Thread: MAXTRAX.........

small hijack... the Aldi 12V scissor jacks are excellent... bought 2 and borrowed 2 for a DIY 4-point electric lift! Got to required height then manouvered the jackstands into position with a yard broom... totally safe. Hydraulic floor jacks have their place (I have 2...) but these 12V scissor jacks eliminate the "arc-displacement" / creep problem of the floor jack... and you can adjust them height-wise with very good precision.

Originally Posted by PTC

I've never used the Maxtrax in the sand though quite a bit in muddy situations in the High Country and they work a treat. Though a rope is a must we learnt after a few recovers. We tied the rope to a tree on either side of the bog hole. As our first test recovery ended up with one of us in the mud fishing around for the track which had been forced down and jammed in under there. Very messy

Once the ropes were attached. The car would drive out and we could pull on the rope to recover without getting dirty.

Tie the rope to the towbar and then the tracks are just behind you once your out.

I looked at the ALDI "TRAX"

I left them there after unzipping them from the pack and having a look.

I believe they would be useless.

In one pack, there are 2 TRAX, packed back to back.

When I checked them out, one side of the TRAX was virtually slick, the other side had the "nipples"

Wouldn't this defeat the purpose of trying to gain traction????

HEYVJ

Originally Posted by Didge

I bought an electric (4WD) scissor jack today for $80.

Originally Posted by Hoges

the Aldi 12V scissor jacks are excellent... bought 2 and borrowed 2 for a DIY 4-point electric lift! Got to required height then manouvered the jackstands into position with a yard broom... totally safe. Hydraulic floor jacks have their place (I have 2...) but these 12V scissor jacks eliminate the "arc-displacement" / creep problem of the floor jack... and you can adjust them height-wise with very good precision.

I would have to disagree in a big way - they are highly dangerous. Where the arms mesh at the top and at the bottom, with any minor movement they can strip and allowing the car being lifted to roll off the jack, despite precautions being taken.

My RRS fell off one of these jacks, and two weeks ago I was working under a car being jacked up with one of these - thankfully I also placed jackstands under the car as a safety measure and the Aldi jack failed while I was under the car - see pic - thankfully I had the jack stands under that supported the car and stopped it falling on me.

I am going to take the 12v motor out of mine and binning the rest.

These jacks are crap and dangerous. If four of these were used as a mini four post lift and you survived then you were very lucky.

Garry

Geez Garry, I was feeling good after Hoges' post and now ya got me worried. They're supposed to be rated to 2 tonnes but i was thinking of it just for changing wheels one at a time and I always use axle stands. I think I'll test mine this weekend. Shouldn't you just take it back- 12 month warranty?
Gerald

Originally Posted by Didge

Geez Garry, I was feeling good after Hoges' post and now ya got me worried. They're supposed to be rated to 2 tonnes but i was thinking of it just for changing wheels one at a time and I always use axle stands. I think I'll test mine this weekend. Shouldn't you just take it back- 12 month warranty?
Gerald

It is a bit like the genuine D3 jack - will lift the weight but cannot handle any weight component that is not through the vertical - the reality is that even when the wheels are chocked as the item being lifted gets higher a sideways weight component starts to creep in.

This is not the first time Aldi have had these and I got mine long ago and now outside warranty. My last incident was not with a heavy vehicle like the RRS - was on my Haflinger (650kg all up) so was only lifting about 150kg but being lifted high when the shown damage occured.

By the way there is a thread on the UK LR4x4 forum about these jacks where the same issue I had has occurred.

Garry

MMhh, thanks - perhaps I'll take mine back - it's still in the box. Maybe I'll just stick with the hi lift, eh?
cheers Gerald

Got me able to escape off the nude end of cable Beach Broome at high tide after bogging in the soft stuff !!! What more can I say !!!! BDB