Jacking for long term parking; tires

[rlaggren]

I've been wondering for a while whether it'd be worth designing in some jacks or at least jack pads on a vehicle that would stand in one place for long periods. With regular cars and trucks I've experienced "square tires" when driving again after periods in one place; but I think that may also have to with cold temperatures - the times I remember best were definitely in the cold of Chicago.

Back in the 60's when I was first getting interested in vehicles, the common wisdom was put it on jacks if you're not going to drive it. Don't know where that'd leave the suspension - hanging, I guess... But maybe tires have evolved and actually I don't know if that was good info even back then. Now I'm thinking about it some, seems like it might be touchy to get good stability. But 10-20 ton bottle jacks aren't that hard to find and most jacks I've used seem to hold their pressure more or less permanently; not sure what affect extreme cold would have.

Any opinions or thoughts? Too much trouble for any benefit?


Rufus

[dburt]

Jack up the axles and put wood blocks under them, I would not leave a bottle jack in the extended position very long, as moisture in the air can cause surface rust on the exposed rams. It would not hurt the tires to have them off the ground. What really hurts tires is ozone in the air, it causes the tires to deteriorate over time. Sunlight is not good for them either, so cover them with something to shield them from sunlight is good also! If you really want to go the extra mile, also block up the frame as well as the axles, then there is no long term strain on the suspension parts such as springs, shocks, etc. The weight of the vehicle is carried more evenly over the frame and the suspension, with the tires off the ground and able to maintain a round shape, instead of flat spotted on one side.

[rlaggren]

Ah, forgot about the rams rusting. So right.

The vehicles I've worked on were all 8500# or less (usually much less) wet. Will the axle tubes or pumpkins of a large vehicle hold the weight OK if jacked with a flat surface (say a piece of 2x or 4x on the jack platform)? Or should the vehicle only be jacked from a main suspension member? Not sure what I'd choose - haven't ever considered this before - but I'm think the bottom of the leaf spring under the axle in an axle-over config wold be fine. Don't know about shock mounts - lots of the ones I've seen don't look made to hold real weight. The "interesting" part of jacking to insert stands is that you can't put the jack the same place you want to put the stand!

Rufus