What's everyone using for jack stands?

[96Firebird]

Finally getting around to returning my 3-ton Harbor Frieght jack stands that weren't part of the NHSTA recall, but on the list of ones that could be returned for a refund "just in case".

With that said, I do most of my own work in my garage except when I feel like using my dad's lift. I have a 2018 Sierra 1500, a 2013 Equinox and a 2002 Trans Am. The Sierra is obviously the tallest and weighs the most at 5300ish pounds. The Trans Am is the lowest, since it is on lowering springs, which is the reason I am thinking about sticking with 3-ton stands. I think 6-ton stands would be too tall, even at their lowest setting, for my Trans Am.

So what brands are reliable in this sector? Obviously the range can go from $30 to $100+, and safety is a factor but I also don't want to spend extra if I don't need to.

 

[RLGL]

Mine are 6 ton, bought them years ago when quality mattered.

 

[repoman0]

Get the Esco ones and be done with it. The cheaper style are not trustworthy enough IMO.

Amazon.com

 

[rstrohkirch]

You'd have to give us the minimum height your comfortable with consider you have a fairly low vehicle. The ones Repoman suggested are minimum 13" which is probably too high for your car.

 

[mindless1]

I've been using the standard a-frame style Torin's for decades w/o issue. It's always been on flat concrete. I'd want something with more foot contact area for use on asphalt, gravel, or soil... or put some plywood under them.

Started out with 3 ton, then the more I worked under vehicles, the more I wanted more lift for more working space (makes it SO much better) and got 6 ton which I use more often even when not under the vehicle.

IMO a low car is more about having a low profile jack with enough lift to make use of taller stands capable of higher lift. Even so, consider how much money you save working on your own vehicles and then it might make sense to have two different sizes of jack stands instead of only one. Plus if you have 4 stands, you can have a vehicle on a pair and still have a pair left to do something else. Sometimes repairs take more than a day or two, ordering and receiving parts...

 

[NutBucket]

 

[mindless1]

^ More than anything, that video shows that it's best not to use the last notch on a jack stand, rather to get a highe weight rated jack stand (which also has a wider footprint, all else equal/same-design) to reach the same or even a bit higher lift before putting it into a more tippy zone.

Something else to consider is that you can apply more force, safer in a test like his, if using an impact wrench which hammers at a certain force but then lets off that force till the next hammer action, so far less likely to tip a vehicle off of stands. Even before I had impact tools, I never came remotely close to tipping a vehicle off.

At the same time, no matter which you buy, inspect them thoroughly and don't hesitate to return for refund if the quality control looks bad, legs too uneven in length, bad welds, pawl or support beam teeth not uniform, etc. Inspect before each use, not just new out of the box.

This is an example of why I wouldn't buy from Harbor Freight because several times I have seen products on the showroom floor which obviously shouldn't have passed quality control which suggests to me that there isn't any, at least not for some of their products and based on their jack stand recall, that appears to apply to some of those as well... except that now that they have had this spectacle about their stands, I'd expect they have more QC than they used to. I still consider myself the QC for HF products. At least they have a local B&M so if I order online and something looks dodgy, can return to a local store.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Jack stand definitely isn't something that's worth saving a few bucks on at the expense of quality...

That said anytime I need to get under my vehicle I stack solid cement blocks in front of the wheels and just drive up onto them for additional clearance under the vehicle.

Don't see that spontaneously failing on me anytime soon.

 

[mindless1]

^ That can work but sometimes you also need one or more wheels off, like doing brakes or multiple parts of a suspension replacement.

 

[96Firebird]

Appreciate all the input, I did indeed go for the "affordable" 3-ton Torin stands from Amazon. I figured if I need to work on my truck and need the reach, I have friends with 6-ton and 12-ton stands that I can borrow.

I also did pick up a new jack, used the gift card money I got from returning the old stands to Harbor Freight to get myself a Daytona low profile long reach 3-ton jack. Works much better for lifting the Trans Am, which I had to do tonight to replace the alternator and change the belts. Still hits the air dam on the way under, but reached all the way to the k-member and jacked up well enough. Stands the car just fine, but I'm guessing I won't know they're bad until they fail. I keep the jack up against the k-member on the side I'm not working on, just in case. Not enough to lift it, just barely touching.

Maybe one day I'll get some higher end equipment, but right now money is spent on upkeep rather than toys.

 

[Kevinlangford]

Block of wood!

 

[mztykal]

Torin 6 tons for the truck and oreilly specials 1.5’s for everything else…

 

[PumpkinCake]

I have a set of 4 jackpoint stands. I sort of "had" to get them as the Model S has zero methods to actually use jackstands. Their mobile service people use these. I've been very, very happy with them combined with the low height extended reach daytona jack.

Jackpoint Jackstands LLC – High Performance Jack Stands for Today's Car

jackpointjackstands.com

 

[Meghan54]

I’ve gone the cheap route and have using OTC (a 3T OTC jack and 2T stands) for nearly two decades now. Being 70 yo now, prob won’t replace them, as I’m starting to enjoy working under a vehicle less and less.