Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 12:24:32 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Standard Vanagon Jack Base?
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEu+cviKP3z_Kmpz8ua5QJo+HZdZdA5U21bTRuh08cHbRmg@mail.gmail.com>
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standard practice to me is to carry a piece of stout plywood or other
wooden block ..
mainly for use on softer surfaces with the stock jack. .
you do not want to try to make the jack resist tilting or rolling forces ...
it would take a very strong jack and base to do that.
what you do need is to be sure the van can't roll.
And what is very handy to have on board for that is some sort of wheel
chock.
( besides having the parking brake on firmly, and trans in a lower gear
if manual tarns, or Park if auto trans )
Japanese cars ...like from the 70's, commonly had a small fold-up metal
wheel chock in the trunk.
I find those in junkyards now and then.
and sometimes you really do need a wheel chock.
I had 'banging' CV joints on the right side on I-80 in Nevada so bad
once, I had to stop right there...with cars going by at 80.
To be able to turn the right rear wheel by hand to see what might be
gong on, I had to have the parking brake off .
You can't jack up a car safely with the parking brake off with the stock
jack ..
I had to use a ski boot for a wheel chock ...that worked...
so ...standard to have on board is ..a plate of some sort for using the
jack in soft ground,
and a decent wheel chock.
at the minimum.
I sometimes carry a light weight jack stand too ...
or a back-up bottle jack ( but those are heavy ) or a scizzors jack from
some other car )
with a few extra things like that you can be pretty well self-supporting
for most 'gotta jack a corner off the ground here' incidences.
( something to be aware of with auto trans vanagons..
just because it is in Park does not mean both rear wheels can not turn
no matter what.
That is true as long as they both have good traction ....or parking
brake is on.
but ....say you don't put the parking brake on ..just put it in Park, as
soon as one rear wheel is off the ground..
the other rear wheel can roll easily. So parking brake on firmly in
all cases, of course. as everyone knows.
And a wheel chock is really a good thing to have for flat tire safety. )
scott
turbovans
On 5/20/2012 7:25 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
> I think VW made them like that on purpose....The jack-point built into
> the van's body, that would have to be hell-for-stout if you started jacking
> up with the vehicle or the jack in unstable positions....there is a lot of
> force generated by a 4000lb vehicle sitting on a 2' lever, should either
> the jack or the van decide to try to tip while the vehicle is raised.
>
> On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 6:20 AM, Phil Menchions<pwmenchions@hotmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Speaking of jacks. Can someone tell me if they originally came with a
>> separate square shaped rubber like pad to stabilize the foot of the jack?
>> The foot of mine is curled up on two sides and is pretty dodgy to use. I
>> have to make sure I'm on a perfectly flat surface and the wheels are well
>> chocked. Some sort of "stabilizer" would come in handy.
>> Phil
>>
