Do you carry a jack?

Bernie P

Bernie P

Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Posts
421
Likes collected
1,168
Location
Burrough on the Hill, Leicestershire
Funster No
35,485
MH
Summit Prime 640
Exp
Since 2014
I've had a coachbuilt MH for the past 5years and during that time the jack and tools have remained firmly in their storage compartment under the passenger seat. Think I opened the hatch twice once when I took delivery and again before I sold it.

I got my new A-Class on Wednesday and the jack and tools come nicely wrapped up in a bag rattling loose on the garage floor. I'm thinking of leaving them in the shed at home especially as the van doesn't have a spare wheel only an inflation kit and in all probabilty if I got a flat I'd call the experts out. As far as I can see there is no legal requirement to carry a jack.

I'm interested to know, Does any other A-Class owners bother to carry the jack?
 
Bernie P said:
I've had a coachbuilt MH for the past 5years and during that time the jack and tools have remained firmly in their storage compartment under the passenger seat. Think I opened the hatch twice once when I took delivery and again before I sold it.

I got my new A-Class on Wednesday and the jack and tools come nicely wrapped up in a bag rattling loose on the garage floor. I'm thinking of leaving them in the shed at home especially as the van doesn't have a spare wheel only an inflation kit and in all probabilty if I got a flat I'd call the experts out. As far as I can see there is no legal requirement to carry a jack.

I'm interested to know, Does any other A-Class owners bother to carry the jack?
Click to expand...
Whats the point of a jack if you do not carry a spare? Would not travel without a spare,,,BUSBY.
 
no if you have a coachbuilt or aclass i would not trust a fiat jack leave it at home and save the weight
 
Isn’t it a legal requirement to have a spare wheel?
 
I’d check what your inflation kit says, some state that the weight be taken off the wheel while it is inflating. Not that I’ve ever seen anyone do it.
 
I once got a flat in the middle of some motorway roadworks, there was a compulsory free recovery service in operation due to the contraflow. The guy turned up with a flatbed that wouldn't take the motorhome, wouldn't let me help and insisted I remained behind the hard shoulder barrier and he didn't have a jack with him either. Think I'd still be there if I hadn't let him use my equipment.

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My breakdown cover says

{quote} For all vehicles, caravans or trailers and motorhomes, if appropriate you must always carry a legal and serviceable spare wheel or a manufacturer supplied or approved emergency tyre inflation kit or equipment {end quote}

So no jack is carried
 
Two on Tour said:
Ditto

I think the standard jack supplied by Fiat and Peugeot are bloody dangerous.
Click to expand...
You think a scissor jack is dangerous.........Try the

6805D48F-BE19-4D8F-A29D-475D7C0FBD04.jpeg
 
Yeah I do carry a jack. I have never thought about why. It's a very good question as they are quite heavy and not having a spare wheel not a lot of good really. The only time I think it would be useful is if I have a flat tyre say on a site and I can remove the wheel and take it to a tyre place for either repair or new tyre fitting.

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I was pleased I carry two, the standard Fiat scissor-jack and a 6 ton bottle jack. When I had a rear tyre puncture on an aire a while back I found I needed both, certainly for peace of mind. The scissor jack in the jacking point at the rear of the chassis raised the bodywork but I would have needed to extend it beyond what I considered wise to raise the wheel from the ground. I put the bottle jack under the axle and raised it enough to allow me to remove and replace the wheel. Found it much easier than expected....
 
Have a chieftain tag 4/half tonne tried to Jack the front wheel with supplied scissor Jack started to lift the wheel and just collapsed lesson learned c***p so havingplenty of payload I carry a 5tonne bottle and a 3tonne trolley Jack have plenty of breakdown cover both with insurance and race but as you can tell I was a boy scout and like to be prepaired
 
I do carry the Fiat scissor jack and found it immensely useful when I installed the Easytop air suspension, as even my trolley jack could not lift the van high enough to get the wheels off and the axle-stands were out of their league. The scissor jack worked flawlessly and I used the trolley jack as a backup instead of axle stands. I did not go under the MH mind....
 
If the vehicle is on level ground the Jack is only supporting the weight of half of the axle weight, so the Fiat scissor jack just about does it. I carry a bottle jack in addition, and if it's a rear failure the wind-down stays are good precaution. I've had 2 tyres delaminate in 20 years/200,000 miles and wouldn't go anywhere without a spare wheel. I also have a tube less repair kit and a bottle of stickygunk so if you haven't got a spare, you'd better hope it's me just coming down the road. :-)
 
I had the fiat jack first time I used it the bearings in the jack failed. Bought a bottle jack but never used it.I have just had a clear out of motorhome and jack is staying out.It weighs a lot and would use breakdown co if I need help.

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Clickem said:
My breakdown cover says

{quote} For all vehicles, caravans or trailers and motorhomes, if appropriate you must always carry a legal and serviceable spare wheel or a manufacturer supplied or approved emergency tyre inflation kit or equipment {end quote}

So no jack is carried
Click to expand...
My son broke had a flat in France on a Sunday.They recovered him to nearest hotel but would not change wheel..It was motorway breakdown not his own.Next day was Bastille Day so no cover from his breakdown until the day after..If he had his own jack and spare he would have been on his way in half an hour.BUSBY.
 
I carry a spare and a jack.

Mate spent three nights in Southern France on a garage forecourt waiting for a new tyre after a piece of metal shredded his tyre beyond repair.

Its heavy, it takes space, but I am not spending three days on a garage forecourt waiting for something I can carry with me.

Ditto for the motorway, puncture means a 10 minute wheel change and I am off.

I had to use the goop on my car a few weeks ago, pothole and bulge that was leaking. It took the gunge a good 15 minutes to seal properly and I was on the verge of pulling over and calling breakdown. The gunge alone cost me £30 to replace then the tyre too.

Spare for me everytime I am afraid.
 
I carry original fiat scissor jack ( which looks brand new still and has probably never been used), 4 ton bottle jack and one axle stand. I do have a spare wheel. I also carry a bottle of the gunk stuff. I also have a few bits of flat wood to put jack on if needed. Only time I needed jack so far was when I drove over the top of my levellers on rear wheels and they both wedged absolutely solidly against the chassis/suspension. Could only free them with a whack from a mallet after I had lifted the van with bottle jack.

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