The Gun Counter

Okay Gents, this morning brought something crashing home to me. I need a good jack for both my car and my wife's.
I have never thought of this as the two times I've ever had an issue it was when borrowing a truck from my father.
The first time I had two tires blow and only one spare so it was a moot point, the second time, well, he has a good jack in his truck, so I didn't have to worry.

I have plenty of experience changing tires on the side of the road for folks who have no clue, but, in each case they had wimpy little
scissor jacks that worked poorly. Including this morning after I dropped my wife off to work. I helped a lady change her tire who did not know what to do, and the jack she had was barely uop to the task.

So, I need a jack for both of my cars, I would love your recommendations, as well as pro's and con's to what you are recommending.

Thank you, sir.

I keep trying them out, and they keep failing on me... usually in the rain, or the pounding hot sun.

Isn't that how it always goes? Murphy was an optimist.

I have come across good reviews for the yikes Harbor Freight aluminum racing jacks. Don't have one for myself.

Most interesting car jack I ever came across is one my Dad had - was a very long, upside down hydraulic jack, with a hook and chain on it. The ram would go into a baseplate, and the hook would go under a bumper(back when cars had hefty chrome bumpers). and it would lift the car up. Best part was you didn't have to crawl around on the dirt to jack the car up.


HTRN

Depends on the cars you own. 4X4/SUV/Pick-up get a bottle jack. Unibody passenger car(and most passenger cars now are unibody) get a quality scissor jack. Trucks not only need a taller jack to reach lift points, but also need to lift higher due to(generally) longer suspension travel. Scissor jacks are better for cars(particularly unibody) because the are much lower at the bottom of their travel to fit under cars and usually notched to fit the body seem below the rocker panels(often factory lift points on cars). I use a five ton rolling jack for my jeep because I need the height but even the Pep Boys aluminum "racing" jack will not fit under my fathers chrysler(the factory scissor jack barely fits).

I've always used bottle jacks. My current one is electric, and sounds like hell, but still works. I also carry a thick piece of plywood to spread the load if on soft soil.

IrateIrishman wrote:Depends on the cars you own. 4X4/SUV/Pick-up get a bottle jack. Unibody passenger car(and most passenger cars now are unibody) get a quality scissor jack.

I tend to agree with the above. The only difference is that with a RWD car, I'd still prefer a bottle jack, since I can jack it via the axle or A-arm. FWD = scissor jack.

I also like to carry a cheap floor jack. It works fine (no failures yet) and is easy. If it won't fit the bill the other jack gets used.