Halfords 2 Tonne Low Profile Trolley Car Jack

rsgaz said:

Also, a Halfords trolley jack dropped my car once when the valve just gave out. I wasn't even raising or lowering at the time, I was just standing there! The sound of the brake disc hitting the floor is not a nice sound!! Lucky I wasn't under it I guess.

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Never leave a car resting on a jack, always put axle stands under the car and relieve the weight off the jack, though leave the jack just touching the jacking point.


To the op, if keeping in the boot look at low profile aluminium jack's, try Clarke from machine mart, sealer do them also and possibly others. The weight saving is worthwhile and will save your back and make it easier to strap down as the moving masses will be greatly reduced.

This is just for changing a tyre, nothing else.

would a trolly jack always be suitable for jacking a car up at the side of the road, on a grass verge for instance. The wheels on the trolley jack need to move a little when jacking, if they can't then movement will have to take place at the jacking point and that could cause damage or even slipping off - I would of thought a normal scissor jack far better for an occasional (once in 5 years) wheel change .

And what a waste of fuel and performance having a 20kg lump of metal to haul around every where!

some back of the fag packet calculations

weight accounts for about 40% of fuel
so out of every 100 units of fuel used 40 units is to move the weight of the car
increase weight of car by adding trolley jack from 1350kg to 1370kg = 1.5%
so an extra 0.6 units needed per 100 units = increase in overall fuel by 0.6%
10,000 mile per year at 40 mpg uses 250gallon
so annually the not very useful trolley jack will use up a further 1.5 gallons
so, its going to cost an extra £42 in fuel over 5 years to make your car slower.

For OP

What car is it?

Does the manual indicate and jacking points?

You need one of these big-boys, Jeff. It is my old dad's. He got in the early 60's but I think it was manufactured in the 50's. Still works unfailingly.

My granda had one of those, too. He had an Axminster carpet like that too

What I always refer to as 'pub carpet'.

Oh for the old days! I'm not that old but I remember my dad's car stuff from the 60's and 70's - emergency windscreens (because they didn't just crack a bit like they do now) - it was a sheet of polythene with elastic bands or something to hook over the wing mirrors, kettle to plug into cigar socket, some bag contraption you attached to your exhaust pipe and revved your engine to jack your car up, tin foil wrapped round the radiator. Watching the road go by through the big rust holes in the footwell was my favourite. MOT didn't come from a garage, you bought it from a bloke in the pub.