chassis weight

[gmcbuffalo]

I was Harbor Frieght and they had a set of 6 ton jack stands which made me think If I had four of them could I keep the weight of the coach off the suspension system. So what is the weight of the chassis on a 1992 40'XL real wood cabinets and standard options?

GregM

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Greg our 40XL weighed in at 42000. That was full of fuel and water.

[dalej]

Greg, if you have steel salvage yard close you can get some pretty cheap stands there. I have taken
some 3 ½ x 1/4 inch pipe and cut to length to stand the bus on when in the barn. If you need the
lengths, let me know. I raise mine up above ride height, so I can crawl under it easy.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Greg,

Fast Roger and I have an alternative to Dale's excelent method. We got some air over hydraulic jacks from Harbor Freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95553

and when the jack is under the body support points, and the center screw extended they almost touch the support point. Now you can let the air out of the system and the bus will be supported like Dale's is, or you can air up the jack and literally raise the wheels from the ground and never get under it while it is being raised. Once the jack is extended you can put blocks under the wheels, or do what you need to do. The jacks are not stands so it is best to never work under the bus with the jacks extended, but they do provide some additional advantages over stands only, and at the price they are a good investment.

When I work under the bus I just use them with the jack fully down and the screw extended so they are functioning like stands.

[Petervs]

Those 6 ton harbor freight jack stands, if you read the box carefully, can hold 6 tons for the pair, or 3 tons each. That is 6000 pounds each.

So divide 42,000 pounds by 6000 pounds and you would need 7 of them.

Now, how to space them out so they hold the weight evenly with 7.....

[dalej]

Peter, we all know that your the engineer....can't you just tell us?

[rfoster]

Right on Jon- One or two came from Harbor Freight and I did buy some of mine from Northern. They sent an email coupon once up on a time and I took advantage of the sale prices. So add Northern to the list. try them you'll love em

[gmcbuffalo]

Joe my rig is around the same weight, what I was wondering was what the weight of the coach that is being held up by the airbags.

Jon I have one of those jack looks like I need to go back and buy another one.

Thanks Peter I was wondering about that.

Dale How big a pad do you have on the bottom of your stands.

Greg

[garyde]

I believe 10 ton jacks should be the minimum to use because of weight unbalance as you lift. Also, I beieve hydraulic jacks should not be used for permanant or even temp support without a stationary block . I watched as a mechanic went under my coach with only the air bags llifted, he felt at ease doing this but I would not.

[dalej]

Greg, I don't have any pads on the bottom or the top, just the pipe. I'm sitting on a concrete floor. I use the air bags to jack up the bus and then set the four pipes in place and thats it.