Caravan jacks - is there another way?

• Friday, 25 January 2008
• Mike Cazalet

I’m a recently retired mechanical engineer and I like to do my own caravan servicing. The one job I hate is jacking the caravan up when I want to work underneath it. Do you remember those balloon-like things they advertised as an alternative to conventional jacks, and do you think I could use one of those on my caravan?
Albert Lee, by email

MIKE SAYS
The lifts are well known and often do a brilliant job. When the fire brigade have to lift an accident-damaged vehicle they usually use an airbag, and there are even big enough airbags to lift a passenger jet.
However I have doubts about using them. When you inflate the bag it is going to act over a large area, including parts of the chassis and the caravan floor that are not designed to carry a load.
But I can understand your hate of jacks. Lying partly under a caravan while you pump away at a bottle jack, or worse still winding a handle to lift the caravan, isn’t my idea of fun. Whenever I have to get under a caravan it has always been raining half an hour before too.
However, cut price supermarkets like Lidl and privately owned car accessory dealers can often sell you a basic little trolley jack for £10 to £12. Obviously you still have to position the jack under the van’s jacking point but at least the lifting and lowering is easier.
If you do use a trolley jack you must protect yourself by supporting the caravan’s weight on axle stands, leave the caravan attached to the car, apply the car and caravan’s parking brakes and wind down the caravan corner steadies so the caravan can’t fall on you.