Floor Jack Recommendations

Marc08EX

Marc08EX

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Hey AG!

I know everyone here can be considered a gear head so I would like to ask for some advice. What floor jack should I get? I'm considering the 3000lb harbor freight aluminum racing jack which costs $60 or should I get the one from Costco? The costco is a race XL jack and it just looks beefier. It costs $93. A lot of people are recommending the harbor freight one because it's cheaper and gets the job done. I'm just not sure if I would trust that jack lol!

What jack would you recommend? Also, what jack do you own?
 
The race xl will be cheaper in the long run. Check the shipping price on Harbor Freight for jacks. I got a quote a couple weeks ago and it was $66.00 to ship it to MD. The Race XL, from what I have heard is a very nice heavy duty jack!!!:xyxthumbs:
 
Between the two I would go with Costco. Costco does not sell junk, and do not forget the jack stands if you do not have any. My floor jack is a 3 ton Craftsman and 4 3 ton jackstands from Sam's Club. I do not want that 3/4 ton truck coming down on top of me.

Dave
 
As someone that lugs around a floor jack in the back of their truck, that sits a little higher than stock, I definitely appreciate my aluminum floor jack.

I tried to buy the Costco version and the Sears version I wanted were both out of stock when I needed one so I got the HF version and so far no problems knock on aluminum.

:)
 
davidc said:
Between the two I would go with Costco. Costco does not sell junk, and do not forget the jack stands if you do not have any. My floor jack is a 3 ton Craftsman and 4 3 ton jackstands from Sam's Club. I do not want that 3/4 ton truck coming down on top of me.

Dave
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I agree 100%, I only wanted aluminum and at the time I was installing my 454 into my Jimmy both Sears and Costco in my hometown were both out of stock of the aluminum floor jacks so I went with Harbor Freight.

I would definitely spend the money for quality over price given the option when it comes to s floor jack plus a good warranty.

Good quality jack stands are also important, better safe than sorry...


:xyxthumbs:
 
I have used the HF one and it is nice and light but if you're lifting a full sized car such as my Buick Park Avenue it can be somewhat hard to push the handle down. I ended up with the steel unit from HF and while it's easy to push the handle down and will lift a tank it weighs close to 100 pounds.
 
davidc said:
Between the two I would go with Costco. Costco does not sell junk, and do not forget the jack stands if you do not have any. My floor jack is a 3 ton Craftsman and 4 3 ton jackstands from Sam's Club. I do not want that 3/4 ton truck coming down on top of me.

Dave
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I agree, plus Costcos' is a low profile for any lowerd vehicles!
 
with jacks, you get what you pay for. Been down the road with the crappy craftsman aluminum... actually twice. finally broke down and bought a decent jack.

Napa low-pro jack you can get them on sale for under 300. I farm, and have a couple fun cars and street rods and use these jacks a lot. They have been going strong for 2 yrs now. my craftsman and warehouse club jacks last about 6 months
 
Thanks for the inputs guys!!! I really appreciate it.

Mike P, the race XL jack from Costco isn't aluminum. It's very heavy as well. But because of this, it looks a lot beefier.

I just checked out the warranty of the HF jack and it's only 90 days after purchase. I'm sure you can return the jack to Costco whenever it has problems. I don't want the jack to fail on me because I might be under the car when it happens.

I already have some 2 1/4 ton jackstands from Craftsman (don't want to buy harbor freight for those) but I'm still afraid to go underneath the vehicle.

Looks like the consensus is to get the one from Costco. I'll probably do that. :)
 
Zivman said:
with jacks, you get what you pay for.
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That's kind of the truth with just about anything...

I tend to be on a first name basis with all the local NAPA guys and my experience with NAPA products has been nothing but positive.

Marc08EX said:
Mike P, the race XL jack from Costco isn't aluminum. It's very heavy as well. But because of this, it looks a lot beefier.
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I work out to stay in shape but lifting heavy jacks in an out of the back of my truck is too much of a chore... that's why I went with aluminum. If you don't have to lift and carry your floor jack then weight is much less of an issue.

Marc08EX said:
I just checked out the warranty of the HF jack and it's only 90 days after purchase. I'm sure you can return the jack to Costco whenever it has problems. I don't want the jack to fail on me because I might be under the car when it happens.

Looks like the consensus is to get the one from Costco. I'll probably do that. :)
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I've made a lot of purchases through Costco and one thing about them is they are very good at taking care of any quality issues.

:)
 
Just make sure it can lift what your trying to, my truck ways 8300# and the one from HF does just fine.
 

davidc said:
I do not want that 3/4 ton truck coming down on top of me.

Dave
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iagree.gif



I would never get under a car or truck (or bus) without both a jack/lift, and jack stands, or huge blocks or something at the same time, instead of the just the jack by itself. I have used large blocks for supporting vehicles raised off of the ground, but I wouldn't put myself, or any part of my body underneath the car with just the jack by itself. You'll need some good jackstands :xyxthumbs:



Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
knock on aluminum.
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thinker.gif




 
I have the aluminum floor jack from harbor freight and it's not bad at all. works prefectly after a year of being kicked, pulled, having driveshafts and exhaust dropped on it.
 
I have the race jack from Harbor Freight and works great. Good construction, good quality, and good price.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I'm here are week folks, don't forget to tip your waitresses and waiters...
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I'd be glad to give the waitress a tip: Maybe karaoke night can replace open Mike night?

:p:poke::joking:

Wait, that might actually be worse.....




On topic though: FWIW, I have a 3-ton industrial jack from HF and quite frankly, it's junk. It's tough to get it to lower with the handle in any position other than straight up. The racing jacks look to be of good quality though.
 
I really like my Costco jack. Use it all the time and it has a nice and sturdy feel to it. Only problem is the weight. I take it with me to the track and it is a pain to lug around because it is rather heavy. When I was pricing the different jacks from HF and the one from Costco, the Costco one just seemed much nicer.

Also don't forget that many cars now weigh over 3,000 lbs. Even my 350z weighs 3,300+ pounds. My small Subaru 2 door coupe weighs 2835 lbs. So that HF jack might not be enough depending on what vehicles you plan to lift.

FYI, if you decide on the HF jack, you can pull a 20% off coupon from every car magazine (Car and Driver, MotorTrend, etc...) they always have one near the back of the magazine. The 20% coupon is valid on regular and sale items. But it cannot be combined with another coupon. Sometimes that small racing jack goes on sale with a super coupon which is priced at 49.99 or 59.99 I think.
 
Fly bye said:
I would never get under a car or truck (or bus) without both a jack/lift, and jack stands, or huge blocks or something at the same time, instead of the just the jack by itself. I have used large blocks for supporting vehicles raised off of the ground, but I wouldn't put myself, or any part of my body underneath the car with just the jack by itself. You'll need some good jackstands :xyxthumbs:
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:iagree:A guy I knew was killed when his jack failed and the car came down on him. Never risk it for even one second.
 
jotarou1 said:
Also don't forget that many cars now weigh over 3,000 lbs. Even my 350z weighs 3,300+ pounds. My small Subaru 2 door coupe weighs 2835 lbs. So that HF jack might not be enough depending on what vehicles you plan to lift.
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1.5 to 2 ton jack is plenty for most cars. you have to remember, you aren't lifting the entire vehicle at one time. On 3500 # car, you might be lifting 1500 # of that...
 
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