Inflatable jack's from exhaust system

First time I inflated mine it blew apart at the seam with an almighty bang and was being demo'd to me by a veteran. it was replaced without question by the manufacturer and since then I have used it a couple of times with huge sucess. Takes a bit of practice to become proficient and is mainly for use on sand or emergency. Given that they can fail I would definately err on the side of caution reaching under wheels to place items to grip on. This is the case with any jack. Overall I reckon they are great but i wouldn't rely on one to be my only method of raising a vehicle and the inflation time is good Value is a relative thing and only you can decide how many times a year would you use it for your $200.

I have used mine twice, both times went very well and got me going again. I would suggest that you have 2 pieces of thick carpet with you, one for under and one for on top of the bag and ensure that when you position it under vehicle that you are well away from any sharp bits.

I travel by myself a lot and have had to find a way of holding the funnel over the exhaust while the bag is filling, normally one person would do this while the other either watches whats going on or is revving the engine to increase the exhaust.

Very good in sand or anywhere that the jack wont go.

Is it worth the money, well wha'ts it worth to you to be able to get out of the bog/sand/cr*p and on your way again...for me it is priceless :-)

Hi Marcus,
I have owned one for about 8 years now. Have used it 9 times. Mainly used on sand although i had to use it twice on rocky stuff. It dont take long at all to inflate, I also advise you have 2 pieces of thick carpet or sacks (what i use) to place on floor and ontop of bag. Takes up a bit of room when packed in car BUT very handy when needed.
In my opinion its worth the money.

Thats my shillings worth old mate
Regards Angelo

Mark,
I use one at least twice a month, no I don't get stuck a lot but we use the exhaust jack on our driver training course. The carpet is a very good idea, I use two carpet squares and they do protect the bag. I have also repaired the bag and it still works very well. You might have to have a few goes at postioning the bag but I have lifted all types of vehicles up so that the wheel that is bogged has been lifted high enough to fill the hole with rocks or dirt.
Wayne

i just bought 1 brand new $70 was hoping to try it in qld but didnt ill try it on sat and let you know

Hi Mark,
I found mine to be a life saver when I had a flat on the caravan.Not only do you need to jack the axle but the chassis has to be lifted as well to clear the wheel from the wheel arch.Not good design I know but little old 12ft van will go anywhwere lLandrover can tow it.Was on 13' but have now popped on the 14"s.Short of a heap of digging to clear the wheel the airbag that I had just purchased did the job no fuss and best of all no effort!It is now a permanent resident in the van,Cheers Jane

G'day,

Yep. Owned one for roughly 11 yrs.
Always carry it in the recovery kit out.
Used it 4 times in anger.
3 times on my own vehicle in beach sand, where we were hopelessly bogged - worked a treat! - funny though, it was the last resort bit of kit we used each of the times!!(after winches;straps etc!)
....and 1 time to show the girlfriends old uncle how it worked on his little pristine 83 Pulsar hatch - only second time i'd played with it and nearly turned the little datto on its side....kid u not....all 4 wheels got off the ground..... funny, but very sobering!
Advice from a mug - play with it at home, take the carpet advice or similar, inflates quickly no fuss, money is in-material when one is staring down a high tide and all else has failed!

Cheers
NICK

Had one about 4 years, used it about 6 times, on sand even on concrete in the servo carpark when my jack packed it in on the rocky, great, handy if you have an idle up or hand throtle though.