Jack Stands and Floor Jack - Recommendations?

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rigel77

New member
Here's the scoop: I'm starting from ground from zero. I have no stands or jack and, due to upcoming relocations and unknown storage space, I'm not looking to sink a ton of money into tools. They have a habit of disappearing during moves. Any recommendations on safe and affordable jack stands and floor jack for parking lot use - if there is such a thing?



Are Autozone or Craftsman worth checking out? Sears offers a 3 ton stands-and-jack package for $140 (on sale at $99 right now). More lifting capacity than I need (~ 3600 lbs) but safety overkill works for me. Autozone has a kit for around $60 rated for 2 tons.



Thanks!
 
Pay a visit to a larger Sears store or a Sears Tool Store. They have some very decent jack/jack stand combos.
 
I have an aluminum "race" jack (I can't remember the brand). Three pumps to the top and its relatively light for a 3-ton jack. Its great and you wont kill yourself lugging it around.
 
I have both a Craftsman and an AC Hydraulics floor jack.



Not a big fan of the aluminum jacks, the AC Hydraulics jack is steel and is fairly light as well as low profile...



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Some features I think are important (in case you hadn't thought of these...)



Minimum height -- how low will it go? Important it you want to jack up a low vehicle.



Maximum height -- how high will it go? Important if you want to jack up a higher vehicle, such as a pickup truck and some SUVs.



Repair -- usually not an issue as jacks are fairly reliable. But it does break, can you get parts or get it repaired? This may be an issue with some of the units from discount stores.



Pad -- some jacks I have seen have a pad that could cause damage to the undercarriage. If you want to try to minimize damage, then you may want to look for a jack that has a pad that suits your needs. Same thing goes for jack stands.



Storage -- some jacks have easily removable handles to ease storage. If this is a concern, you may want to look for one that has this feature.
 
BigJimZ28 said:
best bang for the buck check and see if sam's club still sells the Michelin
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Concur, have that one too, works great, even have the chrome "Goodyear" jack stands too. (both from Sams)

Keep in mind, most of these products are NOT high end professional items (made in china or somehwere else!) but for most of us work great and as always BE SAFE in whatever you do!
 
rigel77 said:
Here's the scoop: I'm starting from ground from zero. I have no stands or jack and, due to upcoming relocations and unknown storage space, I'm not looking to sink a ton of money into tools. They have a habit of disappearing during moves. Any recommendations on safe and affordable jack stands and floor jack for parking lot use - if there is such a thing?



Are Autozone or Craftsman worth checking out? Sears offers a 3 ton stands-and-jack package for $140 (on sale at $99 right now). More lifting capacity than I need (~ 3600 lbs) but safety overkill works for me. Autozone has a kit for around $60 rated for 2 tons.



Thanks!
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Here's a good Craftsman Kit that I recommend. I bought this Kit this past X-Mas and am very glad I did. It's not expensive, and is a great overall kit that should pretty much cover your needs.



Craftsman 3 ton Floor Jack, Jack Stands and Creeper Set - Model 50188 at Sears.com
 
BlueZero said:
Make sure to read the reviews on the Sears website for the Craftsmen models. Some of them are junk.
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Did so. That's why I'm leaning to their 3 ton instead of the 2 ton. Very good to Excellent reviews for the 3T. Really wide spectrum for the 2T so it's out.



Too bad Autozone doesn't offer more product info and reviews on their site. That screams "Come in so we can sell you!" I don't mind visiting stores onceI've narrowed down the options but I'd rather do most of the groundwork online.
 
Morris9982 said:
Some features I think are important (in case you hadn't thought of these...)



Minimum height -- how low will it go? Important it you want to jack up a low vehicle.



Maximum height -- how high will it go? Important if you want to jack up a higher vehicle, such as a pickup truck and some SUVs.



Repair -- usually not an issue as jacks are fairly reliable. But it does break, can you get parts or get it repaired? This may be an issue with some of the units from discount stores.



Pad -- some jacks I have seen have a pad that could cause damage to the undercarriage. If you want to try to minimize damage, then you may want to look for a jack that has a pad that suits your needs. Same thing goes for jack stands.



Storage -- some jacks have easily removable handles to ease storage. If this is a concern, you may want to look for one that has this feature.
Click to expand...



All good points. I've got a 99 Avalon and 00 Lincoln LS so it looks like most jacks can handle the need.



Removable handle to ease storage - thanks for raising and something for which I'll watch.



Repair - I was surprised to see Sears only offering a one-year warranty on the Craftsman products - even their "Professional" line. Guess quality control is diminishing rapidly as they manufacture overseas.
 
rigel77 said:
Did so. That's why I'm leaning to their 3 ton instead of the 2 ton. Very good to Excellent reviews for the 3T. Really wide spectrum for the 2T so it's out.



Too bad Autozone doesn't offer more product info and reviews on their site. That screams "Come in so we can sell you!" I don't mind visiting stores onceI've narrowed down the options but I'd rather do most of the groundwork online.
Click to expand...



I bought a Craftsmen a few years ago and it works great. Not sure what model, I think it's a 2-1/4 ton. I wanted to upgrade to the nicer one but after reading the reviews changed my mind. I still keep my eyes open for a nicer floor jack that doesn't cost a fortune. Some at Harbor Freight don't look all that bad but you would probably never be able to find parts for them. I never go under without jack stands anyway.
 
Gee, 3-ton jacks are getting tiny; my ancient Craftsman 3-ton is a huge,havy monster of a thing (but it still works great after >20 years and it lifts the DenaliXL with hardly any effort).



rjstaaf said:
I have both a Craftsman and an AC Hydraulics floor jack....
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I have a pair of ACs and I simply *LOVE* them :xyxthumbs They're overtaxed by the DenaliXL though, so I *am* glad I still have that old Craftsman.
 
I have some mvp jackstands from Pepboys that have been 100%



I also use a 3.5ton michilin floor jack from Sams Club, it weightds about 100 lbs



Also had a craftsman 3 ton jack and stands. Stands were OK, but kind of flimsy. Broke the floor jack in 2-3 yrs
 
Sam's Club still sells the Blue 3.5 ton Michelin ones. Picked one up a few months ago for I think ~$65 and it is great. Reaches the frame of my truck in 2-3 pumps, has no problem picking it up, and it's inexpensive. As far as jack stands, I have 2 pairs of 6-ton ones from Harbor Freight and they work great and are inexpensive as well. I think like $30 for a pair...
 
Thanks to everyone who replied - I really appreciate the input. I'll keep my eyes open on upcoming visits to Sam's. For now, I rolled the bones and picked up the Craftsman 3ton package before it went off sale on Saturday. Haven't had time yet to use it but am optimistic that it will more than meet my needs. Now to find some time to use it...
 
Ive got the 2 ton aluminum jack with 4 6ton jack stands from Sears. Ive never had a problem getting my 3" lifted Jeep off the ground with it. I believe its lift height is around 18" or so.



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