ideas for putting large vehicles in the air

[Kracin]

anyone have any good solutions to getting large vehicles in the air so you can safely get under them, not necessarily wheels off either. it seems like every time i get my sequoia or tundra in the air, it's a massive pain, my jack only reaches high enough at some point underneath, then when picking up either one side at a time, or front or back one at a time. the whole thing wobbles side to side or shimmys on my jack... not something i think is very safe...

what is out there in terms of vehicle lifting that makes working under cars/trucks easier?

btw, no max jax or lifts right now, this is a non permanent home and i wont drop money on those til i get into a much nicer home. but still need to get under my cars.

thanks!

 

[Jazzman442]

You have several options. Max Jax you can take it with you. I am not in favor of that one.
4 Post lift. They can come apart and move with you.
A Scissor lift or portable Scissor lift. These also can come with you when you move.

The 2 post lifts can be removed and also go with you.

Not many more options I would trust under any one of those.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Cribbing.

I find the 3.5 ton jacks lift our full size trucks and SUVs high enough.

Combine with a good set of jackstands and some cribbing, and you can get higher.

It's not as ideal as a lift, but it's better than nothing.

 

[blackwire]

If you don't need to take off the wheels, some ramps might work for you.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/rhino-gear-rhinoramp-11909/10157441-P

If you want to use a jack, place a block of wood between the jack and the lifting point on your truck, this will allow the jack to go high enough to lift up your truck. Remember to use jack stands. Do not depend on the jack to hold up the truck.

 

[619DioFan]

I drive a 95 ram 2500 4x4 . I use the 4 ton rapid pump jack from HF to lift it and then use the HF 6 ton jack stands to support it. never had any issues. also use the same set up when working on my sisters suburban ( 93 454 powered 4x4 ) again never any issues. if a little more " jack " height is needed a piece of 6x6 wood block does the trick. both vehicles have a minor lift so jobs such as oil changes , trans fluid , greasing fittings , etc can be done without having to raise them.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

another way to put large vehicles in the air...

 

[brass89]

if you have that much space under the lift points, you could also position some 4x4 wood blocks under the jack (if there's a solid surface like concrete to work off of). it'll eliminate the jack trying to roll around. only sucky part is it requires lifting a floor jack up onto the blocks (placed crossways under the jack frame, not parallel with the frame). should be sturdy enough to get stands under, but do use stands. make sure to chalk wheels and set ebrakes if lifting only half the car/truck (would suggest one axle or the other, not one side of the car vs the other.)

other than that, ramps are cheap and effective to give a few extra inches if you don't have to pull wheels given they're both trucks. if you have a good sized air compressor, you could check into something like a 15-20t air jack, but that might be overkill. can't see what you're dealing with, but neither of those toyotas are significantly large and shouldn't be too difficult to lift. (the air jack i mentioned i used at a shop for lifting motorhomes or gmc 6500 dumptrucks.)

another way to do it, might take you more time - but if you're trying to gain a large amount of lift using a floor jack and stands, try jacking up one side enough to get a stand under it. lift the other side, put a stand under it. come back to the first side and raise it a little more. this way your lifting will be more even and not trying to raise 18-20" + on one side all at once. best of luck.

 

[Dirty Diesels]

another way to put large vehicles in the air...

That's 1 way

 

[articsilber323]

another way to put large vehicles in the air...

 

[APEowner]

A good quality jack, some cribbing and a set of truck jack stands. No need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[wbrian63]

if you have that much space under the lift points, you could also position some 4x4 wood blocks under the jack (if there's a solid surface like concrete to work off of). it'll eliminate the jack trying to roll around.

Unless I'm completely missing the point - this is NOT a good idea.

Floor jacks need to roll to keep the pad in place under the car. As the pad is raised, it moves backwards away from the wheels towards the handle of the jack.

The higher the jack is raised, the more the pad moves away from the original lifting point towards the handle.

By preventing the jack from rolling you're asking for the pad to be pulled free from wherever it is placed, possibly causing damage to the vehicle being lifted - or worse...

This caution is valid regardless of the orientation of the jack to the item being lifted.

The only type of jack for which this method "might" be permissible is a bottle jack.

That being said I have never liked doing what you're trying to attempt. Especially trying to get all 4 wheels off the ground. A previous reply suggested lifting in stages - that is IMO the safest way to accomplish your goal.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If lifting in stages keep an eye on the jack stands as that like to tilt with the vehicle. Reset them before going under.

 

[48RON54]

anyone have any good solutions to getting large vehicles in the air so you can safely get under them, not necessarily wheels off either. it seems like every time i get my sequoia or tundra in the air, it's a massive pain, my jack only reaches high enough at some point underneath, then when picking up either one side at a time, or front or back one at a time. the whole thing wobbles side to side or shimmys on my jack... not something i think is very safe...

what is out there in terms of vehicle lifting that makes working under cars/trucks easier?

btw, no max jax or lifts right now, this is a non permanent home and i wont drop money on those til i get into a much nicer home. but still need to get under my cars.

thanks!

Seems to just be the way it is when lifting a larger vehicle..... I dread lifting my truck when I have to.

 

[theoldwizard1]

4x6 on the jack pad. You do have to be careful to center the jack pad under the liftinmg point or it will wobble. Still not enough ? Bolt 2 - 4x6s together and make a 6x8.

Use 6 ton jack stands.

If you are good at welding/fabbing you could make some kind of "extended" jack pad.

Long frame 10 ton jacks will usually lift more than 30"

This looks like a reasonable DIY mod if you can find the wheels and axles.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Put the jack under the axle in the back, and under the control arms right by the ball joints up front. Get a good jack with a nice, high lift, and some tall, HD stands. Put said stands under the front framerails, and either the axletubes or framerails in the back.

Do that in 2 stages if you want to use the 4x4 cribbing under the jack idea... that should minimize the arc effect by 'resetting' the jack.

Those ain't even what I'd call "big", I'd put either on the smaller 7k 2-post at work. Try a CCLB dually, especially if it's a Ford with the framerails turning up just behind the damn front door.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Hi Lift Jack with Lift-Mate

 

[Kracin]

Hi Lift Jack with Lift-Mate

they should consider tire grabbing straps and not ones that mar up wheels... lol but otherwise a good idea.



thanks for the suggestions, typically when i raise something up onto 4 stands i'll do it either side by side, or front to back , whichever might be easiest. the issue always comes with you get to the high points on your jack and it wants to drag the vehicle sideways while on two stands already.

i tend to only put it up on 4 stands when i do a tire rotation anyway. or have something major to do, otherwise lifting just one side is fine.

i think for my next endeavor i may just buy some ramps, drive it up the ramps. jack it a few inches above, and put it on stands, then remove the ramps to do the tires, and go backwards to get it back down. anyone have issues putting a 4wd truck on 4 ramps ?

 

[Thumper68]

i think for my next endeavor i may just buy some ramps, drive it up the ramps. jack it a few inches above, and put it on stands, then remove the ramps to do the tires, and go backwards to get it back down. anyone have issues putting a 4wd truck on 4 ramps ?

I have put many trucks/suv's up on four ramps, can be a trick to do it when they want to slide on the concrete for that I have 4 rubber pads to put underneath.

 

[454cid]

The higher the jack is raised, the more the pad moves away from the original lifting point towards the handle.

By preventing the jack from rolling you're asking for the pad to be pulled free from wherever it is placed

The recommendation was that if the space was large. What you say would be true, in the case of lifting a low vehicle a great distance up. However, if it's a taller vehicle the jack will not contact the vehicle until late in the vertical movement of the jack. That means that the jack would not be moving much after making contact with the vehicle. It would still take care to do, but I don't think it's as big a deal, as you're thinking.

I used an old Sears catalog in between a unibody and a floor jack, once...... worked perfect

 

[KSB]

How much lift height do you need? Good size bottle jacks are not that expensive, and although the are much more work to set up are safer than using a 4x4 on the jack pad.

After lifting one side support it on a good size axle stand, I usually like to grab the frame below the doors. Then lift the other side and support it the same.

For the rear grab it by the pot on the diff and support on diff tube under the spring.