Quickjack 7000L and/or 22 ton jack stands
The Ultimate Mobile Mechanic Setup
- Thread starter StahlBenz
- Start date
Quickjack 7000L and/or 22 ton jack stands
Still working on that stay tuned
Notgrownup
Well-known member
Nice setup. Good luck. that guy never used a deep socket? ****, I’m just a backyard redneck shade tree mechpanic and I’ve needed them many times over the years. The rubber isolators are a great idea on the box. Just a little bit of shock absorbing will be a great addition.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have the 7000's as well... They're really damn heavy, to the point that I don't love using them
I may have missed it... Do you have a compressor on board? If so, an air over hydraulic floor jack might be worth considering
What's you indoor vs. outdoor ratio? Best I can remember winter still comes to your area. I used to have an airplane repair business that we ran out of a mobile home at the local airport, my partner's half ton and a very carefully selected tool box that we would hoist into my airplane to work at remote airports. Since this was in the sub-arctic, I managed to freeze my hands, fingers, toes and feet several times and have suffered life long sensitivity to low temps in those areas. -40 aluminum will **** the heat out of your fingers in a second or two! Just reading about your business makes my fingers tingle and ache.
Well to be honest they are in the shopping cart. I’ve always used the 22 ton jack stands but I wanted to try out the quickjack. Are you saying I should get the 5000? Thank you
I work strictly outdoors. Luckily our winters have been pretty mild the past years and here is hoping it will continue to be that way. I am not sure if I will even be setup soon enough to operate this winter. Honestly I am hoping to be successful enough throughout the year to be able to take Jan/Feb off to avoid some of the cold and dark.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Each side on the 7k is 100 lbs... It's a lot. I believe the 5000's are 80. They have to be slid around on the ground for placement, which can be tough on a rougher surface
I'd really think about if they are really beneficial for the work you are going to do. Do you really need all 4 wheels off the ground at once? I bet jack stands and ramps will be nicer to use.
I have been going back and forth on this too…I can get a car up very quickly with a jack and jack stands. I just thought it would look more professional with the quick jacks. And I should rephrase my answer about indoor/outdoor. I do often have customers with garages and since I am trying to shift to higher end clientele here is hoping that there will be more garages and than not.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Two months off feels like you will have customers going to other mechanics as the need for repairs won't stop
I know, you’re right. This is the biggest obstacle for me. I have to put more thought into how to deal with winter conditions
Kurt4440
Well-known member
Jacks and jack stands are professional looking with the rig you are setting up. A trolley jack being pulled out of the trunk of a Toyota Tercel, not so much.
The shift to higher end clients is the only way you are going to stay in business. My joke about living near Jay Leno was a push in that direction. One good recommendation from a guy like him and your business will grow exponentially. Generally, people with money associate with people who have money so your customer service skills need to match your mechanical skills as your goal is to make life easier for the customer. Luckily, you seem to have a positive attitude and are genuinely interested in your work.
When I came South 44 years ago I got involved with a resto business where my partners lived on a farm and had only one vehicle indoor shop space, so we often had to lift on asphalt, gravel or grass. I made a few sets of jack stands that used 10x10x1/4" base plates (and one much larger set for trucks) that allowed for safe and stable work on soft ground. For the OP's purposes I mention that since many driveways are asphalt paved and ordinary sharp edged jack stands will sink badly on a hot day. One thing to leave damage on customer's driveway but another thing altogether to try to catch a car with your body when they sink and tip. BTW: on grass even with my jack stands we always place a wheel (preferably 2 stacked) under somewhere near working position as insurance. Working on potentially unstable surfaces is one thing, but working ALONE on them takes 10x the caution.
Another jack stand note: on my stands we often use only 2, making the car sit off level, so my solution is in a half-hole at top of 2" pipe out tube I make a pad with 3/4" round rod underneath so a car can sit off level with pad aligning with contact point. No height adjustment, but no reason one couldn't make something adjustable in similar fashion.
I moved south 15 years ago..lol
Guessing on your location that you may be able to find a commercial building that may have a large single bay w/a large overhead door. This would give you a place to work in that bitter cold and a place where you could park your truck inside and move it outside on the apron to avoid working on the ground.
I guy I worked with on the Railroad in Framingham MA did Transmission work on the side and he shared a solo secured bay in a large commercial building with 4 or 5 other small business' in other bays.
I use jackstands with flat bases like the sunex pair in this pic:
I was thinking of buying a thick oil resistant tarp, maybe like 20’ x 10’, to drive the cars on. What are the odds of these jacks sliding around on the tarp with a vehicle on loaded on them? Enlarge the bases with marine grade plywood?
I can’t believe someone hasn’t come out with some kind of set of 4 hydraulic jacks that communicate with each other their position and level and raise a vehicle at the push of a bottom. I guess there really isn’t a market for it as professional shops have lifts and DIYers use jacks and jack stands.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'd venture to say zero
Upscale Motorhomes and travel trailers have self leveling jacks, granted they are already attached to the vehicle but with the creativity and technology available today I wouldn't be surprised if someone makes something like that on an unattached platform.
The stabilizers on large fire trucks and wreckers as well as the rerailers used to put trains back on the tracks all have these systems available.
Mobile rigging may be the keyword needed to search something out.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Using hoses of identical length will keep them lifting evenly. It's how the quick jacks do it
Look up column lift. They are designed for a shop environment but they do exactly what you are asking.
Why am I not surprised? You have shown a lot of careful consideration and good judgement in your choice of how to go about this business. Yes, some treated plywood bases could lower your ground pressure but the size of the base limits how close you can get a jack to the support point. It is a tradeoff that 3/4 treated ply carriage bolted to you bases would be ideal as they could be swapped out for dimension or replacement with ease and not dissabling the basic jack.I use jackstands with flat bases like the sunex pair in this pic:
I was thinking of buying a thick oil resistant tarp, maybe like 20’ x 10’, to drive the cars on. What are the odds of these jacks sliding around on the tarp with a vehicle on loaded on them? Enlarge the bases with marine grade plywood?
I like the tarp idea as for some work removing oil reservoirs/pans the chances of staining the driveway are quite real. You would need a fairly rigid tarp so the wheels of your creeper don't ball it up - but I often throw down a large piece of cardboard when I am going to do a sloppy underside job - as I much prefer my coveralls sliding along at ground level than having to struggle with the limits of movement and space from a creeper. Yes, I end up with a lot of dirty covies!
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
If those bases aren't large enough already, I don't think the surface is safe to be jacking on
What we also had to do (and still do) on soft surfaces is run the jack over a piece of 3/4 ply. Otherwise the tine wheels are carrying all of the load and will as you imply sink into a hot asphalt driveway and be super und\stable.
Most Euros you jack up from the front jacking point for the front and the rear differential for the rear so there’s no issue with the jack stands getting in the way. I was only thinking about the plywood just to be sure the jacks can’t move around on the tarp but I find it hard to believe they would with the weight of a vehicle on them.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Seems like a PIA, especially if it's windy. A couple smaller ones with pig mats to actually absorb stuff would be nice, as well as cleaners on hand to deal with any spills. They'll be a ton faster too
Well it would be held down with four jack stands and I could put some weights on the corners. I like the idea of having a large protective area for customers driveways and to keep me separated from the cold dirty ground.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The tarp is held down once the jacks stands are in place, but what about until they are? You also won't be using 4 jack stands for every job right?
I'd suggest a foam mat to lay on instead of a tarp. It will be warmer and much more comfortable
redragoon
Well-known member
These do exist but are exceedingly expensive for most passenger car shops, let alone DIY use.
They target the Commercial/HD equipment sector since these vehicles have various weight distribution and lengths.
Mohawk makes these that are wirelessly communicating to each other.
I’m seriously considering having my friends younger brother work with me. I figure it would increase my efficiency quite a bit. Aside from helping on the actual job, ie: doing one wheel while I do the other on a brake job, he would reduce my setup time which is where efficiency is lost when working mobile. Anyway thank you I will put some more thought into how to setup on the ground.
signcrafter
Well-known member
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- May 9, 2012
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Truck looks great. Some kind of tarp is going to be a must when working for higher end clients driveways. Can you pull a whole socket rail out and bring it to the car when needed? Couldn't tell from your pictures.
Odd-job
Well-known member
This guy doing clutch jobs in the UK caused me to go the foam mat route in my garage.
Maybe on an ad hoc basis as an apprentice? Is he/they cheap? I could see this from a work flow perspective in limited circumstances when working on the opposite sides of the car and for large jobs (100k zeroing out any deferred maintenance), but for diagnostic stuff, etc. that extra man might be a lot of overhead (salary, insurance, health benefits). Take this with a grain salt though, this is from my observations of watching solo mobile mechanics on Youtube. Tekamo HD who is a heavy equipment mechanic has an apprentice though who definitely looks helpful when operating the boom.
Look back in the thread I have three carts in addition to the main roll cab which stays in the truck.
One diagnostic cart
One routine maintenance cart(equipped for all euro oil change/brakes/plugs/filters)
One service cart that I customize for non routine maintenance jobs.
They roll right to the back do the truck, down the lift gate, right to the customers vehicle.
In the thread so far I have only posted some preliminary designs of the maintenance cart. I’ll post more shortly
you would need an awfully tall car (i.e. high ground clearance) to be able to drive over the trailer and the arms.Imagine pulling up to your house with this in tow:
It COULD work with a byfold foldout floor on each side
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mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm sure they have ramps to go with it