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What is your Go To jack?

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JohnnieMo

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Joined
Nov 25, 2014
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1,175
Location
Calgary, Alberta
So since I got a 4 post lift I assumed I wouldn't need jacks much anymore. However I've discovered that in many cases I use bottle jacks while on the lift, plus a lot of times I still do things on the floor that are quick and dirty. For that I use a floor jack.

Lately I've been jacking boats, trailers and an assortment of other random things and it occurred to me that I HATE floor jacks and a DETEST bottle jacks. Floor jacks are stupid heavy, and there is never enough room for the handle. Bottle jacks are small, but you need to pump a thousand times to get anything done.

Just this week I had to swap 4 tires off my camper to get them replaced and had to do it on a coarse gravel lot. That meant no go for the floor jack, and hard to lift an axle with a bottle jack (although I did succeed in the end). I got to thinking THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY!!

So I''m curious, what is your favourite jack to use? I'd love something electric, pneumatic, or even runs up an down like a scissor jack with an impact. I'm tired of jacking like a caveman.

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whateg01

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Mar 13, 2006
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11,212
Location
doo dah, kansas, usa
My Walker 784 for heavy stuff. My (modern day Shinn Fu) Hein Werner 2T for other stuff. Though swapping the transmission in my pickup this week, I have been thinking a 4 post lift wouldn't be that expensive, right?

Dave
 
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deberly12

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Jun 7, 2017
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Location
Lebanon County, PA
Floor Jack's and bottle Jack's do have there downsides but they're really isn't much that is better. For both the best value I have found is harbor freight. They are better quality than any other brand I have used. (Craftsman, Goodwrench, auto something) one of the keys to bottle Jack's is don't go over kill. As men out but says bigger is better but think of a bottle Jack's as though it has gears. To get rated capacity you give up speed. In other words use a 2 ton Jack to lift 2 tons...and so on.

They do make pnumatic pumped bottle Jack's. You can get these with a trolley so they are basically a pnumatic floor jack.

There are also off-road floor Jack's that can be used on rough terrain.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using The Garage Journal mobile app
 
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aafadca

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Feb 16, 2010
Messages
160
Location
western nc/northern va
My "quickie" jack is the cheap aluminum Harbor Freight one. I can pick it up with one hand! For a quick lift it's great. Although the handle droops down a little. I haven't checked to see why. For more serious lifting I have the normal heavy duty jack.
 
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seber

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May 31, 2016
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4,195
Location
Deep East Tx.
Before I moved and left it behind, I used a pneumatic over hydraulic rough terrain jack. It was very fast.
 
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bpjr

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Sep 2, 2013
Messages
554
Location
Florida east coast
My go to is an HF 2.5 ton low profile. My other jacks are: 3 ton Husky, (2) small trolly jacks and a 4 ton bottle jack. I use the Husky as a backup for the HF but the bottle and trolly jacks only get used when the others wont fit.
 
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JohnnieMo

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Nov 25, 2014
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1,175
Location
Calgary, Alberta
Does anyone have some sort of airbag jack? I don't even know how to google it but something like a bottle jack but runs on air. That would be slick.

With my Ribtrax floor the floor jack isn't ideal. I need to throw down a third of a sheet of plywood first.
 
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L.Cheapo

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Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
5,884
When I was in college in the early 00s, my parents bought me a 3.5ton black and yellow Craftsman jack. It's from China and weighs as much as Rosie Odonnell, but it still lifts my truck without issue.
 
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WWheeler

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Jun 23, 2015
Messages
4,105
Location
Middleofnowhere USA
My go-to is a Yellow 3-Ton Daytona from Harbor Freight that's been great so far, and whenever I get around to it I picked up a couple Walker floor jacks last year that both work but are in need of some luv. The 1.5ton aluminum HF jack is a hunk of junk imho but it does come in handy to lift up on a lower control arm or whatnot sometimes while the vehicle is on stands. It doesn't really lift high enough to do much else that I typically work on. The Daytona weighs 3 times as much yet is waaaay more easy to maneuver around.

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All that said, for the OP I'd suggest taking a look at an AC Hydraulics Jack. I believe they are made in Denmark, but can be bought here in the US (even on Amazon). The wheels on their floor jacks have an o-ring specifically for floor protection. The guys at our local tire shop have one and the one thing that made me take notice of it was how quiet it was rolling it around.

http://www.ac-hydraulic.dk/us/products/hydraulic-jacks/
http://www.acjacks.com/acjacks_003.htm

 
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Qualitytools

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Apr 30, 2014
Messages
2,850
Location
SOCAL
I have the AC Hydraulic DK20Q, have had it for close to 20 years now, excellent jack! I wish I had the 13 also at times but they are so expensive now
 
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crewchief888

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Dec 3, 2009
Messages
13,741
Location
NW indiana
i have a nesco hydraulics 2 1/4T in the garage. it's been around for at least 25 years.

i use bottle jacks in my service truck, short 10T, taller 15T
we use long frame 5T floor jacks at the shop. we have 3 or 4 of them laying around.


:beer:
 
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Coach James

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Jun 24, 2005
Messages
8,932
Location
Sandhills of North Carolina
For most things, I use my black Craftsman 3 ton. Sometimes I use the old C-man I inherited from my dad. Green frame with a white saddle, it's a great jack. I have a trolley from Auto Zone I use to support control arms and a few other things.

Coach
 
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