Bottle Jacks

I am looking at getting a set of bottle jacks to compliment the stock jack and was wondering if anyone has picked up the harbor freight ones?
What do you guys use for base plates? Thinking 2x2 wood would be easy but I have seem some of the nicer base plates.
4 ton and 8 ton

 

I used to keep lots of chunks of wood in the bed of my truck when I was a carpenter and had a monthly if not weekly nail. I found that a piece of 4x4 about 2' long really useful for my 1 1/2 ton floor jack. The jack would straddle the 4x along the long axis and had 2x the footprint. If using a bottle jack i would look for a few 1' square piece of subfloor and 2x12maybe even some 1/2 hardwood ply from a cabinet shop. use them in different combinations to get close to starting height so you can use the full stroke. Use a small shovel to level a bed before you start. My jack was a harbor freight too. Lasted about 10 unmaintained years before it puked its oil. Plus it's good wood if you get really stuck

 

I just ordered this to replace my old floor jack. Should be handy to keep around. Alltrade 640912 Black 3 Ton,All-in-One Bottle Jack

$60 Powerbuilt 3 Ton, Bottle Jack and Jack Stands in One, 6000 Pound All-in-One Car Lift, Heavy Duty Vehicle Unijack, 640912

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ULZGFU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Z5OkCb7B5NME6

 

Cool. I ended up picking up the 8-ton to compliment the stock jack. Thanks for the wood suggestions, I was guessing along those same routes but appreciate the confirmation. That Alltrade looks solid.

 

Just bought this on Ebay. Thanks!

 

A “set” of bottle jacks??

You only need one...

But you don’t really need one to compliment your stock jack. They do essentially the same thing, you can just replace the stock one, if you wanted.

Personally, I’d rather have a jack that can do more than just lift an axle off the ground. Bottle jacks are great, but have a fairly limited use. Ymmv