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OT: Floor jack recommendation

bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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I've got a cheapo Harbor Freight jack that sucks. It replaced a very well built Craftsman that I've retired after 20 years. So, what the recommendation for a floor jack? I want a good one.

I've looked on Amazon and some of their aluminum ones look nice. I've got no experience with those. I am rocking a Camry. It will not be stored in the trunk. It will be for home use.
 
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BigB87

Senior
Sep 11, 2006
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I've never had to do anything my compact Harbor Freight jack couldn't handle, but I'm probably a much lighter user. Anything more than changing a flat, I take it over to my father-in-law who has an actual lift in his shop. Surprisingly, setup cost him less than $2k if I recall correctly, but he did all the install work himself which saved alot of money.
 
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Baxter48_rivals204143

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Sep 22, 2010
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bigboxes said:
I've got a cheapo Harbor Freight jack that sucks. It replaced a very well built Craftsman that I've retired after 20 years. So, what the recommendation for a floor jack? I want a good one.

I've looked on Amazon and some of their aluminum ones look nice. I've got no experience with those. I am rocking a Camry. It will not be stored in the trunk. It will be for home use.
Click to expand...
I bought a off brand 3 ton at a parts store it’s yellow but couldn’t tell you the name for under 200. It works great. Personally I’d stay away from the aluminum one.
 
K

kennyfinpowers

Redshirt
Aug 23, 2019
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bigboxes said:
I've got a cheapo Harbor Freight jack that sucks. It replaced a very well built Craftsman that I've retired after 20 years. So, what the recommendation for a floor jack? I want a good one.

I've looked on Amazon and some of their aluminum ones look nice. I've got no experience with those. I am rocking a Camry. It will not be stored in the trunk. It will be for home use.
Click to expand...


Napa are pretty indestructible.
 
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HUSKERFAN66

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Dec 8, 2004
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I bought a heavy duty low profile Dayton brand at harbor freight a year ago when they were running a very good sale on them. It was their top of the line at that time and has done well so far
 
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Suhrreal

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My $80 Harbor Freight jack has served me well for the past 5ish years. Just make sure to maintain it with grease/oil/fluid.
 
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TheBeav815

All-American
Feb 19, 2007
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I got mine at Menards, I want to say the brand is called Big Red. I tried to be cheap and get a bottle jack first, I immediately hated it and took it back.
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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Baxter48 said:
Let us know what if any brand you buy
Click to expand...

I just bought a DeWalt cordless 20V 1/2" impact wrench and a compact 3/8" impact wrench, plus the impact sockets for the pair. I may have to wait a bit. Was just looking for suggestions. I usually plan ahead. I was just noting that I wished I didn't get the cheapest jack I could find. Last year, my old one was failing and I needed to do some emergency brake work. I didn't want to spend big money on something I hadn't researched first. So, I just went with the cheapest hydraulic floor jack they had. It did the job, but it seems too puny and I like stability. I've been working on my car a lot lately and wished I had a better jack.

I also just wanted to say that cuz it sounded funny. :)
 
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Baxter48_rivals204143

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Sep 22, 2010
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bigboxes said:
I just bought a DeWalt cordless 20V 1/2" impact wrench and a compact 3/8" impact wrench, plus the impact sockets for the pair. I may have to wait a bit. Was just looking for suggestions. I usually plan ahead. I was just noting that I wished I didn't get the cheapest jack I could find. Last year, my old one was failing and I needed to do some emergency brake work. I didn't want to spend big money on something I hadn't researched first. So, I just went with the cheapest hydraulic floor jack they had. It did the job, but it seems too puny and I like stability. I've been working on my car a lot lately and wished I had a better jack.

I also just wanted to say that cuz it sounded funny. :)
Click to expand...
To be on the safe side buy jack stands there very affordable. You’ll love them, you need to add 1/4” impact, saws all, circular saw.
 
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BigB87

Senior
Sep 11, 2006
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Baxter48 said:
To be on the safe side buy jack stands there very affordable. You’ll love them, you need to add 1/4” impact, saws all, circular saw.
Click to expand...

Beat me to it, I was going to add whatever you get make sure to get some jack stands for peace of mind.
 
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corndogfan0120

All-American
Sep 3, 2011
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BigBL87 said:
I've never had to do anything my compact Harbor Freight jack couldn't handle, but I'm probably a much lighter user. Anything more than changing a flat, I take it over to my father-in-law who has an actual lift in his shop. Surprisingly, setup cost him less than $2k if I recall correctly, but he did all the install work himself which saved alot of money.
Click to expand...
Installed with all the fixings (dropper cement for the lift etc) with lift I’ve seen prices around $5-6,000 (which isn’t bad).
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
46,242
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Baxter48 said:
To be on the safe side buy jack stands there very affordable. You’ll love them, you need to add 1/4” impact, saws all, circular saw.
Click to expand...

I've had the same jack stands for 25 years. I always use them.
 
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litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671

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Aug 27, 2006
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I have two jacks and 4 stands...I work on cars enough that it was well worth the cost to buy two jacks so as I don't have to rely on one jack to lift whole car. So much easier with two and I will never be without two jacks again.
 
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BigB87

Senior
Sep 11, 2006
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brnred1989 said:
Installed with all the fixings (dropper cement for the lift etc) with lift I’ve seen prices around $5-6,000 (which isn’t bad).
Click to expand...

This is similar to what my father-in-law had if not exactly it.

https://www.bestbuyautoequipment.co...MIgZTF-46W6gIVUfDACh2pHgkDEAQYASABEgKbxfD_BwE

He already had proper electrical in place and had the concrete poured properly because when he built his shed he planned on getting one eventually. I suppose of you added those costs in it would bump it up a bit.
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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MOwens79 said:
I have had one of these for over 20 years and it’s been great. I don't use it every day but use it quite often and I don’t know if they have changed anything on them but it looks exactly like the one I have. If mine broke today I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. It is very heavy though. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NLE7916420?partTypeName=Floor+Jack&keywordInput=car+jack
Click to expand...

That would sound like a winner, but being that massive and made of steel would break my back. I don't have a garage, so I have to be able to carry the jack.
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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Baxter48 said:
Let us know what if any brand you buy
Click to expand...

This is the one I went with. When I first looked at it, Amazon was selling it for over $250. When they dropped it to $217, I bit. The Harbor Freight version did not have the handles on any model on their website. The closest one they had was for $199, but no handles. This is half the weight of the one Napa one linked above. Funny how steel weighs so much. :D

I'll come back later with a review of the jack after I receive and use it.

 
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TheBeav815

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Feb 19, 2007
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My neighbor has those ramps you drive into. They're not bad once you get used to them. Not a ton of space under the car, I sometimes put the front on ramps and the back on jack stands.
 
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BigB87

Senior
Sep 11, 2006
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TheBeav815 said:
My neighbor has those ramps you drive into. They're not bad once you get used to them. Not a ton of space under the car, I sometimes put the front on ramps and the back on jack stands.
Click to expand...

Thats what my dad used for years for changing oil and other minor stuff. He was no mechanic but he'd be damned if he was going to pay someone to change the oil on any of his cars, haha. For stuff like that, they're fine. I've actually used them to get under my mower even, though now I have an actual mower lift for that stuff.
 
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Baxter48_rivals204143

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bigboxes said:
This is the one I went with. When I first looked at it, Amazon was selling it for over $250. When they dropped it to $217, I bit. The Harbor Freight version did not have the handles on any model on their website. The closest one they had was for $199, but no handles. This is half the weight of the one Napa one linked above. Funny how steel weighs so much. :D

I'll come back later with a review of the jack after I receive and use it.

Click to expand...

Thanks
 
L

litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671

All-American
Aug 27, 2006
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bigboxes said:
This is the one I went with. When I first looked at it, Amazon was selling it for over $250. When they dropped it to $217, I bit. The Harbor Freight version did not have the handles on any model on their website. The closest one they had was for $199, but no handles. This is half the weight of the one Napa one linked above. Funny how steel weighs so much. :D

I'll come back later with a review of the jack after I receive and use it.

Click to expand...


That is a badass mofo. Fo shizzle.
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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tpmcg said:
saw that harbor freight was recalling, replacement jack stands for previously recalled jack stands...
Click to expand...

That's pretty bad. A weld, done properly, will be stronger than the surrounding metal. Poor QC on those jack stands.
 
bigboxes

bigboxes

All-American
Sep 4, 2004
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This thing is MASSIVE. It took a bit to figure out how to remove the spring wire that secured the jack during shipping. I read some comments online that said beware of the force of the yoke. The included instructions were probably a Chinese interpretation. A wrong interpretation. Good thing I could figure it out. The force of the yoke when unsprung was underwhelming at that point. The thought of loseing a finger made me take my time. LOL

Once, I was able to secure the handle to the yoke, I was in business. It easily reaches max height in 12 pumps. The long lightweight aluminum handle provides good leverage. I saw a video where this jack lifted a Jeep Wrangler off the ground with 6 pumps. I like the quality so far. Time will tell on quality. They recommend regular maintenance. Need to get some lithium grease spray, evidently.



 
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WHCSC

WHCSC

All-Conference
Feb 4, 2002
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bigboxes said:
This thing is MASSIVE. It took a bit to figure out how to remove the spring wire that secured the jack during shipping. I read some comments online that said beware of the force of the yoke. The included instructions were probably a Chinese interpretation. A wrong interpretation. Good thing I could figure it out. The force of the yoke when unsprung was underwhelming at that point. The thought of loseing a finger made me take my time. LOL

Once, I was able to secure the handle to the yoke, I was in business. It easily reaches max height in 12 pumps. The long lightweight aluminum handle provides good leverage. I saw a video where this jack lifted a Jeep Wrangler off the ground with 6 pumps. I like the quality so far. Time will tell on quality. They recommend regular maintenance. Need to get some lithium grease spray, evidently.



Click to expand...

Which one did you go with?
 
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corndogfan0120

All-American
Sep 3, 2011
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TheBeav815 said:
My neighbor has those ramps you drive into. They're not bad once you get used to them. Not a ton of space under the car, I sometimes put the front on ramps and the back on jack stands.
Click to expand...
I'm looking into Race Ramps plus their center section they offer.
 
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HUSKERFAN66

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Dec 8, 2004
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Baxter48 said:
You get any high winds early Thursday morning?
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Not really that bad. Davenport, shickley and Hebron got it worse. But by noon a lot of the corn fields had a silagey smell to them. More green snap than I figured.

And you?¿?
 
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Baxter48_rivals204143

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huskerfan66 said:
Not really that bad. Davenport, shickley and Hebron got it worse. But by noon a lot of the corn fields had a silagey smell to them. More green snap than I figured.

And you?¿?
Click to expand...
Had some trees damaged and of course it was the good trees not the ****** old ones. Some of the neighbors corn got hammered
 
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