Hydraulic Jack Suggestions

[manoftaste]

Nice unit and plenty of lift, but if your LR4 is on the bump stops and you need to jack it up, you may not be able to slide those big "off-road" composite wheels under the chassis, never mind the extension. That seems like an ideal jack for lifted trucks, but I can think of some situations where its height may be an issue with the LR4 and our funky suspensions.

Valid point. I am mostly interested though in tire rotation work. FYI the pic I posted above is shown with the 5-8" extension attached. The jack itself with normal saddle is like any other floor jack, except the wheels adding to the overall minimum height as you pointed out.

But after looking at this jack I did actually think about carrying it on trails for it being only 60 LBs. If I did that, I'd probably be carrying another much lighter and smaller, proper scissor jack or a bottle jack as a safety.

I have to see it in the flesh to kinda really gauge its minimum stance with those wheels and the overall footprint for carrying it onboard, etc. Luckily the manufacturer is not that far from me here in socal. So maybe I'll pay a little visit.

If I ended up getting this jack, I want to be able to use the extension module at its highest extended setting of 8". This is so I am working the jack' lifting mechanism at the minimum possible percentage of its full capacity, in the hopes of extending its life by reducing the lift cycles of this $400 jack Plus, the less the jack is being pushed, the less chances of it failing. They do make a 13" version of the extension as well, I will have to take some measurements underneath the truck with the suspension being in off road mode to see if 13 inch version will fit underneath.

Does the above theory hold any water? But that is not say that I will be fully relying on the jack alone. I plan to use a heavy duty jack stand for resting the frame on it once the truck is lifted high enough by the floor jack.

So for that reason I was a bit concern about the sturdiness of the extension mechanism and called the manufacturer yesterday and according to them the extension module is able to handle 4 tons, which is way past the capacity of the jack itself. And it seems like that the extension clicks and lock on to the saddle, have to confirm it with them though.

 

[iSurfvilano]

Valid point. I am mostly interested though in tire rotation work. FYI the pic I posted above is shown with the 5-8" extension attached. The jack itself with normal saddle is like any other floor jack, except the wheels adding to the overall minimum height as you pointed out.

But after looking at this jack I did actually think about carrying it on trails for it being only 60 LBs.

You can actually save yourself some coin. You might be able to retrofit your current jack with the pro eagle lift pad, which will work with the extension. And there are other companies that make a less expensive version of the plate which will keep it from sinking....hell you could go to a metal fab shop and get one made cheap or even do it yourself.

$180 - 3 ton aluminum jack (harbor freight) I think it's 58lbs
$30 - Pro Eagle Pad
$56 - Pro Eagle 13" extension
$20 - Homemade offroad jack mount (this could range, but that size steel plate would cost around 20 bucks)

= $286

Or....the pro eagle combo pack for $520

 

[manoftaste]

You can actually save yourself some coin. You might be able to retrofit your current jack with the pro eagle lift pad, which will work with the extension. And there are other companies that make a less expensive version of the plate which will keep it from sinking....hell you could go to a metal fab shop and get one made cheap or even do it yourself.

$180 - 3 ton aluminum jack (harbor freight) I think it's 58lbs
$30 - Pro Eagle Pad
$56 - Pro Eagle 13" extension
$20 - Homemade offroad jack mount (this could range, but that size steel plate would cost around 20 bucks)

= $286

Or....the pro eagle combo pack for $520

Yeah the cost is a bit much for this puppy. Therefor, first thing I asked them when I called them was if I could use their extension module with another jack (Arcan aluminum, etc) as the saddle/lift plate on the Arcan seems the same as ProEagle. The guy said that it could work but I'd have to get their lift pad as you mentioned above and install it on the arcan, which should not be an issue but he did not offer any guarantees that it would work. So in theory that should work.

I dont have any floor jacks at the moment and I am new to the game, so I was thinking of buying an Arcan (or another aluminum brand) for about $200 because its light weight of 58 lbs serves my needs . I read a couple of us here talking about $400 jacks so I thought maybe that was a normal price range for a good 3-ton one that I may just have to swallow.

This jack does offer features like sealed ball bearings on all four wheels and solid steel axles though, stuff that may come in handy in an environment like the attached pic below.

I could pick it up from their location without paying for any shipping charges. So it will cost me $400 for tax at the end of the day. The jack does come standard with their 8 inch extension making the max height to 28".

And I just confirmed with them today that the jack sits at 6" at its minimum height. So 6" + 5" of the extension module (8" version in collapsed position) gives us 11" total to begin with. And I measured the distance from the floor to the jack point under the truck' frame and its about 10 inches.

So if I raise the truck to offroad height, the jack point will be about 12 inches off the ground. This gives me 1" of clearance to place the jack under the frame before I start lifting, which I think its not bad for efficiency wise.

Arcan on the other hand sits at about 3.75" of minimum height. So if I go with Arcan, I could purchase ProEagle' bigger extension module (13" version) and use it in its collapsed form of 8" to get me a total of 3.75" + 8" = 11.75", with just enough clearance to get the Arcan under the frame before lifting, but it would be cutting it pretty close as sometimes the air suspension self adjusts/settles, etc. Also, with this setup, due to the form factor of 3 inch taller extension, this configuration may be slightly unstable when compared to the all ProEagle jack setup above.

So both configs work, one is about $440 (including tax), the other is $200 + $30 + $56 = $286 plus some tax and shipping = say about $300 or so. About a $140 worth of diff between the two setups.

 

[jwest]

Been looking myself for the last few days or so and for the exact same reason (rotating tires) and came across a couple of threads but yeah, no clear winner. So I was about to bring life to an older thread and saw this.

Damn! Maxing out 3-ton ones? I am trying to keep it under 50 to 60 pounds so I am able to lift it and tuck it away somewhere in my apt.

I had zeroed it down to the following guy which seems well-built, got the looks, and more importantly is spec'd as around 54 pounds for carrying but its a 3-ton capacity. Also, colorover bought it according to another thread, wonder how it fared for him:

I have an aluminum low profile for the Audi and BMW but that thing I'd never use for the lr3. For one it's unlikely to lift high enough to be very useful but it's also not nearly as stable as the larger footprint models that also lift 24"

 

[jwest]

I'm liking this option, seems pretty heavy duty.

I liked this "Daytona" from Harbor Freight so much after getting 2, I got 2 more. Just be sure you get during the reoccurring sales.

Why 4? Well duh...!

Also have 4 HD stands from HF under the slider/sills that are only at about 50% height here. They have a very wide base too.

 

[jwest]

that offroad jack posted above does look cool, but i don't think i'd EVER use an extension like that. It creates a pivot point which is dangerous. I have used blocking but it cannot have a pivot like that. Ideally it should be a base or cap wider than it is tall. For example a 4x6 cut into a 6" long block. This would give you 4" (3.5 really) of additional height. Or, on the ground you could simply use 2x12's cut maybe into squares or tuck in on top of the jack.

Then there's no pivoting possible. Of course who wants to drag along blocking of any type.

I have two things with me that have multiple potential uses. See the green things on the roof? Fiberglass waffleboard bridging/traction ladders. Setting 2 you get a full 4" of VERY stable platform for a jack or whatever.

I also have 2 impossible to find 3 way "choc tracs" made of aluminum that when flat are for traction, folder into triangle as a choc, folded zig-zag they turn into 4-5" blocks for vehicle leveling under a wheel for roof camping or they are actually designed to hold the foot of a high-lift.

Now, you have to start thinking in engineering steps to achieve things sometimes. Like lifting a grounded vehicle for a tire swap or whatever. You can do the whole thing with a high lift but also safely if you have blocking of some sort: Set high lift beside the wheel, use it's wheel adapter, lift not even very much you can block the control arm, then remove lift and wheel, replace wheel, lift again, remove blocking, remove lift, drive away. This one is of course specific to a wheel change but it's very safe because the vehicle isn't really lifted much at all. At most it's just enough to set the new tire in, maybe 7-8" tops.

A very handy thing I just keep tucked away all the time are some rubber blocks that I got from the tire shop. Mine are the smaller ones about 4x6 or 5x7 inches and 1.5" thick or so. I use them for many things but they are great as an interface between any jack and the vehicle.

 

[jwest]

one more thing: garage use, that extension on tiny jack looks like a terribly bad idea.... too risky and for what, to barely get a vehicle in a garage off the ground enough to do much of anything - very little and seriously dangerous. off road i like it even less on uneven ground, loose ground, wind, etc.

People think they're going to be needing a ******** road but i've only had to change a wheel once in 10 yrs off road. I like the High-Lift extreme because it's simple and solid and multi-purpose. Where to put it? Don't fret, the 48" shaft and lever will fit perfectly right behind the lr4/3 2nd row seat and in front of the little support tower in the 3rd row footwell area. I slide the lever arm off and tuck it in the bottom and the shaft wedges right into the space lodging against the wheel humps but it all stays below the cargo floor level so you can still load things in, etc. If you get it in the right spot, the 2nd row seats can still set up or down but mine are most often down and with the ARB fridge in the 2nd row center hole with it's seat removed.

For safety there are a couple spots or you can install D ring tie downs to strap down the high lift parts.

 

[TCM75]

Manoftaste, full disclosure, we have a calibration department at my work and they can calibrate just about anything, lol. Not having that option I probably would never have calibrated it.

We have a ton of Snap On digital torque wrenches but that's really not needed to tighten lug nuts. Personally, I have an older SK Tools click-type torque wrench. I really don't remember how much it cost but you can probably spend anywhere from $100 and up for a decent one.

Also, every couple years is probably more than most people would do (if they calibrated at all).

 

[gsxr]

So I agree with you that a 2 ton jack is sufficient if it's being used to just lift one wheel at a time (and that's what I'd use it for.) I also agree that the jack stand is a must for safety. My question is that when you lift yours up for a tire rotation how high are you actually lifting it? This will come into play for the jack stand I order, as the ones that I have currently only go up to 16.5" (which I'm not sure is enough or not...I have duratracs that are stock 19" size and have no plans to go bigger) Thank you

Good question - I did not measure the actual lift, but the jack was definitely not maxed out, even with the suspension in "off road" height. Next time, I'll measure the lift required to get a stock wheel/tire off the ground.

 

[gsxr]

I liked this "Daytona" from Harbor Freight so much after getting 2, I got 2 more. Just be sure you get during the reoccurring sales.

Just curious - what is the price when the Daytona Yellow is on sale? I generally see it at $199 and their coupons don't apply to floor jacks.