Following the house fire, I've lost all three of my hydraulic floor jacks which were in the garage (where the fire started). One (the oldest) was a "portable" jack which my Dad bought me many years ago - worked great, but took a lot of pumps to raise the car. The second was formerly Dad's and didn't take a lot of pumps or effort, but had a very long handle so was difficult in tight spaces. The third was a b-day gift last fall, and while light and low, took a lot of effort put pump. What is the determining factor in how much effort is required to raise a car? Size of the cylinder? What is recommended? I'd like one that is "sort of" low, but not so much that the marketeers think they can charge a premium for it. I'd also like one that doesn't require so much effort (the third one took a lot of my body weight - not insignificant, I might add - to pump it). And finally, not *too* long of a handle. I know, I want the best of all worlds! Thanks! gp
I have a pair of these...they are not cheap, and have a long handle. But move about easily due to a center wheel under the carriage, and if you remove the round plate, can go even lower. (1 7/8"!) I got mine through Griots Garage, but less expensive here Amazon.com: OTC 5200 2-Ton Capacity Ultra-Low Profile Service Jack: Automotive I guess this misses the boat on a couple fronts....long handle and expensive... I have found that the cheap Chinese ones don't last long though. Since you had a fire, I would add a smoke alarm and a couple fire extinguishers to your shopping list.
I got one of these and some hockey pucks from Amazon prime Amazon.com: Pro-Lift F-767 Grey Low Profile Floor Jack - 2 Ton Capacity: Automotive
Nice, but yes, a tad pricey - not necessarily a show-stopper though. As for smoke alarm/fire extinguishers - YOU BET! And sprinklers throughout the new house! What's meant by "dead-man's control"?? Also a bit pricey, but may well be worth it. Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!! For that kind of money, I could buy a brand new cheap Chinese one (maybe even better than that) every year for the rest of my life! This looks very much like the first one my Dad gave me (years and years ago...). Worked pretty well. Thanks everyone! gp
I have two low profile aluminum floor jacks from harbor freight. One is 2t the other 3T. The differences are weight of the jack. They seem well built and do the job, plus compared to steel they weigth significatly less, which is a big issue if you take jacks to the track.
The aluminum race jacks they have are very nice. They are light weight and the 1.5T will easily fit in the front of a 360 for track days. The 2T is perfect for lifting the car.
The third jack mentioned in my OP was also from HF - AL, pretty light (not sure of which, if any, "T" number....), but just took a ton of effort to pump. Don't know if it was because it had a short handle, small cylinder, or what. The other two jacks were nowhere near that difficult to operate.... gp
I also got mine from harbor freight, chose the steel one over the aluminum. Believe its a 2.5-3 ton jack... Works great, 100$ or so... Search results for: 'car jack' I have used it to pick up my cargo vans which are pretty hefty, and no issues...
HF here too. The 2T aluminum isn't low enough for my challenge car at the track so have to roll it on a wood block. The 3T steel is lower and works fine in the garage, but is way to heavy for track duty. Decent price on both too.
I've had an AC for 15 years. It's been the best jack I've ever owned, and worth every penny. I bought it as a college student, but had such bad luck with HF, that I ponied up. Had a few craftsman and harbor freight in the middle, and they all failed; HF being the absolute worst
