Jack stands, ratchet or pin style?

[ajchien]

I’m lookin for a new set of jack stands, to be able to get up to a height of around 28”. Those seem to be either 10 or 12 ton ratchet style (US Jack or Omega), or 10 ton pin style (Sunex or Omega) in medium height.

In my mind, the ratchet style has benefits of one handed operation. The pin style tends to have a wider base. Of course, there are those ratchet style stands with a triangular pin (Omega) that are also available.

What’s your guys preferences and why?

 

[jessesandy]

The Hydraulic Press Channel

At 6:42 he tests a pin style jack stand.

At 0:24 he tests a ratchet style jack stand.

My biggest takeaway is about the design of the base. The one with three legs and braces welded at the end of the legs is much better than the one piece stamped steel design.

Didn't get to see how strong the "ratchet" mechanism is since the base was so weak.

 

[garfunkle24]

It's really just convenience vs security. When I'm working under a car I always throw a wheel (if I have one off) or a 12 x 12 block under there with me and use the ratcheting kind. If I'm working under a skidloader, it's gonna be the pin type. As prior poster mentioned, I don't like the sheet metal bases.

 

[relicrecoveryspecialist]

I can say with a 1000% certainty that the scissor jacks are the least safe of them all for two reasons: 1. I’ve had a 3 ton one in a old Ford Super Duty I used to have, I took it out, and used it on a 72 Chevy C-20 I’m restoring, and the jack twisted, and fell directly on my jack stands, had I not had the same jack stands as he’s got showing here it would have fell completely off the race trailer. The bottle jack I have is a 4 ton bottle jack out of a old service truck I retired, and sold, and it’s the strongest out of all jacks I’ve ever owned. I used it in conjunction with the jack stands in the video. My bottle jack has two different heads for it, one is original, and the other is a 1/2 in steel plate welded to the top of the head of one of the spare heads that spin on. I’ve never had it fall, or break. I’ve even used it under houses when I did home remodeling work to level out floors in the house. By far the absolute safest, simplest, and while not super cheap you can usually find one in a salvage yard in a super duty truck, or even a 1 ton work truck of any make. Those pins on the jack stands are super tough. I had a set we used on a semi, and the pneumatic jack I have have is a monster, it’s a pneumatic bottle jack I use for the semis, and in conjunction with the jack stands I’ve had absolutely no issues ever. I will say everyone always says throw a spare tire under there but if it’s aluminum wheels DONT DO IT. I’ve seen the vehicle fall, and the shock of the weight distribution of the vehicle coming down on the tire broke the aluminum wheel, and burst the tire, all things you don’t want to happen when under a vehicle. I’ve always made sure if I’m working on a automobile, semi, or anything super heavy, to stay on the opposite side of the jack, or the side with a tire still on it, or vise versa I’ll work on a loader with tracks, and I’ll stay in the middle, and make sure no limbs are under the tracks, I also use w/jack, and jack stands the bucket or loader portion for added safety that is if the hydraulic system you’re working on doesn’t leak


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bobcatdan]

I like the ratchet style. Just a lot easier to position. Pin just always seem like a pain in the **** because the hole is never in the right spot so a lot of back and forth moving the jack.

 

[SeisMec]

If you weld, I suggest fabricating your own.

IMHO all most all damage to jack stands occurs at the sudden release of the jack - dropping the vehicle onto the stand - an impact blow.

As to the damage that results: cast iron cracks then suddenly breaks, mild steel deforms and eventually breaks. I think deformation is far easier to notice than a crack.

Every ratchet action jack stand I've seen (and some pin types), use a cast iron, riser post. Would probably only need to use the fingers of one hand to count all the times I've seen anyone inspect either prior to use.

You shouldn't just be considering how much weight the jacks has to hold in the air. You should also think about what will happen should an unexpected side impact occur. And what sorts of side impacts are possible. Are you in a space where the only possible side impact is your fat friend - carry a heavy weight - slips and falls against the vehicle? Or might you use them on a lot where an uncontrolled roll-away, accidentally slipped into gear is a possibility?

Of all the jack stands I've ever used, the ones I most trusted were a pin type; fabricated in a welding shop. They were made for use under 6 wheel drive, 20 ton actual weight trucks - permanently mounted with highly specialized, expensive equipment. (Essentially this.)

All the following numbers are approximate - it's been 30+ years.

• The pin was 1-1/2" diameter.
• The saddle was made of 5"x5"x3/8" diamond plate with 1/2" bar stock along two sides.
• The saddle was welded to a stub of 3/8" thick square tubing that fit snuggly into the top of a 28" long, 4" OD, 3/8" thick square tube riser post - making it possible to swap in a different style saddle.
• The riser post slid into fixed post made from 28" long, 4" ID, 3/8" thick square tubing.
• The fixed post was welded and gusseted to a 30"x30"x1/8" diamond plate base.
• The 4" wide 3/8" gussets ran from 20" up the fixed post to 1" shy of the corresponding corner of the base plate.
• Full extension was about 3-1/2'. Mostly used at about 3'. Only ever used two holes.

Those jack stands were designed with the idea that an over loaded 1 ton truck might smash into the truck they were supporting at 10-15 mph. That test never occurred, but I believe they would have passed.

 

[jayemm]

The center post of a ratcheting type jack stands are typically made of ductile iron which bends quite a bit before breaking.Cast iron is brittle and can suddenly fracture thus posing a big hazard.That's why better quality bench vises are made out of ductile iron.The jaws or slide will bend when overloaded versus cast iron where a sudden failure releasing the compressive force can send the movable jaw flying out at the operator.

 

[JRC3]

I have 2) sets of the taller version of these. Highly recommended.

https://sunextools.com/products/10-ton-medium-height-pin-type-jack-stands-pair/

Hit ebay and get free shipping.

 

[e36jon]

Hey

Kudos on using stands in the first place. Somehow lots of folks still think they are overkill for getting under the car...

This thread has some info that might help:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=444216&highlight=jack+stands

I have had both pin and ratchet styles but always wanted screw-adjust for the last inch or so of travel. My car has pretty small jacking pads so lining up the jack stands such that the car would land correctly when I lowered the car was always a pain. My home-brew solution is detailed in the thread above along with a lot of other options.

Cheers,

Jon