Outrageous claim: Expensive Jackstands are worth the money!

I picked up a set of ESCO jackstands (Amazon Link) a year or two ago but never used them much as they got shuffled away in my last move. I've always been a super, super nervous person about wrenching under cars (paranoid, probably) and was ecstatic to find them at the beginning of the year. 

They're amazing. 

So, so, so much more stable than normal jack stands, and they're WAY taller so that you actually have room to work under the car. Yes, the $60/ea initial investment is tough to swallow, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 

Here's the ESCO at half height vs a Harbor Freight stand at full height (aka NOT safe to use).

I'm more comfortable, and feel much, much safer working on the car. In my mind, my life is worth the $300 that these cost, no questions asked. 

Safety first, folks. Now back to your normal programming...

Those do look nice. Do you have a picture at fun height?  I'm always nervous getting under a car on jack stands so I always rock it with my full weight beforehand. 

Edit fun height should be read as full height

Yep a thousand times.  Too be honest fear has kept me from changing the exhaust on the SE.  Put it up on two three and two two ton jack stands the other day and heck but when I let the rear down it didn't settle on one.  Remembered I'd just bought four HF six tons for the S-10 and went back upstairs for them.  Felt much safer.  Didn't even have raise them to have enough room and all four jackpoints settled on the stands.  Escos would be cool also I'm sure.  It was about a hundo for the four six tons - well worth it to me. 

Stampie said:

Those do look nice. Do you have a picture at fun height?  I'm always nervous getting under a car on jack stands so I always rock it with my full weight beforehand. 

 

Edit fun height should be read as full height

I can grab one in a few days - the MR2 is currently undergoing a suspension swap so it's stuck on the stands for a bit. Max height is nearly 24" if I recall, minimum about 14"

I used jack stands before I got my lift. I have the 'standard' type you pictured. I just set them and rock the car with my weight. The ones liked look good, but only marginally. They have a bigger footprint,  but it's triangular, not rectangular, I don't like that. 

I also would get irritated with the larger bases getting in the way of the creeper. 

The ESCOs do go on sale occasionally. I got mine for around $30 each when somebody on here posted a link. It did take something like 4 months for them to arrive though.

Triangular bases are better when the ground is not perfectly flat or smooth. With a rectangular footprint, one point will always be in the air if things are not square. Triangular will always have all three on the ground.

Try it with a bar stool one day. A three legged stool will not rock, a four legged will

In reply to BTD :

Glad you upgraded. The HF ones you have there were never meant to be used like you are using your new ones. Step up to the 6 or better yet the 12 ton HF stands if you want the hight and stability needed for working under the car. The little HF one you have there is for supporting a vehicle when changing a tire or changing pads. Using the proper tool for the job is important. With jack stands your life can depend on it. 

I could use something like that for working on the ZAV.  The regular stands I have, like 3-4 sets of HF mostly, aren't really tall enough to get under a Land Cruiser up in the air.  If they were on sale, I think I'd pick up a pair, even with a 4 month wait.

My issue would be is a jack low enough to get under the car but tall enough to even lift the car high enough to put those under?

Went back to find the supplier. It was Coastal Tool Supply. Currently they are showing $92 regular price & on sale for $66...

I use the HF 6 ton and 12 tone jack stands when working on my wife’s H2 and my Sierra Denali. The little 3 tone ones are good for holding up the bed of my truck when I need to tilt it to get under it. The little ones are also good at holding suspension in place when you don’t want things falling out or when there is spring pressure on things. 

DrBoost said:

I used jack stands before I got my lift. I have the 'standard' type you pictured. I just set them and rock the car with my weight. The ones liked look good, but only marginally. They have a bigger footprint,  but it's triangular, not rectangular, I don't like that. 

I also would get irritated with the larger bases getting in the way of the creeper. 

The triangular base is a huge benefit over the square base IMO. Not only do the foot pads provide a much nicer platform (that won't dig into asphalt), but the stands also don't wobble, as mad_machine mentioned. These are 100% more stable than any square jackstand I've ever used, and it's not particularly close. The safety pins are an improvement over the ratchting as well. 

Jaynen said:

My issue would be is a jack low enough to get under the car but tall enough to even lift the car high enough to put those under?

The HF 2-ton low profile high lift jack works well for me. It has ~24" max lift height and compresses down to ~3".  

Another vote for the bigger-size jackstands.  The little ones are great for brake jobs, oil changes, etc or for holding up a transmission tailshaft.  The big ones are the go-to for 4 wheels off action.  

Ok, so if you set a 3-pointed stand on the ground all three feet will be touching the (uneven) ground because the stand is leaning.  That means that the stand will NOT be level.  A square stand might have one foot 2mm off the ground, but when there be 2 or 4 stands being used, it's a non-issue. All the stands will be level  

I have NEVER even heard of a car falling off a jack stand because the stand tipped over. Broke, i can believe that, but if I have a car sitting on 2 or 4 stands, and I've rocked the car back and forth to make sure isn't not moving, the car cannot topple off. Simply ain't gonna happen. 

I've spent many, MANY hours on a creeper rolling around under a car on (usually 4) stands. The creeper is always hitting the stands. These would irritate me more. 

I must admit I did pull a car off jackstands one time with a breaker bar.  Fortunately I was pulling on the bar out from under the car!  Unfortunately,  it's been so long ago I don't remember if they had 3 legs or 4 legs.

I pulled one off. Car landed on the tires I had under it and my old toolbox. Always pull down on a fx7 flywheel nut. 

I have 4 HF aluminum stands that get used for most jobs, they have been perfect for 10 years. If more altitude is needed, I have a set of HF 12 tons are plenty high enough. 

If I'm rolling around jerking on things, I've already tried to knock the car off the stands to make sure it's stable. I also use wheels or wood cribbing as a oh E36 M3 support. 

Those Escos look nice.  Personally, I use the HF 6 ton stands for most stuff.  Doesn't hurt to have them be significantly over-speced for the job, and the heavier stands are taller.  I've never wished for taller ones.