GMCforum
For enthusiast of the Classic GMC Motorhome built from 1973 to 1978. A web-based mirror of the GMCnet mailing list.

Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Jack Hook Question
Jack Hook Question [message #359425] Mon, 12 October 2020 11:07 Go to next message
Greg C. is currently offline  Greg C.   United States
Messages: 224
Registered: October 2019
Location: Knoxville, TN
Karma: 0
Senior Member
So I was camping on Watts Bar Lake last month for the Feathercraft Rally. Got up one morning, and had a flat tire. Less than 1200 miles on all new tires. Of course, I did not have a jack, and my spare tire

has a 1990 date code on it. Plus, I have 16" American Eagle wheels with a 16.5" steel spare. So no lug nuts, either. I knew this was a problem before I went, and decided to gamble. Fortunately for me, it

turned out that when I checked the tires I must have let a piece of trash get under the Schrader valve, because once I re-inflated the tire with a friend's portable compressor, it has held air ever since.

With all that being said, I must remedy the situation. I have a 16" steel wheel coming, Chuck Boyd can supply me with lug nuts, and I plan to buy a new matching tire this week.

This still leaves the jack. I see that a lot of people use the Ford bottle jack with a jack hook, and I am leaning this way.

JimK has the combination jack hook that works in front and back. But the link to this on his Instructions part of his website does not work.

My question is this: After all the warnings I have read about jacking up the coach ONLY in the middle and ONLY on the front crossmember to prevent cracking a windshield, how does this jack hook work? It does

not look like it will fit under the front crossmember. Can you jack it up on the side behind the front tire without worrying about breaking a very expensive windshield?

Thank you.


Greg Crawford KM4ZCR Knoxville, TN "Ruby Sue" 1977 Royale Rear Bath 403 Engine American Eagle Wheels Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359436 is a reply to message #359425] Mon, 12 October 2020 20:49 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JohnL455 is currently offline  JohnL455   United States
Messages: 4447
Registered: October 2006
Location: Woodstock, IL
Karma: 12
Senior Member
There is a jacking hole on centerline of front main crossmember. Jack hook fits into that hole to be steadied. Not core support, further aft, the main frame crossmember.

John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359437 is a reply to message #359436] Mon, 12 October 2020 22:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jimk is currently offline  jimk   United States
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
Greg,
Just call me and I will coach you on how to work on the front sides.

On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 6:50 PM John R. Lebetski via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:

> There is a jacking hole on centerline of front main crossmember. Jack hook
> fits into that hole to be steadied. Not core support, further aft, the main
> frame crossmember.
> --
> John Lebetski
> Woodstock, IL
> 77 Eleganza II
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>


--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org



Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359438 is a reply to message #359437] Mon, 12 October 2020 22:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jimk is currently offline  jimk   United States
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
Maybe the instruction is not complete as the front use is on the back side
I will look tomorrow.

On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 8:44 PM Jim Kanomata wrote:

> Greg,
> Just call me and I will coach you on how to work on the front sides.
>
> On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 6:50 PM John R. Lebetski via Gmclist gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:
>
>> There is a jacking hole on centerline of front main crossmember. Jack
>> hook fits into that hole to be steadied. Not core support, further aft, the
>> main
>> frame crossmember.
>> --
>> John Lebetski
>> Woodstock, IL
>> 77 Eleganza II
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
>
> --
> Jim Kanomata
> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
> jimk@appliedairfilters.com
> http://www.gmcrvparts.com
> 1-800-752-7502
>


--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org



Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359447 is a reply to message #359438] Tue, 13 October 2020 11:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jimk is currently offline  jimk   United States
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
The Duel jack is designed to be used only in two places.
At the Rear Boggie case and on the Front SIDE Frame as shown.
When you look at the way the weight is distributed on the hook, it should
be obvious that that is how we avoid overstressing the unit.



On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 8:48 PM Jim Kanomata wrote:

> Maybe the instruction is not complete as the front use is on the back side
> I will look tomorrow.
>
> On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 8:44 PM Jim Kanomata
> wrote:
>
>> Greg,
>> Just call me and I will coach you on how to work on the front sides.
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 6:50 PM John R. Lebetski via Gmclist > gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:
>>
>>> There is a jacking hole on centerline of front main crossmember. Jack
>>> hook fits into that hole to be steadied. Not core support, further aft, the
>>> main
>>> frame crossmember.
>>> --
>>> John Lebetski
>>> Woodstock, IL
>>> 77 Eleganza II
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> GMCnet mailing list
>>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jim Kanomata
>> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
>> jimk@appliedairfilters.com
>> http://www.gmcrvparts.com
>> 1-800-752-7502
>>
>
>
> --
> Jim Kanomata
> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
> jimk@appliedairfilters.com
> http://www.gmcrvparts.com
> 1-800-752-7502
>


--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org



Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359451 is a reply to message #359425] Wed, 14 October 2020 08:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Greg C. is currently offline  Greg C.   United States
Messages: 224
Registered: October 2019
Location: Knoxville, TN
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Thank you, Jim, for the reply.

So now I know you can jack it up on the side without breaking a windshield.

I will look for a hole on the frame somewhere as the link to "Bottle jack adapter" on your website's "Instructions" page returns "Page Not Found".

Will the Dual Purpose Bottle Jack Adapter fit the 4 ton Ford Super Duty bottle jack? (Yellow one).

Thank you.


Greg Crawford KM4ZCR Knoxville, TN "Ruby Sue" 1977 Royale Rear Bath 403 Engine American Eagle Wheels Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359452 is a reply to message #359451] Wed, 14 October 2020 10:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jimk is currently offline  jimk   United States
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
When the body diameter is larger, it will cause the adapter to tilt a bit
at first till the adapter clears the body of the jack.
Never lift mor than 8-10 " at the outer frame as it does twist the frameand
effect the body.Soalso lift the other side to avoid.

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 6:40 AM Greg Crawford via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:

> Thank you, Jim, for the reply.
>
> So now I know you can jack it up on the side without breaking a
> windshield.
>
> I will look for a hole on the frame somewhere as the link to "Bottle jack
> adapter" on your website's "Instructions" page returns "Page Not Found".
>
> Will the Dual Purpose Bottle Jack Adapter fit the 4 ton Ford Super Duty
> bottle jack? (Yellow one).
>
> Thank you.
> --
> Greg Crawford
> Knoxville, TN
>
> 1977 Royale
> 403
> Rear Bath
> American Eagle Wheels
> Alex Sirum Quad bags
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>


--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org



Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359456 is a reply to message #359452] Wed, 14 October 2020 12:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
sgltrac is currently offline  sgltrac   United States
Messages: 2797
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 1
Senior Member
To lift the front.
Either lift at center of the front suspension xmember where the two holes
are or lift a little at a time and go side to side at the joint between the
stub frame and frame side rails.

Sully
Bellevue wa

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 8:02 AM Jim Kanomata via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:

> When the body diameter is larger, it will cause the adapter to tilt a bit
> at first till the adapter clears the body of the jack.
> Never lift mor than 8-10 " at the outer frame as it does twist the frameand
> effect the body.Soalso lift the other side to avoid.
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 6:40 AM Greg Crawford via Gmclist gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:
>
>> Thank you, Jim, for the reply.
>>
>> So now I know you can jack it up on the side without breaking a
>> windshield.
>>
>> I will look for a hole on the frame somewhere as the link to "Bottle jack
>> adapter" on your website's "Instructions" page returns "Page Not Found".
>>
>> Will the Dual Purpose Bottle Jack Adapter fit the 4 ton Ford Super Duty
>> bottle jack? (Yellow one).
>>
>> Thank you.
>> --
>> Greg Crawford
>> Knoxville, TN
>>
>> 1977 Royale
>> 403
>> Rear Bath
>> American Eagle Wheels
>> Alex Sirum Quad bags
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
>
> --
> Jim Kanomata
> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
> jimk@appliedairfilters.com
> http://www.gmcrvparts.com
> 1-800-752-7502
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org



Sully 77 Royale basket case. Future motorhome land speed record holder(bucket list) Seattle, Wa.
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359464 is a reply to message #359425] Wed, 14 October 2020 17:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Greg C. is currently offline  Greg C.   United States
Messages: 224
Registered: October 2019
Location: Knoxville, TN
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Thank you Jim, and Sully.

I have been lifting from the center of the crossmember, and then wood blocking at the frame junction just behind the wheels on both sides to work on it. I also added jack stands just in front of the tires so I

had four points of support while under the coach.

My question has more to do with flat-tire-on-the-side-of-the-road situations where I don't think you could get the jack under the crossmember. So with your answers, it seems I need to carry some wood blocking

with me, and jack up the side opposite the flat, put blocking under the frame junction to support that side, then jack up the opposite side (side the flat is on) to change the tire.

My Ford jack, which I have not yet used, has 10" of extension. That may or may not get the wheel far enough off the ground to change it. On the other hand, it keeps to the 10" max Jim K has suggested.

What do you guys do in this situation?


Greg Crawford KM4ZCR Knoxville, TN "Ruby Sue" 1977 Royale Rear Bath 403 Engine American Eagle Wheels Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359465 is a reply to message #359464] Wed, 14 October 2020 18:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
James Hupy is currently offline  James Hupy   United States
Messages: 6806
Registered: May 2010
Karma: -62
Senior Member
I run new tires, avoid road hazards, and carry AAA. I have never had a flat
tire on the road, In any vehicle that I have owned and driven, since high
quality radial tires became available. When I was young and near broke
constantly, I drove on tube type bias ply tires that I bought off the USED
TIRE rack. I changed enough flats with bumper jacks and lousy lug wrenches
to educate myself on tubeless radial tires.
Also, I keep accurate track on tire pressures, before I start out on
a trip, and every potty stop, I do a walk-around on the coach with my IR
thermometer and shoot every hub on the coach. If something is not right,
the rest stop area is a whole bunch safer than beside the busy freeway with
18 wheelers buzzing by inches away. Kinda like driving on the top half of
your fuel tanks. Just how I roll. Yes, I carry a jack hook and bottle jack
for dire emergencies. Many times prepared.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Oregon

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 3:55 PM Greg Crawford via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:

> Thank you Jim, and Sully.
>
> I have been lifting from the center of the crossmember, and then wood
> blocking at the frame junction just behind the wheels on both sides to work
> on
> it. I also added jack stands just in front of the tires so I
>
> had four points of support while under the coach.
>
> My question has more to do with flat-tire-on-the-side-of-the-road
> situations where I don't think you could get the jack under the
> crossmember. So with
> your answers, it seems I need to carry some wood blocking
>
> with me, and jack up the side opposite the flat, put blocking under the
> frame junction to support that side, then jack up the opposite side (side
> the
> flat is on) to change the tire.
>
> My Ford jack, which I have not yet used, has 10" of extension. That may or
> may not get the wheel far enough off the ground to change it. On the other
> hand, it keeps to the 10" max Jim K has suggested.
>
> What do you guys do in this situation?
> --
> Greg Crawford
> Knoxville, TN
>
> 1977 Royale
> 403
> Rear Bath
> American Eagle Wheels
> Alex Sirum Quad bags
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

Re: [GMCnet] Jack Hook Question [message #359466 is a reply to message #359465] Wed, 14 October 2020 19:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
tphipps is currently offline  tphipps   United States
Messages: 3005
Registered: August 2004
Location: Spanish Fort, AL
Karma: 9
Senior Member
If you have upgraded to 80mm front brakes, the 16" steel wheel will not clear the calipers. You would have to move the 16" aluminum wheel to the front and use the 16" steel rim on the rear wheels, assuming you still have drums in the rear.
Been there, done that.
Tom


2012 Phoenix Cruiser model 2552 KA4CSG
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359467 is a reply to message #359464] Wed, 14 October 2020 20:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JohnS is currently offline  JohnS   United States
Messages: 126
Registered: December 2014
Location: Vacaville, CA
Karma: -2
Senior Member
Before relying on the Jack Hook & Bottle Jack combination, I suggest that you let all the air out of one side in the rear to simulate a flat tire, then see if your combination will work. I found that before I could get the rear wheel off the ground far enough to change a tire, that the bottle jack was leaning so far that it scared me into abandoning the exercise. I can only imagine what would result had I been doing this with the coach leaning over alongside the road with the jack maybe in the gravel, instead of on my flat concrete pad.

I carry the Old Red OEM jack & chain. It will pull a coach up out of the dirt! I stow the jack upright strapped to the wall in the outside refrigerator compartment of both coaches. It seems heavy but the chain and jack are only a couple of pounds heavier than a Hook/two stage bottle jack combination.

Jim Hupy has the best solution with AAA and frequent attention to the tires, but when AAA comes, they may not be equipped to get a GMC up, as they get lower than a snake's belly!

JohnS



John Shutzbaugh, Vacaville, CA, ncserv@aol.com; 78 Buskirk stretch, "What were we thinking?"
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359490 is a reply to message #359425] Thu, 15 October 2020 18:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Greg C. is currently offline  Greg C.   United States
Messages: 224
Registered: October 2019
Location: Knoxville, TN
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Thanks, everyone, for the replies.

As Jim does, I have all new tires all the way around, and have AAA. I check the pressure before driving, and shoot temps with my IR gun going down the road. I carefully torque my lug bolts every time I take a

wheel off and on, which has been more times than I ever thought would be necessary by my third month of ownership.

All that being said, sometimes S*#t happens, and I like to be prepared.

Tom, I just found out yesterday what you said. If I had known this before, I probably would have thought about the 80mm calipers a little more before installing them. Since my coach had practically no brakes,

I can't say if the 80mm upgrade made a difference over stock brakes. They were about the same price, just cost a little more for the brake lines and the labor to reshape them. They're on there now, anyway.

So it seems like there's just no good way to lift this thing short of the factory jack, and I've read bad things about those.

In Ken Henderson's photos, he shows a jack adapter he made to enable him to jack up under the A-arm. Now, that's the way I've jacked up cars and trucks for decades. But truthfully, I read so many horror

stories on this forum, I'm scared to do anything that I'm not sure about! Everyone has a different opinion, and sometimes that's a good thing. I'm just going to do what I think will work. Thanks again, for

taking the time to reply on this.


Greg Crawford KM4ZCR Knoxville, TN "Ruby Sue" 1977 Royale Rear Bath 403 Engine American Eagle Wheels Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359492 is a reply to message #359490] Thu, 15 October 2020 18:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
Senior Member
Greg,

There have been several cracking windshields when jacking that I remember. The thing that seemed to be common was that most had part of the coach already supported by other than the suspension. So, if you are jacking just one wheel and the rest are on the ground where belong, I don't see great risk. Two that I remember well had the front on a pair of jack stands and then jacked at the bogie casting for some reason.

I will also suggest that you not count on AAA to show up with the right tools. We were in Ohio - Not far from Toledo - When I cracked a rim that I thought was radial capable, but was not. (It turned out to be one of two that were not.) The AAA truck that finally showed had no jack that could get under the coach any place that was capable of jack load. So, I had out the OE set and some blocks that I carry for leveling and stabilizing at camp locations and hooked the OE hook into the steel wheel and lifted it until I could block under the lower ball joint (yes, the same that be infamous 12 years later). That let him finish getting that wheel off and then he could use his wheeled bottle jack to lift it off my blocks and set her back down. If it had been a wheel I cared about the appearance of, that might have mattered.

Matt


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
Re: Jack Hook Question [message #359495 is a reply to message #359425] Thu, 15 October 2020 19:58 Go to previous message
Larry is currently offline  Larry   United States
Messages: 2875
Registered: January 2004
Location: Menomonie, WI
Karma: 10
Senior Member
I am one of those that accidentally cracked the windshield by improper jacking. When I brought our coach home from Texas, I noticed it had terrible brakes. So the first thing I did was jack it up to inspect the brakes. I was not aware of the GMCnet at the time so without consulting anyone, I started by placing a jack under the frame directly behind the RF wheel. Lifted the coach high enough to get the tire off, did the inspection, let it down and went to the other side to do the drivers side. As I was walking the tools etc to the other side I noticed that the windshield had cracked. That is when I learned about jacking the front at the main crossmember. BTW, my center of balance for jacking is directly in front of the final drive, which is 6-8" left of center. I think it is because the Cadillac engine weighs less than the Olds.....I THINK...

BTW, as it turns out, my windshields were fogged around the edges and needed replacing anyway, and even though I told the insurance agent that I had cracked the windshield, insurance covered the replacement of it anyway. Sometimes bad things happen for a good reason.


Larry Smile
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.
Previous Topic: Onan 6 NH Choke problem
Next Topic: [GMCnet] Spare parts
Goto Forum:
  


Current Time: Fri Sep 20 11:35:25 CDT 2024

Total time taken to generate the page: 0.02662 seconds