Lifting car with muliple floor jacks??

[planters49]

I've seen a local tire shop that uses 4 separate floor jacks to lift a car at once to change/ rotate tires, etc. What do ya'll think of this? I was thinking of getting 4 matching harbor freight jacks and do the same thing to make rotating tires quicker than using my one floor jack and jackstands.

 

[rijndael]

I rotate my tires with 2 jacks. I don't see an issue with it, I'm not getting under the car so there's no need for jack stands.

 

[DakotaMan]

Seems like an expensive way to do it...plus you have to store 4 jacks.

 

[bob15]

If you want to use and store 4 jacks that is fine (I have 2 myself, due to the price being right on one of them). No harm in doing tire rotation that way.....

FYI: you don't need "matching" jacks. Any 4 jacks will work.

 

[Old Man Roger]

If you want to use and store 4 jacks that is fine (I have 2 myself, due to the price being right on one of them). No harm in doing tire rotation that way.....

FYI: you don't need "matching" jacks. Any 4 jacks will work.

You just set the OCD community on fire..lol

 

[pbon]

4 jacks works if you don’t go underneath. Also makes it easier to place jackstands all at once. If you do more work and could spend more, look at quickjack.

 

[RKA]

The only reason they are doing that is speed and to utilize their lifts for other work. In many cases they could rotate one side with a single jack under the front lift point, then roll it off to the other side and do the same. But if one person is doing each side all four corners need to come off the ground.

I use 2 jacks at home, but usually one on each side to lift the axle without resorting to leaning the car excessively to get one side onto a jackstand so I can roll the jack around to the other side. It's also a nuisance to keep wheeling the jack back and forth, I just keep one jack on each side of the bay I work in. That's more than enough. I never lift 4 corners off the ground for a tire rotation, that's unnecessary.

*edit* I don't rotate from left to right, only front to back. I don't see any value it rotating across sides (and I accept that someone on the interwebs will disagree) and most of my tires are directional anyway. If you wanted to rotate across sides, then getting all four corners off the ground is a bit easier. My preference there would be to have 4 jackstands not 4 jacks.

 

[visionguru]

I've seen a local tire shop that uses 4 separate floor jacks to lift a car at once to change/ rotate tires, etc. What do ya'll think of this? I was thinking of getting 4 matching harbor freight jacks and do the same thing to make rotating tires quicker than using my one floor jack and jackstands.

4 jacks to rotate tires is a stupid and dangerous idea. Hint: the floor jacks have wheels, they will move when the weight is shifted.

How often do you need to rotate tires?
You don't even need jack stands for that.
Make use of the spare tire, together with a light weight jack and a impact gun, tire rotation is easy and safe:
jack up a corner, take one tire off and put spare on, ..... at the end, the last tire replaces the spare. The only "extra work": put on and off the spare tire exactly once, but no need for jack stands.

 

[CJ7VFR]

...How often do you need to rotate tires?
You don't even need jack stands for that.
Make use of the spare tire, together with a light weight jack and a impact gun, tire rotation is easy and safe:
jack up a corner, take one tire off and put spare on, ..... at the end, the last tire replaces the spare. The only "extra work": put on and off the spare tire exactly once, but no need for jack stands.

Unless your spare tire is a temporary doughnut style wheel. Then you can't do as you described. Then you need at least one jack and one jack stand.

I don't actually know of many vehicles today that come with a full size spare. Even my 1985 Jeep CJ-7 came with a temporary doughnut spare.

Jim

 

[dacan23]

Seems like a lot of potential trouble and excess jacks to save a few minutes. On most of my cars I am able to lift the front or rear as a whole from cross members. Never have I considered using multiple jacks (I have 3) to do the front & rear in one shot, I'm not risk averse, but there is very little benefit vs the downside from my eyes.

 

[unslow1]

I have four jacks and only use two to rotate tires. Why drag out the others when you don't need them?

 

[pbon]

Depends on rotation. Is it cross or just front to rear in same side? I can lift one side of my cars with one jack from either the front or rear jack point. I can lift the entire rear of any of them with one jack. 2 of them are too low to get a jack under the front cross member so I cannot lift the entire front end with one jack. 2 of my cars don’t have spare tires.

 

[visionguru]

Unless your spare tire is a temporary doughnut style wheel. Then you can't do as you described. Then you need at least one jack and one jack stand.

I don't actually know of many vehicles today that come with a full size spare. Even my 1985 Jeep CJ-7 came with a temporary doughnut spare.

Jim

You are correct, among my 2 cars, 1 with a spare tire and another with an inflatable spare.

I've been doing tire rotation once a year. Frankly, for a vehicle with proper alignment, there is little benefit to go through all the trouble to rotate tires often, maybe just front and back swap once in a long while should be enough.

 

[bpjr]

I have 4 jacks but use 2 jacks and 2 stands when lifting all 4 wheels...but if you want to use 4 jacks go for it.

 

[Professional Tool User]

You got to have the jack stands for safety reasons. I don't know what kind of automotive tire shop would do that instead of using a lift.

 

[bamawildcat]

Sounds like amateur talk. The low price tire store only needs 3 jacks to lift a whole car

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've saw a car lifted with 2 jacks, one on each side. Looked like it was SOP for that guy.
I use one jack and 2 stands. Lift one end (or side) of the vehicle set it on stands then use the jack to lift the other end (or side).

 

[Wrench97]

3 jacks is all you need 2 in the front and 1 in the back, as long as you are smart enough to do it on level ground................if it makes you feel better put some stands under it as long as it doesn't slow you down there's more customers waiting.

 

[paulsomlo]

You got to have the jack stands for safety reasons. I don't know what kind of automotive tire shop would do that instead of using a lift.

Small, independent tire stores around here do it all the time. They'll have a dozen floor jacks lined up outside in the parking lot - lifts are expensive, jacks are cheap. And I've never seen them use jack stands - too much bother, too much time.

 

[WittHay]

Larger chains dont sell used tires and like to sell tires in sets of 4. The employees wear uniforms and are usually younger guys that are told to do everything by the book.

Independent tire shops are the exact opposite. The picture is from a small local tire place. I think i have seen up to 8 jacks sitting outside and no jack stands

 

[jgromada]

i have two jacks and that's all i think i will ever get. One jack to lift the car and sometimes need a second jack to compress a control arm or something like that.

I can definitely see why a tire shop might use 4 if they didn't want to tie up a lift or something. Speed is the most important in a tire shop like that.

 

[joe_pinehill1]

one jack under the differential and one at on either the left of right front side is what i use. Or the shuffle the spare method. Check the shop you by tires from, our Goodyear gives life time rotation for tires you buy there. If you have to pay its around $20 for a rotation here, If you have to buy 4 jacks, it may take time time to recover the cost.

 

[JJ13]

Unless your spare tire is a temporary doughnut style wheel. Then you can't do as you described. Then you need at least one jack and one jack stand.

I don't actually know of many vehicles today that come with a full size spare. Even my 1985 Jeep CJ-7 came with a temporary doughnut spare.

Jim

What? I don't use a jack stand. On my 2016 Mazda 6, I raise a corner, pull that 19" wheel and replace with the tiny spare. Lower the car and move that 19" to the front/rear. If you're rotating front to back and not crossing over you get to install and remove the spare TWICE...once per side.

For Christmas I'm getting a new jack with a frame rail jack adaptor for both my cars. The newer cars have plastic undertrays to smooth airflow so I've used the screw jack and multiple handles the last four years. My tires get rotated once a year as I only drive 8-10k miles a year between two cars. Doesn't take that long even breaking the lugs loose by hand, spinning them off/on with a 1/4 cordless impact driver, and torqueing the nuts. If I did this more than once a year I'd buy a 1/2" impact.

 

[joel63]

What? I don't use a jack stand. On my 2016 Mazda 6, I raise a corner, pull that 19" wheel and replace with the tiny spare. Lower the car and move that 19" to the front/rear. If you're rotating front to back and not crossing over you get to install and remove the spare TWICE...once per side.

For Christmas I'm getting a new jack with a frame rail jack adaptor for both my cars. The newer cars have plastic undertrays to smooth airflow so I've used the screw jack and multiple handles the last four years. My tires get rotated once a year as I only drive 8-10k miles a year between two cars. Doesn't take that long even breaking the lugs loose by hand, spinning them off/on with a 1/4 cordless impact driver, and torqueing the nuts. If I did this more than once a year I'd buy a 1/2" impact.

Do you have a picture or link for the jack with the frame rail adapter?

Sounds like a handy setup.