What do you folks think of bottle jacks in place of scissor jacks for tire changing?
Myself, I use bottle jacks while positioning parts when the jack won’t slip and create a hazard. They work OK, too if you have duals. They aren’t very helpful if you have a flat tire as they are too long, and probably don’t have enough reach. You would have to get under the vehicle to place the jack advantageously for a safe lift, then put a stand under it and take the weight off the jack as the jack will be unstable with sideways movement as in turning lug nuts or removing or installing a tire/rim combination. Something easier to use is a hydraulic jack on wheels, they can be bought for around $40.00 for something that will work safely on passenger cars, and can go up especially if you get the light weight aluminum ones. I’ve been using one of the $40.00 ones for about 10 years, and a few years ago I bought a 4400 pound jack for my one ton truck. The wheels make it easier to place under the axle without getting under the vehicle. alkso, don’t get under a vehicle that is held up by a jack, use a car stand to support it if you have to get under. Something I’ve done along side the road when changing a flat using the scissor jack that attaches under the rocker panel is to place the spare tire under the rocker panel on it’s side. If the jack slips and didn’t hit you in the head and the car falls you wonb’t have the car sitting on the jack, and when your wife says what was thet, you can say what was what, reposition the jack and try again.
Bottle jacks will definitely not fit under many cars. Particularly if they have a flat to begin with, lowering the jack points even more. For a single emergency change, the scissors work great. If you want to do more, get a floor jack
I can’t stand either one. On a level, concrete drive I would prefer the bottle over the scissors, but with so many cars being so low slung the bottle can be impossible to work with.
I wish car jacks were made like the old VW Beetle and SAAB jacks. The Beetle had a hole and the SAABs have a bracket. The jack is plugged into place like an extension cord into a wall socket.
No fumbling around, tipping over, the jack stays in place, and it can lift both wheels on the same side at once.
Neither if at all possible. Both are unstable and potentially safety hazards. Original Equipment jacks of either type used on the original vehicle are OK if used with extreme care.
If you are changing tyres at home, a good floor jack with jack stands is the way to go.I prefer a good floor jack myself. My second choice would be a bottle jack because if they break, they settle down in stead of collapsing like a sissor jack will. But the OEM jack is probably a sissor jack with cutouts for the part of the frame they touch, the bottle jack may do damage to the frame unless you get or make an adapter.