At some stage of your caravanning journey, you may well find yourself needing to change the tyres on your caravan. There may also be times when you need to perform some maintenance on them. The safest and most practical way to do this is via a caravan jack.
If this does happen to be the first time you’ve ever had to perform this task, it may well seem daunting. However, the sooner you get yourself used to this, the better. Then, you’ll be fully prepared should you have to make an emergency pit stop and change any tyres near the roadside.
Regardless of whether you’re a caravan newbie or indeed have several years’ experience under your belt, this task need not be time-consuming or challenging to do. Here is a brief guide to help you on your way, along with some fantastic caravan jack recommendations.
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A Swift but Safe Way to Jack Up a Caravan
There are plentiful helpful videos to walk you through using a caravan jack on YouTube. Yet, the process itself is pretty much straightforward:
- Raise all your caravan steadies up off the floor. This is crucial because such steadies are not considered jacking points as they aren’t connected to your chassis.
- Ensure your car is connected to your caravan while you perform this job. As you raise the caravan up on one side, your caravan will have a natural tendency to swing on the other side. Therefore, if you have the caravan hooked up to your car, you can have the cars handbrake on to ensure such movement doesn’t occur.
- Chock the wheel on the opposite side of the caravan. This means the wheel you won’t be jacking up should be wedged to ensure it doesn’t accidentally move.
Once you’ve done all these tasks, do a last-minute walk around the car and caravan and ensure the area around you is clear and that no one is in your caravan before you start! You can then start the job.
Caravan Jack Types to Consider
Before you begin searching for that best caravan jack, it’s worth noting that there are a couple of different types of these products.
Your choice here may, therefore, depend on your preference for a specific model type. These can include a caravan scissor jack, otherwise known as a caravan electric jack, a caravan bottle jack, side jacks, and a caravan trolley jack.
Whatever jack type you use, be sure to check beforehand that it can cope with the required weight load. You will also need to verify that you have an obvious jack point to access. For those caravans without one, there is a risk of jacking up on the chassis, which is a bad move.
You can, however, purchase add-on kits that are designed to give you a jacking point to work from. The most popular choice here is the Alko caravan jack, but many other manufacturers will sell these too.
Caravan Jacks (Some Options)
Purpleline offers a sturdy Kojack Lite caravan jack which is designed for single axle purposes.
This is a purpose-built and caravan level jack system. Weighing a mere 7.55 kg, it also includes with it a set of robust bolts on jacking brackets. It also features a 2000kg two-stage hydraulic bottle jack which is straightforward to use and capable of raising the caravan with ease.
Coming complete as a three-piece purchase, this product is suitable for those caravan chassis dating from 1992 onwards.
Once again from the makers at Purpleline, this is another Kojack Lite caravan jack, but one which is designed for twin axle purposes.
Another purpose-built caravan leveller jack, this consists of a four-piece set which is once again suitable for caravan chassis dating from 1992 onwards.
ProPlus provides a hydraulic ram carriage which is referred to as a punching lifter. An L profile edge upstand, this jack up caravan model consists of both a lift and an adapter.
The concept of an adapter here means higher stability. This is all because of the edge’s upstand. Therefore, your caravan can be quickly and indeed safely raised and levelled, ready for immediate working on here.
A galvanized steel design throughout, this has a lifting capacity of two tonnes. The stand is sturdy thanks to its more extensive base, and the actuator rod can be separated and put into the holder with ease.
Wheels N Bit’s car jack is a heavy duty ten tonne 10,000kg model which is thoroughly compliant with all UK and European Safety standards.
With a maximum lifting height of 460mm, this jack has a gross weight of just 7.1kg and is thoroughly study in its overall design.
A two-stage operating system, you simply lift the screw out of the jacking point and then perform the hydraulic lift.
This is another hydraulic bottle jack, but this time it’s from the manufacturers at Silverline.
An Amazon favourite bottle jack choice, this is also a heavy duty ten-tonne model, which is a simplistic jack for the caravan and a more compact of designs.
The electric scissor jack from Zerone is a three-tonne compact but ultimately heavy-duty jack. An all-metal model, it also comes complete with a plastic storage case for added practicality.
With this three-tonne lifting capacity comes a high performance and an easy to use method. This means the other end of its cord will connect to the remote control and then all you do is press the appropriate button to lift your caravan up or down!
This product also comes complete with the controller itself and crank handle, wire, fuses, battery clamps, and even a pair of gloves!
For a quick lift caravan jack, Iware provides a hydraulic floor type which is designed to meet even those most rigour of uses in and around the garage or workshop.
This has a two-piece handle and accompanying two wheels to ensure ease of manoeuvre and is fully equipped regarding safety. This means a safety valve for overload protection and a by-pass system for over-pumping prevention.
With a maximum weight capacity here of three tonnes, it can lift in the range of 145 to 465mm and is ideal for caravans.
Final Thoughts on Caravan Jacks
It’s essential that when you do jack your caravan up that you remember there are only two places that you can access the jacking point.
These points are right behind the caravan wheel. One is just underneath the chassis plate, and the other is at the very end of the axle tube.
Once you’ve taken the helpful steps mentioned above, you can place any of the above discussed jacks in place under your caravan and get started on doing the necessary work with ease, but most importantly in a safer all-around positioning.