Where to jack an Imagine trailer for suspension upgrade

[Brian S]

Well folks,
I spent the last couple of nights reading through 29 pages of posts, but never really came up with anything definitive.
I am preparing to do the CRE3000 and wet bolt kit upgrade (as well as bearing service) on our 2021 Imagine 2600RB trailer.
It seems there is very limited real estate under there for the placement of jacks and axle stands. There is a couple of inches of approx. 2" square tubing just in front of and just behind the spring hangers. The rest of the frame has corplas under belly attached to it and i can't see placing a jack stand under that! If all i have is that small patch of frame tubing, I would not have room for a bottle jack and an axle stand? I realize I would have to lift at both jacks simultaneously to lift it evenly. I looked at the 3 in 1 bottle jacks and axle stand combo, and I guess they would work, but trying to avoid the $350 CDN cost of those since I would probably only use them this one job.
Once the frame is lifted, I have a couple of floor jacks for positioning the axles to line things up. I intend to have the trailer hitched to the truck as well for stability.
Does anyone have any better ideas for me? Thanks

[Yoda]

on the frame just outside the hangers. This thread might help https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ssion-and-help
There are others, just do a search.

[Cate&Rob]

The coroplast is typically fastened to the underside of the frame rails. You can lift or support the frame even if there is coroplast between the jack and the frame rail. You will be lifting well above the range of most bottle jacks. You will need cribbing to support both the jack and the safety stand. Plan to do just one side at a time with the tires on the other side still on the ground.

Rob

[Brian S]

Wow! Looks like you have about 13.5" of blocking under the jacks? I thought for sure that if i placed either a jack or jack stand under the Coroplast that it would crush it and destroy it? Do you think it would be best to place a piece of 2 x 4 between the jack and the coroplast to help disperse some of the pressure?

[howson]

Wow! Looks like you have about 13.5" of blocking under the jacks? I thought for sure that if i placed either a jack or jack stand under the Coroplast that it would crush it and destroy it? Do you think it would be best to place a piece of 2 x 4 between the jack and the coroplast to help disperse some of the pressure?

I believe you may have misinterpreted Cate&Rob's post. The trailer is lifted by the frame thus that's where the jack goes.

Try my favorite search method by entering keywords in DuckDuckGo (or Google) and then limiting the search to this forum. For example, try jack a trailer cate&rob site:gdrvowners.com

You'll be rewarded with a list of threads I believe you'll find very informative.

-Howard

[Brian S]

Howard, how do you figure that I misinterpreted what Rob said? His reply was, "You can lift or support the frame even if there is coroplast between the jack and the frame rail."
This is the part that concerns me. I went out and took a couple of photos of the area i am looking at. When I built my bolt o n fenders above the wheels, I drilled and tapped into this square tubing to mount my brackets. There is maybe 2 1/2" of space on either end to place a jack under, but definitely not enough room to get a jack under it, and then place an axle stand in there as well. The entire underside of of our trailer is covered in coroplas with the exception of these two spots on either side.

Sorry, It would not let me upload photos....or at least I don't know how! LOL

[Brian S]

The left photo is the spot in front of the spring hanger. The right photo is of the spot to the rear of the rear spring hanger.

[howson]

Sorry...guess I didn't fully understand. All I do know is the trailer is best lifted by the frame. Since I have Morryde's Independent Suspension (IS) it's my only option.

Hopefully Rob can clarify, or possibly even Yoda (Keith) as he's recently done a lot of similar work.

[Brian S]

NP, even if they extended that square tubing 6 to 8" past the spring hangers, I might be able to manage it. I'm not even sure of how strong that square tubing is? I would probably want a steel plate in there as well to disperse the weight. I did make up a saddle for the top of the scissor jack I carry with me when travelling and figure it will lift the one wheel no problem to change a flat.

[Cate&Rob]

Brian S

The square tube is welded to the underside of the I Beam frame rail. The coroplast screw identified with the arrow in post 7 goes into the lower flange of the I Beam which is at least as wide as the square tube and runs the length of the trailer. You can place the jack and safety stand anywhere along the lower flange of the I Beam. As close to the suspension as possible is best.

Rob

[smiles2222]

Hi - i'm still wondering about whether it is safe to jack on that square tubing that the spring hangers are welded to? Does anyone know if that square tubing can support the trailer's weight? I'm going to do the MorRyde suspension upgrades on my Imagine XLS 22RBE, and I'd like to avoid crushing the Coroplast and having to move the propane line on the drivers side frame behind the wheels. I'm going to use a 6 ton SafeJack with extensions and frame cradle, and that would fit perfectly to jack on that few inches of square tubing if it's safe....

Thanks!
Scott

[TucsonJim]

Hi - i'm still wondering about whether it is safe to jack on that square tubing that the spring hangers are welded to? Does anyone know if that square tubing can support the trailer's weight? I'm going to do the MorRyde suspension upgrades on my Imagine XLS 22RBE, and I'd like to avoid crushing the Coroplast and having to move the propane line on the drivers side frame behind the wheels. I'm going to use a 6 ton SafeJack with extensions and frame cradle, and that would fit perfectly to jack on that few inches of square tubing if it's safe....

Thanks!
Scott

This is my "opinion", and is not based on structural analysis for the answer.

That metal tube is already supporting the weight of the trailer in not only a static environment, but a dynamic one also. As you travel down the road, the weight bears on the axle which is then transferred to the spring, the spring hanger, the tube, and finally the frame. The tube appears robust enough to adequately handle this load.

If it were me, I'd jack the trailer up by the tube, but I'd spread the load as much as possible with a metal or wood plate between the top of the jack and the tube.

Jim

[Yoda]

The left photo is the spot in front of the spring hanger. The right photo is of the spot to the rear of the rear spring hanger.

Brian you can safely jack on the spots identified in the photo, or the frame just off of there. Chloroplast will be fine if you use a wood block or flat plate on your jack I use one of these on my bottle jack https://safejacks.com/collections/bo...r-bottle-jacks. Its also big enough to span the U=bolts on the spring pack. Makes changing a tire easy.
Keith

[smiles2222]

Excellent answers and info! Thanks gents! I am also using the frame cradle attachment from SafeJacks.