Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Assuming you have a spare, what provision do you have for jacking up the trailer?

I was doing my car and realized most trailer frames have no real provisions for a jack. While at the tire center, a boat trailer was brought in with a flat. It appears to be even worse as the outer frame edge is elevated.

What type(s) of jacks do you carry, about what weight max.

Do you use the axle or the outer frame edge or a cross support as the anchor point?

Have you added anything eg a plate or a bracket to the frame that the jack will grab on or stay centered or not sliding while jacking? Have you modified the jack top to fit your frame eg a U-shaped fitting to grab the frame.

Does it matter if the framing is tubular (square or rectangular), L-shaped, or C-channel or a mixture?


Another question, do you unhitch the trailer, then jack up the frame? Do you leave the tongue up or on its tongue jack or let is rest on the ground. Do you attempt to keep the trailer level when jacked?

I carry a spare in the bed of my truck. I've never had to use it. (Knocking on wood right now, can you hear it?) 'Been dragging a 'drop since 2004. Lots of rambunctious back-country roads.



I've got six-ply radial light truck tires on the 2013 teardrop and the same ones on this new build. Good tires. Not cheap trailer tires. (When was the last time you had a flat on your car? When was the last time you saw someone with a flat?)

If I get a flat on the teardrop, I'll use the truck's scissor jack. Plan A is to jack it from the trailer frame. If that doesn't work, I'll go under the torsion axle's cross member.

And yes, I'll keep it hitched to the truck to make sure it doesn't roll off the jack.

Tony

my new trailer has it's spare center mounted just in front of the axle which seems to be working good being this trailer has so much ground clearance - about 15/16 inches (that was not possible with my old one with only 8/9 inches of road clearance - like Tony, it was carried in the back of the PU.) Jack wise - am using a scissor jack (also carry a FORD bottle/screw jack just to have an extra-will work on either PU/trailer-takes up very little space in tongue box) from a Honda Accord - Auto Wrecking yards have them for $10-15, they work great and are nice and compact when stored (or is the correct wording for them now "Used Auto Parts Store's??) I either jack the frame just behind the wheel, but have also jacked under the spring plate/axle with no problem (have read and heard not to be doing it there, 'but' after growing up in a auto repair shop - old learned 'habits' are too hard to change at age 65) Also agree with Tony and Danny - I would leave the trailer hitched up to the tow vehicle along with setting chock's on the vehicle. In my over 40 years of driving, only have had 1 flat on my 'own' personal vehicle (but yes, have had a few others, on the rental car-US Army car-bother's/dad's car -etc - and when I did have my flat, it was my spare that was in need of air - BUT - being I used to ride bicycle, I always carry an air pump and have always figured I could 'just' pump it up if need be - well, after well over 200++ pumps, I did get that mini spare from 18psi up to 58psi(60 is what was called for)... Well, it was 95 degrees in the sun that day and I did 20 pumps at a time, than walked around the PU (-fuming-to said it nicely) than 20 more pumps - stopped counting 'walks' after 11 trips - (Bicycle pumps for the most part, are made for pumping 'high' pressure -not- for high volume, but yes, I still carry one, and will help out a cyclist here/these - but I also NOW carry 'good' battery air compressor when camping which I use all of the time for tire's and my PU air bags = Ryobi tools - air-lantern-radio-vacuum, etc. - and what sold me on Ryobi is them having a charger for using in my cig lighter when on the road - I'm good................ PS: the 'Chinese' trailer tires - all 3 have been replaced with regular 'USA' made car tires - these ride so much !!better!! than the 'stiff sided trailer tires' that I just did not feel good about after all of the horror storys of the 'made in China stuff' take care..........

* Let's see???? I have several ways to jack-up my trailer, if I ever need to change a tire:

• 1) a 5000 lb scissor jack permanently mounted under the tongue (or the detachable jockey-wheeled 2000 lb jack there, too) can lift the front end after I drop the two pipe-clamp rear stabilizers to the ground (capable of holding 1200 lbs),
• 2) using either my old Chevelle's bumper jack (2000 lbs capacity) anywhere on the trailer frame, and/or my Hi-Lift jack (tested to lift 7000 lbs), also anywhere on the frame, 3) a portable 2000 lb trolley jack I also keep in my truck's crossover box with the bumper jack, or with my two Powerbuilt 3-ton Uni-jacks (which I also carry on trips, to lift my heavy pickup as well) under the axle.

* I formerly pulled my racecar to drag strips via some sketchy roads, where many jack, block and tackle, and what-have-you were used to lift loaded trailers, trucks, and race cars from all sorts of uneven spots. I started carrying several jacks, plywood and lumber pieces as bases, and even used my on-board pickup truck crane (now removed, just this month) to lift vehicles up and out of ruts and roadside ditches, usually with blown Chinese trailer tires, but also with "streetable" racing slicks (prone to flats from road debris) over the years. You can never have too many jacks!

* Also, I avoid flat tires by using LT tires on both my truck and trailer, now, with better construction, thicker tread, and more sidewall plies than ST or most auto tires. And, my spare(s) are always checked before trips, and my spare is easy to get to (though not for a thief), on the front wall of my TTT. I'll never have to crawl under a trailer to remove a spare, like some others do (but I still have the truck spare underneath, unlike on my '69 C-10, where I had a bed-mount for it). Hopefully, my tire troubles from past years will not revisit me, but I'm prepared.

* EDIT I also carry a small air compressor, which has filled many a tire at dragstrips in the past, I hope I'll not have to use it either.
* Edit 2 My neighbor just returned my "missing for five years" 12-ton bottle jack, so it goes into my tow vehicle storage box, too.

EDIT I also carry a small air compressor, which has filled many a tire at dragstrips in the past, I hope I'll not have to use it either.

That same compressor is sitting in my tongue box.

Tony

The Subaru Scissors jack works fine for the trailer, the Subaru spare with with adapter...

tS, whatever you end up choosing make sure you can do a swap while hooked up in your driveway

always carry all the tools required to do the job(incl tools to service bearings/replace bearings AND races)

DO NOT SCRIMP ON LUG WRENCHES/JACKS/ROADSIDE EMERGENCY TOOLS have/carry good quality tools

another tool i carry for roadside issues is a mover's packing blanket to throw on the ground to work on

when towing a trailer i carry a light weight aluminum floor jack and lug wrenches to accomodate all the nuts on my train(i sometimes pull 2 trailers w/ wheeled toys on/in one of them)

while i'm here... a trick i use for raising a flat tire on a single axle trailer is once the nuts are broken loose(not removed) i pull the tire up on a ramp block of wood w/ the TV

then jacking the axle/tire just barely off the block is easier than having to raise the axle the whole way

while i'm here, while i'm here... if your trailer utiizes tongue jacks for stab jacks you may/likely will be able to simply employ one of them in it's normal position to lift the offended tire off the ground

just an old man's ramblings this morning

sw