Floor/Service Jack

Mattman · Feb 6, 2017

I am in the market for a 3ton hydraulic jack to work on the Excursion. Does anyone have one or experience with a brand? I like the Hein-Warner. But not sure if I am paying extra 100s for blue paint and a name. My other ones I have considered are a 3.5 Norco and a 3.5 black hawk.
I know the Hein-Warner is a good unit. Still use my dad's but it's only a 1.5ton. I need some more grunt for my rigs.
If you have any experience with one good or bad please let me know.
Thanks

Abear79 · Feb 6, 2017

Harbor freight my friend. And a few extra bucks will get you the replacement warranty. I service my wheel bearings on my 41 ft gateway with harbor freight jack and stands.

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mlpeloquin · Feb 6, 2017

Harbor Freight 4 ton floor jack. Used it to lift the back end up on my old class C and on my Big Horn. It works well. And yes Harbor Freight 6 ton jack stands. Always derate the ratings for safety and longevity of the tools.

Apropdoc · Feb 7, 2017

I am waiting on the 3 ton Powerbuilt jack/jackstand combo unit to arrive Wed. I will report back as to how well it will lift my truck and hold up to the weight. I ordered for the sole purpose of lifting my trailer to service the brakes and hubs.

MP_CS · Feb 7, 2017

Just get a pittsburg from HF. Have a 3 ton rapid pump from them I've used in my shop for years. Wouldn't waste money on anything more expensive than those.

Lynn1130 · Feb 9, 2017

Another endorsement for Harbor Freight.

farside291 · Feb 9, 2017

Just be sure which ever one you choose will fit under the axle with the tire deflated. Ask me how I know. And another vote for Harbor Frieght

Mattman · Feb 9, 2017

Well, I looked at HF. I can't bring my self to trust something a 1/3 of the cost of normal ones. Especially something where my life and safety is part of the equation. If it was just my trailer, okay. There more expensive ones are similar to what i have been looking at anyway. So for me HF is out. And aluminum frames.

porthole · Feb 9, 2017

Sad to think it is almost impossible to buy an American made floor jack. They are out there but more often now the label is changing from 'Made in America' to 'Assembled in America'.

You get what you pay for and there is a reason the stuff at HF is priced at what it is.

Lynn1130 · Feb 9, 2017

I don't crawl under anything that is jacked up with American or Chinese made jacks without jack stands or blocks under it so what it is jacked up with makes little difference once it is up.

I had to look this company up after we started the Chinese/American thing and the Company is Shinn Fu America and their info page says nothing about made in America only that they "test" at their KC plant. I guess that says it all. LOL

Mattman · Feb 9, 2017

Lynn1130 said:
I don't crawl under anything that is jacked up with American or Chinese made jacks without jack stands or blocks under it so what it is jacked up with makes little difference once it is up.

I had to look this company up after we started the Chinese/American thing and the Company is Shinn Fu America and their info page says nothing about made in America only that they "test" at their KC plant. I guess that says it all. LOL

No I agree. I block it first. But there is still some time in there that you have to position the jack stands. On a trailer which all ready has 20" of clearance is not an issue. My excursion or other trucks have less and you have to get in deeper to set the stands correctly. So there is a minuet or so you are counting on that jack not to come down. The odds even with a cheap one are low. But everyday at work for me on top of every day life there are odds of bad things happening. The fewer those odds the better.

Like you said when you google American made Jacks. The only thing service jack style it pulls up is Hein-Warner. But even it is assembled USA with foreign parts. So it's not even all USA. Shinn Fu does make them as well as several other brands. Omega, BlacmHawk, and a few others as well.

Abear79 · Feb 9, 2017

Mattman said:
No I agree. I block it first. But there is still some time in there that you have to position the jack stands. On a trailer which all ready has 20" of clearance is not an issue. My excursion or other trucks have less and you have to get in deeper to set the stands correctly. So there is a minuet or so you are counting on that jack not to come down. The odds even with a cheap one are low. But everyday at work for me on top of every day life there are odds of bad things happening. The fewer those odds the better.

Like you said when you google American made Jacks. The only thing service jack style it pulls up is Hein-Warner. But even it is assembled USA with foreign parts. So it's not even all USA. Shinn Fu does make them as well as several other brands. Omega, BlacmHawk, and a few others as well.

No.. That is a choice. Plan jobs and use cribbing until the stands fit. and always rest the loads on the stands. I have seen jacks and lifts fail. The end results were death. So be very careful when lifting. Do not be that person that says it cannot happen to me. The things I have seen in my career will make you more careful.

rhodies1 · Feb 9, 2017

Mattman said:
I am in the market for a 3ton hydraulic jack to work on the Excursion. Does anyone have one or experience with a brand? I like the Hein-Warner. But not sure if I am paying extra 100s for blue paint and a name. My other ones I have considered are a 3.5 Norco and a 3.5 black hawk.
I know the Hein-Warner is a good unit. Still use my dad's but it's only a 1.5ton. I need some more grunt for my rigs.
If you have any experience with one good or bad please let me know.
Thanks

Agree with the other responses,go to Harbour Freight,bought my 3 ton floor jack for 59.95.Had it 3 years now with no issues and use the 20% off coupon that in their add in the latest Trailer Life magazine .Good deal.

Mattman · Feb 9, 2017

Abear79 said:
No.. That is a choice. Plan jobs and use cribbing until the stands fit. and always rest the loads on the stands. I have seen jacks and lifts fail. The end results were death. So be very careful when lifting. Do not be that person that says it cannot happen to me. The things I have seen in my career will make you more careful.

I think I understand what your saying. Can you please give an example for me and everyone reading this to how you can 100% be safe when let's say your checking the brakes on your truck and rotating tires. I thinking a combination or jack stands and lumber. But want your take.
Thanks

Abear79 · Feb 9, 2017

Mattman said:
I think I understand what your saying. Can you please give an example for me and everyone reading this to how you can 100% be safe when let's say your checking the brakes on your truck and rotating tires. I thinking a combination or jack stands and lumber. But want your take.
Thanks

For sure, yes I am talking about 2bys, 4bys and pieces of 3/4 plywood. Make some wedges out of 2bys and 4bys for between full pieces. Or you can make a step-cribbing piece. Use good pieces of lumber not rotten. Trust me it can be done. When we use airbags or jacks at work we raise an inch and we crib an inch. I do not think it needs to be said, but I'll say it make sure the vehicle is on flat hard ground before lifting. Youtube video on basic cribbing

https://youtu.be/yzq6bHolycA

Apropdoc · Feb 12, 2017

Apropdoc said:
I am waiting on the 3 ton Powerbuilt jack/jackstand combo unit to arrive Wed. I will report back as to how well it will lift my truck and hold up to the weight. I ordered for the sole purpose of lifting my trailer to service the brakes and hubs.

Received the jack and tried it out on mu P/U. Works great, having the built in jackstand is very convenient and eliminates the need to carry separate components. Only drawback is that I will need to fabricate a base block to set the jack on to raise my trailer (24" span from ground to bottom of frame). Found it on Amazon and I plan on getting another one next month. Harbor Freight has awesome stuff too, but I look for safe, space saving alternatives for my Trailer. Just sayin...

Mattman · Feb 18, 2017

Well. So I ended up purchasing the Daytona 3 ton jack from garbage freight. I couldn't bring my self to buy their cheaper ones. But in typical HF style I was getting the air pockets out and noticed they didn't put enough oil in it. So manual says 22 weight non detergent oil.
Okay. Checked AutoZone on line and don't really say 22 weight oil. Just jack oil. Does anyone have any knowledge in where to get to correct oil? Is there another rating it may have?
Thanks

rhodies1 · Feb 18, 2017

The oil you require is an ISO standard 22 weight oil,if you can locate a Shell Distributor in your area, ask for the following product Telllus S2 VX 22 oil.Every oil company in the industry make the equivalent so if you cannot find a Shell location,another oil manufacturer should have the capability to cross reference their oil to the Shell Oil.

Relayman · Feb 20, 2017

harbor freight sells an ALUMINUM floor jack that is light weight and will do the job.

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Mattman · Apr 9, 2017

A follow up to this if anyone is still following. For a 3 ton jack this thing seemed like I worked hard to lift the front of my car. Which isn't that heavy. I only really have my dad's old Hein-Warner to compare to. But that thing even lifting more than we should have with it didn't feel that tuff. Granted the handel on it probably weighs twice as much and I think the old one is a single piston to.
So maybe since it's not trying to move as much oil at once. I guess it did take a lot of strokes to lift the car.
But if anyone wants to let me know how theres pumps I would be curious to compare. Maybe my expectations were high. Hoping it would pump like a 1200 dollar jack.

Floor/Service Jack

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