Although conventional floor jacks are the most popular, if you’re stuck by the side of the road or get caught with a flat tire off-roading, a floor jack simply won’t do. Hydraulic floor jacks are far too heavy and cumbersome to be carried around everywhere, and the smaller mechanical ones don’t like rough and uneven surfaces.
The solution to this issue is the inflatable exhaust car jack. These may sound underpowered if this is the first time you’re hearing about them, but they work like a charm. The concept behind it is really simple and straightforward.
How Inflatable Car Jacks Work
Your car produces exhaust emissions constantly, even when it’s idling (providing the engine isn’t off of course). Think of exhaust car jacks like large balloons you can fill up with the exhaust gases. You don’t have to manually pump air into them or spend hours trying to unpack them. Simply attach a cord from the exhaust tip to the jack and watch it go up in a matter of minutes.
Are They Really Going to Support My Car’s Weight?
At this point, you’re probably thinking that they’re brittle and weak since they’re filled with gases. Although they’re not as strong as conventional hydraulic car jacks on paper, they’re much more reliable and tough compared to their mechanical counterparts. Most inflatable exhaust jacks on sale today can lift 3 tons, and even the cheapest ones can easily manage way over 2 tons. Given that most cars weight well below 2 tons and even fully-built Jeep off-roaders rarely exceed 2.5 tons, an inflatable exhaust jack is all the gear you’re ever going to need.
Why Should I Bring an Inflatable Car Jack?
For starters, an inflatable car jack is really practical, as we mentioned. It doesn’t take up half of your trunk space and more importantly, it doesn’t weigh anything. When it’s deflated and not in use, you can literally squeeze it just about anywhere. So, as a tool to have lying around, it won’t cost you anything to bring it everywhere with you.
If you do happen to have a mechanical issue or need to replace a tire, simply take it out and inflate it under the car. A car jack powered by gases doesn’t care about the type of surface it’s on. Air can bend in every direction, and the flexible materials the jacks are made out of means that the jack itself will take the shape of anything which happens to be underneath it. You can quite literally jack a car up while the jack itself is on a rock. Plus, soft stuff like sand and mud won’t bother it either, since it’s got a lot of surface area to play with.
If you happen to get stuck in your new Jeep while off-roading, it might even manage to help you break free. When you’re done, deflate it and store it again. It really is a brilliant idea and we feel everyone who even occasionally off-roads should carry an inflatable exhaust jack in their car at all times.
The 3 Best Inflatable Exhaust Car Jacks
ARB Orange Bushranger X-Jack Kit
When it comes to inflatable car jacks, ARB is king. Their X-Jack kits come in varying shapes and sizes to suit many different car types. The smallest offerings can support vehicles up to 4,400 lbs., though you can find models which surpass those figures.
If you’ve got a Jeep or a similar off-road ready vehicle, we recommend you go for the higher X-Jack models which offer better specifications. The inflation time is rated at 2-3 minutes and the Bushranger features a bypass valve, so overinflating the jack is virtually impossible.
Westfalia
Westfalia’s car jack offering can hold an astonishing 6,600 lbs. It’s also incredible value for money. It’s a bit cheaper than the equivalent ARB, but offers nearly the same specifications. The maximum lift is 60 cm but the fill-up time is slightly longer at 3-5 minutes. It’s suitable for both gasoline and diesel engines, just like the ARB. It’s almost as good as the X-Jack quality-wise, but the price won’t break the bank.
Vogvigo
Finally, we get to the heavy-hitter. The Vogvigo can support an incredible 4 tons (8,800 lbs.). Unless you drive a military tank or something of that nature, the Vogvigo will easily lift your truck/SUV/car without a single issue. If you’re concerned about weight, this is the jack to buy. Price-wise it’s about the same as the Westfalia, so again, no drawbacks there.
Although both the ARB and the Westfalia are excellent choices, we strongly recommend the Vogvigo simply for its sheer scope of abilities.
