Bus Supports / Stands

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Mike is correct Ted...

The stands are intended for supporting the shell. With the bus supported that way it can be stored with air in the suspension dumped like Dale does, It will allow you to work beneath it with no possiblility of the shell dropping down, and it still allows you to raise or lower the axles with much smaller jacks if you want to work on wheels or brakes or even air bags.

[BrianE]

Jon: The stands are intended for supporting the shell. With the bus supported that way it can be stored with air in the suspension dumped like Dale does, It will allow you to work beneath it with no possiblility of the shell dropping down, and it still allows you to raise or lower the axles with much smaller jacks if you want to work on wheels or brakes or even air bags.

Just to put the last nail in the coffin: tdelorme's Maintenance Manual page depicts the axle jacking points which MUST be used when jacking a wheel off the ground. The attached Maintenance Manual page is the previous page in the manual and it depicts the points under which Jon's new stands will be used after the bus has been raised to the full height of the leveling system.

[garyde]

Great illlustration Brian. That is much better than what is in my manual which just shows a elevation drawing ,side view, with arrows.

[gmcbuffalo]

This has actually been a good informative thread. All this time I have been running the bus up on ramps thinking I was safe. Even though the bus was high and would not bottom out on the floor it could still drop and give me a good knock'en. I have also been using the the rear axles support to hold the bus up. Bad again.

Thanks to whomever started this.

GregM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

This will probably help make more folks aware of relative risk.

Since I have a pit I can work on the bus whether it is up, down or at ride height. Theoretically I do not have to block the bus up in the air. If anyone ever watches a grease monkey at a truck stop you will never see him block a bus or truck when he lubes it. He has some degree of risk.

The risk of an air bag failing catastrophically is slim. But when my bus is going to get worked on from the underside, I raise it fully and support it under the body support points because sometimes I am putting my arms or body between pinch points such as between an axle and the underside of the body. I don't care how small the risk. I do not want to take a chance of getting crushed.

Greg is right about ramps providing space so the bus cannot crush you, but that only applies if you never put yourself or any part of your body between the underside of the shell and any suspension member such as an axle, subframe, radius rod, etc.