There are about as many threads on how people jack up their RV's for maintenance as there are people who own RV's....Since I was changing tires tonight, I figured it was a good time to take pictures of how I do it. I was considering hanging a chain hoist in my hangar, removing the top cowl, and using the engine mount, but when I considered the work involved in getting out a tall ladder, finding a good spot in the steel to attach the chain hoist, rigging it all, then spotting the airplane properly, I figured that my old method would be a lot quicker.
Basically, I am using the same saw horse that I used when I built the airplane - it lived on these jacks for months before first flight. The jacks are screwed into the top of the saw horse with countersunk wood screws for stability.
I remove the gear attach covers on the belly, and jack on the horizontal portion of the gear leg, using some soft wood between the top of the jack and the gear. It is surprisingly stable, yet I am very careful to control traffic around the plane when it is on the jacks.
I timed the entire tire change process tonight. The plane was on the jacks, with the wheel pants removed in 15 minutes. Tires were off the rims in another 30, and total time until the plane was off the jacks, complete and ready to fly was just shy of two hours - that is for tires and wheel bearings. Getting it off the jacks and putting covers and fairings back on account for the last fifteen minutes.
Paul
Basically, I am using the same saw horse that I used when I built the airplane - it lived on these jacks for months before first flight. The jacks are screwed into the top of the saw horse with countersunk wood screws for stability.
I remove the gear attach covers on the belly, and jack on the horizontal portion of the gear leg, using some soft wood between the top of the jack and the gear. It is surprisingly stable, yet I am very careful to control traffic around the plane when it is on the jacks.
I timed the entire tire change process tonight. The plane was on the jacks, with the wheel pants removed in 15 minutes. Tires were off the rims in another 30, and total time until the plane was off the jacks, complete and ready to fly was just shy of two hours - that is for tires and wheel bearings. Getting it off the jacks and putting covers and fairings back on account for the last fifteen minutes.
Paul
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