Jack for road use

Rick Parker · #1 (**permalink**) 12-01-2003, 10:17 PM

With the low ride height most of our cars have I was wondering what kind of jack you guys carry in your car (if any) and if it has worked ok? Personally I have never carried a spare or jack nor have I had a flat tire. My radius in the past has been about 200 miles but I want to change that.

Rick

Jamo · #2 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 12:48 AM

I've thought about the same thing, Rick. Don't ever think I'll carry a spare, but you never know when you might need a jack anyway. Only thing I think would ever be small enough would be some kind of bottle jack.

Excaliber · #3 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 01:51 AM

I don't carry a jack either, but I do carry a "Can of Spare Tire".

And sure enough, one day I actually had to use it! The rubber valve stem in the wheel where it goes in had torn. The valve stem was ready to "blow out". I used my "Can" which slowed down the leak but did not stop it. I was able to drive a few miles to a gas station, refilled with air from their hose and made it a few more miles to home. Dang near flat when I rolled in!

My next option was the AAA card and a tow wagon via cell phone!

Ernie

stush · #4 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 04:28 AM

I actually have a spare trigo in the trunk but have not gotten the jack yet. JC Whitney ahs a small scissor jack as does calcarcover.com. I think it is good for 1,000 lbs which should be enough for jacking a corner.

Stu

trularin · #5 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 05:21 AM

PT Cruiser jack.

Works great and can get under the car to the frame.

Need to use a socket and extension to drive it.

Just my $0.02

Hal Copple · #6 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 05:44 AM

i carry a small air compressor,which might let me refill and limp to safety. And on longer trips, when i might need to take the wheel off and take it to get plugged, i carry a Sears sissors jack. I would't trust a bottle jack unless it had a saddle instead of just the little steel tube holding up the frame. If i ever absolutely have to escape a dangerous place, i do carry two cans of that run-flat stuff. It would be my last resort. But my 15inch tires are cheap, and i would not hesitate to ruin it by driving on it flat, either.

I can't actually recall when i actually had to change a tire along the roadside in any of my cars. After all my years in the Army, i "pull maintenance" every weekend on each of our cars, tire pressures and fluids, that sort of thing. Sometimes i find a low tire, and then search it and find a slow leak due to a small nail or screw. So i am unlikly to be stranded out on the road.

My son, this summer, just put new Assimetrico Pirelli's on his Boxster, and in a week unknowling cut a sidewall, but could not tell it on the interstate due to the very low profile of the 40 series rear tire. Until some Chicks pulled up and kept waving at him, he was flattered at first. Then figured out the cause of their attention. Had less than a thousand miles on the tires. He called Tire Rack, where i have ordered my tires for 25 years, and they replaced it at cost, or about 2/3 of the cost of a new replacement tire. We decided to not risk having it repaired.

I do keep a new unmounted spare for both the front and the rear of my SPF, so if i have to get one immediately, i only have to drag it out and have it mounted.

cobrajeff · #7 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 06:10 AM

I carry a very compact scissors jack that I bought at a swap meet. I had a saddle fabricated for it that matches the width of my frame rails.

For a spare tire, I have a 15" Goodyear inflatible spare tire on a specially-made 5.0" wide PSE FIA wheel. Worst part is that if I ever have to use the "air bottle" I have with it, it looks like it will cost about $250 to replace it. Have to find out what the inflator bottle is charged with, and get my empties re-charged.

The collapsible fits up "tucked away" on the ledge between the battery box and the Halon bottle.

So far, I've only had one flat with my ERA, and the sidewalls of the Goodyear Gatorbacks were so stiff I was able to limp to a service station with the tire totally deflated. I pumped it back up at the service station, and limped on home with it.

regards,
Jeff

casaleenie · #8 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 07:46 AM

I like the idea of the PT Cruiser jack fitting... Think I'll go around this afternoon looking for unlocked doors...
OOPs, that was a flashback to my youth.....
Maybe I'll just call Chrysler instead....

DonC · #9 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 08:37 AM

ERA has a spare that they provide as an option, and I'm sure as a purchased part for others, that appears to be designed for a knock-off. At least I hope so since I'll be ordering one with my car whenever Peter and the ERA elves get around to building it.
DonC

my427cobra · #10 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 09:09 AM

Check out the very low profile, very trick (but expensive) jack at www.calcarcover.com under the hot rod accessories section . Too bad there isn't a Harbour Freight version of this.
Greg

casaleenie · #11 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 09:34 AM

Jeff....

Your FIA fuels from the fender?

Ron61 · #12 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 09:42 AM

I carry a small sissor jack that will work, a can of fix a flat, and a combination battery jumper, air compressor unit. Not enough to do a lot but it will get you to a place where you can have the flat fixed. My sissor jack was expensive but is gear driven and is pretty easy to raise just one corner of the car with.

Ron

Excaliber · #13 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 09:51 AM

http://www.calcarcover.com/product.a...o+Product+List

OUCH! $249

Ernie

My Austin Healey 3000 came with what I THOUGHT was a "factory" jack. But one day when I had a flat I realized there was NO WAY that jack would under the ANY part of the car! It was a nightmare changing the tire!

Ron61 · #14 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 10:05 AM

Nice picture Ernie. Must be the new camera huh!! Did you have to sell the jack to pay for the camera ?

Ron

trularin · #15 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 12:18 PM

The PT jack is a very low profile scissor jack, I think like 2.5 inches. I do not know the cost, but $249 is too much.

Rick Parker · #16 (**permalink**) 12-02-2003, 10:20 PM

Since the PT is a redressed Neon, mabe the jack is the same too?Should be loads of them available????

Rick

strictlypersonl · #17 (**permalink**) 12-03-2003, 04:42 AM

Honda (Accord, I think)

Jack: 89310-SM1-A02
Handle: 89000-S01-A00

trularin · #18 (**permalink**) 12-03-2003, 07:00 AM

Good call Rick, I wonder.

The PT Jack lifts the entire side of the car when all the way up ( within reason ).

A Neon jack may be the same unit.

Anyone else know about a Neon jack?

Okiesnake · #19 (**permalink**) 12-03-2003, 12:47 PM

I carry a small scissor jack, tire plug repair kit and a combo battery charger/air pump. Doesn't take up much room.

rms427 · #20 (**permalink**) 12-03-2003, 02:01 PM

My Cobra came with a screw jack. This came with the car from Shelby. The only problem is that it will not work if the tire is flat. I bought a cheap scissors jack and it works fine. It will go under the frame and pick up the front or rear end without a problem.

I found out the original jack didn't work on an ill fated trip to the desert back in 1970. I planned on having a picnic and do some target shooting with a 22 pistol. I had a blanket in the trunk with a bag filled with 22 ammunition sitting on top of it. On the trip out from LA my wife said she smelled something burning. I told her it was just the factories along the freeway. After a while there were no more more factories and we could still smell smoke so I pulled the car over and opened the trunk. Smoke poured out and when I yanked the blanket out (with the ammunition sitting on top) it burst out in flames. My car origanally had the under car exhaust and where it went over the half shafts there were fiberglass inserts. The exhaust had burned through the fiberglass and the blanket sitting on it had caused the blanket to smolder. We were lucky that the ammunition didn't go off. There was about 750 rounds. Later we stopped out in the middle of no where and had lunch. After lunch I noticed the tire was flat. I got out the jack and found out it wouldn't fit under the car. I flagged down a guy in a 64 Chevy and used his jack on the bumper and got the tire changed. We then decided that was enough fun and drove home. When we pulled into the garage and turned off the engine I heard a hiss and another tire was going flat. I put a block of wood under the frame and just left it. I later found out the person who had changed the tires had put the wrong inner tubes in the racing tires I was running at the time. This caused them to get pinched and eventually fail. So we were both unlucky and lucky. Had a fire and two flat tires on one trip but made it home safely.