Lightweight Jacks

Been doing some "research" and noted, like many of you, that the HF silver/blue 2 ton jack only goes up to like 16", whereas most of the other 2 ton deals out there lift to 19" or better.  That probably also explains the smaller footprint and lighter weight of the HF jack.  I've been in situations where more lift was needed, so that's probably a hard pass on the HF jack just on that alone.

Pretty much every other 2 ton jack out there goes from $200 on up.  It's odd and a bit unsettling that the only place to buy that specific Arcan jack is on Amazon.  But they do seem to be like belly buttons; everyone out there (Jegs, ECS tuning, Summit, etc) makes one and they all look about the same, and have about the same specs- 50#, lift to 19-20". 

Agreed on the footprint- the 2 tonners have a much wider front base.  I do generally keep a scrap of plywood to toss under the flat part of the jack when jacking on soft surfaces to keep it from sinking in as much. 

I like that scissor jack, but again, the lift height on it I think would deem it less than useful for my purposes.  I have used a modified scissor jack for some stuff, but it's a bit tippy.

volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) said:

After lugging my 94 pound floor jack to a rally-cross and around my yard all weekend playing "tire roulette", I decided I needed to "supplement" my heavy-as-berkeley car lifter with something more back-friendly.

I had an aluminum racing jack from the Fraught with Horribleness and it lasted about long enough for the stickers to start peeling off.  Not really enthusiastic to gamble on them again.  Am enthusiastic to see what else is out there. 

Who has recommendations (from experience) on a lightweight, low-ish profile, "racing" type portable jack, minimum 2 ton capacity?

Thanks in advance.

I ended up ditching my lightweight jack in favor of the heavy-ass steel garage unit for tire swap duties, because of the higher lifting height and the wider footprint.  Being able to throw it in a tire trailer and ignore it is a bonus.

New problem: Now I want another garage jack.

Just bought this, it was on sale for a few bucks cheaper than the Arcan.  And I like the color better. 

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben-parts/schwaben-low-profile-2-ton-aluminum-floor-jack/011362sch01a/

Will report back. 

lxnm said:

It should probably be noted that since this is a jack for rally cross use, you may or may not have pavement available when you jack the car up.  You'll need something under the jack to let it slide when jacking on softer (grass) surfaces.  Personally, I've used one of the aluminum HF jacks and a piece of wood, and it's been fine for tire changing.

The advantage of a higher lifting jack is that you have less arc motion for the same amount of lifting.

That said, I always just let the other tires drag with a small jack.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) said:

After lugging my 94 pound floor jack to a rally-cross and around my yard all weekend playing "tire roulette", I decided I needed to "supplement" my heavy-as-berkeley car lifter with something more back-friendly.

I had an aluminum racing jack from the Fraught with Horribleness and it lasted about long enough for the stickers to start peeling off.  Not really enthusiastic to gamble on them again.  Am enthusiastic to see what else is out there. 

Who has recommendations (from experience) on a lightweight, low-ish profile, "racing" type portable jack, minimum 2 ton capacity?

Thanks in advance.

I ended up ditching my lightweight jack in favor of the heavy-ass steel garage unit for tire swap duties, because of the higher lifting height and the wider footprint.  Being able to throw it in a tire trailer and ignore it is a bonus.

 

New problem: Now I want another garage jack.

Same. For something in the garage or driveway, I have an expensive HW jack which weight roughly 453 lb.

volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) said:

Just bought this, it was on sale for a few bucks cheaper than the Arcan.  And I like the color better. 

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben-parts/schwaben-low-profile-2-ton-aluminum-floor-jack/011362sch01a/

Will report back. 

 

This looks really good, and at a decent price, too. I am interested to hear feedback.

Well, as far as shipping goes, so far they get an A+.  Despite me having to call them and change the payment method (had to cancel the card I paid for it on due to some fraudulent charges I discovered shortly after placing the order- not related to ECS, they were made a day or two prior) and putting in for the *free* shipping, the expected delivery date is...tomorrow. 

So far what i've picked up from this thread is that the jump in weight from the HF model to basically anything else is... double. 

In reply to Vigo (Forum Supporter) :

Not if you're comparing apples to apples.  The HF 2 ton jack is 40 lbs.  Pretty much every other 2 ton jack is 50 lbs.  THe 1.5 ton HF is about 30-ish lbs, but it s significantly smaller and narrower and less useful. 

Also, the 2 ton HF jack has a lifting height of just under 18", whereas almost every other 2 ton jack will go to 20".  That extra 2" can be significant, but it also means a physically larger (and heavier) jack. 

The new jack arrived Saturday as promised, but between other projects and visitors I haven't even unboxed it yet!  I'll do so soon, and report back. 

In reply to volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) :

I'm also interested in your feed back. In the market for a "travels with the trailer to the track" jack.

Not if you're comparing apples to apples.  The HF 2 ton jack is 40 lbs.  Pretty much every other 2 ton jack is 50 lbs.  THe 1.5 ton HF is about 30-ish lbs, but it s significantly smaller and narrower and less useful. 

I suppose you're right, but since the only use i have for an aluminum jack is its portability, I see everything BUT the 27lb 1.5 ton as being a bad compromise.  That's just my opinion. I have used my tiny HFs to lift things much higher than the jack itself lifts, but it is a more tedious process of setting jackstand, lowering jack, adding spacer blocks (2x4, 4x4, 4x6 chunks etc) and then lifting again. IF i did that a lot i would go for a larger jack, but usually the only thing i end up using my little jack for anymore is tire changes and it does fine for that. 

Jack in a Box.

Jack Unboxing.

Jack, Unboxed.  Sorry for the finger.  The littlest VCH looks on with interest.  (His name is not Jack.)

Overall build quality seems good.  The stickers will likely peel off quickly with some use; not a big deal, they look ugly anyway.  The anodization looks very nice, though. 

The rubber pad was glued on, poorly.  It came right off- you can see the attempt at adhesive.  Again, not a huge deal- these pads tend to get torn up quickly anyway.

The shafts of the pumping cylinders appear to be exposed.  On my steel floor jack (Harbor Freight) there are little protective collars over these shafts.  I may find some heat shrink tubing or something to slip over them to try to keep them clean.  This seems like a potential issue. 

The little eye-bolts for the return spring look damage-prone.  I guess we'll see.  If they do break off I can probabaly just weld a clip or something onto that tube. 

The wheels were un-lubricated.  Mini-VCH helped me remove each wheel and apply a little white lithium to the bushings.  Made a big difference.

THe directions said to loosen the handle 2 full turns, give 10 full pumps, tighten the handle, then pump to full height unloaded and down again.  I did this, and the first attempt at jacking a car was somewhat slow.  I let the car down, re-did the bleeding procedure, and it worked much better. 

Functionally, my main gripe is that the handle has to be turned clockwise fairly tight to make a good seal on the release mechanism.  It kindof has a "soft" close, not a firm stop, like I'm used to.  It works fine, it's just....different.  If that makes any sense. 

There's no tray over the top of the cylinder like on my other jack- this both protects the cylinder and offers a nice place to stick a small magnet tray for fasteners. 

Overall, I give it a solid B.  We'll see how longevity is.

While I was in a "jack-tinkering" mood I took apart, cleaned, and lubed my +/- 5 year old Harbor Freight steel floor jack.  I also discovered why the cylinder was sticking- that same metal collar meant to protect the cylinder shaft was dented in and hanging up on a spring.  I straightened it as best I could and it only clicks now, it doesn't hang up.  The jack works pretty decently still; it'll be nice to have it permanently in the garage and have the new aluminum one for back-up/ portable work.  And, yes, the difference between carrying a 50 lb. jack and an 80 lb. jack is significant!