Where do you place Hydraulic Jack?

Where do you place a hydraulic floor jack to jack
up a 2006 Dodge Caravan. I have just purchased this vehicle
and am waiting for the shop service manuals I have ordered.

I have looked under the vehicle from the side and can see rails
on either side about 3ft long in the front of the vehicle, can
one place the jack on these? How about placing the jack in the rear?
Any known problems with jacking up the vehicle?

Thank you in advance.
Denny B

 

Recent Chrysler vehicles I've owned (not including a minivan) have had
spots along those rails, near the wheel wells, that fit pretty
obviously (once I was thinking in those terms) into the wide area in
the top of the jack.

Isn't there a diagram near the jack storage location?

 

There are probably locations on the diagram, but they are most likely
intended for the supplied "sissors" type jack. It is usually placed
under the body, where two sheet metal panels join. The sissor jack has
a groove to accomodate this, while the floor jack does not.

I have had this same problem with my 1993 Voyager. In the front, I can
use the jack on the "frame rail" but then, there is no place for a
jackstand. Also in the rear, the "frame rails" are higher than the
lowest point of the body, making it difficult to position a floor jack
without causing damage. I have heard that it is okay to place the jack
under the "rear axle" but I have not found any reliable info to back
this up.

It really leaves the home repair guy with very few options for raising
the vehicle.

From what I have noticed, hoists lift the vehicle at about the same
positions where the sissors jack does.

-KM