Recommend me a trolley jack

[pistonheadforum]

Hi,

Looking to do a bit of wheel work and needing to lift up the estate (e class). Wheel needs to come off for a reasonable time and the car's jack looks frankly woefull.

Can anybody recommend a decent trolley jack, something sturdy but not going to cost the world? I had a look a the budget ones but wonder if that would be a false economy if ended up squashed under the motor...

Thanks,

[shirt]

sgs engineering seem to get the nod for price vs quality. make sure you buy axle stands as well, there are no circumstances where the jack should get 'squashed' as that means you will be as well.

[PositronicRay]

I've had a Halfords jobbie for about 7 yrs now, it's fine for occasional use. I don't leave it under a car however, use axle stands for anything other than a wheel swap.

[bearman68]

I have a pair of these with Axle stands. Used commercially though not excessively.
Decent quality,heavy duty,and so far robust and manly.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Tools-3000CXD-3-T...

Don't forget the axle stands (or sleepers) - you'll wreck the hydraulics if you leave them under pressure for along time. (according to our recent lift inspection man), plus it's not good practice.

[kambites]

As others have said, never leave a car supported by a jack for long periods of time (there's a good chance it'll gradually sink and leave your car resting on its brake discs) and never go underneath a car supported only by a jack (there's a small but significant chance that it'll collapse and squash you). I wouldn't even take the wheel off a car supported solely by a hydraulic jack if I had the choice.

Almost any trolley jack should be fine for picking up an E-class and just about any axle stands should do the job of holding it up. If you're buying it solely for this one job, just buy something cheap, IMO. If you're looking to keep it indefinitely for DIY use, £50-60 for the jack and axle stands will get you something beyond adequate; I wouldn't bother to spend more than that unless you either have a reason to want something light or you're going to use it a lot.

Personally I prefer the "pin-in-hole" type axle stands to ratchet ones, there's less to go wrong.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 1st October 08:41

[DVandrews]

Costco do (or did) a very good quality aluminium trolley Jack with a two tonnes rating, it is very light and easy to manoeuvre compared to the steel jacks made by Sealey, Halfords and Clarke. I have had mine for 8 years and use it daily with no issues, it has a very low saddle and slow and quick lift. Although I have 3 other trolley jacks they never see any use.

Dave

[S1MMA]

DVandrews said:

Costco do (or did) a very good quality aluminium trolley Jack with a two tonnes rating, it is very light and easy to manoeuvre compared to the steel jacks made by Sealey, Halfords and Clarke. I have had mine for 8 years and use it daily with no issues, it has a very low saddle and slow and quick lift. Although I have 3 other trolley jacks they never see any use.

Dave

Just to expand on this, I bought the current "light" costco jack a few weeks back. I had the original one as per DVandrews which I bought maybe 8-10 years ago but moved it on after leaving the country in 2010.

I have a low car, so needed a jack which starts in a low position, which the costco one does. It's also very robust and feels 100% quality. This is way above the normal £30-£100 jacks you can buy at high street stores or motor factors, more akin to a £300+ jack. But the point on it being light - it's not light! It weighs about 25kg, and after having to carry it from a shed through a house and to the driveway - I can guarantee your arm and hand gripping the handle will be worked out! To be fair, rightly so - something supporting a car which I'm working on - I'd want to be heavy and robust. I didn't use axel stands for a brake change job but did put each wheel I took off under the sill of the car just in case as it was a new jack, and although I didn't go under the car (I would use stands if I had to go under) the jack was very much overkill for supporting one corner at a time. Which suits me just fine. It will last donkeys years, has 2 cylinders and is about £80 or so. Can't go wrong with it. Recommended (just get in the gym if you need to pick it up regularly).

[kambites]

Assuming you mean this one, the costco website claims 12.5kg which is pretty light:

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/sip-15-ton-lightwei...

Is it really twice that weight in practice?

[Jakg]

kambites said:

Assuming you mean this one, the costco website claims 12.5kg which is pretty light:

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/sip-15-ton-lightwei...

Is it really twice that weight in practice?

I think he means this one - http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/arcan-2000kg-alumin...

I replaced my SGS one with this and it's in another league quality wise. It is, however, bloody heavy (26KG) when you've got to carry it down the garden first!

[kambites]

That looks pretty good value if it's really that high quality. As you say though, it's bloody heavy.

[DVandrews]

Nowhere near as heavy as my Sealey equivalent which is a proper arm breaker.

Dave

[S1MMA]

Jakg said:

kambites said:

Assuming you mean this one, the costco website claims 12.5kg which is pretty light:

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/sip-15-ton-lightwei...

Is it really twice that weight in practice?

I think he means this one - http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/arcan-2000kg-alumin...

I replaced my SGS one with this and it's in another league quality wise. It is, however, bloody heavy (26KG) when you've got to carry it down the garden first!

Yeah it's the second one, bloody heavy but built like a brick sthouse.

26kg is fine when in a gym on a nice thick handle or bar, but a thin metal handle it gets your hand working trust me!

I'm very happy with it, and as above you'd have to spend many multiples to equal it quality wise.

edit to add: another good thing about the costco jack is that the handle is easily dismantled into two pieces (one screw holds it in) so the half without the rubber on it comes off and is a great extension bar should you need one for a stubborn bolt!

Edited by S1MMA on Thursday 1st October 13:53

[pistonheadforum]

Thanks all - very helpful.

[Toaster Pilot]

SGS stuff is arse - looks the part but doesn't last and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

[richs2891]

OK so discounting SGS enginnering trolley jacks

What about these - Anyone heard of them or bought anything from them ?
http://www.jhmbuttco.com/acatalog/Shop_Trolley_Jac...

Either the 3 Ton Trolley Jack Quick Lift/Low Entry or the 3 Ton Professional Trolley Jack 98mm