Dodge Roadtrek jack points

[RT-NY]

I like to be able to put my 1999 Roadtrek 170 on jack stands (to rotate the tires, for example). How do other Dodge RT owners jack up their rigs?

I jack up the back under the differential and then put jack stands under the rear axle near each wheel. I jack up the front one side at a time at the cross member near to each control arm and put a larger set of jack stands under the frame rails right behind the wheel (it's tight because of the linkages there, but it just fits).

I have two questions: the cross member is shaped like an upside-down "U" so I can only get the jack under one "arm" of the U -- is it OK to jack up that way or should I put a block of wood across both "arms" of the U and jack up under the wood block? And: the factory service manual says that the center of the cross member is a good jack point for that year -- can I jack up the entire front end at once rather than one side at a time?

[Frumpster]

I also struggle with this question.I support my '98 B-3500 on the frame under front doors. Worry that frame may bend. If you have to work on front end,you dont want jacks in the way. Have had the jackstands on the back of frame,just in front of the rear wheels. What size jack do you use to lift rear end under diff? My 3 ton struggles.

[Nic7320]

I'd to help out, but I don't know jack (points...)

Differential seems like the best place in the back. Front, look for the strongest frame member.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by Frumpster

I also struggle with this question.I support my '98 B-3500 on the frame under front doors. Worry that frame may bend. If you have to work on front end,you dont want jacks in the way. Have had the jackstands on the back of frame,just in front of the rear wheels. What size jack do you use to lift rear end under diff? My 3 ton struggles.

I have been using a 12 ton shorty bottle jack, but it does not have much lift. So I need to jack it partway, put it on jackstands, then add wood blocks on top of the bottle jack and repeat. I plan on getting a good floor jack. I am thinking that a 3 ton will be fine for the B-2500.

I am not sure what you mean by "the frame under the front doors" -- if you mean the frame rails that run front to back of the whole vehicle (see the left attached pic -- not for a late model Dodge so just for illustration), they are too sturdy to bend. Or do you mean some other spot? I don't think that any other place would be a good idea (see the right pic -- I beileve its for a 1997 3500).

[Frumpster]

Yes,on the blue part of the frame,just back of the yellow cross member,as per your picture. I guess it would be under the back part of your door picture. You say that is a sturdy part of the frame? Yes? As for the 3 tone jack, that is what I have,with a 20 inch lift. It works fine for each corner, but it struggles when lifting the whole back end from under the diff. If I had it to do again,I would have bought the 3.5 or 4 ton. Let me know what you think of the front jacket and points please. Cheers.

[RT-NY]

Originally Posted by Frumpster

Yes,on the blue part of the frame,just back of the yellow cross member,as per your picture. . . . You say that is a sturdy part of the frame? Yes?

Well, I can't say that I have any real expertise on the matter, but my understanding is that those side rails are very sturdy -- I believe that they are what supports the entire vehicle. So I don't think that there is any danger of bending those side rails. The only concern would be that you don't place the jack stands too far back -- the picture on the right indicates that the jack point is pretty near to the wheel. That would not be an issue of damaging the frame but of the stability of the jacked up vehicle. What I do not understand is how you reach the rails at the points that you indicated: on my 1999 RT 170, they are covered by the tanks. I can just fit the jack stand at that same rail but more forward, just behind the wheel.

But, apart from the question of where to place the jack stands, where do you jack up from in the front using the floor jack? The cross member? Is your cross member U-shaped?

[Frumpster]

No,I have never jacked from the cross member,because,as you pointed out,it is u shaped. I jack it up under each lower control arm. As for placement of the jack, I do put it back about 1.5 ft,as the frame has no bends there,and it is flat. On the passenger side, I have to take of the shield for either the strut bushing, or my water tank. (Can't remember which one) The jacks are a tight fit,due to the tanks,but once they are in there, they are stable, and out of the way. I am using 6 tone jack stands.

[otr]

I put the jack under the rear axle or spring, a bottle jack works fine because you are lifting all the weight, not lifting the body and using the body to lift the wheels, so you only need to go up 3 or four inches, same in the front, I use a heavy suspension part to lift with rather than the body.

[Peder_y2k]

Oh NO! Never use the rear differential as a jacking point as it was never designed for supporting the weight of a class B. It can actually break the axle tube. Only jack at a frame point or the spring perch

[nicaland]

Peder_y2k... If I'm not mistaken The illustration above seems to indicate that jacking from the diff is acceptable. I have done it several times as well with my B3500 with no issues.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Peder_y2k

Oh NO! Never use the rear differential as a jacking point as it was never designed for supporting the weight of a class B. It can actually break the axle tube. Only jack at a frame point or the spring perch

As far as I have ever seen, the lift by the center of the axle, on the differential housing is by far the most common lift point on rear drive vehicles and even some front drive ones with just an unpowered axle, like DW's CRV.


That said, so of them have now removed the front center lift point on the first crossmember, which seems to be a victim of weight reduction projects. Our 07 Chevy is not an approved point for center lifting the front, so I use two floor jacks, one on each end of that crossmember and it works very well.

[Road Toad]

Originally Posted by Peder_y2k

Oh NO! Never use the rear differential as a jacking point as it was never designed for supporting the weight of a class B. It can actually break the axle tube. Only jack at a frame point or the spring perch

Agreed..
As a youth, I worked at a tire shop.
This is what I was taught.
The axle tubes are crimped and/or spot-welded into the differential housing.
They can be fractured by jacking there.
Jack at the spring perch or on the tube adjacent to the perch.

At the front end, the crossmember is strong enough to be centered jacked.

[Peder_y2k]

Really depends on the weight. A b3500 van weighs about half that of a motorhome class B. A 10,000lb. campervan could very likely break the axle tube at the differential if the diff is the only lifting point used. The diagram is WRONG if the b3500 is fully loaded. Weight is the enemy here snd I have seen several broken differential castings at the axle tube connection caused by lifting the diff, these seen at wrecking yards.....

[booster]

Originally Posted by Peder_y2k

Really depends on the weight. A b3500 van weighs about half that of a motorhome class B. A 10,000lb. campervan could very likely break the axle tube at the differential if the diff is the only lifting point used. The diagram is WRONG if the b3500 is fully loaded. Weight is the enemy here snd I have seen several broken differential castings at the axle tube connection caused by lifting the diff, these seen at wrecking yards.....

No, I would not agree with that at all.


If the factory service manual shows the pumpkin as an approved lift point, it has to be able to lift the entire GAWR for the rear axle, which for a Chevy is 6040. I Dodge may be a bit under that as they had smaller tires on some of them, but if you stay within the GAWR on weight label and it is shown in the FSM, it has to be ok.



You may have seen axles that had people try to lift by the tubes, but even that is iffy. Most axle tubes are broken by hitting road debris of rocks backing up, from what I have seen.

[Frumpster]

Well, I have an update on my previous post. Yes, my 3 ton jack goes under rear pumpkin,and lifts both sides, then I put the jackstands under front spring perches. ,Not the rear frame,as in my previous post.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Frumpster

Well, I have an update on my previous post. Yes, my 3 ton jack goes under rear pumpkin,and lifts both sides, then I put the jackstands under front spring perches. ,Not the rear frame,as in my previous post.

Yep, exactly how nearly all the rest of us do it, also. Works great, short amount to jack, very stable.

[Peder_y2k]

I am not swayed by your position, so I will NOT be lifting any heavy beast vehicle by jacking up the differential. Light cars and trucks yes, but over 6,000lbs absolutely not as it is simply too risky, like using a chain hoist to lift a car by its door handles.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Peder_y2k

I am not swayed by your position, so I will NOT be lifting any heavy beast vehicle by jacking up the differential. Light cars and trucks yes, but over 6,000lbs absolutely not as it is simply too risky, like using a chain hoist to lift a car by its door handles.

Your choice, but contrary to what the factory says in many cases, so to each their own.


On edit after looking at the pic closer. That is a press fit failure, not a bend or broken tube. The tubes are often press fit with a couple of tack welds to prevent rotation of the differential. Failures where the tube comes loose are almost always caused by rotational stress which puts the press fit in shear, which is the weak direction, and if the weld as are substandard and the loads high the differential housing will rotate on the axles shafts, breaking the welds loose. Loads like are needed usually come from high horsepower, deep gearing stuff which tries to wrap up the rear springs, causing axle hop. If the vehicle is lifted, the pinion snubber that should hit the body and stop the rotation needs to be raised when a lift is done but that is rarely done from what I have seen. An overloaded vehicle that is over GAWR can also have issues this way if the bump stops and/or snubber are not working right. I am pretty sure it is a cumulative thing over time, as it doesn't seem to happen until the vehicles get higher miles, that I have seen anyway. Perhaps rust in the welds is an issue.