I was flicking throug hsome photos on FFN tonight and came across this picture:
What's everyones thoughts on the method used?
A couple of things I'm not too sure about:
1) Using the stabilizing cribs to also act as the base for the lifting airbag Disregard this one- on closer inspection it appears that it is in fact seperate stacks
2) The height of the cribbing stack as compared to the length of the cribbbing used
3) Is the cribbing unevenly loaded? (ie: it's all loaded against one side as opposed to being evenly loaded across the whole stack)
From a basic engineering viewpoint once you get a dynamic load, such as a car on pneumatic tyres on an angle you need to brace against the force push back towards you (the side of the vehicle).
Looking at the base of the cribbing we can see from top to bottom in the photo it appears that the base cribs are too narrowly set out having been placed side by side, so we end up with a very unstable inverted pyramid. General instructions for safe cribbing have "the height should not be more than three times the width."
Mark hit it right. The base of the crib needs to be wider. with a narrow box crib the higher you go the less stable it becomes. Also you can not make it out in the picture but has anything been done on the other side of the vehicle? I would have at least deflated the tires to reduce the possibility of the vehicle moving sideways thus causing it to fall off the box crib.
The other consideration is keeping members out of the firing line of lifting airbags.
There was a case over here where a career firey got pretty seriously injured on a training drill when the airbag became dislodged and flew out at him at a great rate of knots! Using this picture as an example, the operators would wear the impact in the face...
It's NOT textbook! Base too narrow,stack too high,it doesn't appear that the wheels are chocked in any fashion. If I were doing this lift I'd use one lifting point just forward of center and use BOTH bags stacked. Crib as you go.
Tim is correct on all counts. Another way to use this is to use struts that have jacking capability or to use a single cribbing stack with double-stacked air bags and to use struts instead of the additional stacks of safety cribbing.
Using a "sling" chain lift regardless of manufacturer would allow the height needed. But I agree with Ben and Tim airbags re-centered. I would use the struts to stabilize the bag lift.
You can sling the undercarriage and carry the chain to the airbag side at the height needed, I would use one in the front and rear quarter panels. (the new space saver jacks are very short)
As the bags lift, have someone crank or extend the struts to take up any collapse space created from the bag lift. (dual kick stands)
There is an operating procedure for a side lift, (single side access) or the clam shell manuever to free a person from beneath. Strut attaches to the roof line in the area of the B post, (center) and attach the stabilization straps to the opposite undercarriage, crank and lift like a kickstand.
Like I said regardless of manufacturer, it can be done fairly easily.
This set-up is so quick most companies are still working on opening up the regulator case, color coding the hoses to regulators to bags, and the crates of cribbing being moved while the above system is "lifting" after chocking the wheels and securing just two hooks/straps.