How many times have you found yourself stranded in the middle of the road with a punctured rear tire?
Car and truck owners have to deal with this situation many times during road trips. What helps in such situations is a robust jack.
Depending on your vehicle type, you might be needing any of the following jack types:
- Scissor jack: These simple but robust tools will work with any car or light vehicle. They are simple machines that turn rotational motion into upward thrust. But be careful not to use scissor jacks with heavy vehicles. They are not made for lifting trucks.
- Truck jack: Truck jacks come in a lot of varieties, the most common being the hydraulic floor jack. The floor jack is a device that uses hydraulic fluid to amplify the force applied to the jack’s handlebar and raise heavy vehicles like trucks efficiently with minimum effort. The bottle jack is a variation of the floor jack with a stubbier profile and less footprint.
- Bridge jack: These tools are used exclusively in inspection pits as installations and are capable of lifting mammoth-sized vehicles in no time. Bridge jacks are smooth and highly efficient and allow for controlled lifting. With bridge jacks, safety is the name of the game!
- Rolling jacks: Like bridge jacks, rolling jacks work as installations but with vehicle lifts instead of inspection pits. If you have a 2-post or 4-post lift in your garage, you need a rolling jack to facilitate undercarriage repair.
So, what if you find yourself stranded in the middle of the road with a damaged rear tire on your truck? It’s time to change the tire.
Here’s the list of the things you’ll be needing to go about the job:
- A robust truck jack with a lift capacity exceeding your truck’s weight.
- Best if you have a pair of safety gloves.
- Protection for your eyes.
- A grease cutter can help with the muck on the lug nuts.
- A wrench to loosen the lug nuts.
- Spare tire – do we have to tell you to carry one always?
Going about the business
Step 1: Choose a level surface free of debris or snow. Never attempt a tire change on a slope. It is dangerous!
Step 2: Ensure that the parking brake is on. A good practice is to engage the truck’s gearbox to eliminate any possibility of rolling. Carrying wheel chocks is also a good idea. Always apply chocks on the wheel diagonally opposite to the one you are working on.
Step 3: Place the truck jack under the designated lift point nearest to the damaged tire. If you are unsure about the lift points, consult the owner’s manual. Lift points are hardened areas on the subframe that can withstand the thrust from the jack’s ram.
In case you have taken your truck to a workshop with an inspection pit or lift, the technician servicing your vehicle will probably use a bridge jack. In that case, they’ll place adapters on the bridge jack’s lifting arms to match your vehicle and lift it across the axle.
Having jack stands in your inventory is a brilliant idea. Jack stands share the load on a truck jack and help increase the latter’s lifespan.
Step 4: Before you attempt to lift your truck, loosen the lug nuts slightly. Next, give the jack a few pumps on the handlebar and your truck will be up and ready for a tire change. Loosen the nuts all the way and remove the wheel to replace the tire.
Step 5: Once you have put the wheel back on, tighten the nuts and lower the truck slowly. Now, you are ready to hit the road!
What is a Good Truck Jack?
First-time buyers often don’t know what to look for in a quality truck jack. Here’s what you need to know:
- Lift capacity: The lift capacity of a truck jack tells you how much weight it can lift without malfunctioning. Always buy a jack with a lift capacity exceeding your vehicle’s weight. This will prolong the life of your tool.
- Lift height: For trucks and offroad vehicles, you need jacks with enough lift height to compensate for the vehicle’s high ground clearance. It’s no use buying a jack that can’t lift your truck high enough for easy access to the undercarriage.
- Quality and durability: Quality should be your top priority when buying a truck jack because only high-quality components can ensure safety. A hardened steel frame, zinc-plated components, and precision engineering – these are the things to look for in a truck jack. And never forget to buy your tools from an experienced manufacturer with high-quality products in their stable!
Summing it up
The purpose of a truck jack is not limited to changing tires. A vehicle’s undercarriage is the region that takes the maximum amount of beating during its lifespan. And what do you need for easy access to your truck’s undercarriage? A high-quality truck jack!