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Old 07-27-2018, 06:18 PM   #1
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Blocking?

Say hey everyone, I keep reading about blocking my bus before sticking myself under it. We're working on a 2004 Gillig 40' low floor. Curious what the proper process is? Stack up some 4x4's or solid concrete blocks under the frame in front and behind of where I'm working? Thanks

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Old 07-27-2018, 06:32 PM   #2
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Say hey everyone, I keep reading about blocking my bus before sticking myself under it. We're working on a 2004 Gillig 40' low floor. Curious what the proper process is? Stack up some 4x4's or solid concrete blocks under the frame in front and behind of where I'm working? Thanks
God forbid concrete blocks, wood cribbing is dangerous also.

Order a pair of heavy duty load rated jackstands from Harbor Freight and be safe, buses are HEAVY. About $100 dollars for a set of the two gray ones in the picture.

I set all of these up for a photo op to please my wife but actually am using the 4 jackstand to lift the whole bus off the floor about a foot.
They also have a 20 ton air over hydraulic jack that will lift the whole bus front or rear with the squeeze of a valve. .About $100 dollars also.
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Old 07-27-2018, 08:06 PM   #3
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for your safety

do not use concrete blocks, bricks,pavers or any thing like them. Too many will crack and fail......please do not do that. ever. pretty please?

I have used stuff like a tree trunk or tires on rims, rims,railroad ties, when in a pinch.

the better way, flat level ground, and stands built to take that kind of load. On dirt if you have to some thing hard like ply wood under the stand to keep it from sinking.

william.
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Old 07-27-2018, 08:14 PM   #4
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What kind of surface is the bus parked on? Stands and/or a combination of railway ties might do the trick. And chock the tires good that are on the ground, if applicable.
Cinder blocks are a definite nono. Concrete blocks are much stronger if you need them in a pinch. Put thick plywood down or timbers to spread out the weight under whatever you use, like the outrigger pads that crane operators etc set up before working.



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Old 07-27-2018, 08:32 PM   #5
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It's on dirt/gravel currently. I'll pickup some of the 12 ton harbor freight jack stands. I've got material to support them. Is there a designated place on the Gilligs to put them? The bottom didn't appear to have any large frame members from what I saw earlier.
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Old 07-27-2018, 08:40 PM   #6
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For unstable ground we would weld plates on the bottom of the 4 legs on jack stands. That way they are harder to sink into the ground.
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Old 07-27-2018, 08:56 PM   #7
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I don't trust anything hydraulic and prefer wood blocking even with heavy duty jackstands.



Remember...they came from China.
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Old 07-27-2018, 09:05 PM   #8
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What are you doing under the bus? Do you need it supported front and rear?


I agree with Tango on blocking but hydraulic is ok to lift it to get the blocking under it.


You might have to set up a few different cribs, maybe 4 sets spaced equally if you want the whole bus in the air.


I do this for my boat hull which weighs 17 tons. Trust cribbing or blocking before anything.


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Old 07-27-2018, 09:15 PM   #9
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Just need to get at the bolts holding some of the seats down. I don't need to lift it yet
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Old 07-27-2018, 09:34 PM   #10
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Quote:
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I don't trust anything hydraulic and prefer wood blocking even with heavy duty jackstands.



Remember...they came from China.
Was taught early on never ever work under a jack. Then one saturday I went to Catechism and it was cancelled because the lady that taught it son had been crushed dead under the car he was working on when it fell off the jack.
That has stayed with me my entire life.
I will work under wood cribbing if it is screwed together or use pads of 2x whatever with plywood caps screwed on.

I also have 20 of those screw jacks in the picture each rated at 10 tons left over from when I lifted my house to put a foundation under it and another stack of glued and screwed crribing.
Going to take my chances with the Chinese jackstands. They are rated at 12 ton or 24000 lbs and am only supporting 5000 lbs at each corner.
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Old 07-30-2018, 07:11 AM   #11
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cribbing

Someone posted this link in another thread. I don't remember who or what thread, but I saved the link.

https://paulhasenmeier.wordpress.com...hicle-lifting/
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Old 07-30-2018, 08:03 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
I don't trust anything hydraulic and prefer wood blocking even with heavy duty jackstands.



Remember...they came from China.
+1 on wood cribbing. It "grips" the steel frame rails better than steel-on-steel jack stands and you can build it up with a much wider base. It works especially well on uneven ground, though if you have the option you should find a perfectly flat place to work (I pretty much never have that option).

Jack stands are sketchy for heavy equipment.

Here's a hastily pulled article that provides some weight ratings. I'll tell you this: harbor freight doesn't sell a 60000lb jack stand, but your lumber yard does
https://www.boronextrication.com/201...ibbing-basics/
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Old 07-30-2018, 10:03 AM   #13
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I've had my bus sitting on wood cribbing in the shop for about a month now. For context, I'm not working under the bus but simply needed it off the ground so I can remove and paint the wheels.

I got it off the floor with a pair of 20 ton bottle jacks (so I could evenly lift both ends of the axle), and stacked some roughly 7x7 inch timbers from the concrete floor up to the frame. I considered buying the HF jack stands, but timbers won out because I already had those on hand vs having to buy two sets of the stands!
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Old 08-08-2018, 11:38 PM   #14
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The main reason why you don't get under rigs that don't have steel springs is because air bags can and will fail. And you don't want to be under the bus when all of that weight decides to quickly hit the bump stops. It is really difficult to breathe when you have 30K lbs of bus on your chest.

Your Gillig should have lift points that are clearly defined. The lift points are most likely just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear duals. Lifting any place else is going to cause body damage unless you lift under the axles. Just make sure that if you lift on the axles that you dump all of the air out of the suspension before you get under the bus.
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Old 08-09-2018, 06:03 AM   #15
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I do a lot of railroad work, jacking up railroad cars to change out wheels among other things. RR's have a lot of rules written in blood. here are the most pertinent for us.

1. jacking most never be metal to metal, always a hardwood block between surfaces

2. cribbing must be hard wood

3.two jacks must be used

4. jack pads must be bigger then the base of the jack

Although we do have a pair of jack stands we will always crib with wood even when we do use the jack stands. Wood cribbing is the industry standard and done properly has much greater stability then a jack stand.

Cribbing should be done with each layer at 90 degrees to the last layer. Railroad ties cut into 3 ft pieces are great, and also full length ones. For our buses 6x6 hardwood and 4x4 hardwood work well. I am going to have to say for something light like a bus (remember buses are light compared to a locomotive) I will cheat and use common softwood 6x6. I do realize many do not have hardwood in large sizes readily available.

I need to do a complete brake job on our bus and will put it in the shop for that and will use wood cribbing under the frame so that I can be sure it is stable for working under it.
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