What's The Best Portable Jack?

I recently bought a very cheap electric scissor jack that you can slide under the wish bone close to the wheel and just lift the wheel and not the whole body.
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Having had a real life blow out last year it makes you realise how ill prepared the van is in that situation.

The standard jack is awful.. and dangerous

I got a small compact 5T bottle jack now, from toolstation along with an extending crack bar and replaced the locking bolts as well with thatcham security hardened steel ones with better keyhead pattern.. as I had one so nearly round off at the roadside..

And of course make sure your rolling radius of the spare is a close a match as possible to your main wheels.
 
And low enough to get under when the tyre is flat..
Also, bottle jacks normally come with a small round top, so you will need to make a jack adapter to make it useable and safe.
Good call Loz, also carry a small steel plate to stop the foot sinking in soft ground.
 
And of course make sure your rolling radius of the spare is a close a match as possible to your main wheels.

Im not sure this is worth bothering with unless you have a 4Motion. Look at space saver spares, they are nothing like the same size.
 
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I'm in the market for a new jack. Last year I had to jack the van up at the rear, along comes a big gust of wind and the whole thing moves forcing the VW jack up into the bodywork. I've now got a nice crumpled bit thats needs fixing before I sell it.
 
I have an SGS low profile trolley jack that I keep under the rear bench. The bottle Jack's don't go high enough. It's a bit of extra weight but it fits perfectly and gives peace of mind!
 
It was the price vs practically that put me off. I've got much more trust in a trolley
 
Jacking on a wish bone ?
Not good idea each to their own
Ours are cast and massive compared to your average mondeo, and as I said just for a quick wheel change at the side of the road instead of using the factory jack.
 
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Hopefully people back up jacks with axle stands / blocks / wheel, etc. Any jack old or new can fail at any time, you only get one head.
 
Ours are cast and massive compared to your average mondeo, and as I said just for a quick wheel change at the side of the road instead of using the factory jack.
Not interested in mondeo’s I couldn’t careless where you jack your van, the observation is for everyone. It’s just not correct to do cast or not
 
Having had a real life blow out last year it makes you realise how ill prepared the van is in that situation.

The standard jack is awful.. and dangerous

I got a small compact 5T bottle jack now, from toolstation along with an extending crack bar and replaced the locking bolts as well with thatcham security hardened steel ones with better keyhead pattern.. as I had one so nearly round off at the roadside..

And of course make sure your rolling radius of the spare is a close a match as possible to your main wheels.
I have the 5T bottle jack also.
great bit of kit for £13.
I blagged £10 voucher off !
Would it be possible to link where you bought the thatcham security bolts from please ?
I am after a set.
cheers
 
I have an SGS low profile trolley jack that I keep under the rear bench. The bottle Jack's don't go high enough. It's a bit of extra weight but it fits perfectly and gives peace of mind!
Hi mate is it this one? And you have not problems lifting the T6?

 
Hi mate is it this one? And you have not problems lifting the T6?

You may find that a 3Te jack is better.
I have one of these, not from this site but this is a very good price at £72.90 delivered.
Sealey also have good customer service for spare parts.
 
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@Californication69 pleased with these, they seem to have a better key pattern.. also added a bit of anti seize copper grease when fitting them.. Alloy wheel Locking wheel bolts Thatcham vw transporter T5 T6 camper van lock nu | eBay
Thanks Jason, the chrome look McGard are £30 at amazon. Can you get chrome wheel nut caps to pop on top of the VW bolts ?
I have black VW caps on at the moment.
But changing to Tomahawk Outlaws soon, and want Chrome look nuts, to complete the look
 
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