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Recommend Jack Stands?

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Bolster

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Can you recommend some jack stands for cars or light pickups for personal use? Preferably ones that you can buy at a local store? (Don't want to wait/pay expensive shipping). Also I really don't want to buy HF stands, since I will be under them.

Any decent choices from Auto stores, HD, Lowe's, OSH, Sears?

(Yes, I read that other thread on mid-rise edit stands that just got resurrected, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for your common work-under-your-car or light pickup jackstand, not sold by HF)
 
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Gary S

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My theory on jack stands is to buy the largest size available and use them fully collapsed so they can't possibly collapse any farther with me under the car.
 
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mrholeshot

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Gary S said:
My theory on jack stands is to buy the largest size available and use them fully collapsed so they can't possibly collapse any farther with me under the car.
Click to expand...

They make some Huge jack stands. I had a set in my shop that were 60 inches high at full extended and 36 inches collaped. They were about 30" square at the base.
 
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kythri

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I've had good luck with Larin and Duralast jackstands (bought the Larins at AutoZone prior to them going to their house brand, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're the same thing).

I don't like the ratchet-style jack stands. They scare me. Probably an unfounded fear, but I just don't care for them at all.

I've got a pair of Larin 4-ton (model JS-4) that have a large hefty pin/bolt that goes through to hold them up (cotter pin on the end to prevent slide when unloaded)

In the Duralast stuff, I have:

3-ton "mini" jobs (model 80-503)
5-ton (model 80-505, same physical size as the Larin 4-tons above)
7-ton (model 80-507)

All of the Duralast use a u-bolt/pin (with the same type of cotter-pin retention for when unloaded) rather than a single pin/bolt.

They have yet to fail and kill me. The 4-ton, 5-ton and 7-ton jobs have been used for my lifted Explorer, my father's '84 Dodge D250. The 4 ton/5-ton ones have been used on a variety of passenger cars, including my Crown Vic and my father's Lincoln and Cadillac. The tiny little 3-ton jobs worked great under a Daewoo and Hyundai that friends/family members owned and brought over to my workshop for oil changes or whatever.
 
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B

Bolster

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mrholeshot said:
They make some Huge jack stands. I had a set in my shop that were 60 inches high at full extended and 36 inches collaped....
Click to expand...

OK, maybe I should specify that my jack won't lift higher than about 2 feet.

kythri said:
They have let to fail and kill me. ...
Click to expand...

Good point, maybe I should specify I'm not taking recommendations from any dead people who've been killed by a failing jack stand.
 
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M

mrholeshot

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kythri said:
I've had good luck with Larin and Duralast jackstands (bought the Larins at AutoZone prior to them going to their house brand, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're the same thing).

I don't like the ratchet-style jack stands. They scare me. Probably an unfounded fear, but I just don't care for them at all.

I've got a pair of Larin 4-ton (model JS-4) that have a large hefty pin/bolt that goes through to hold them up (cotter pin on the end to prevent slide when unloaded)

In the Duralast stuff, I have:

3-ton "mini" jobs (model 80-503)
5-ton (model 80-505, same physical size as the Larin 4-tons above)
7-ton (model 80-507)

All of the Duralast use a u-bolt/pin (with the same type of cotter-pin retention for when unloaded) rather than a single pin/bolt.

They have let to fail and kill me. The 4-ton, 5-ton and 7-ton jobs have been used for my lifted Explorer, my father's '84 Dodge D250. The 4 ton/5-ton ones have been used on a variety of passenger cars, including my Crown Vic and my father's Lincoln and Cadillac. The tiny little 3-ton jobs worked great under a Daewoo and Hyundai that friends/family members owned and brought over to my workshop for oil changes or whatever.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't hit a Hog in the *** with a Cheap pin style Jackstand. For everyday use I use NAPA by Walker 18 inch(lowest point) 12 ton ratchet jack stands
 
K

kythri

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Interestingly...

My Duralast 80-503 say 3-tons on them, and are NOT the "ratchet" style.

The website:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ack-stand/_/N-2562?itemIdentifier=487215_0_0_

2-ton, ratchet-style.

My 80-505, 5-ton, not ratchet-style.

The website:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=139184_0_0_

4-ton, ratchet-style.

Same thing with the 80-507/7-ton jobs:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...Z1z141xg?counter=0&itemIdentifier=234799_0_0_

Looks like they've changed manufacturers/styles, but obviously, kept the same part numbers.

The new ones are rated lower, but then again, I tend to lean towards the higher rated ones when possible. I'm sure as hell not going to use the little 3-ton (now 2-ton) ones on anything other than the tiny little imports that come over here.
 
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Bolster

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kythri

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mrholeshot said:
I wouldn't hit a Hog in the *** with a Cheap pin style Jackstand. For everyday use I use NAPA by Walker 18 inch(lowest point) 12 ton ratchet jack stands
Click to expand...

That's cool. To each their own.

I'm not comfortable with the ratchet-style stands. I don't have any bad experiences with them, nor have I heard any bad stories about them (same goes for the pin-style).

I'm just bugged by them.

Maybe I'm paranoid that someone/something could pop the release lever job and cause stuff to fall over. Thinking logically, under load, I seriously doubt that could ever happen - these things are designed by smarter people than myself (I'd hope), and go through rigorous testing (I'd hope), and are likely rated lower than their failure strength (I'd hope).

I just don't like them, and won't buy them when I can find the other style available - I doubt they'd sell/be allowed to sell the pin-style if there was any kind of inherent design flaw (again, I'd hope).
 
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mrholeshot

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mrholeshot

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Bolster said:
Wow, only $500 dollars! I assume these are made of rare metals and encrusted with jewels?
Click to expand...

You don't want an employee under an F350 with a crappy stand. I was so strict about jack Stands in my shop if I saw someone working without one I sent them home for the day. Thats rough on a flat rate tech, the shop owner and the customer.
 
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Stephenw

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I have HF jackstands and trust them completely. They are very well made.

Hein-Werner, OTC, Omega, Norco, and several others manufacture jack stands in the USA.
 
M

mrholeshot

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Stephenw said:
I have HF jackstands and trust them completely. They are very well made.

Hein-Werner, OTC, Omega, Norco, and several others manufacture jack stands in the USA.
Click to expand...

I have 4 of them in my race car trailer. They are rated at 6 tons each. The average car weighs about 1.75-2 tons and most full size trucks come in somewhere around 3 tons. If on all fours you have 24 tons of holding power. The biigest safty point about jack stands is to make sure the car is sitting on the correctly and you have firm level ground to set it on
 
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Bolster

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impulse922

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hein warner 6 ton for $102 @ tool topia. max height 25.75.. free ship over $100

sounds like they fit your price and you cant really go wrong with hein...

http://www.tooltopia.com/hein-werner-hw93506.aspx

// the minimum height on the 6 ton model is a little high for garage type work though(esp if you work on cars).
 
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C

Charles (in GA)

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kythri said:
Maybe I'm paranoid that someone/something could pop the release lever job and cause stuff to fall over. Thinking logically, under load, I seriously doubt that could ever happen
Click to expand...

Basically, its impossible to operate the lever with the weight of the car on it. The "ratchet" is wedged in to the teeth of the riser and you could not raise the handle, you would be raising the whole car, to get the ratchet to disengage.

Charles
 
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nexum1919

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plus, the lever and handle is connected thru a special roll pin called 'shear pin'. as you can imagine, even if you try to pull the handle up with weight on the stands, the pin will shear off.
maybe that 'crappy' looking pin was replaced with a really strong steel pin, then you can definitely bump the handle and release the lever. the problem is, the bump has to come directly from underneath which is really tough given space between the handle and the base of the stand. even you manage to kick it with your feet, it'll kick the car off the stands before it has a chance to dislodge the lever.
another possibility is that the weight on the stand was not enough to shear the safety pin off. but, even with couple of hundred pounds on the jackstands, you'll need a long prybar to release the handle. it has to be really lousy fitting lever with lots of play on the draw bar. maybe the lever was not fully engaged when he let the car down on the stands? i have seen couple of really rusted stands that i had to bump the drawbar to seat the lever before i let the weight down.
 
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nexum1919

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i just realized i posted this on the wrong thread. there's another thread about a porsche owner who got crushed because of a stand 'letting go'.
 
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vette-kid

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Im actually looking for some of those pic style stands. I need a set with a smaller base to fit in the center bridge of my kwiklift. Unfortunatley I cant seem to find any place locally that sells them. Id like to see them in person before ordering them.
 
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Danglerb

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I don't like jack stands, period. They are a simple enough mechanism that I doubt fails even in the cheapest brands, or at least the failure rate of the device is TINY compared to improper use, but that improper use happens way too often.

If I bought some, I suspect HF 6 ton is the way I would go. Maybe take them apart and give them a very thorough check before using.
 
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mtkst19

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i have about 8 sets of jack stands all 3 ton floating around the garage. Most of the sets are hf 3 tons, no issue. Also have a few sets of craftsman 3 ton, again, no issue and they are same quality as the hf, just a little more money.

if you trust the c-man name brand, look into them. 25 bucks for a pair of 2.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00950159000P

also, keep an eye out at flea markets. you can usually find decent jack stands for 5 bucks.

the one type i never use though is pin style jack stands. i just dont trust them. seem to easy to tip over and i dont like the flat top pad of the jack itself. i always use the ratchet style. i also always put "safety" wheels under a car. in the event a car falls over, the stack of wheels will give it something to fall on aside from you. its easy to take the wheels off the car you are working on and stick underneath.

i started doing this when my friend and i were pulling an all niter getting his car together. he was underneath bench pressing he ****** up into the car and was pushing to hard lifting the car off the stands. The car weighed maybe 1500lbs (gutted vw rabbit w/ lexan) i seen it moving, and noticed it was going to fall on him. In that split second i ran over in time and pushed on the front of the rad support so the car fell but not on his head. granted, it was his mistake the car came unsettled off the stands. yet had i not been there he would have been crushed.

So ever since then, i make sure that i have something underneath as i generally work alone in my own garage. same thing as going to the junk yard and stacking steel wheels under a car you are about to rob parts from. yards around me always have an abundance of steel wheels less tires scattered around the yard just for this reason. lay one face down, other one goes inside it, makes for a makeshift jack stand.
 
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Red Green

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I have some of the C-man style. Different name they are fine. I have welded steel plates to the bottom of most of my jackstands to keep them from sinking into the asphalt in the pits at racetracks.
 
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WHT

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Depends what you need. But, I have the Norco low profile jack stands (needed for low sports car) and they work very well. And, I wouldn't worry about them collapsing. :)

The majority of jack stand accidents according to OSHA occur with ratcheting stands. The pin stands are simpler and safer, allowing that you are smart enough to install the pin correctly. If not, you should not be using ANY jack stand.

BTW, its a simple one hand operation. You set the stand height you need/want, check the pin and position under the car with one hand while making sure the base is on a secure footing. Its not exactly rocket science.


81205.jpg


Made in U.S.A.
Model 81205
Jack Stands - Pair
Low Profile
5 Ton Capacity
(each stand)


Intended Use
Low profile design in order to support low cars, forklifts and heavy machinery. All stands are sold and intended to be used in pairs.

Features (9 to 16 inches)

* Pin type support column adjusts to four different height positions.
* Heavy duty adjustment pin is secured to stand to prevent loss.
* Handle provides ease of positioning and carrying.
* 9" square base secures and stabilizes load.
 
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E

Elroy

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Elroy is having a little trouble seeing exactly what people think is so great about a pin retained jack stand because they ****.

They require two hands to set the height. This simple fact requires more body exposure under the load while being set. Besides that **** *** potentially deadly feature, what happens if you're a ***** like Elroy and don't get the pin all the way in and catch only one half of the tube? They're a cheap POS in Elroy's opinion.

On a more positive and more cheerful note, Elroy would offer this jack stand modification for use on soft black top. This prevents damage to the pavement surface from the stand.

Picture003.jpg


Picture001.jpg


Some 3/16" thick pads do the trick for Elroy.
 
F

fomocoforrester

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nexum1919 said:
i just realized i posted this on the wrong thread. there's another thread about a porsche owner who got crushed because of a stand 'letting go'.
Click to expand...

And it was a ratchet type stand.

And he rekoned he tripped it by pressing up on the lever.

And someone in that thread said OSHA recommends pin type stands over ratchet types.
 
U

unclethumbtack

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I have the HF 12 ton jobs and I sit vehicles on them for days and fully trust them. If you look over at pirate4x4.com basically every build thread the vehicle will be sitting on those orange dudes.
 
E

Elroy

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fomocoforrester said:
And it was a ratchet type stand.

And he rekoned he tripped it by pressing up on the lever.
Click to expand...

That's pure Bull **** because you have to take the load off to index the ratchet.

You can have your pin stands. I wouldn't have have them. Just Elroy's opinion mind ya.
 
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