[Peter]

Uh oh……….. Placing supports under the wrong point can do some serious damage to chassis locations not designed for support.

I am not going to stand behind what I am about to tell you because Prevost has varied the support points on coaches so the real correct information is going to come from the service manual for your coach availble on line through the Prevost Publications page.

However I will tell you where I would think it might be safe, but make sure you understand it has to be verified because of the risk if it is done wrong.

In the rear there is a pair of vertical posts behind the tag axle. They will have a heavy wall square tube secured to the bottom of those posts. The tube will go from side to side. I place my chassis supports under the tube at the point at which it attaches to the bottom of the verical member

The tube is going under the transmission oil pan, and the view is from ground level behind the tag axle tire looking across the underside of the coach.

This view is from ground level, looking across the underside of the coach from in front of the front wheel on the driver’s side.

Here is where I have less confidence in the location on your coach. Prevost has shown chassis support locations behind the steer axle but they also permit the location shown that is ahead of the steer axle. It helps if you picture the bus chassis sitting on the axle structures. The chassis of the coach is like a covered bridge that sits on the axle sub assembly structures both front and rear. The location shown is under that structure ahead of the steer axle approximately where two members extend forward with the tow hooks attached. I believe there is another support point that is acceptable approximately where the radius rods attach to the axle structure behind the steer axle. On all three of my coaches I have used the forward part of the structure although my service manual shows the preferred support point for my current coach at the rear. I cannot use that because the points are too far towards the center and they are over my pit.

I verified my preferred support points with Prevost and if you have any doubts I would urge you to do the same.

Please do not get beneath the coach until you are sure you are supporting the coach properly.

[Archived]

Jon is right there are other support points check and see , try to use 20 ton jack stands just to be safe

[granvil]

2 ton jack just not big enough!

[Darcy]

Supporting the bus off the ground at the drive axel is around 34 or so thousand pounds.

My drives is rated at 22,000 and the tags at 12,000 so your 4000 pound stands don’t come close.

At best one side drive and tag off the ground would be about 15 ro 18000 pounds to support.

Be carefull.

My coach is a 40 footer so yours would be different I think.

[Dick]

Note: Bottle jacks I purchased are 20 tons each. Two should more then hold the rear of the bus.

[Richard]

That is more than adequate capacity. If you use the jacks as safety supports don’t extend them hydraulically. I have jacks that I also use sometimes and I leave them in the full down position, but screw out the center post until it makes contact with the chassis. That way I am not risking that the hydraulic portion of the jack will fail.

[Cal]

Point well taken! Thanks for your thoughts.

[Archived]

A few years back a Prevost owner died because he was crushed by the bus while attempting a minor repair. The sad part is he had a prefectly good set of stands to support the coach in his bay, but he apparently wanted to save some time by not going to the trouble of using them.

Everybody that goes beneath a coach needs to understand the danger and the need for supporting the chassis. The only alternative is to lower the coach the entire way down.

[Archived]

I strongly reinforce what Jon said.

NEVER EVER crawl under or reach under anything that weighs more than you can lift unless it is supported by jack stands. That goes for Prevost coaches, trailers, cars, Jeeps, trucks, lawn mowers, engines, etc.

More racers and car guys die each year because the car came down on them without jack stands than die in racing accidents or highway accidents with their cars.

[AL]

Jon, what is the height of your stands? Are they tall enough to get under the bus on a creeper? I know you have a pit but I don’t have one.

[Peter]

I don’t remember the height and I am 650 miles from them. For your coach the height is measured with the coach fully raised up on air bags, and the distance from the underside of the chassis support point to the floor minus about 1/4″ is what they should be.

With the coach raised and on stands you can bet beneath it with a creeper, but once in the area between the left and right wheels you can sit up and do whatever work you need to do. I did that for 10 years and did anything I can do with the pit. Just not as conveniently.

[Archived]

Tom,

Put some eye drops in and get out the glasses. The statement was he bought 2 20 ton jacks, not a 2 ton jack! Nancy, I think that “Senior” pedestrian crosswalk sign with the yellow flashing lights might be more Tom’s than Jon’s! Watch over Tom when he is around moving traffic, hold his hand or maybe use a leash!

We all love you Tom and want you around and driving on into your 90’s.

[Archived]

Don’t pick on Tom, Will. He is apparently in a place where he doesn’t have good access to a cell phone signal or maybe the internet. That is making his efforts to find his next last coach a little more difficult.

The original post was likely edited because initially probably due to a typo it said a 2 ton jack.

[Reagan]

Jon is correct. It was edited.

[Archived]

We’ll see what kind of retraction we get from Will.