Best jack to keep in car boot ?

ShiWarrior

ShiWarrior

ShiWarrior

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I'm going though a phase of getting my car organised and I'm buying emergency stuff etc

I hate bottle Jack's for changing wheels, and I'm not all that keen on scissor Jack's either


Shall I just get one of these or other recommendations?

www.halfords.com

Halfords 2 Tonne Hydraulic Trolley Jack | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Halfords 2 Tonne Hydraulic Trolley Jack at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com www.halfords.com

Thanks
 
Scuzi said:
You should probably add one of these as well…


How often do you jack your car? I’m guessing the typical motorist does it once a decade or so. Why would you carry a trolley jack? Is it the sort of car that is highly likely to require roadside maintenance?
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I see your point, thanks for pointing it out

If I do have a puncture in the middle of know where, just wanted to be safe(r)

Cheers
 
If you are going to take one of those then also take a 2 ft long wheel nut wrench and a torque wrench to do the job quickly and correctly
 
ShiWarrior said:
I see your point, thanks for pointing it out

If I do have a puncture in the middle of know where, just wanted to be safe(r)

Cheers
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I can see that, but having a trolley jack in the boot can be bloody dangerous! May be worth looking at breakdown cover for those eventualities.
 
Make sure you chuck in your Halfords advanced 200 piece toolkit too! Never know what size wrench you might need in the middle of nowhere.
 
My truck came with a scissor jack - actually works pretty well for changing wheels - I wouldn't bother with anything else for being prepared for an emergency - just not worth a trolley jack.
 
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For an emergency spare wheel change the stock scissor jack that comes with your car will be fine.

What is worth having in the car is a breaker bar with the right size socket, all well and good getting your car in the air but if you can't undo the nuts with the tiny wrench your car comes with then it's all a bit pointless.
 
The scissor jacks are fine on level surfaces, but a piece of 6” x 6” x 1/4” “barley corn” pattern aluminium deck plate will give it a firm base as pound to a pinch of pig plop, you’ll be changing wheels on muddy grass/loose gravel/meltingly hot tarmac.

Get a wheel brace/spider in the correct wheel nut size to avoid grazed knuckles and guarantee you can get the over-torqued/corroded wheel nuts off.

Never, ever get any part of you underneath any part of a car held up by a scissor jack.
 
ShiWarrior said:
I'm not all that keen on scissor Jack's either
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Whilst they aren't the best, for the generally low chance of needing to fit a spare wheel at the roadside, then they are fine, and being compact fit in the boot perfectly (hence why they are the OEM solution).

Do you have breakdown cover? If so then I'd worry even less - no harm in calling them even if it's just to fit a spare wheel, particularly if you're forced to stop somewhere without reasonably flat ground.
 
Scissor jack usually fine.

Loosen nuts
Jack car
Slide spare wheel under the sill
Remove wheel from hub
Swap the wheel under the sill with the one you just removed
Fit spare wheel to hub
Remove wheel under sill
Lower car
Tighten bolts.
 
Armageus said:
And if for any reason you absolutely have to, then ensure you stick the removed wheel underneath the sill or somewhere similar, so that worst case the car crashes down on that instead of you
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I do this anyway whenever it's practical, just in case.
Agreed with the above, scissor jack is fine for emergency use, trolley jack is complete overkill. If you regularly do DIY maintenance on your car then it's worth the investment in a decent trolley jack, but you wouldn't carry it around with you.
 
Definitely a scissor.
Trolley jacks are great, but I wouldn’t carry mine around with me. It’s a garage device.
 
Coincidentally I bought a spare wheel kit for the picanto. I may never use it but it's good to know it's there if I do. Punctures do seem to be a thing of the past though.

Now I'll get one. :D
 
Semple said:
Make sure you chuck in your Halfords advanced 200 piece toolkit too! Never know what size wrench you might need in the middle of nowhere.
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When I first went on the continent I took my top chest of tools with me with various condiments like zip ties, gaffa tape etc. Also a spare fuel pump, CPS sensor and ignition cassette. I was maybe a bit paranoid.

As for the OP a scissor jack is more than enough for changing a wheel at the side of the road.

Ironically the only time I have had a breakdown was a split coolant hose for the heater matrix. If I had a basic set of tools and some tape and scissors I could have fixed it myself instead of waiting for AA.
 
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