Schitt Jacks

[steve_earwig]

When I came out here in 2004 I brought with me my trusted old Halfords trolley jack, which since died. I was trying to try changing the oil in it but I'm having trouble getting hold of the stuff, unless I want 5 litres of it (think tractor) and I don't hold out much hope as it's 20+ years old.

I was trying to get hold of something similar but in the meantime I bought a cheap and cheerful one from Bauhaus (think B&Q) which doesn't really make the grade, the saddle (the bit that actually sits on the car) is only 2" in diameter, it doesn't really lift high enough to get an axle stand underneath unless I use blocks of wood, it's so small it doesn't feel safe and the whole thing looks like it belongs in a cartoon about a car with eyes for headlamps The final straw came yesterday when I wanted to look at my front brakes, I just about had the wheel off when the damn thing sank (queue frenzied pumping and hasty insertion of wheel nuts)

Anyway, today I tried another car spares shop for the oil, whe he didn't have any I asked the guy where the hell I could buy a decent trolley jack (or crocodile jack, as they call 'em) whereupon he whipped out his brochure... He had two, a two tonne, like my old Halfords for 1,000Kn (£110) or a 3,2 tonne monster for 1,500Kn (£165). This thing looked great, I like the idea of a total 504mm lift (that's half a meter!) too. Knowing myself, if I bought the two tonne I'd always wish I'd stumped up the extra and bought the big one, so...





It took three swings of the handle to get the back wheel 4" off the ground and, boy, does it feel stable! 100% better than even my old Halfords.

I'm not exactly made of money but I really can't afford to have a car slip off a jack on me. You also have to bear in mind the la-la prices of some of the stuff here. So, did I do good or am I nuts?

[darrenwall]

you could have just used hydraulic oil for the old jack but thats just me being a tight sod

[steve_earwig]

Yeah, that's what comes in 5 litre cans Hydraulic jack oil just gets puzzled looks (even when I tell them it's for my crocodile)

[Welly]

That's one mother of a jack

I'd have done the exact same thing steve, no good pissing around with stupid crappy kit. The other thing is it encourages you to look after your brakes etc a lot more when you can get to them so easily.

Is that, like, your back yard or something? it looks huge!

[teamster1975]

That is a beast, I want one!
My jack is similar to your halfords jobby Steve and it doesn't fill me with confidence when I jack the car right up, especially when the bugger shifts on the lumpy tarmac in our road!

[steve_earwig]

They do similar stuff in Machine Mart, though loads cheaper of course

[steve_earwig]

Is that, like, your back yard or something? it looks huge!

Umm, didn't I say?




Hmm, pics are a bit old but they'll do.

[Welly]

Cracking looking place Steve, especially the rear workshops/garages and garden over here the planners have always been hell-bent on sticking to averages and norms and all houses seem to be out of the same mould

Can I dig out my willy-waving pics of my Double garage now?

[steve_earwig]

Just the one?

There's no two alike here - the houses here are generally designed and partly/mostly built by their owners, this guy was an electician so I have 3 fuse panels, each with its own RCD and it's all 3 phase (as are most places out in the sticks).

So, how much do you reckon a 4 bedroom detatched house with 2 garages, 2 workshops and a huge garden cost? Oh, and it did have a swimming pool but it was old and I couldn't see the point of it so it's getting filled in with all the rubble from the house.

[Welly]

*notices next-doors chimey, laughs*

Price? I have no idea - bound to be much cheaper than here! £70K???

[STALLED]

Cracking looking place Steve, especially the rear workshops/garages and garden over here the planners have always been hell-bent on sticking to averages and norms and all houses seem to be out of the same mould

Blame the architect, not the planner...

Stalled (Town Planning Student)

[steve_earwig]

*notices next-doors chimey, laughs*

There's loads like that here, I'm not sure if it's to do with the wind blowing the smoke back down your chimney, the chimney filling up with snow or just some stupid fashion.

Price? I have no idea - bound to be much cheaper than here! £70K???

That's bluddy close! With the tax it came to more or less that

[Welly]

With the tax it came to more or less that

Well, you couldn't have, can't, won't be able to, buy ANYTHING here for that!

Maybe a run down single garage in need of some "improvements"

"Come to Croatia - the houses are cheap and the women are beautifull"

[steve_earwig]

Well, you couldn't have, can't, won't be able to, buy ANYTHING here for that!

You can but it rather requires buying something "behind god's back", somewhere miles from anywhere with no jobs, no trains and no running water...

"Come to Croatia - the houses are cheap and the women are beautifull"

Seconded Sometimes I wish I was 10 years younger (well, ok, 25 years younger )

[puggy]

By the way steve did you call the police to arrest that cheeky bugger of an old
burgalar walking on the roof by the garages