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Has anyone got a solution to this. It's almost impossible to get a scissor or any other jack under the axle tube of my Bailey vermont due to a spare wheel cradle one side of the road wheel and the motor mover on the other side.. Alko data says not to jack up using the bottom flange of the main longitudinal chassis member. Alkos jack has right angled plates to bolt on to the chassis but the top part of these would foul the shower waste pipe. I can't see a way to reroute this pipe and it has sealed joints making it impossible to dismantle. I've sent Bailey's an e-mail asking their advice- no response.

I'm considering bolting plates onto the chassis members' vertical webs which would protrude just below the bottom flange - then using the scissor jack under these. I'd modify the jack's top plate so it won't slip.

Any other ideas would be welcome.

First the axle is mounted on a thicker section to which also the front and back main sections of the chassis are bolted and it's permissible to jack the van on this thicker section. You can get at it from the front regardless of a mover being fitted with a trolley jack but I don't know if you can reach with a scissor jack.

Behind the axle and in front of the wheel carrier you will find two holes in the chassis, one above the other, these are the mounting holes for Alko's jacking brackets or anyone else's. All you need to do is make something similar in design to Alko or perhaps the 'kojack' that then suits your jack.

I go along with Gary.  However, if you intend to fit brackets to the chassis, try to obtain the genuine Al-ko ones.  These would give you peace of mind that they are capable of doing the job, rather than making your own.

Bertie.

Hi

I've a Pageant Bordeaux and had to force the bracket to get it in past the shower drain. Once on, of course the drain doesn't make any difference.

Tyreman 

Hi

The Alko brackets are L shaped as they are designed to fit two differing chasis widths. When I had dificulty fitting them to my Lunar because of the blown air pipes the technical advisor from Alko agreed that I could cut away some of the horizontal leg of the L to fit around the pipe. Alko say in their fitting instructions that the horizontal leg of the bracket is to be  positioned close to the caravan floor but the caravan floor is not designed or intended to take any of the vans weight. The design relies on the shear strength of the two retaining bolts. Hence you should have no problem if you cut the leg of the bracket to fit around the offending pipe

Sandy

Thanks for these replies. Very useful.

I'm going to make my own plates (vertical bit only) and bolt them on using the pre-drilled holes with 12mm bolts. . I have some 3.5mm mild steel plate which looks thicker than Alko's platesand which I'll galvanise. Mechanically I can't see any disadvantage as the horizontal bit of the Alko plates don't do anthing.

Quote: Originally posted by AshbyGirl on 16/12/2007

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Has anyone got a solution to this. It's almost impossible to get a scissor or any other jack under the axle tube of my Bailey vermont due to a spare wheel cradle one side of the road wheel and the motor mover on the other side

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One of these........

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-61432-Tonne-Inflatable-Jack/dp/B0001K9XR0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=diytools&qid=1197937988&sr=8-1

Cheers
Andrew

For about 7 years I jacked different vans under the heavy cross member of the motor mover using a trolley jack

This was firm and the load is spread between the stronger side of the chassis and the underneath

I know this is not the recommended way but no damage or bending of the chassis has occured or damage to the mover

I now have the Alko side L mounts fitted as standard and use those with an adapter on the trolley jack

hi see www.al-ko.co.uk.if your making your own this may help.

http://217.199.167.226/shop/acatalog/info_73.html

Hi

If you intend to fabricate your own brackets use high tensile steel bolts nuts and washers to attach to the chassis they can be bought from any good motor factors. Use the Alko torque wrench setting when you tighten

Sandy

Forget 3mm plate, Alko brackets maybe thinner but it's far from mild steel, also I've had alko brackets bend away from the chassis under certain conditions albeit I believe the designs been changed to stop this happening. The problem is the distance from the bottom of the chassis up to the lower hole, it's a long way and this causes a lot of leverage, the bracket needs to withstand this leverage without bending.

Personally I don't think even 8mm mild steel would be fool proof, I'd use a simple straight piece of 50x10 flat which will be solid, you can then weld something to suit your jack on the bottom of it

The 3.5mm plates may be thicker than the Alko ones but its the shape of the steel which gives the Alko ones their strength. Flat plate will bend easily under a side load but bend it into a channel and you will achieve the strength to do the job you require. The Alko ones are made out of LCS, I know as I have hacksawed them and the welds have been completed using bare wire MAGS with no special treatment

Sandy

Hi

we had the same problem.
remove the spare wheel then jack the van up using the spare wheel mount.

Tentaholics

Which part of the spare wheel mount are you suggesting to jack on?

Mike