Truth. Which one do you have?

 

I carry a small Horror Fright floor jack. The factory jack was missing 2 of the 4 handle pieces, and they wanted almost $100 for $5 worth of metal. And none of the junk yards had them.

I've always plugged my own tires, from the outside, and have never had one fail. Been doing it forever, and been responsible for 3 and 4 cars since my kids started to drive. My last flat was only the second I couldn't plug. It was a tear, as opposed to a puncture. The other was a sidewall pinch.

 

$25 it's patched from the inside and I give a friend some work. I didn't have a five so I gave him a ten and told him to keep it. He said my Bridgestones are good tires by the way. I am not sure why, but he says the price goes up and down. I know the last time he got me one it was hard for him to find. I suppose it is availability. I was asking general questions about replacing these and he said I could expect $250 (Canadian) per tire. He listed off some names, including these. He recommended against Michellin which surprised me. He said they were too expensive. He also said I should 80K (Km) on these, but I might get a little less seeing the center of my tread was wearing down faster. The particular tire we were looking at was on the rear, 80psi, running with an empty truck most of the time. I guess I should drop the pressure a little.

 

Probably wouldn't hurt if you're running empty. I wouldn't go below the front PSI.

I never said Bridgestones were bad. I was just surprised that the stock tire on a '16 is only a 40k (65k km) tire. I just found a Firestone for less. Plus, it was advertised as "quieter" and indeed is. The Firestone doesn't have a mileage based warranty, but reviews indicate a 60k (96k km) life.

More miles, less money, less noise. I win!

 

For those of you using bottle jacks, what lifting points are you using?

 

I've used the shock mount on the rear, and something similar up front. I was carrying a bottle jack, which was fine as long as the tire wasn't flat. But it didn't have enough travel for a flat tire. Was really pissed at my self for not thinking that one out.

 

It should be in your manual, but here is for a 2005.



(1)Lower Control Arm; Inboard of the Lower Ball Joint
(2)Frame; at Second Crossmember
(3)Rear Spring; at Forward Spring Hanger
(4)Axle; Inboard of Shock Absorber Hanger
(5)Differential; at Center
(6)Front Suspension Crossmember; Center

 

Right! I have to measure travel if a tire is flat

 

I don't invest too much into other people's opinions. What matters most is how something suits ME.
A jack serves a fairly simple function so evaluating it is trivial.
But since you'll be squirting foam into your tire then you don't need one.

 

"Horror freight" LOL. I like it. Seriously though, over the last year the quality has really improved. You can tell they've been flushing the junk product during weekend sales.