Floor jack and stands, what's a good one?

[jonathanstarr]

I had a set of 4-ton generic chinese jack stands that seem uncomfortably light and not tall enough for my Deere 5300.
I recently bought a pair of 12-ton ones, labeled Big Red torin steel 24,000 lbs capacity. Of course like all of them, that means for the pair, and being generic I discount the rating. They are nice and tall and hefty and capable of the job. They were around $125 shipped, and I would buy again. Also I got a generic labelled 20 ton bottle jack, that is stronger than anything I've had. Nice to have solid support while working.

 

[oosik]

I bought a Walker 5000# in 1977. Still works just great. Jack stands - they came from NAPA. Very simplistic construction and very HD. Only down side to the Walker. Very small wheels - very heavy unit. Doesn't like being pulled across my lawn. Obviously made for use on concrete.

 

[ruffdog]

If you want quality, look at Milwaukee Hydraulics jacks and stands. They have been USA made since 1946 and are repairable/rebuild-able.

Milwaukee Hydraulics


Or look for used ones:
2 Ton Floor Jack - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

 

[crazyal]

If you ever need to work in a gravel driveway adding a piece of diamond plate steel to the bottom of a jack stand does wonders to keep it from sinking into the dirt. Just put the diamond plate side down and weld it to the bottom of the legs. Be careful using wood as it can split.

 

[masscity]

I have a 1 1/2 ton Hein Warner I bought in 1978 for $175.00, about $675.00 todays money. Ruined the seals picking up twice the front of my Dodge 2500 extended cab 4x4 Cummins. Bought a seal kit for it

a couple a years ago. My mechanic put it in, but can't get it to work. I'm going to take it apart, save what I can and toss it.

Five years ago I bought a 3 ton Hein Warner ($300.00) that picks up the Dodge easy. What I like about the Hein Warner jacks is the lift height. 1 1/2 ton 23 inches and the 3 ton 21 inches.

Sure wish I hadn't ruined that 1 1/2 ton. I'm and idiot.

 

[RalphVa]

I need a decent floor jack and stands, mainly for changing/rotating tires and such, largest vehicle is diesel F250. What's a decent one?

My best jack is the low profile "racing" floor jack from Harbour Freight. Works like the old commercial ones we had in the service station but lower profile.

Ralph