How do you all jack up your trucks to change a tire on the trail? The Rube Goldberg torture device known as the factory jack has got to go. There were plenty of high-lift jacks available to use on this ride which would have made for a quick and easy wheel change, but alas - no suitable jack points. Other than installing rock sliders which I could use to lift the truck, what are my options?

 

There is this handy guide. I personally made a 12x12 doubled up piece of 3/4 ply which I heavily varnished. A hydraulic bottle jack works well and are not too pricey and are not huge like a high lift. Just ensure it will lift you car high enough to get your wheel off (some wheels require extra high jacking). So try it out in your garage first. I find I have to jack it twice, since it tends to get to a different point in the suspension extension, requiring less jacking the second time and I can extend the screw out part more for extra lift. Most modern SUV's really do not adapt well to Hi Lift jacks. They where really designed for old timey farm equipment. Then there are the airbags, which are quite adaptable. Never personally used one. In all the years offroading as a geologist, I've only had 3 flats, one from volcanic glass slicing the sidewall, one due to a really crap tire (it had 9 patches in it) on a rental truck in South Africa and the weirdest one, a "live" 30-06 round ended up in my tire, which apparently rolled over it and it went in like a nail. Lucky it didn't go off, it was primer side out, not that the tire wasn't already wasted.

 

I concur, the factory jacks are a joke! Mine collapsed on a lane and we struggled so a 20 ton bottle jack is now under floor, and an impact driver as the wheel brace is also bent! 🥵🤦‍♂️

 

The factory jack was not designed for use in primitive conditions. It will work in some circumstances, not all. The jack kind of embodies the statement, "there wouldn't be a minimum if it wasn't good enough." There is an engineering objective to make the required equipment as light and as cheap as possible. Light for fuel economy, and let's face it; nobody ever bought a car based on the factory jack supplied. Land Rover did supply a decent bottle jack with the Disco 1 and the Defenders, in fact the same jack. Not perfect, but perfectly adequate. Series vehicles had this screwy bottle screw jack, it was a total heap of $hit,

 

I agree with @Dogpilot - keep a small piece of plywood in the boot with a tall bottle jack. Then get this (Link). The one on the right, not the one on the left. The left is great for a floor jack, but not as stable off road because of the bottom. Make sure it is sized for the right bottle jack. Some of the expanding threads have a "cap" that is too wide to fit into it.




Sadly, I've FREQUENTLY had crappy OEM jacks fail. It's not only a JLR problem. Many are not well engineered for the loads and weird angles when off road. I suspect there's some physics that it takes more load on some angles. Dang, I should have paid more attention in school.

 

I got one of these for on and some off road. A bit bulky, but extends high enough, and the built in jackstand gives an extra measure of safety. I also have the arb Jack for lifting the sliders in more crazy situations. https://a.co/d/3gC2H4c]Powerbuilt 3 Ton, Bottle Jack and Jack Stands in One, 6000 Pound All-in-One Car Lift, Heavy Duty Vehicle Unijack, 640912 https://a.co/d/9MQRBSA[/url]

 

Thanks for the suggestions here and the related thread on off-road jacks. Seems like I'm not the first to discover how poorly JLR thought through the scenario of actually performing an off-road repair. I'll be chucking the high-lift in favor of a bottle jack. Just wish I had done a bit more research before spending the $$ on that apparently useless high-lift.

 

My dad at this point would always tell me: A good education costs, and you just paid tuition. I recommend you put it up on Craigslist. They are in high demand and it will sell quick. You'll only have a slight "tuition" payment, then. I only wish half of my learned lessons were that cheap! I've got a thick head and it's taken me a while. STILL taking me a while...

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...-space-109932/