Date:         Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:13:14 -0600
Reply-To:     Ryan Johnson <rhinoculips@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ryan Johnson <rhinoculips@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: tire jack suggestions for 88 GL
Comments: To: David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net>
In-Reply-To:  <4c1d1db0.5c4ee50a.201d.ffffffd2@mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Personally, I hate the OEM jack.  When I was 30 miles up a rough and very
remote mountain road, I got a flat.  The damn jack jammed half way up.  It
wouldn't go up, nor down.  It was high enough to get the flat off, but not
high enough to put the spare on.  Thus, I had to chip and scratch away at
the hard and rocky road base with a folding shovel, hatchet and crow bar
until I had a deep enough hole to get the spare on.  Then I had to pound the
jack out from under the van.  A really pain in the arse.  I am glad I didn't
have to dig a hole into the pavement to get my spare on........

Now I keep a hydraulic bottle jack and some short 2x6 boards and never
looked back.  Its nice to pump up the jack and then twist the release valve
to lower.  Much easier than winding a "hundred" times in both directions
with the OEM jack.  My recommendation is to toss the OEM in the trash and
get a real jack.  Ideally, I would go for a HighLift, but I have yet to find
a satisfactory place to keep it and it's a little overkill for the run of
the mill flat.

Fair winds and following seas,
Ryan




On Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 1:36 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:

> At 10:27 AM 6/19/2010, Mike \"Rocket J Squirrel\" wrote:
>
>> Church. I destroyed my OEM jack by nit-wittedly leaning against the
>> rear of the van when it was up on the jack. Van was in neutral,
>> rolled a bit (it was on a slope) and twisted that jack like so much
>> licorice.
>>
>
> Cathedral.  I'm too embarrassed to say what I did.  It was long ago
> and I was a spavined wee thing of only forty or so.  I'll say this,
> though -- the brake backing plate bent, and if you go to a certain
> parking lot in Seekonk MA you might still find the dent in the asphalt.
> Didn't hurt the jack or mount though, because they're both round and
> designed to spin.
>
> And it was three other guys, it never broke and it was that way when I got
> it.
>
> Yours,
> d
>