Vehicle Struts

[TCD0415 26]

We are about to purchase the Res-Q-Jack Strut System for Vehicle Stabilization. Does anyone have any any experience with this piece of equipment (Pro's or Con's)that may help us out?

We are specifically looking at either the Steel X-Strut or the RJ3 Series (both have jacking capabilities)

My link

Appreciate any input......

[lalautze 35]

We use both the RJ3 Jack Stands and the Space-Saver Struts. They do a great job but are a little heavy, not a big deal though. We train on them regularly. Having the ability to stabilize and jack is invaluable. We also have the tripod adapter for the RJ3 stands so we can use it for rope rescues but its a beast to set-up compared to other offerings.

[cbfire25 9]

My department has a set of RJ3s on all of our front line engines and our rescue. These are good struts, quick and easy to set up. The lifting capability is nice, but I'm not sure how much I trust itwith anything larger than a sedan or light truck. I would say you should definitely get the chain and hook set. The lifting comes in handy sometimes, such as when you have a rollover and limited access to the patient compartment. A common evolution we train on is a car rolled over where we need to cut the posts to lower the roof and get the patient out the rear window. The nice thing about them is that you can do this evolution without airbags which tend to get in the way of the rear access. Train often on these, the lifting capability in particular is something that is easy to forget how to do (such as proper placement of the chains and making sure they do not get in the way of what you need to cut.)