Jacking with Side Skirts
- Thread starter borat
- Start date
Well where ever you jack onto needs to be solid of sorts to take the weight and pressure of the vehicle jack interface and secure. The rails are only for looks and not structural. Proper fabricated steel tubes bolted at each end might be used to hold weight one of my Landrover friend did that to his Defender many years ago and could jack off that but most under rails and including those for old Defender are not up to much and are not for jacking off.
I have used air jacks on 4x4s essentially a large cylinder shaped bag that one connects to the vehicles exhaust. Very easy to use, very fast deployment and lift is quite fast. They can be used on soft boggy grounds or sand. They are very good at helping in off road recovery either on their own or in conjunction with other equipment. However not sure the T6 would like it because of the soft and uneven undersides. Also these, things are not stable on their own and I would never get underneath if used on its own.
Is the issue getting a jack under the van or do the skirts cover the jacking ponts?
The ABT skirts make access to the jacking points tricky with a standard jack. I haven’t tried it yet but i know with the sidebars on the old van i only managed because of the curve at the end. I think the jack would foul the skirts if I try the normal way. I may be able to get away with it if I raise the van up on the air suspension first but will have to give it a try. Just wondered if anyone else has them and has a method that works
That’s what I might try.. it might make it high enough to get the jack into position without fouling the skirts.Can’t you use the air suspension to “cock a leg” on the van?
What about driving onto a paving slab/block of wood first? Something short to leave a gap for the jack.
I used to do this on a lowered BMW to get the jack under initially.
I used to do this on a lowered BMW to get the jack under initially.
I wouldn’t use the OEM jack at all, it’s dangerous on a vehicle this big.
I carry a bottle jack which has less stroke than the OEM scissor jack, I also carry aluminuim plates to spread the load on soft ground plus a plywood spacer to drive over first to get the jack under the van with a flat tyre. You have to measure and experiment with what works for your wheels, tyres and suspension. Remember to allow for suspension sag as the axle is unloaded and the drop from a deflated tyre.
It’s pretty hard to sort out with standard OEM set up let alone lowered with body mod’s.
Better to have a plan ready before you really need it.
Thanks yeah i should have been clearer that im not talking about the standard jack. This was with a trolley jack. I plan to carry a bottle jack for emergencies and will try that first with the skirts but i suspect with where the lever is on most it may still be a challenge. Will give it a go though.
