Recommend me a floor jack

wow this tread got more attention that I ever would have thought! Thanks for the input everyone.

hell yeah, looking like garage journal in here!

Another vote for this model. Mine has served me through 4 years of VERY heavy use. When it dies I'm getting another one.

Toyman01 wrote: I picked up this one almost a year ago: http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-ton-low-profile-heavy-duty-floor-jack-rapid-pump-68050.html No problems so far. I freaking love it. Low profile so it will fit under the Abomination, 23" of lift and strong enough to pick up either end of the SC in one lift. It weighs like a bull moose at close to 100 pounds. Since it never leaves the wheels, that's not a problem. I've got one of the little aluminum ones for hauling around. I know you don't want HF, but I thought I would throw it out there.

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: I have an aluminum low pro jack from Costco. Not sure if its the one with the brand that started with an A or an L. Will get back to you once I get home and look at it. My previous jack was also another Costco aluminum job, I liked that one better but it puked it's guts out in about a year. This one has lasted me about 3 and aside from tightening the allen bolts that worked themselves loose and bleeding it once it has served me well. Will probably die on me now that I've said it, but Costco has a great return policy and are closer to me than HF. Both were in the $120 range iirc. Been thinking bout picking up a second one from HF but that's money I shouldn't be spending on stuff like that right now.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered an Arcan jack for Costco for $99 online. It showed up at my garage door a few days later. I haven't used it, but it seems like a good one. Way better that some old POS I got from Sam's years ago.

When it comes to paddock jacks, I give up. The usual 1-ton and 1.5 ton Harbor Freight aluminum models seem to be hit or miss. They're like getting married; a guy does the same thing the other guys do, and his just fails after an unsatisfactory period, while the other guys all do just fine. The $200 models from other suppliers with the same features all look like the HF ones and I'm afraid of those for that reason.

I now just buy the cheapo stamped steel ones and see how long they make it. This one was $45 and has made it two seasons now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJ9LYK0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My parents see old ones at estate sales sometimes, I should start picking them up. Really heavy-duty ones, I never had any interest because I am easy on jacks, but I can see how the truck guys could use them.

My uncle bought a refurbished 50 year old Hein-Werner twenty years ago. It's still working perfectly.

How many decades of working on cars do you have left? How much per year is a $400 jack?

Bumping for current recommendations.

I've had the Costco Arcan for about 12 years.  It has been OK but not great.  Lighter than steel for a full-size jack.  Have to tighten the screws every once in a while.  Its getting tough to control, and the whole structure is going wonky.  Don't trust it for much longer.

Willing to pay more for something that is long-term.  I'd rather it not weigh 100lb.  Needs to get under a lowered Miata, and lift a Ridgeline.

Tempted to buy another Arcan for another 10 years for $100, but I'd be OK with $250 if I thought it would last longer.

I think aluminum 3 ton floor jacks are good for cars and heavy vehicles 

This spring I picked up a HF Aluminum 3 ton jack. It has been great, but obviously I haven't had it long. If you watch a lot of Roadkill or Hoonigan you'll see that they always seem to be using HF aluminum jacks, so if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me.

I bought the HF 3 ton low profile steel jack a couple weeks ago. Lighter than my 25+ year old Craftsman but not light by any objective standard. It was missing a circlip and still had one of the packing blocks jammed in the mechanism so only one of the two cylinders was being actuated. Once I resolved those problems it's been OK. I like that I don't have to roll my 128i up onto boards in order to fit the jack under it.

02Pilot said:

I bought the HF 3 ton low profile steel jack a couple weeks ago. Lighter than my 25+ year old Craftsman but not light by any objective standard. It was missing a circlip and still had one of the packing blocks jammed in the mechanism so only one of the two cylinders was being actuated. Once I resolved those problems it's been OK. I like that I don't have to roll my 128i up onto boards in order to fit the jack under it.

I bought that jack a few years ago.  One issue mine has had is that one of the two small cylinders under the handle will get hung up- I think one does the fast pump and the other does the normal, lift-the-vehicle pumping.  The normal one is the one that get hung up, so the jack will come up to the vehicle but then not lift it.  I then have to tap the stuck cylinder with a hammer, or pry on it with a screw driver, till it pops out and then it works fine.  

Now, it hasn't stuck on me in a few months now, so maybe it fixed itself.  Or, maybe it'll pick tonight to get stuck.  Oh well.  

One sort-of oddball solution I came up with for a jack is one of those screw-scissor-type jacks, with a nut welded on the shaft.  I then use my cordless impact with a LONG extension to reach the nut and boom, lifts a car in no time.  Obviously the scissor jack is pretty sketchy, and only works on lighter vehicles, and has no side-side stability, but it works for getting the car up quickly to get jack stands under it.  It's also super light and portable.  

Toyman01 said:

I picked up this one almost a year ago:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-ton-low-profile-heavy-duty-floor-jack-rapid-pump-68050.html

No problems so far.

I freaking love it. Low profile so it will fit under the Abomination, 23" of lift and strong enough to pick up either end of the SC in one lift. It weighs like a bull moose at close to 100 pounds. Since it never leaves the wheels, that's not a problem. I've got one of the little aluminum ones for hauling around.

I know you don't want HF, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Since this has popped up again, I still have this jack. It still works perfectly. It has had zero maintenance beyond greasing the pivots every year or two. I would recommend it to anyone. It has lifted everything from the Abomination to a F350 with no issues. I think HF still sells it, but it's yellow now and under a different name. 

Toyman01 said:

Toyman01 said:

I picked up this one almost a year ago:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-ton-low-profile-heavy-duty-floor-jack-rapid-pump-68050.html

No problems so far.

I freaking love it. Low profile so it will fit under the Abomination, 23" of lift and strong enough to pick up either end of the SC in one lift. It weighs like a bull moose at close to 100 pounds. Since it never leaves the wheels, that's not a problem. I've got one of the little aluminum ones for hauling around.

I know you don't want HF, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Since this has popped up again, I still have this jack. It still works perfectly. It has had zero maintenance beyond greasing the pivots every year or two. I would recommend it to anyone. It has lifted everything from the Abomination to a F350 with no issues. I think HF still sells it, but it's yellow now and under a different name. 

 

I feel like I need to second this as hard as possible- I have one of these which has been so beaten and abused that none of the decals are intact and it's covered in surface rust.  It has seen ambient temperatures from the single digits to the triple digits, rain, gravel, dust, been used to reposition hot exhausts, etc. and still keeps going.  At most it might squeak a little at this point.  If it ever fails I'll buy another.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

Toyman01 said:

Toyman01 said:

I picked up this one almost a year ago:

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-ton-low-profile-heavy-duty-floor-jack-rapid-pump-68050.html

No problems so far.

I freaking love it. Low profile so it will fit under the Abomination, 23" of lift and strong enough to pick up either end of the SC in one lift. It weighs like a bull moose at close to 100 pounds. Since it never leaves the wheels, that's not a problem. I've got one of the little aluminum ones for hauling around.

I know you don't want HF, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Since this has popped up again, I still have this jack. It still works perfectly. It has had zero maintenance beyond greasing the pivots every year or two. I would recommend it to anyone. It has lifted everything from the Abomination to a F350 with no issues. I think HF still sells it, but it's yellow now and under a different name. 

 

I feel like I need to second this as hard as possible- I have one of these which has been so beaten and abused that none of the decals are intact and it's covered in surface rust.  It has seen ambient temperatures from the single digits to the triple digits, rain, gravel, dust, been used to reposition hot exhausts, etc. and still keeps going.  At most it might squeak a little at this point.  If it ever fails I'll buy another.

I have this as well. Gets a lot of use in my garage, and we haul it to stage rally events as our service jack (so, it gets wet, muddy, dusty, etc). I think I've had it for close to 5-6 years now and still works perfectly. Except mine has the awesome T-handle with the knob on top, which I think they stopped making that kind of handle. 

Anyhow, +1

Same experience as above!