Offroad jack

Yeah when I got married almost 30 years ago, my wedding gift registry was nothing but Craftsman lifetime warranty tools. Now I can go to Lowe’s and swap ‘em out since Sears went bust.

 

Stock jack (since it doesn’t leak) plus removable plastic base caps (meant for cement). All fits in the stock compartment too.

 

I get the impression from some of the replies here that some people are using their stock jack for regular maintenance?

Seems like it's less than ideal for that... But for using in a pinch is it really that bad when you account for the small storage footprint and mechanical nature?

 

Stock jack's not got the range for jacking the front on the box frame, it barely has enough lift when placed on the lower control arm. Especially with, you know, an actual flat tire, where the lift range required is from the rim resting on the ground, and spring compressed, to a fully inflated tire hanging off a fully extended spring. Sounds like everyone carries a lumber yard of 4x4's to make that work...

 

For a stock 31” Bridgestone Dueller 265/70/16 tire & stock suspension it was able to lift mine enough to change a flat. Have you ever extended it to full height? It’s multiple cylinder sleeves within a single cylinder. Very deceiving upon first glance.

 

I recently swapped out my stock jack for a Daytona from Harbor Freight. I was surprised to see the stock jack extended to the max. I actually took a side by side comparison of stock and what I got...


And love that it fits perfectly in my ESP bin. I keep a couple wood boards tucked away where the stock jack used to sit.


My needs would be different though. I know this is an off-road jack thread. Mine is more for emergency roadside use since I don't do much off-roading in my Tundra.

 

It's possible I've never tried to jack the front control arm from a completely flat tire. I always catch it before it's that bad. All the same, even before I started carrying lumber, it got the job done. Gets the truck high enough for a fully inflated spare. Lumber for me is primarily a stable, flat surface. Secondarily a bit more lift.

I'd be curious to see your actual problem. I don't doubt you aren't able to change a flat with your OEM jack. It's just that I know I am able. On dirt and pavement.

 

Last place I got a flat was a slashed sidewall on Engineer Pass at about 12000ft. The tire went flat like a balloon popping, and I spent about 20 minutes working under and around the car with an e-tool to stabilize a bottle jack to where it could actually do its job (and the car wouldn't fall on me). I have no doubt the OEM setup would work on a slow leaking tire in my driveway, that's not the situation I am concerned about.

 

Yeah. Regardless, the OEM jack is not optimal, especially offroad. I agree. My point is just that it'll get the job done. When considering what to provide as standard equipment with every truck that leaves the factory floor, I don't judge Toyota harshly on what they gave us. It does the job for 90% of people, 90% of the time. Any of us who use our trucks differently than the average person (though, admittedly we use them how they were supposedly meant to be used) are always needing to upgrade gear or modify the stock gear (lumber, jack pads etc.).

 

if you plan on taking your truck off the beaten path. Figure out a way to get a decent Jack somewhere in there. It will just make your life sooooo much easier. And whenever some bad shit does happen, you'll be thanking your past self.