Which jack do you carry on your trips ?

[Tideline77]

😳 I didn’t carry a Jack specifically for the Oliver on our very first trip. I do have the big red Andersen drive on lift that I had intended to use for changing a flat. Have not ever used one before. The thing is beefy and heavy.

 

now back home and decided it’s a good idea to have dedicated jack just in case it would be needed for the Oliver or the tow vehicle 

 

Do you carry an extra jack ?  Which kind ? What size ?

 

appreciate your feedback 

[Geronimo John]

  

First, most TV's come with a similar jack as shown below. 

If yours does not, then I would purchase something like the below.     

But for our use, I use the onboard OTT rear jack with a stack of dunnage.  As do many other owners.   And yes we know what OTT and the lawyers have to say about this practice.  Regardless of what jack you use, only do so for service purposes on hard FLAT ground and please never put yourself in a position of getting crushed if it goes badly.

GJ

Edited Sunday at 06:17 PM by Geronimo John

[Galway Girl]

I carry a bottle jack from Harbor Freight and some "dunnage" boards to stack up for height adjustment as bottle jacks are short.

If you have room one of these is great as it also has a catch mechanism that make it lock in place for safety.  
With this near the front lift point,  and the rear jack and dunnage for the rear you can lift one whole side of the trailer if needed. 

Here's the link to the jack on Oliver Outfitters Guide in amazon.

https://amzn.to/3Tm07XU

I also have the ramps for quick tire change.

 

Craig 

[Patriot]

This one - https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-620471-6000Lb-Unijack

Appears to be similar if not identical to @Galway Girl jack.

Edited Sunday at 09:13 PM by Patriot

[mountainoliver]

I actually carry two jacks along with various 2X10’s and 6X6’s and three sets of plastic stacking blocks. The two jacks, one is a 3 ton hydraulic jack and the other is a several ton (don't remember the exact capacity but it’s very ample!) surplus scissor jack/kit designed for the Hummer. Probably designed for a fully loaded Hummer, anyway very ample. Not to mention the screw jack that came with my 2500 truck. So technically I carry three jacks. Oh and not to mention the three screw jacks that came mounted to the trailer. So yet again, technically I carry six jacks! 

[Steph and Dud B]

We have the Trailer-Aid Plus ramp, a bottle jack, some planks, and some Lynx Leveler blocks. The ramp, planks, and blocks are in the truck, the bottle jack is in the trailer closet. 

We also have a star wrench, impact wrench, and torque limiting extensions in the truck.

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, Patriot said:

This one - https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-620471-6000Lb-Unijack

Appears to be similar if not identical to @Galway Girl jack.

If you do not have these tools, just buy the one our friend David has recommended, time and time again. Wish I had one, but I have countless old jacks and jack stands. Instead, I carry a bottle jack and jack stand in the TV and every truck I've ever owned.

If it was me, somebody needing a jack, I'd buy one of these for safety purposes and go ahead and buy two if you ever plan to work maintenance on your Oliver!

This combo tool was not available when we were younger. Enough said! 🤣

[Geronimo John]

6 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

So yet again, technically I carry six jacks! 

Wow.  I guess my "Only Carry What I Use" philosophy would be lost awash in 6 jacks!  LOL

 

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Geronimo John said:

Wow.  I guess my "Only Carry What I Use" philosophy would be lost awash in 6 jacks!  LOL

Come on, we all have 3 onboard jacks! (yes, use them).

I'm with GJ, in the carry what I need category.

1 bottle jack, 1 jack stand is what I carry. Use the onboard jacks for a simple tire change.

Use the bottle jack to lift and jack stand to hold an axle. Also have the required 1/2"-drive socket sizes for U-bolts, wet bolts, etc., 1/2" breaker bar and HD cheater for disassembly! If you have 1750 rated springs, don't be without a spare pair of leaf springs and a 4-pack of U-bolts. This what I carry, nothing more or less.

Ken has all the tools, but soon he won't have to work on that Oliver suspension for a long, long time! 🤣

[Ronbrink]

14 hours ago, Patriot said:

This one - https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-620471-6000Lb-Unijack

Appears to be similar if not identical to @Galway Girl jack.

Yep, I carry two!

[Ronbrink]

19 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

😳 I didn’t carry a Jack specifically for the Oliver on our very first trip. I do have the big red Andersen drive on lift that I had intended to use for changing a flat. Have not ever used one before. The thing is beefy and heavy.

I think you are referring to the Anderson Rapid Jack. Although it is primarily designed for changing a tire on a tandem axle trailer, I use it as a block at the front stabilizer, as well as two of the Anderson Jack Blocks at the rear stabilizers.

[Rivernerd]

I bought a Safe Jack 6-Ton RV Bottle Jack Kit before we picked up our Hull #1291 in Hohenwald.  I carry it in our tow vehicle whenever towing our Elite II.

https://safejacks.com/products/6-ton-rv-jack-kitsrsltid=AfmBOopBQgN9ggcFSaXvjvqjQnAZ-QT8Yj9wNnfyNFYXMuqHtDAhhDW6

That said, I wish I had known to buy one or two of the 3-ton Unijacks referenced by Galway Girl above.   I believe they are better designed for roadside repair of an Elite II.  They take up more cargo space in the tow vehicle, but I would gladly give up that extra space for the jackstand feature.  It is what I would buy if I were buying now.
 

[jd1923]

On 7/6/2025 at 9:40 AM, Tideline77 said:

I do have the big red Andersen drive on lift that I had intended to use for changing a flat. Have not ever used one before. The thing is beefy and heavy.

 

9 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

I think you are referring to the Anderson Rapid Jack. Although it is primarily designed for changing a tire on a tandem axle trailer...

I have one of these, an older aluminum version. I tested it on the Oliver when I first got our Oliver. It will work, but the Oliver has an issue with the shackles flipping and this occurred using this jack. I had to tow the Oliver over a service station curb to flip the chackle back, hearing a LOUD BANG and then I know the shackle flipped back to the correct position. 

Just us your onboard stabilizer jack to change a tire! And get one of the bottle jack/stand combo units shown if you want to work real service like changing a leaf spring.

To change a leaf spring on the road, I would use the onboard stabilizer jack to lift the tire off the ground and remove the wheel. Then I would use the combo jack to hold the axle, lift and lower it as need to take the weight off the springs as need for removal and replacement.

[Tideline77]

 

edit to add my confession,

I raised the Oliver off the slab in the shop using both rear leveling jacks and the front jack , while I had it up about 3-4” the tires on both sides sagged back down to touch the floor…….i was stumped, apparently that was the shackle flip 🙄🙄🙄. Now I have one shackle on port and starboard flipped

it dawned on me this afternoon reading about shackle flip

this was a failed attempt to put the Oliver on car dollys so I could shoe horn her sideways into its storage spot in my workshop.  
 

I continue to impress myself with my accomplishments 

—————————————————————————————————

Please …….Explain to me how to determine if you flipped a shackle ? 
And

how you used a curb to flip it back ???.

does this happen on the 2022 models with the bigger axle and springs ?

 

I think I have one side flipped after I used the leveling jacks to raise the trailer…….

but I raised both sides 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

 

thank you

Edited Monday at 11:47 PM by Tideline77

[Ronbrink]

35 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

It will work, but the Oliver has an issue with the shackles flipping and this occurred using this jack.

I bought my Rapid Jack prior to taking Oliver ownership and soon learned afterwards about the shackle flip issue. I’ve since had opportunities to try it out, but the stabilizer jacks were less troublesome and thus, the preferred method for lift to change a tire. Not one to let good money go to waste, started using it for the front stabilizer support. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

I raised the Oliver off the slab in the shop using both rear leveling jacks and the front jack , while I had it up about 3-4” the tires on both sides sagged back down to touch the floor…….i was stumped, apparently that was the shackle flip 🙄🙄🙄.

Now I have one shackle on port and starboard flipped it dawned on me this afternoon reading about shackle flip

Please …….Explain to me how to determine if you flipped a shackle ? 
And how you used a curb to flip it back ???

When changing a tire lift ONLY the side needing changing. First have the jack up as high to the body as possible and have the space filled with blocks of some type. Doing this, you should be able to get both tires on one side several inches off the ground but only go high enough to remove the wheel.

I remember John E Davies wrote a post on the shackle flip years ago which made me aware of it. I believe he had a way to flip it back in the shop, but the simple way is to slowly on an angle tow your Oliver up a curb on the affected side. The other side can just go up the driveway. Service station entrances work well for this. The flipped shackle should flip back. If it doesn't, try again. The one time it happened to me it flipped right back first try. You will hear it and see the leaf springs sitting straight again.

[Ronbrink]

11 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

 

edit to add my confession,

I raised the Oliver off the slab in the shop using both rear leveling jacks and the front jack , while I had it up about 3-4” the tires on both sides sagged back down to touch the floor…….i was stumped, apparently that was the shackle flip 🙄🙄🙄. Now I have one shackle on port and starboard flipped

it dawned on me this afternoon reading about shackle flip

this was a failed attempt to put the Oliver on car dollys so I could shoe horn her sideways into its storage spot in my workshop.  
 

I continue to impress myself with my accomplishments 

—————————————————————————————————

Please …….Explain to me how to determine if you flipped a shackle ? 
And

how you used a curb to flip it back ???.

does this happen on the 2022 models with the bigger axle and springs ?

 

I think I have one side flipped after I used the leveling jacks to raise the trailer…….

but I raised both sides 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

 

thank you

I feel your pain! I made the novice mistake of using the rear stabilizers to lift all four tires off the ground to level the trailer for a night’s stay, still connected to the TV. Slept great, other than being awakened once to a loud thud. When getting ready to depart, the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. All four shackles had flipped at the Dexter E-Z Flex equalizers, no bueno! With jack in hand and hours later, toiling in the Texas summer heat, all was back to normal. We learn by our mistakes and that of others.

[Steph and Dud B]

While we're taking about jacking, has anyone else experienced: using the official Oliver jacking point forward of the wheels lifts that entire side of the trailer? Both wheels come off the ground. Apparently that's the balance point on our trailer.

[Tideline77]

😔

 

I don’t know where to start to correct my flipped shackles, the trailer is tucked in its storage spot and I won’t be pulling it out until November.

i can access both sides using the jacks or I can snag the combination jack/ jack stand at HFreight 

Edited 19 hours ago by Tideline77

[johnwen]

7 minutes ago, Tideline77 said:

😔

 

I don’t know where to start to correct my flipped shackles, the trailer is tucked in its storage spot and I won’t be pulling it out until November.

i can access both sides using the jacks or I can snag the combination jack/ jack stand at HFreight 

Hi Tideline77....the first and only time  it happened to me I didn't know what to do so I called and talked to Hannah in service.  She said run the nose jack all the way down.  I did and nothing happened.  So she said to run the nose jack all the way up and be prepared for a loud pop.  And sure enough the shackle popped back into place.  Of course raise the rear jacks when you raise the nose so no binding.

Good luck,

John

[Tideline77]

Thank You

my port side rear is flipped and starboard side front is also flipped

 

[Ronbrink]

23 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

While we're taking about jacking, has anyone else experienced: using the official Oliver jacking point forward of the wheels lifts that entire side of the trailer? Both wheels come off the ground. Apparently that's the balance point on our trailer.

When I had metal valve stems put on my trailer, Discount Tire used the jack points and commented it was the first trailer they ever saw with a designated spot to lift. Further comment was they wished all trailers had them, made their job much more easy. 

Edited 34 minutes ago by Ronbrink

[Patriot]

On 7/7/2025 at 12:03 AM, Geronimo John said:

Wow.  I guess my "Only Carry What I Use" philosophy would be lost awash in 6 jacks!  LOL

 

 

😄

Edited 17 hours ago by Patriot