Which car jack for storage in the boot?

[Watchman]

The screw jack that came with my Merc GL is pretty rubbish. It takes an age to wind up and down and I just don't trust it.

I know you should never trust a jack enough to get under the car but there must be more substantial designs that I can keep in the car in case I have to change a wheel.

Any recommendations?

[trickywoo]

Can’t recommend a specific one but a bottle jack would be my choice.

[Watchman]

Thanks, that was my thinking too but I thought I'd check in case anyone had a better solution. I've already got a basket waiting for me to buy on the SGS website for a 2-ton bottle jack and 2x 4-ton ratchet axle stands. The jack has a case which makes it look perfect to stash in the car too.

[giantdefy]

How about THIS

[Baldchap]

giantdefy said:

How about THIS

How odd. I expected a cigarette lighter powered electric pump.

Would an additional 3 tons of back pressure do your car any harm?

[Watchman]

giantdefy said:

How about THIS

That's actually quite funny but I imagine it'd work in an emergency. Not sure it'd stand up to anything more than occasional, or even one-off, use though.

[ZX10R NIN]

The problem with most bottle jacks is that they'll be to tall especially if you've got a flat, I have a low trolley jack in mine strapped my boot.

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[Watchman]

ZX10R NIN said:

The problem with most bottle jacks is that they'll be to tall especially if you've got a flat, I have a low trolley jack in mine strapped my boot.

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You are quite right but in the case of my Merc GL, a bottle jack is probably the most useful. The scissor jack it came with was a pain because you had to open it 10" before it made contact with the car. Same for my trolley jack.

I think I'll go ahead with the bottle jack and jack stands combination from SGS. I'll just measure the gap under the car and try to estimate how low it might fall if I had a puncture. Mind you, it has height adjustable air suspension so I could always use that that if there wasn't enough of a gap.

[ZX10R NIN]

Yes you're right in you case a bottle jack will be more compact & make more sense.

[Bill]

Watchman said:

giantdefy said:

How about THIS

That's actually quite funny but I imagine it'd work in an emergency. Not sure it'd stand up to anything more than occasional, or even one-off, use though.

They're commonly used off road for recovery.

[ChampionRabbit]

What are you putting on the top of the bottle jack between it and the car? I don't really find bottle jacks particularly useful for jacking a car for tyres etc since it doesn't have anywhere good to sit.

Also, would not trust a bottle jack as only means of holding car, whereas a scissor jack is fine albeit slow.

At home I have a gravel drive, so when I'm jacking up a car I use old scissor jacks that I've collected over the years and welded bolts or nuts onto to that I can use a ratchet, or impact wrench to jack them up rather than the emergency bar thing. Far quicker.

[Stegel]

I don’t much trust the standard jack on our GL either, but I’d trust it more than a bottle jack. The size of the base on a bottle jack and the inevitable rotation of the vehicle as you lift it will lead to instability - I have only lifted it with a large trolley jack and the way that is drawn in, on its wheels and as intended, as the car rises would see it pull a bottle jack over.

[trickywoo]

ChampionRabbit said:

Also, would not trust a bottle jack as only means of holding car, whereas a scissor jack is fine albeit slow.

At home I have a gravel drive, so when I'm jacking up a car I use old scissor jacks that I've collected over the years and welded bolts or nuts onto to that I can use a ratchet, or impact wrench to jack them up rather than the emergency bar thing. Far quicker.

You are dangerously mistaken there and if I'm reading your post correctly it sounds like you are using multiple scissor jacks as support while working under the car, on gravel at that. Please don't do that anymore. You've been lucky so far.

[Watchman]

ChampionRabbit said:

What are you putting on the top of the bottle jack between it and the car? I don't really find bottle jacks particularly useful for jacking a car for tyres etc since it doesn't have anywhere good to sit.

Also, would not trust a bottle jack as only means of holding car, whereas a scissor jack is fine albeit slow.

At home I have a gravel drive, so when I'm jacking up a car I use old scissor jacks that I've collected over the years and welded bolts or nuts onto to that I can use a ratchet, or impact wrench to jack them up rather than the emergency bar thing. Far quicker.

I destroyed a scissor jack's screw thread with an impact wrench. I absolutely wouldn't recommend doing that.

This is why I find the current scissor jack a pain. To get it to the point where it engages with the car means you've about 10" to wind. A bottle jack would have minimal free space which seems, on the surface, to suit better.

But I get the point about the thing leaning as the car is hoisted up. I have a few ideas... see below.

I am currently working on replacing the rear air springs on the GL so I jacked it up with my trolley jack under the wishbone mount, then lowered it onto an axle stand under the formal jacking point.

The bottle jacks I've seen only have a small coin-sized head, but many are removable by unscrewing. I wish to confirm the SGS one I am keen on has a removable head because I'll make my own head that'll locate into the jacking point properly. Then, if it leans a little, it won't be a disaster if I have to use it by the side of the road.

I also have some small plastic chocks I use under the front wheels when I jack up the rear, and vice versa.

[Watchman]

Stegel said:

I don’t much trust the standard jack on our GL either, but I’d trust it more than a bottle jack. The size of the base on a bottle jack and the inevitable rotation of the vehicle as you lift it will lead to instability - I have only lifted it with a large trolley jack and the way that is drawn in, on its wheels and as intended, as the car rises would see it pull a bottle jack over.

It's just for something for changing a tyre - not for working under however the bottle jacks I've seen have a bigger footprint than the standard scissor jack. It's just the lack of compatible location for the head that I'm mulling over.

Anyway, the jack I've been looking at doesn't extend high enough to lift the wheels off the ground. The next one up is about double the price but extends far higher, has a 5-ton rating, but doesn't have a storage case or a removable saddle.

I wonder if I could machine aluminium lift points for the car to replace the hard rubber ones? Bad idea? I could provide for a circular jack location that way instead of the rectangular one they currently have.

This isn't as simple as I would have liked.

[Watchman]

Conclusion

I have found some hard rubber pads that are intended to go into a trolley jack saddle and present a rectangle into the Merc lifting points. 12 quid - ordered.

The small bottle jack I was originally looking at is attractive because it comes in a blown plastic case for in car storage. I've ordered it despite it being marginal on lift height but it has a removable saddle which means I could always make something that both fits into the Merc lift point and provides for a bit more lift.

SGS has a package with that bottle jack and a couple of small 4-ton ratchet axle stands that look small enough to put one in the car alongside the jack. I'll never need both for a tyre change.

Thanks for your advice, everyone.

[ChampionRabbit]

trickywoo said:

You are dangerously mistaken there and if I'm reading your post correctly it sounds like you are using multiple scissor jacks as support while working under the car, on gravel at that. Please don't do that anymore. You've been lucky so far.

Just to get the end of the car, then jackstands or whatever. I would never, ever go under a car supported just by ANY type of jack. That would be really, really stupid.

I have trolley jacks and ramps and bottle jacks etc; I'm a professional mechanic (albeit not an auto mechanic). My point was just that to me scissor jacks make more sense than bottle jacks as a single lifting option.

Also, I assumed we're talking about tyre changes on the side of the road in which case I wouldn't see any reason to climb under the car...