We also had the tires laying on the ground underneath it, then took the wheel hubs down to a shop to have the old bearings pressed out and the new ones pressed in.

falcon1970 · July 2021

The only caveat would be to be careful where you put the jack stands. The only really safe place to either jack the trailer or to put jack stands are at the hardened points on the frame where the axle is attached the frame. And there is not a lot of room there. Depending on your jack and jack stands you may not be able to place both of them there at the same time. Jack stands (or a jack for that matter) at other points on the frame "may" damage the frame. I say "may" because the conventional wisdom is that it will but I haven't heard from anyone who has actually caused frame damage.
If you do manage to get the trailer on jack stands I like your thought about putting the stabilizers down--not to carry any of the load but simply to stabilize the trailer much as you would when in camp.
I changed all three of my tires (including the spare) to Goodyear Endurance as one of the first "mods" but I can't for then life of me remember how I did it. I think I took two tires (one road tire and the spare) to Discount Tire and then mounted them on the trailer and made another trip to change the third tire.

ScottG · July 2021

DISCLAIMER: I'm not telling anyone what to do, or even making a recommendation. If you choose to break nuCamp's "rules" and you bust up your T@B, do not blame me! ;-)

Although it is no longer a "recommended" approach, I routinely raise the wheels of my 320 by lowering the tongue, fully extending the rear stabilizers, and then raising the tongue until the wheels just clear the ground. Note that I'm not lifting with the stabilizers, only supporting.

Based on their weight rating, the stabilizers are more than up to the task. I'm a little skeptical of the strength of where those stabilizers are attached to the frame, but there are several crazy swashbucklers out there who have replaced their stabilizers with scissors jacks, lift the trailer with them, and bounce around inside. Despite the qualms of my inner armchair engineer, to the best of my knowledge none of those trailers have suffered any damage from this ostensibly dangerous modification.

Everything is a compromise. I feel the risk of damage or injury using the "jack and stabilizer" method is still less than trying to wriggle a jack or jack stand under a small/sloped/slippery surface and have it stay put while both wheels are off the ground and I'm tugging and tapping at stuff while I perform routine maintenance tasks.

I still use jack stands if I will be under the trailer, and I'm not sure I'd use this method on a 400 as it is quite a bit heavier. YMMV.

tabiphile · July 2021

The safest way to do this is to Jack up one side, remove the wheel and replace it with your spare. Lower the spare and then remove the wheel from the other side.
Leave that side jacked up and (with jack stands in place).
Take the two wheels to your tire shop and get the tires replaced.
If you are planning to replace the spare, do that after the other wheels are back on the axle. Don't forget to use a torque wrench to properly tighten the lugs.

JabGopher · July 2021

Thanks everyone for the sanity check!

I think worst case is I'll take in 1 tire at a time with the spare in place of the removed wheel.

Verna · July 2021

@tabiphile has the best answer, IMHO, and the one I used when I had a blowout on my Silver Shadow teardrop. I changed one tire at a time with the spare, which took my neighbor three days to take the tires into the car repair shop where he worked. I didn’t want to leave the SS on jacks because it was in my sloping driveway, and I hadn’t changed a tire since I passed Daddy’s driver’s test in high school! I passed this test, also!

Just be careful, especially on the side of a road changing tge tires. Remember to never ever put a Jack under the torsion axle, but use either the frame or the “L” bracket just inside the tire as your jacking points.

ChanW · July 2021

Ditto what @Verna said re the torsion axle.

The (what looks like an) axle is a hollow tube with a torsion spring inside. Per Dexter documentation, the tube can be crushed if you depend on it as a jack support.

JabGopher · July 2021

ChanW said:

Ditto what @Verna said re the torsion axle.

The (what looks like an) axle is a hollow tube with a torsion spring inside. Per Dexter documentation, the tube can be crushed if you depend on it as a jack support.

Thank you for the reminder. I've practiced with the bottle jack on the L bracket before so am comfortable. I'm on some other RV forums where Dexter axles failures seem to be more common than need be. I certainly won't contribute to any chance of it going wrong.

pthomas745 · July 2021

I'll just leave this here. The comment from this 2015 post stated the trailer was still hitched to the vehicle. Not sure what role the bottle jack played.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/o3/ea7gucvd0zvg.jpg

ScottG · July 2021

Looks like those jack stands are on the most rearward frame member--exactly where I would put them, if I were inclined to mess around with jacks and jack stands. ;-)

ChanW · July 2021

I'm with @ScottG, I've used the stabilizers as a support while working on the wheels for years. Has not caused a problem.

Some time around or before 2013, this technique was recommended in one of the owners manuals.

ScottG said:

DISCLAIMER: I'm not telling anyone what to do, or even making a recommendation. If you choose to break nuCamp's "rules" and you bust up your T@B, do not blame me! ;-)

Although it is no longer a "recommended" approach, I routinely raise the wheels of my 320 by lowering the tongue, fully extending the rear stabilizers, and then raising the tongue until the wheels just clear the ground. Note that I'm not lifting with the stabilizers, only supporting.

Based on their weight rating, the stabilizers are more than up to the task. I'm a little skeptical of the strength of where those stabilizers are attached to the frame, but there are several crazy swashbucklers out there who have replaced their stabilizers with scissors jacks, lift the trailer with them, and bounce around inside. Despite the qualms of my inner armchair engineer, to the best of my knowledge none of those trailers have suffered any damage from this ostensibly dangerous modification.

Everything is a compromise. I feel the risk of damage or injury using the "jack and stabilizer" method is still less than trying to wriggle a jack or jack stand under a small/sloped/slippery surface and have it stay put while both wheels are off the ground and I'm tugging and tapping at stuff while I perform routine maintenance tasks.

I still use jack stands if I will be under the trailer, and I'm not sure I'd use this method on a 400 as it is quite a bit heavier. YMMV.

2021 Tab 320S: Place trailer on Jack Stands w/ Both Wheels off?

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