High Lift Floor Jack

My 3 ton craftsman floor jack only goes up to 20", which is not high enough to even reach the bottom of the truck's frame. I have been stacking wood on top of the jack pad, but the last time the wood went flying. What are you guys using for a floor jack that is capable of much higher? (I have the same problem with my jack stands. I have to place them on top of 4x6's.)

 

I had the same problem going from cars to my truck. Now I use the 3 ton jack from Harbor Freight. Has reached everywhere I need it to so far and it's so much faster than the smaller ones.
As for jack stands, for which I also needed higher ones, their 6 ton stands go plenty high.

 

I would usually just jack it up by the axle, take the wheels off and set it down on jadkstands if I needed to work on the axles. If not I would put the jackstands under the axle or front ifs sub frame

 

I just picked up the 3 ton HF jack; they had a sale going today and the sales savings offset the 10% kommiefornia sales tax. I normally try to purchase only made in the USA and purchases at HF in the past have been only for "disposable" tools (something I am going to bend or grind on), but I did some research on floor jacks and apparently the HF one is the highest lift jack out there (under $500) at 23" max lift. Heck, even Craftsman is not made in USA anymore, so I decided to give this jack a try. It is sure is heavy/beefy! Now, to look on ebay for a 5" rubber jack pad.

 

Most times I don't need a jack to work underneath due to the ground clearance. But I've used sold blocks (4x4) on the jack pad, and solid blocking under the axel or frame before going underneath.

 

Hey, none of you guys go underneath your vehicles without using jack stands or solid blocking right? And you are always on a stable surface, either concrete or blacktop? Chock the wheels? No matter what, right?

My cousin was killed by his vehicle because he ignored those basic rules doing a two minute job. Soft ground, no blocking, jack went sideways, game over. Don't think it couldn't happen to you. Never take chances with your safety, or your life.

 

Always have stands and I typically chock the wheels with whatever wheels I'm taking off or will use something else if I am not taking any off. And yup, always a hard surface. And when I go to do my leaf springs, I am gonna have the truck in 4WD so when I park it in gear, the front wheels act to resist rolling. Never worth the risk.

Recently was jacking up my father's car and the jack rolled and tipped and the car fell. Luckily, I had the stand in the wheel well, ready to place it, so it only hit down on and belt the OTRE, but that alone was enough to confirm that me being safe is well worth it.

Sorry to hear about your cousin. That's awful. Hopefully, at the least, his death will help instill strict safety practices in others so they don't suffer a same or similar fate.

 

I will not go under a vehicle without having some sort of blocking. Even when using jack stands, I will put a tire or something to prevent the vehicle from falling to the ground. I have had the thought of earthquakes happening while working on a project, so I try to make it safe. I have worked on some projects that would make some nervous. I give this as an example. I did use a high lift jack to raise the cab. The jack would support the weight from the center of the ten foot 4x4 for both corners. I would only lift two to six inches at a time. There was a lot of back and forth. The most important step I had taken was leveling the four corners. I used a level on each piece of the 4x4s. I did not work on the swap under the cab. I would roll the frame forward and backwards to work in the areas needing attention. The frame was under the cab during the whole process so had it fallen at least it would hit the frame first. That is sad to hear about your cousin. We have a friend who had a car fall on him. It gave him a brain injury and he has seizures some times. He is a really nice guy. So before any job, shake it so you make it.

 

I had to work under my 5K lbs skid steer with the tires off to fix some hydraulic lines and a leaky seal. Even with 8x8 blocks under each corner, I had a difficult time convincing myself it was safe. Did the shake test, let it stand a few days, shake again (it was solid). Finally got it done, but the thought of all the weight was always on my mind.

 

That's some interesting cribbing there. When on ground, you can help distribute the weight of the blocking, and add stability, by using longer 2 bys perpendicular to the blocking, or a bigger piece of heavy plywood (3/4) as a platform or base. I would also criss cross the blocking to add stability. It takes more blocking, but it's more secure.

 

My dream is to someday have a two post lift.

 

It always is in the back of my mind. I throw the tires under there, too.

I love having 12 ton jack stands for working on our trucks, tall, wide, substantial. Yes please. I've always wanted to ask a locomotive mechanic about this. It's got to be something you don't think about.

 

I grew up in the "hills" of CA, and you could walk into any auto parts store and buy 12 ton/28" jack stands. 33's were considered small. Now, living in Sacramento, they are nowhere to be found except harbor freight. I got some 6 ton ones recently and they are more than enough to reach most of the frame with wheels on.

For picking up the rear, I always jack using the pumpkin, remove the wheels and lower onto the frame with the 6 tons and paver stones if I'm doing suspension, or to the pair of 3 ton stands I have.

For the front, I usually will jack form either one of the LCA or more typically the cross member, and always put the stands on the frame and close to the suspension as possible.

 

Please don't use pavers, bricks, cinder blocks, etc. for vehicle support. They can shatter without warning. It's much safer to use wood cribbing. Particularly under jack stands that are concentrating the weight onto a smaller surface area. I have a bunch of 2x4 and 4x4 for that.

Yup. All that looks fine to support the weight but those corners are probably not as stable as they could be. Picture how home movers do it.

 

I was just about to add the same cement block or paver comment. Forgot it earlier.

Also second the "home mover" method. My description above may not be clear, but running two blocks one way, then two blocks perpendicular on the next course, until you are at your desired height. Would be better if I had a picture.

I use a lot of PT 4x4 (or 6x6) for cribbing, but as a timber framer, I have lots of larger dimension cut offs which work very well. I do have jack stands, but they are not great ones, and I will only use them on concrete. Besides, I have all those blocks... But the downside of blocks is that you have less room to work, and many times they can interfere with what you are doing. So placement is important.

 

Like I said, I grew up in the "hills" so that was pretty much SOP up there. Might even use a 2x4 on an old 55 gallon drum to lift it up... lol

thanks for the info, I'll definitely take this into consideration. 99% of the time, my 6 tons by themselves are enough height anyway.

 

Putting a car "up on blocks" is as old as shade tree mechanics. People get away with it all the time, but some haven't. It's not safe either way.

 

Yeah. Harbor Freight 3 ton.

 

I put it in park, set the hand brake, chock the tires then I use my hi lift (it's not as sketchy as long as you don't rush it and pay attention to what you're doing) on the sliders and then quickly set the jack stands under before lowering. When I take the wheels off I put them under the truck.

 

Hi-Lifts command respect but using them just as a jack isn't really any worse than any other jack. Be careful and set some jack stands (or all the extra tires you can find on a trail run).