Scissor Jack (or Otherwise?)

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trig42

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#317598 29-Oct-2024 12:34

Hi,

I got a flat tyre on the boat trailer over the weekend (second one in a year!).

Last time I didn't have the correct brace to get the wheel nuts off (so I have one now). This time, I broke the 'eye' on my car's scissor jack jacking up the trailer.

Soo, I need a new Jack. Something half (or fully) decent. This time, a friendly bloke popped out of his driveway with a scissor jack that didn't look too different to my Kia one, but obviously was much better as he had no issues jacking the trailer up (whereas I was really struggling to get it to move with mine, and the pressure eventually broke the eye where the hook inserts to turn the screw). He said his was a truck one (maybe he meant Ute?) but it was great, and as I said not so huge that I couldn't carry it in the Kia (Sportage).

Any recommendations - I know someone out there will have done the research, or have some experience with this, so thanks in advance.

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#3302703 29-Oct-2024 13:07

I find a small trolley jack to be a handy device to keep in the garage workshop. Too big to carry around in the boot but just so easy to wheel around the garage and really quick to put something up and down. And much more powerful than a screw powered jack too - effortless to lift a large car or loaded trailer.

Just don't *ever* get under a vehicle or trailer that his held up by one. If you need to get underneath, put axle stands or blocks in first.

Technofreak

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#3302762 29-Oct-2024 15:41

The ones usually available at Repco or Super Cheap are about 750 kg. Your car one may only have had a rating of around 750 kg. That's going to be the approximate weight at each wheel for your average car. Hence the failure lifting the boat trailer, which I'd hazard a guess is more than 750 kg per wheel.

Also I wonder that the jackscrew on your jack may have needed lubricating which would have loading things up a but and perhaps caused the eye to fail.

For a boat trailer I think I'd go a bit heavier, 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes. Something like this https://www.powerbuilttools.co.nz/product/1-6-ton-1500kg-scissor-jack/

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tweake

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#3302767 29-Oct-2024 15:46

the big question is how heavy is the boat and trailer.

i'm guessing the kia is pretty light and has a light weight jack. utes have better jacks as they are much heavier.

any 3 or 4 ton jack set should be fine.

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#3302772 29-Oct-2024 15:56

tweake:

the big question is how heavy is the boat and trailer.

i'm guessing the kia is pretty light and has a light weight jack. utes have better jacks as they are much heavier.

any 3 or 4 ton jack set should be fine.

It really needs to be a scissor jack. Bottle jacks are usually too high to get underneath the vehicle with a flat tyre plus it needs to be relatively light and portable..

3 and 4 tonne scissor jacks are pretty rare, a bit like rocking horse poo from what I can see.

A 1.5 to 2 tonne scissor jack should be sufficient. I doubt the boat and trailer will be 3 tonne.

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tweake

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#3302774 29-Oct-2024 15:58

Technofreak:

eeds to be a scissor jack. Bottle jacks are usually too high to get underneath the vehicle with a flat tyre plus it needs to be relatively light and portable..

3 and 4 tonne scissor jacks are pretty rare, a bit like rocking horse poo from what I can see.

A 1.5 to 2 tonne scissor jack should be sufficient. I doubt the boat and trailer will be 3 tonne.

agreed. sorry i got the weight wrong there.

johno1234

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#3302786 29-Oct-2024 16:52

Technofreak:

It really needs to be a scissor jack. Bottle jacks are usually too high to get underneath the vehicle with a flat tyre plus it needs to be relatively light and portable..

3 and 4 tonne scissor jacks are pretty rare, a bit like rocking horse poo from what I can see.

A 1.5 to 2 tonne scissor jack should be sufficient. I doubt the boat and trailer will be 3 tonne.

Bottle jacks are also not very stable on on anything other than a concrete level floor.

I have a 2 tonne trolley jack which is as low profile as a scissor jack and is "light and portable" in as much as I can pick it up with one hand. It is larger than a scissor jack that comes in a car though and too big to keep permanently in a car boot but will fit in easily if needed to take it to a job..

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Technofreak

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#3302819 29-Oct-2024 17:46

johno1234:

Technofreak:

It really needs to be a scissor jack. Bottle jacks are usually too high to get underneath the vehicle with a flat tyre plus it needs to be relatively light and portable..

3 and 4 tonne scissor jacks are pretty rare, a bit like rocking horse poo from what I can see.

A 1.5 to 2 tonne scissor jack should be sufficient. I doubt the boat and trailer will be 3 tonne.

Bottle jacks are also not very stable on on anything other than a concrete level floor.

I have a 2 tonne trolley jack which is as low profile as a scissor jack and is "light and portable" in as much as I can pick it up with one hand. It is larger than a scissor jack that comes in a car though and too big to keep permanently in a car boot but will fit in easily if needed to take it to a job..

Agree re the stability of the bottle jacks, though to be honest some scissor jacks aren't much better.

A trolley jack is a very good way to lift a vehicle however as you say too big/heavy to carry all the time in the car.

One option for the boat trailer is to mount a light trolley jack such as the one you have on the trailer somewhere. While it might be a bit big to permanently carry in the car it's probably not to big/heavy to have it ride on the trailer somewhere.

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Wheelbarrow01

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#3302950 30-Oct-2024 01:30

If we're only going down to the local boat ramp (10 mins away) we don't bother taking a jack. However when hauling the boat down to our bach, the trolley jack always gets packed in either the back of the car/ute, or in the boat itself.

I'd never trust a flimsy scissor jack under our boat (roughly 1.5-1.6 tonne inc fuel & trailer), and a bottle jack is usually only useful when on flat, level ground.

our trolley jack is relatively small and really doesn't take up that much room, but it makes all the difference when called upon.

Of course your other option is to join the AA or similar roadside rescue (assuming they carry their own jacks?)

trig42

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#3303094 30-Oct-2024 11:42

The boat isn't 'that' heavy I don't think (4.2m Tinny with a 40hp motor) but its axle weight is obviously more than a corner of the 1.9t Kia.

I thought about AA, but this happened north of Coromandel on Labour Day - would have been a very long wait. I would have done it if the bloke didn't pop out of his driveway with a better scissor jack than I had - he had no issues winding it up.

I think I just need to find a 1.5t jack - that will be fine (and also hope, now that I've replaced both tyres on the trailer, that I don't need to do that again for some time).

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#3303158 30-Oct-2024 12:48

A car wrecker should have any number of solid scissor jacks out of things like old Toyota corona/corollas. I have several here, they are definitely heavier than our current car's. Wellington tips recycle shop also had plenty of old jacks for low $. I keep an A4 sized piece of flooring ply for poor ground. When the jack is fully collapsed you have to put more effort into the screw. That improves as the jack rises.

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#3303162 30-Oct-2024 12:56

Looks like there are plenty of 2 ton scissor jacks around. This three ton electric has to be tempting if it's a regular occurrence:

https://www.dicksmith.co.nz/dn/buy/the-shopsite-electric-car-jack-3-ton-12v-43870980374769/

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#3303163 30-Oct-2024 13:00

That one above does not have the usual large cutout for car jackpoints. Maybe it is covered by an attachment. The one shown does not look deep enough.

A boat trailer would not usually have jackpoints. Doing that safely without slippage might be a concern.

johno1234

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#3303179 30-Oct-2024 13:44

gzt:

Looks like there are plenty of 2 ton scissor jacks around. This three ton electric has to be tempting if it's a regular occurrence:

https://www.dicksmith.co.nz/dn/buy/the-shopsite-electric-car-jack-3-ton-12v-43870980374769/

Not sure what the point of an electric jack is? I would have thought by the time you've faffed around hooking up the power you would have jacked the car up already with a manual one.

johno1234

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#3303180 30-Oct-2024 13:46

gzt:

That one above does not have the usual large cutout for car jackpoints. Maybe it is covered by an attachment. The one shown does not look deep enough.

A boat trailer would not usually have jackpoints. Doing that safely without slippage might be a concern.

Looks like it has two pads - one low and one high, with slots cut into them.

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#3303439 30-Oct-2024 21:50

Bung:

A car wrecker should have any number of solid scissor jacks out of things like old Toyota corona/corollas. I have several here, they are definitely heavier than our current car's. Wellington tips recycle shop also had plenty of old jacks for low $. I keep an A4 sized piece of flooring ply for poor ground. When the jack is fully collapsed you have to put more effort into the screw. That improves as the jack rises.

I'd be dubious about second hand scissor jacks. You never know how they've been abused. Also unless it's stamped on the jack you won't know it's lifting capacity. Jack's from a Corona/Corolla size car will be no better lifting weight wise than the OP's original jack.

The idea of a piece of flooring ply for poor ground including loose gravel is an excellent idea. I have the same. It gives a much more stable base for the jack.

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