Topic: How do you support your truck when you are working on it?

[BLACKDOG]

my grandpa used to use cinder blocks when he needed to raise his jackstands, but he bought some rebar, cut them into 2 foot lengths, bent the into a U shape, and filled the holes with concrete, with the rebar in it, so he had solid concrete blocks with handles!

[79coyotefrg]

i have some oak blocks of wood about 16"  in diameter and 20 inches high   that i used with regular  jackstands befor i got the big ones i have now

[UNBREAKABLE]

that guy under that truck is a dumbass

[yotaboy79]

Take a look at the proper lifting practice of a truck to do a little exhaust work. Cheap, effective, and absolutely insane.

KYOTA is right about the jack stands. Nobody here wants to be the next Darwin winner lying under the truck they were working on.

If you can't find jack stands tall enough to reach the frame, all you need to do is get something stable to put the stand on for the extra height. The taller you get, the more width you need at the base to maintain adequate stability...just like a lifted truck. Ideally, you might look at fabricating a taller base that will bolt or weld to the stand eliminating the possibilty of ejecting an intermediate component of the support (see stacked blocks concerns on cheap rear lift kits) while pulling on your 3 foot cheater bar to break that stubborn suspension bolt loose. If you do need to block your stands, a tall block with a wide footprint and the jack stand at its lower adjustment is better than a shorter block with the jack stand fully extended. Better to use the jack stand as far from it's least stable condition as possible.

Another thing that can help are wheel chocks. If you only have one end up in the air, preventing the opposite end from rolling or twisting will add stability to the system and reduce the potential tipping load on the stands. You can use your E-brake for the rear but I wouldn't want to rely on it since a drum brake doesn't set very well in reverse...I learned this one the hard way and had a hell of a bruise where the hi-lift clipped me in the leg when it came out. A line-lok could also work but it has the same safety concerns as any hydraulic system in that it can bleed down or let go in an instant.

i found my new avatar

[gferris5 [OP]]

Wow,
I'm stoked about the response to this thread.  Did anyone see that thread over on pirates where the guy had his fullsize dodge stacked up on about 10 pallets? He was building a monster truck, I'll see if I can't find it over there, it was hilarious...

I liked the idea about using blocks of wood to make a cube and then bolting them together, that sounds like a pretty solid idea.  Oh, and military jackstands--that is smart, I figured there'd be some tall jackstands from the heavy equipment industry or something like that.  Okay, I'll be right back with that pic of the Dodge.

[gferris5 [OP]]

Okay, I found a couple of pics by starting a thread over on pirates--some good sports posted pics of their own procedures, most of which aren't that freaky but they look pretty strange.

[gferris5 [OP]]

pic 1

[gferris5 [OP]]

I would actually rather work under that thing then be seen driving this thing

[BigMike]

All you've gotta do is have some jack stands on the frame rails about an inch away incase your primary lift fails.

Hey after checking out BigMike's sketchy pics of how he was holding up his truck, I wanted to ask the board users what they think is the safest way to hold up a lifted rig while working on the suspension

But what you didnt realize is that I had some jack stands in front of both my rear tires on the frame rails in case my hydro jack slipped. At that location, my jackstands were close enough to the frame that I was safe.
I had stops on both sides of the wheels on the hydro jack, so I was sure it wasnt going anywhere, but also I was only under the rig for just seconds at a time. I did all of the grinding while sitting along the side of the rig, not under it.

I never felt insecure about it and it was perfectly safe for me. Also the jack stands provided a backup in case something did happen

But really that's all you need is just a back up.

Hey KYOTA, where's that page on Pirates in the International Harvester Talk with that guy who had all those projects? He put some Rockwells under a van and had built a plasma welder using a hair dryer? He had some pictures of using rims stacked up and 50 gallon barrels to lift his truck with, and as a parking brake he used a ratcheting strap around two wheels on either side of the tires.

[Prismo]

This guy is great. Here you go.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157086

[HFCRAOffroading]

Check this thread out

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=10551.0

[Willy Mammoth]

How about jack stands   I extended the stands with 2" x4" square tubing.

[unclejpl4x4]

well the only time i ever need to jack my truck up is when doing brakes/rotating tires.
I just do it at work    3ton jack or the 22ton air jack  and 12ton jack stands

[gferris5 [OP]]

Prismo-
That pic is hilarious, I had a thread going over there trying to get some other funny pictures but I never really found too many.
BigMike-
Thanks for the reassurance; you're too full of good info to die underneath a truck.  If you guys get a chance, you should check out the pirate thread (if it's still there in ChitChat) it is not a technical thread like this, just a buncha dudes giving ridiculous stories about how they've almost died under their trucks.  I'd get some more stuff but its late....

[BLACKDOG]

thought this might come in handy for those of you with the extra $

 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46604

[unclejpl4x4]

LOL harbor freight

 

[synwars]

I use a combo of forklifts, 8"x12"x5' blocks under the width of the truck, and 6"x8"x3" blocks to locate the frame. It works rather well. I used it to support the weight of a 99 F-350 both front and back, so i figure it'll hold my 1/2 the weight toy no problem.

[mtntoy]

this is a curde drawing but I've made these for a truck with a tube cage, one on each corner and that is pretty secure.  You can   make them in any length you want(within reason) you just have to make the base wider the taller you want to go.  the washer acts as a stop it will bind up pretty good but for saftey sake there is the nut welded to the outter tube that you can run a bolt  into to aid in stoping the sliding extension tube.   Also make sure you have a washer that is the right diameter so that everything snugs up well and hold

We use them on our race truck all the time to warm up the rear end or repairs they haven't failed yet.