Vehicle Lift Bag

Has anyone used these instead of 3T Trolley Jack or a Hi-Lift Jack? Am wondering as being a girl (a laydeeeey!) and if an emergency and hubby can't help or not around for any reason (stuck in a ravine?) don't think I'd be able to lift the trolley jack out of the vehicle myself (the wheel I could just drop to floor and roll it), nor be able to use a hi-lift jack confidently or safely. Also as we'll have off-road caravan as part of the trip just wondered if it tips or rolls we'd have to recover this also. Likely that hubby will be around but still wonder if this might be the better option as would be lighter and better to store on vehicle too. Thoughts?

never used one would like to see one in action and after a long yesting period Jai

they're great for low sports cars with flat bellies etc. I wouldn't trust one on a landy though.

I have used one for a long time, they are good but can be damaged easily by the exhaust or a sharp edge (they do supply a seperate piece of plastic to cover sharp edges) you can also use it to push your vehicle sideways so from me it is a worthwhile piece of kit .

We used one to move a very large flat Boulder that a farmer had tried to block a lane with. All we did was dig a small hole under the rock and stuff the bag in then inflated. 2 minutes later 1 clear track, 1 large boulder in the farmers ditch.

I would learn how to use the Hi-Lift if i were you Cassie I showed my girlfriend how to use one incase i got trapped under the landy!

G

As redhand says, they're an extremely useful bit of kit. I don't have one, but a mate has and we've used it four or five times ... each time a hi-lift or trolley jack wouldn't have suited without a lot of digging work, and finding something to spread the load on the swampy ground, first!

I think they're more an 'insurance' ... buy it hoping you never need to use it in anger ..

Nice video HERE.

Maybe a case of bringing both hi-lift and bag as happy medium (for LR, caravan and child safety). Trolley jack looks like out of the equation meantime. Will look into the hi-lift better (still looks a bit worrying !)
Thanks for info.

Hi Cassie, I've never owned one but have used one to right a truck on its side and it worked a treat. However, I have always found it quicker and easier to change a wheel with a three ton bottle jack; and it fits neciely under the rear seat of my 110. I also have a hi-lift but don't use it that much for jacking (it can be used as hand operated winch which has proved useful once or twice). Hope this helps cheers Arthur

I carry the LR bottle jack, a high lift and a 4 tonne air jack.

all are usefull and have had about the same amount of use in total, but the air jack is a superb piece of kit. it will lift the whole disco (loaded with kit) up on one side in about a minute once rigged correctly and inflates to about the size of a dustbin, but they are prone to tearing and dont repair too well. I am on my second one!
I now carry a carpet tile in the back for putting on top of the air jack to protect it from any sharp bits on the underside.

they take a little getting used to when lifting the car blind (ie the otherside to the exhaust pipe) and can be a little bit of a game. you also idealy need someone to have a foot on the brake when you lift as the car can shift if slightly on a slope, as it has enough lift to get both sets of wheels up at the same time.

for lifting the car clear of ruts to get a waffle or rocks ,logs or something under, changing a wheel in mud or sand it's the nuts.

It lives in my motor and I woudnt go laning or off road without it. Would I get another one if this gets damaged... Yes, without a shadow of doubt!

EASYLIFT Air Jack ELH04 with Discovery 3

they look cool.. but the price is a bit wow.. might try and see what a bin bag and bit of hosepipe can do

mjltigger said:

EASYLIFT Air Jack ELH04 with Discovery 3

they look cool.. but the price is a bit wow.. might try and see what a bin bag and bit of hosepipe can do

Click to expand...

mine 4 Tonner cost about £45 off ebay, but the ARB ones and X jacks are about £250..

Sounds like it would be ideal to bring all if it were possible. Reckon we might not have room and the weight a huge consideration for us - will have to wait till we've packed up to see what space we have left. Meantime, we've decided the bag is for us. Have been reading a bit of Chris Scott's recommends also and he says he doesn't understand why more people don't use these bags. Battenburg - any chance you could advise what make your 4T bag is just so I can get an idea via google about details etc.? Can then get on with the task of sourcing for a decent'ish price for same or similar. Thanks.

this is the one, worth it's weight in gold, but carry it as well as a high lift or similar, as if it tears, you're in the poo..!

give it a couple of test runs before you have to use it for real, as there is a knack to how you need to place it for best results.

also the carry bag it comes in I threw away, i couldnt get it in there, i've now got it stored in a canvass army kit bag which was about £8 from the army & navy shop

dont go for anything less than 4 tonnes, i have tried lesser rated ones and they dont give the same lift.

4 TON EXHAUST JACK, 4x4,off road, land range / rover on eBay, also, Land Rover, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 28-May-09 10:52:44 BST)

Thanks B - Don't want to waste too much time dithering over which one so have done and bought already!! Can't wait to receive. We do plan to carry hi-lift also as well as the bag and we had decided that anything less than 4tonne would be no good for us. We'll try it out beforehand like you said - sound advice. Many thanks for pointing us in the right direction - will let you know the verdict and how we get once we receive. Including delivery - it cost approx £60v via the link you provided. Not bad so far!

a few tips for use:

make sure that your exhaust pipe is leak free and sound!
use the engine on tickover, no need to rev!

make sure that the pipe from the exhaust to the bag is in a big wide arc, with no kinks or twists in it.

put a touch of air in the bag before attempting the actual lift (if you can). not so much that you trap and cant move the bag, but enough that it will be touching the ground and the underside of your car with enough pressure to be able to move it about, adjust the folds or reposition it slightly.

put only 2/3rd to 3/4s of the top of the bag under the sill and angle the bag very slightly, inflating very slowly at first so that the bag will create a similar but smaller angle when inflated to how the car will list over...then hit it with full pressure in one hit for the lift. while matey stamps on the brakes.

make sure that the input hole where the pipe attaches, is pulled out sideways and is not trapped in any of the folds. once pressurised, if the pipe is trapped in a fold you wont be able to release the pressure without a full lift as you cant twist the pipe off, not good if you've got it positioned all wrong..!

use a carpet tile or your rubber footwell mats to protect the bag at the top, it has spikes on the bottom so dont use anything at the bottom unless you fear it's gonna get punctured.

the sides of the bag are more prone to tearing, keep a lookout for the hockey stick bolts, steps or mudflap bolts that may damage the bag, and if it touches them in danger of a rip, whip out the pipe and deflate rapidly for less chance of a tear.

the repair kit is a waste of time, dont tear the bag.

to bring it down, twist and release the air very slowly at first to control the fall, when the wheels are just an inch off the ground whip out the pipe and get out of the way, otherwise you get a face full of exhaust gas!

Hope this helps, and hope you dont have to use it on your journey, but when you do you'll be dam glad you bought it...!!

Kit arrived a few days ago and we are very pleased with it though yet to test it out. Thought you might like to see piccy plus the actual more detailed exert from Chris Scott about his view on these bags which makes useful reading (also included his note about using hi-lift for e.g. 'light weights' like me on fully loaded vehicle). Click on attached link for the piccy and exert Overland With Kids | » Vehicle Jack - Lift Bag / Air Bags

Ah Cassie, I see you've quoted me on your site!

make sure you try your bag out before you need to use it for real, there is a knack to using them, which will become obvious once you have a couple of times.

Just avoid the sharp edges!