Has anyone purchased a floor jack that will fit in the storage areas underneath in the rear? I need one that will hopefully fit there, but that will also be strong enough, and raise the car high enough to change a flat tire. I do a lot of driving on back roads, gravel roads, etc., and a standard jack is just hard to deal with on muddy and uneven surfaces. Any advice is appreciated.
Get yourself a piece of plywood about 18" by 18" and use the existing jack on top of that? The idea is to stabilize the jack without having to lug weight around.
I have a Craftsman 2 1/4 ton floor jack from Sears that is relatively compact. I think it would fit. It cost about $65. A piece of wood is still a good idea too. Here it is under our Prius -
That's a lot of dead weight to be carrying around. How's about one of those toxic ballon air lift jacks raised by exhaust gas. My personal preference is to carry a AAA card which weighs less than an oz. But it is useless on a remote country road in a dead cell phone area.
Thank you very much for your post. Weight is not an issue - the car will already be loaded down with mail. I need something fast and easy. I will be out on rural roads with spotty cell phone reception and adverse weather conditions. I got a chance to try the stock scissor jack this past weekend while removing the two rear tires to install mud flaps. It actually worked real well with just a small piece of plywood underneath.
If you will excuse a Prius hatchback owner posting in a "v" thread... I have the shown jack in my hatchback, under the back removable floor and sitting in the plastic tub that is located above the spare tire. The jack handle breaks down into 2 pieces, plus is removable from the jack body. The small triangular piece that accepts the jack handle is spring loaded and "sticks up"... therefore I took a piece of wire and wired it down to reduce overall height. The jack is light weight (aluminum) and is only about 5" - 6" tall when the handle receiver/pump is wired down.
The other thing I carry around with me is an old shower curtain. Use it on the ground to kneel on folded up in quarters. Or drape it over you too keep the rain off.
The problem with a floor jack like you pictured is that it needs a flat hard surface so it can roll as it lifts. So use plywood in addition to the floor jack.
I use this jack off roading in my land cruiser, its awesome.... However, I would be a little concerned about using it on the prius as the ice turns off all the time. Get a bottle jack. One came with my land cruiser from the factory and if it can lift that beast it sure can lift your prius v. Hit a pick and pull and find one in the trunk of any car.... The plywood is a great idea for the lift on any road surface even paved. I remember trying to change a flat on the way back from vegas and on hot asphalt the jack didn't have enough surface area... instead of lifting the car i made a pothole
I would find a small bottle jack and place it on a 12" to 20" square 3/4 to 1" plywood with a 2X4 frame in the dimensions of the base screwed to the plywood. For the top; remove bolt on jack and use a large lag bolt to secure a a homemade wood with BIG washer, or better yet, have a piece of steel fabbed and welded that will mate with pinchweld jacking area on your car.
This may be light and small enough Torin 2 1/2-Ton Low Profile Trolley Jack, Model#T825010C: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Good find! (We have shipping weight for one and product weight for the other, I wonder how close they are?)
cardboard box/packaging material isn't going to weigh 14 lbs. the whole point would be to ship the item as cheap as possible (still being secure enough to arrive safely). but i'm just speculating.
I have no floor jack, but I've used them at a friend's garage to do oil changes. He has both a steel and an aluminum one. If you're hauling this thing around to do work on the road, get the aluminum, you'll thank me.
