4WD roadside tyre changing - best bottle jack?
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 14:44
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DrewT
I had a blowout on one of the back tyres last Friday, & again my OE bottle jack (and the aftermarket 6tonne one I also carry) struggled to make the jacking distance (Prado 120 with 50mm lift & slightly larger 265/70/17 tyres). ie
- OE Toyota jack is 1.8tonne & 195-485 lift range = 280mm lift + initial screw adjust
- Superworks is 6tonne & 205-410 lift range = 205 lift & no screw adjust.
If i have to initially use the chassis to lift, then the aftermarket one just doesn't have the range to lift a flat tyre off the ground to an inflated tyre height. I do carry a jacking plate & bits of 12 ply to get the jack as close to the jacking point as possible. Between the two jacks and the various bits of wood i do finally get one of the jacks to the right height .. just. So I've hunted around for a better bottle jack solution & see that lots of other folks also have this problem & I reckon there NO bottle jacks on the market with a good lifting height AND that also have a lowish minimum height to be able to initially slip under the jacking point and get started. I was very close to buying one of the SPX bottle jacks (9006x = 6t, 216mm-521mm or the 9011x = 11t, 200-530 + 68mm screw adjust .. but the 9011x is a big beast) until i saw on one of the Disco websites that they suggest using a Mercedes Sprinter Van OE bottle jack (2.6t, 260-570mm, no screw adjust) which gives an impressive 310mm lift You still need your OE jack because you may need its minimum height to initially get the chassis/axle high enough to use the Sprinter jack.
So today I bought a 2nd hand one ($170 delivered from First Auto Parts in Seaford Vic)) & it will now replace the Superworks one i am carrying (ie still keeping the Toyota OE one as
well). If there is the 'perfect' bottle jack out there that i've missed .. please let us know (i would prefer to only carry one)
Reply By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 15:00
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 15:00
G'day Drew, you may
well have cured your problem. My solution is a 2ton Trolley Jack..
replaces them all. Used on car & van without need to crawl under. I don't know the
max & min height figures, but it goes in low & up high. Maybe loses a bit in weight
against bottle jacks, maybe not, but wins on stability. I do carry a small bottle one as
back up. cheers....oldbaz.
AnswerID:
524987
Follow Up By: DrewT - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 17:27
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 17:27
yep i didn't even consider the trolley jacks purely because of the size that they take up!
FollowupID:
806852
Follow Up By: Penchy - Friday, Jan 24, 2014 at 08:24
Friday, Jan 24, 2014 at 08:24
I have a trolley jack also. Yes it is a fair bit larger but its fits a nice whole behind my rear
seat. So much easier than a bottle jack (I keep one of these as a spare also).
FollowupID:
806898
Reply By: pop2jocem - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 15:22
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 15:22
Drew,
I think the problem you, me and probably many others have is that for the jack (2 stage) to be low enough to get under the axle or spring mounts and then lift high enough to get the now inflated spare on is that the length of travel is governed by the length of the the jack when not extended. Obviously the rams cannot be longer than the jack body so the most lift you can get is a bit less than twice the height of the non extended length. What I have found was that using a jack and axle support stand while not saving any space certainly saved a fair bit of weight.
Personally I use my Hi lift jack, which I carry anyway, and an adaptor that slides onto the hubs of my Landcruiser. This gives me way more lift than I could ever need, and then lower the vehicle onto the axle stand. Now much safer than working under a vehicle supported by any jack. I then remove the flat tyre and replace it with the spare. Lift the vehicle off the axle stand with the Hi lift and lower it to the ground. Final tighten of wheel nuts and all good to go.
This works a treat on a vehicle that has a fully floating design and so a hub to take the adaptor but not sure if that would work with other semi floating styles. Maybe a different type of adaptor.
Obviously if you don't travel with a Hi lift jack, many don't, all this means jack bleep ...LOL.
Sorry (;=((
Cheers
Pop
AnswerID:
524989
Reply By: Echucan Bob - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 18:00
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 18:00
As with all 4WD equipment, what you take is a compromise between the weight and size of the piece of kit, the ease of use, and the likelihood of it being needed. Think winch, think 200 L fuel tank, think jack, even bull bar.
Go down to your local weigh
bridge and put a full steel bar, a high lift or trolley jack, and a 950 lb winch on the scales - thats a lot of freight to be lugging around that may not be needed (and that's before you add on 80 kg or so for the oversized fuel load)!
If a single piece of kit can be shared between several vehicles then it might make a bit more sense. A high lift jack between four cars and it almost justifies inclusion.
When it comes to jacks I've had (and still have) a hi lift, an inflatable exhaust gas bag, the oem worm drive, and a 4 tonne hydraulic.
The 4 tonne hydraulic with the coaxial piston is the go.
PS What sort of tyre blew Drew? Might a TPMS have saved it?
Bob
AnswerID:
525001
Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 18:09
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 18:09
Don't forget the fire extinguisher and the
first aid kit. All extra weight and space. After all someone else will have one or someone will come along who has.
Wow!! 950 lb. That's some winch you have there Bob.
.
Cheers
Pop
FollowupID:
806856
Follow Up By: DrewT - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 19:18
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 19:18
Hi Bob. It was a very old cooper A/T that delaminated. The TPMS did indicate that another tyre was a bit low about 5 min beforehand. I pulled over and looked at all 4 tyres and felt if they were too hot (it was one of those heatwave days), but everything was ok. So i suspect that there was no indication that it was about to delaminate (not that i was looking for that)
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Echucan Bob - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 23:44
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 23:44
Pop,
I think I meant 9500 lb - damn yanks and their pounds shillings and pence!
Bob
FollowupID:
806892
Reply By: Member - Bruce C (NSW) - Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 21:05
Thursday, Jan 23, 2014 at 21:05
Hi Drew,
I have recently bought one of those 12 volt operated scissor jacks from Ebay which works very
well and as it has a remote I can stand or kneel beside the vehicle rather than crouch on my elbows and knees to wind the jack up. I am impressed with this new Jack.
I removed the plug on the end of the lead and replaced it with an anderson plug so that I can plug it into the anderson on the back of the car as
well as use it on the van where I have an anderson plug fitted to each side for that purpose.
I also have several blocks of wood to place under the jack. I used to have hardwood but have now converted to several pieces of treated pine 150 X 150 X 50 as it is lighter than hardwood.
By this method I can have a 50mm lift under the jack or a 100mm lift if needed and they are cheap as
well. I can also use them to level the van if needed when setting up on a site.
Cheers, Bruce.
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Reply By: Robin Miller - Friday, Jan 24, 2014 at 10:39
Friday, Jan 24, 2014 at 10:39
Hi Drew
I think you already have the perfect one - which car does it come with , I might try and source one ?
Its some years since I did similar research and came up with standard Nissan Y61 as best jack, it sounds similar to yours but only goes from 190 - 410 mm.
Nothing hydraulic would match it.
Can you confirm yours is 280mm lift plus additional screw bit - or did you mean 280mm total.
The Nissan is also 1.8t and weights in at a light 3.8kg
I also carry 19mm marine ply base plate and a few bits of treated pine 100X100 and 100 X 50 to reach a max of 600mm.
AnswerID:
525046
Follow Up By: DrewT - Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 at 09:44
Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 at 09:44
Hi Robin. Per my original post the OE one is from my Prado 120. Yes it has 280mm lift and initial screw adjust. It's wind up not hydraulic
FollowupID:
806952
Reply By: Member - Paul B (WA) - Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 at 10:23
Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 at 10:23
I have been looking for years, in auto/4WD shops and wreckers yards etc for a jack I thought was quite common in the 60's when I was a kid, that was either a two stage hydraulic jack or a three stage screw jack.
The hydraulic jack had a narrower diameter piston inside the bottom one that simply telescoped out to increase the jacking height, but I haven't seen one for years so I'm beginning to wonder if I'm simply mistaken. Or confused. It wouldn't be the first time!
Likewise the old Holden jacks were very compact but jacked about three times their height with 3 stage screws, but I doubt they'd be high enough for these purposes.
AnswerID:
525147