Floor jacks and Jack stands

[Davidloveshishemi]

I have a 2019 Ram 1500 quad cab. I know where the jack points are but I want to do my own tire rotations so I need the entire truck in the air. I notice there are some frame cross members under the cab for the front, but that seems far back. And I have heard different things about lifting at the differential.

I appreciate any help!

 

[kurek]

I've had no difficulty placing jack stands under the frame back by the cab... and then just jack up the rear axle since you only need the wheels off the ground to rotate them.

 

[GTyankee]

Get a Trolley Jack & thick rubber pads that fit on the jack

 

[Rlaf75]

I've had no problem jacking mine up by the rear differential and putting the jack stands under the frame rails. I've even jacked it up by the frame on one side and placing the stands the front and rear of the frame rail then jacking it up on the other side and doing the same.

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

I have a 2019 Ram 1500 quad cab. I know where the jack points are but I want to do my own tire rotations so I need the entire truck in the air. I notice there are some frame cross members under the cab for the front, but that seems far back. And I have heard different things about lifting at the differential.

I appreciate any help!

I've played around with a couple of different jack points to see what works best with my 4 (3-ton) jack stands and my 3-ton floor jack. As you know, jacking from under the suspension is ideal so you don't have to compensate for suspension droop. So in the rear, I jack up the axle (with a rubber pad) just to the inside of the spring mount points, and then throw a jack stand under the axle as close to the tire as possible. I do it again for the other side as well. I know people jack directly under the rear differential to lift both ends at once, but I've always been leery of that from a structural point of view. I don't know how well all those axle segments are connected (probably plenty well), and I don't want to mess with anything as well-aligned as an axle. This may just be me being way too timid, but that's just who I am.

The front is trickier with the independent front suspension. For that, I've taken to jacking at the center of the main front cross member (the biggest one), and then placing two jack stands on either side of the floor jack, as far outward as possible wile assuring good contact with that cross member. Then I lower it down and slip the floor jack out between them. I'm much more comfortable jacking that single beefy front cross-member, since it's a single monolithic piece of steel.

I'm still not happy with my solution for the front as I do have to overcome the suspension droop, but I'm pretty happy with the rear jack points. Also, no blocks of wood necessary. I may still buy myself a floor jack extension however, just so I'm not squeezing the floor jack near the end of its range.

Also, I can attest that jacking anywhere along the main frame is just fine from the truck's point of view. Those frame rails are super strong. The poor little 3-ton jack stands might protest, but each one of them "should" be able to lift the whole darn truck by itself. So, whatevs, suck it up jack stand.

 

[Mister Luck]

Why Do you need the raise more than one side at a time ?

Depending on the height you need to clear your tires you can use a 2ft length of 4 by 4 balanced across the floor jack’s pad in the middle of your frame rail to lift one side.
Use stands near the axels to support your truck of course, but you only need to change one side at a time.

An added safety precaution is to use tall tire chocks on both sides of the tires in contact with the ground.

When attempting this on asphalt I feel safer using 3/4 inch plywood under the floor jack and jack stands.

 

[GTyankee]

Unless you have a Front Wheel Drive or 4 Wheel Drive you are not suppose to Front to Rear Rotation

If you have a Rear wheel drive, you are suppose to rotate the tires in a Modified X Pattern
Which means that all 4 tires have to be OFF the ground at once

If all 5 of your tires & wheels are identical
Then there is another rotational pattern that includes the Spare

 

[Davidloveshishemi]

I've played around with a couple of different jack points to see what works best with my 4 (3-ton) jack stands and my 3-ton floor jack. As you know, jacking from under the suspension is ideal so you don't have to compensate for suspension droop. So in the rear, I jack up the axle (with a rubber pad) just to the inside of the spring mount points, and then throw a jack stand under the axle as close to the tire as possible. I do it again for the other side as well. I know people jack directly under the rear differential to lift both ends at once, but I've always been leery of that from a structural point of view. I don't know how well all those axle segments are connected (probably plenty well), and I don't want to mess with anything as well-aligned as an axle. This may just be me being way too timid, but that's just who I am.

The front is trickier with the independent front suspension. For that, I've taken to jacking at the center of the main front cross member (the biggest one), and then placing two jack stands on either side of the floor jack, as far outward as possible wile assuring good contact with that cross member. Then I lower it down and slip the floor jack out between them. I'm much more comfortable jacking that single beefy front cross-member, since it's a single monolithic piece of steel.

I'm still not happy with my solution for the front as I do have to overcome the suspension droop, but I'm pretty happy with the rear jack points. Also, no blocks of wood necessary. I may still buy myself a floor jack extension however, just so I'm not squeezing the floor jack near the end of its range.

Also, I can attest that jacking anywhere along the main frame is just fine from the truck's point of view. Those frame rails are super strong. The poor little 3-ton jack stands might protest, but each one of them "should" be able to lift the whole darn truck by itself. So, whatevs, suck it up jack stand.

I want to be sure I am correct, you are talking about using the cross member under the cab, not the one under the oil drain plug? The one under the cab looks much stronger. Thank You!

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

I want to be sure I am correct, you are talking about using the cross member under the cab, not the one under the oil drain plug? The one under the cab looks much stronger. Thank You!

That's good. I'm referring to the cross member directly behind the front sway bar. The front end of the lower control arms is attached to either end. Here is a picture I grabbed from YouTube:



You can see that this is one solid piece of steel, and very strong. I'm very comfortable jacking the entire front end of the truck up from the middle of that thing, and lowering it onto jack stands on either end. Note this particular example has a skid plate getting in the way, but I assume most folks don't have one. I don't.

I would not jack from any of the other cross members further back, as they all seem pretty thin, and definitely can't support the weight of the front of the truck (really most of the truck, since they're so close to the center). If you're jacking from between the front/rear tires, make sure you only jack under the two main frame rails. They are very strong.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Lift the rear by the diff and place the jacks by the axel. Lift the front by the front cross member and place jacks on that one.

 

[Daw14]

 

[Bigs]

Why Do you need the raise more than one side at a time ?

Depending on the height you need to clear your tires you can use a 2ft length of 4 by 4 balanced across the floor jack’s pad in the middle of your frame rail to lift one side.
Use stands near the axels to support your truck of course, but you only need to change one side at a time.

An added safety precaution is to use tall tire chocks on both sides of the tires in contact with the grundo.

When attempting this on asphalt I feel safer using 3/4 inch plywood under the floor jack and jack stands.

+1 on the plywood. I've had jacks and jack stands dig in my paved laneway before and IMO it's safer to make sure the base is secured.

 

[Mister Luck]

Unless you have a Front Wheel Drive or 4 Wheel Drive you are not suppose to Front to Rear Rotation

If you have a Rear wheel drive, you are suppose to rotate the tires in a Modified X Pattern
Which means that all 4 tires have to be OFF the ground at once

If all 5 of your tires & wheels are identical
Then there is another rotational pattern that includes the Spare

The Cross pattern rotation is not necessary and in directional tires is not advisable.
Road crown and suspensions that use coil springs in all four corner’s tend to wear differently side to side and front to rear will help adjust the tires to this (this is on paved surfaces mind you).

In the 70’s biased ply tires demanded cross rotation while with steel belted radials it was a cause of concern for belt separation.
I’m personally kinda old school about this and haven’t had any issues rotating tires this way . I realize there are more advanced formulations of rubber and belt designs .
Most uneven tire wear is going to be attributed to road conditions the weight of the vehicle the condition of the suspension components in relation to how the vehicle is operated.
Oversized tires and wheels that allow for different side wall heights than what was originally equipped will have affects on tire inflation rates that are recommended also.
Think about if at one point you have a patched or plugged tire. With cross rotation is it going to affect the adhesive or the patch inside the tire ?

 

[Daw14]

Owners manual has a diagram

 

[bigred90gt]

I only have 2 jack stands, so I jack one side up at a time, put jack stands on the frame rail as close to front and back as I can get them (and leave the jack in place as a matter of habit), then swap front / rear tires on that side, repeat for the other side, then I jack up the rear and swap side to side. No need to lift the entire truck off the ground at the same time and still wind up with the same result. Sure, it takes an extra 10-15 minutes, but that doesn't bother me.

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

I understand doing only two tires at a time. They call it "straight rotation" at the following website:

https://www.bridgestoneamericas.com...bility/safety/maintaining-tires/tire-rotation

​

It states that it's an older method, or the method needed for directional tires. And of course, one can choose this method if, say, they only have two jack stands like @bigred90gt has. Or if they just want to do it that way for no particular reason. However, I think a lot of people, myself included, prefer the X-style rotation shown here:

​

Note that if you follow a single tire through four rotations of the X-pattern, it takes a turn on each hub and returns to its starting point. I feel this gives best wear evenness, and it's how I prefer to rotate my own tires. I think a lot of others like it too.

But the point is, you cannot follow the X-style pattern without raising all four tires off of the ground. That's what the others are talking about.

 

[Mister Luck]

I understand doing only two tires at a time. They call it "straight rotation" at the following website:

https://www.bridgestoneamericas.com...bility/safety/maintaining-tires/tire-rotation

View attachment 464243​

It states that it's an older method, or the method needed for directional tires. And of course, one can choose this method if, say, they only have two jack stands like @bigred90gt has. Or if they just want to do it that way for no particular reason. However, I think a lot of people, myself included, prefer the X-style rotation shown here:

View attachment 464242​

Note that if you follow a single tire through four rotations of the X-pattern, it takes a turn on each hub and returns to its starting point. I feel this gives best wear evenness, and it's how I prefer to rotate my own tires. I think a lot of others like it too.

But the point is, you cannot follow the X-style pattern without raising all four tires off of the ground. That's what the others are talking about.

This is comical in a way for anyone born after 1980 is going to think straight tire rotation is from the advent of the wheel which in itself says something about history without really knowing anything about it.
If you drive from point a to point b on a flat straight road without crown or camber
with consistent ambient weather conditions yes this it applicable you’d think that the Tire experts are knowledgeable enough because they sell the tires but in fact that’s how they make their living selling you service and tires

The video is from the same link above giving the “actors” creditability as automotive technicians.

Tire Rotation | Bridgestone

In today’s Tread Life episode, we will teach you all about tire rotation. Timely tire rotation can reduce irregular wear, maintain performance as designed an...

youtu.be

As a disclaimer if this thread is for that purpose then I apologize because I’ve worked for shops and dealerships but it is hard to tell if some stories are shills and I again apologize.

 

[bigred90gt]

​

But the point is, you cannot follow the X-style pattern without raising all four tires off of the ground. That's what the others are talking about.

you can, as I said you do the “straight rotation” on both sides, then Jack up the rear and swap the rear side to side after. That works out to the “x style” in the end, just takes an extra step. That’s how I do it since I only have 2.

 

[Mister Luck]

I took a unexpected trip without time to rotate my own tires and left it up to the local tire business I forgot to leave my lug key and they did their due diligence to look for it
I thought they were calling to tell me they were done…. I went to the range the other day and left my targets they probably saw my lock box without the gun

So when I got back to them to deliver the lug key they were super nice and polite and didn’t charged me anything even for checking my evap system or brakes but I noticed later they had cross rotated my tires that have directional indicators.

I don’t like others to work on my personal vehicles but when they do professionally they should do it with care it’s when I see crazy ( my opinion) wrong s”#t it gives me a gut ache and I have to express myself or it it’ll eat me up.

 

[RLJ10X]

I always thought lifting the rear by the differential was a no-no.........