Do you ALWAYS use jack stands? Help settle the argument.

[johnre]

So how do the always-use-a-jackstand-to-change-a-tire people feel about the Unijack? Dangerous? Silly?

Neither dangerous nor silly, but it does have a few issues that I don't like:

1. The minimum height you can drop this apparatus down to might not ever work with a lot of vehicles that have lower ground clearances.
2. The location I want to lift the vehicle from may be a different point from where I want to support it with safety stands.
3. The ones you linked on Amazon cost a lot more than the individual bottle jack and safety stand.

 

[username2]

Neither dangerous nor silly, but it does have a few issues that I don't like:

1. The minimum height you can drop this apparatus down to might not ever work with a lot of vehicles that have lower ground clearances.
2. The location I want to lift the vehicle from may be a different point from where I want to support it with safety stands.
3. The ones you linked on Amazon cost a lot more than the individual bottle jack and safety stand.

At $86 it is a lot more than a $25 bottle jack and $50 jackstands, although maybe some people can afford the $11.

Honestly, those things look kind of slick to me for the single use of tire swapping, for those of us who have to do it a lot (like me). The height range is clearly listed, the environment is usually controlled (like a garage, let's say), and the whole deal is a nuisance with lots of clambering. It also serves the purpose of being yet more stuff, which is the GJ way. Heck, I've even got a 1/2" impact mostly just for this, which certainly costs a lot more than the factory lug wrench.

The first line of the original post: "I swap between summer and winter wheels on multiple cars, multiple times per year."

and optimizing that is an interesting problem. No point in feature creep.

 

[mrvm]

So how do the always-use-a-jackstand-to-change-a-tire people feel about the Unijack? Dangerous? Silly?

The Unijack is innovative, looks interesting but is probably a tad heavy and bulky to keep in the trunk. Should the hydraulics fail to function properly another jack will be needed to unload the Unijack for removal.

 

[username2]

The Unijack is innovative, looks interesting but is probably a tad heavy and bulky to keep in the trunk. Should the hydraulics fail to function properly another jack will be needed to unload the Unijack for removal.

Not to be the Unijack Guy (don't have one), but you've got the same problem with a floor jack. In any case, I don't think that the original poster was talking about field changes, just organized swaps between summer/winter setups. Practically everybody has the same sketchy factory deal that they rarely use in the trunk (or behind the seat). I probably wouldn't take one anywhere (or a floor jack) mostly because of either un-asked for bodywork in the trunk, or the mayhem you might get in an accident (anywhere in the passenger area).

I have exactly the same problem as the OP, so that's why I'm neenering on about this, although everyone seems to want to expand it into whether you should use jackstands when removing a transmission in a dirt field somewhere. I think I'm just repeating myself, so I'm out.

 

[PlanB]

I looked at the uni jack in a store because I like the concept. But it didn't look that great, kinda cheap. And IIRC it didn't have the height i wanted. Maybe the Cat version would be the way to go for tire changes?

But if you're doing work where it's easier to have either the end of the car up or the whole car up, jack stands would be cheaper than multiple uni Jack's.

 

[johnre]

I've got to repeat my first issue with the Unijack, which was this one:

1. The minimum height you can drop this apparatus down to might not ever work with a lot of vehicles that have lower ground clearances.

In my opinion, this one is a deal-killer. It's going to take another stand-alone bottle jack just to get most vehicles raised up to the point where you could then slip one of these things underneath for support. Thus, at that point you've just negated their one advantage: carrying only one combined jack / safety stand.

 

[richfinn]

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We use a special Trolley Jack with a built in locking mechanism (the Orange RAC version)

I still use a Jack Stand and wheel chocks if going under a vehicle, but for everything else the Jack is pretty secure, If I need to take a wheel to a tyre shop and leave the car jacked up at the roadside it's just nice to know a kid or animal isn't going to get crushed.

A guy in the UK was found dead after attempting to steal Catalytic Converters when his jack slipped or failed, not a good way to go for anybody I would imagine