Electric HD jack

Forget it.

Deploying that monster on the side of a interstate 6 inches from the white line filled with looky loos, sleepies, drunks, texters, phone users flowing by at 75 mph a foot away from you?

No.

In the old time long ago with the old 5 spoke and nut wheels I changed my own tires away from the pavement in a truckstop or something safe. I did not need much of anything, just a big board to climb a inside drive axle tire up on and replace the outside tire thats gone off the ground. Jacking a axle up is a simple thing using the truck's own air and a small jack that is portable, about the size of a can of coffee.

Today's time if the tire is gone, you locate road service or you find a tire shop to come out and replace it for you. They already have their own system of jacks etc. Tire can be replaced in 20 minutes and off you go minus a large fee. You might lose several tires a year or in my case replace all 10 tractor tires the month prior to winter in the company HQ shop properly or sometimes in a truckstop tire shop of some quality.

Military armor on rubber tires is a different problem. Strykers, LAV and wheeled transport supply trucks and so on. Those are a different situation and the remedy for them already exists well enough. Might have to run without a tire when under fire to displace to a reverse slope or terrain where it's safer to get out and quickly change the thing.

When I consider the last time I pulled both sets of tire, complete wheel and axle assembly out of the dump truck in our back yard lot for all 4 drive bearings to be completely replaced in about 4 hours using just handtools and jacks it was a BIG job for the two of us. We were in top form for that work in those days. I can probably do it again, but physically it will be a costly job.

We probably have no need to purchase anything at any expense to try and make the job easier, especially when there is a backhoe on hand with a shovel that can lift a corner here or a frame there gently. That particular dump truck tried to kill a dear friend of mine on a baltimore flyover above a major beltway when he ran over something and blew all 4 drive tires on one side throwing him against the wall loaded with stone. How he got it back? God only knows. The important result is he got it settled onto the steel wheels without further damage. The new tires were put on then and there.

I can go on. But tires and trucking go hand in hand. Pop em, shred em, flat em, blow em up, just drop a new one on and go.

 

Sorry but here is the problem, weight and return on investment.

Weight is a problem for us, many of us want to utilize the trailer to haul as much weight as we can, so adding a few hundred pounds would mean we haul less weight.

The other is the ROI, unless the thing is say <$300, it won't give us a return on our investment getting it, it is cheaper to deal with road service and let them deal with the problems of a tire change, because the use of it is really limited, how many flats actually happen. In my fleet an average for a truck will have tire issues once every 18 months, so road service gets called.

Oh and thanks for the thought.

 

And the other issue is battery power.

Dakota white out -45 with chills below -60

Forget it. The battery is gone in a short time. And there is no point actually. In certain situations that tractor equals life as long the engine is running. Aint no one coming out in that storm just yet. Wait until the sun.

 

I don't see a big market for an electric jack where truckers are concerned.

Most truckers I know, including myself, carried a 20 ton bottle jack.
Small footprint, easy to handle, works in small spaces, simple to operate and repair, easily replaced, works well in extreme conditions, lasts a very long time, no power source needed, relatively inexpensive.

I used mine many times over the years for various roadside scenarios like changing a U joint, changing tires, chaining up an axle after loosing a couple wheels, jacking and chaining a fuel tank with a busted support, moving shifted loads and etc.

It would have to be a pretty snazzy electric jack to beat out the time tested and proven bottle jack and it's tough to beat simplicity and functionality when it's near perfect.

 

I do have a suggestion, I didn't think about this until now.

I have a very new rv, prevost chassis which I love, but it has hydraulic leveling jacks for some reason, this would be a good market to get involved in.