BOS 3 Rib Jockey Wheel

I was having problems with the original standard ALKO 8in Jockey Wheel, in it was getting stiff to turn. So I whipped it apart (punch out the roll pin in the handle) to clean it up and re-grease. I found was the bearing plate rusty and thought cool, that’s all it is, then cleaned up the thread for some new grease and discovered the thread was stuffed. Apparently when they say they are rated up to 350kg they don’t like actually lifting 320kg on a regular basis.

So time to hunt for a replacement..

Bob, a good friend from the road (Bob and Jennifer from Travelling Oz Our Way) had recently installed the BOS370 2 rib Jockey wheel (stand??) and it looked great, drill operated (with a handle for backup) so nice and easy to use too. I looked into it and our draw bar was a little higher so I decided to go for the longer version, the 473 (or 470, 3 rib). This allowed me to install it at its top most position and fully retracted it was just below the level of the draw bar. It has a 370mm travel, plus another 70mm for the foot, then a 120mm extension as well covering pretty much all possibilities.

I managed to find a retailer in Townsville that had some stock coming in and was able to hold one for me until we arrived. About $350 is the normal price. They also do corner stabilser stands, they will also support 1800kg each, so on a full chassis van can jack one side to change a tyre!

The best part however, is it’s rated to 1800kg when using a foot, if you use a wheel that drops it back down to around 400kg.. Just a little more than the ALKO, and its Drill operated! So easy now to hook up, I drill the hitch higher, drive the tow ball into position, lower with the drill and latch to the ball, wind the van and back of car up a few inches (no problems with the 1800kg capacity) then hook up the Weight Distribution Hitch, lower it back down with the drill, remove the foot and stow that in the front tool box and wind the leg all the way up.

Fortunately I also kept the spare smaller Jockey wheel the previous owner had bought.. This particular site had the car in the gutter, so the draw bar was only about 150mm off the ground. However the drawbar needed to be about 850mm off the ground for the van to be level! So with the very short new jockey wheel, I was able to unhook from the car, then wind that up to as high as it would go, attach the spare jockey wheel to a clamp that had been welded on, wind the BOS up enough to fit the 120mm extension and a block of wood, then wind up again!

You can see how the angle of the car compared to the level van!

Specs of the 3 rib version I am using.

NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with the BOS system or company and I paid full retail price for this unit.