Hi all,

I need a decent low entry trolley jack for the cars. I have a question.
jacks have a weight rating 1 ton – 1.5 ton etc

one car is 1.1 and the other is 1.4 so as the jack will only be lifting one end at a time that’s effectively 0.70 ton on the heaviest car !??!

Or do I just get the 1.5 ton 🙂

Get the 1.5 ton. Who knows what you may be using it for in the future?

As the pinkster said

When I was into playing with cars I had a sealey one, I had a lowered fto with a body kit and it still got under the car fine

Sealey 1153CX – any good?

£40 …

Plenty to choose from here …

or this one … Sealey 3001LE – Professional Trolley Jack 3tonne Low Entry … £119 …

The style of jack in the second pic above is so much better than the first. Much more stable and lifts higher. If you have the cash you won’t regret it.

personally i would not crawl under any car that just had a jack under it so factor in some axle stands as well

+1 for stands

I’ve ended up with 2 of the ~£40 2 ton jacks and to be honest I wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable trying to lift their full rated weight with either.

The lifting height isn’t much to write home about, if you need to get the car onto stands and at a height with a reasonable amount of space to work underneath you will struggle to be able to get it to reach under a subframe or engine without resorting to blocks of wood. Don’t ask how I know this…

Given the same choice again I’d go for a low entry 3 ton job instead, some of them have the ability to fit an optional transmission cradle should you be keen to do things that you should really leave to a pro mechanic 😉

Just pop down to your local Halfords and get one of these kits;
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_899721_langId_-1_categoryId_255207

job done…

One of the cars is very low so needs a low entry jack. Regular just won’t get under the sills.
Chewkw – thanks for the link. Some good prices.
I don’t have an upper limit for spend- I’d rather buy decent quality , with stands.

if your car is too low to get a jack under (my c2 rally spec was) drive it onto a plank of wood (such as a scaffolding board) it will raise the car enough to get a jack under it.

Don’t know what you budget is, but I use one of these and its by far the best jack I’ve ever used. Its fairly big but alloy saves so much weight its much easier to use than the 3T steel on I have.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alloy-Car-Quick-Lift-Trolley-Jack-1-8-Ton-Arcan-/181138121721?pt=UK_Lifting_Moving_Equipment&hash=item2a2cac63f9

As above, don’t pay the extra for a low body jack, not worth it when a bit of wood does the job perfectly.

I’ve got a cheapo Halfords one that came in a case and a pro one that cost five times as much.

The cheapo one gets used more often as its easier to move around and it’s mainly used for removing wheels at work so I don’t need to get underneath the vehicle for anything.

I’ve got a cheapo Halfords 2T trolley jack that was fine for lifting my 1200kg Honda but I tried and gave up trying to lift my 1700kg Jag with it; it just felt too flimsy.

ETA: I also didn’t bother with a low profile jack and drove my low car onto two planks of wood.

I’ve got a cheapo Halfords 2T trolley jack that was fine for lifting my 1200kg Honda but I tried and gave up trying to lift my 1700kg Jag with it; it just felt too flimsy.

It would have done it no problem, mine is the same and used regularly removing wheels from customers vehicles (BMW X5, Jaguar XF, Chrysler 300c etc)

And I’ve also used it for the last 3 years on my VW T4 Multivan.

I was looking at the arcan jacks, look great for the money.
Personally can’t see the point of pissing around with planks when I can buy a low jack.

Budget is up to £300 ish

get a clarke one from machinemart

nealglover – Member

It would have done it no problem

No, it did have problems, hence why I stopped using it. 😆

No, it did have problems, hence why I stopped using it.

It didn’t.

It just “felt” too flimsy.

But it’s not. (As mine proves pretty much every day)

It’s a 2 tonne jack lifting one corner of a 1.7 tonne car.

Easy. 😉

[edit] – unless yours was damaged of course.

Why would you want to gamble to save cost with 1.5 tonnes of car on top of you? I would get a 3 tonnes trolley jack just to be on the safe side.

Chewkw, is that question for me ?

If so, a 2 tonne jack is already over spec for anything I need to lift already. There is no need for a 3 tonne jack unless your lifting a vehicle that weights over 4 tonnes.

Over speccing isn’t a problem obviously, but there is no real need to go too far if there are downsides (portability/size/weight/cost etc)

pah only 3 tonne i would get 5 tonne to be even safer …where will this game of not understanding loadings end?
The safe bit is using axle stands once you lift it not just increasing the jack max load

2t Halfords one with a Transit, got the axle stands too.

From my childhood on the farm axle stands last forever and a better when all the paint has come off as they still work.

nealglover – Member

Chewkw, is that question for me ?

Ooops! No, just general reply to Halfords 2 tonnes jack.

General reply again … I know 2 tonnes jack is enough but the price for 3 tonnes jack is not that expensive really, considering at one point in future that you might get a bigger heavier car.

Well, I guess I am used to my boy racer’s mate ex-garage (he used to run and own it) trolley jacks where they all have metal wheels. Proper trolly jack that. I have never seen trolley jack with “plastic wheels” in my life until now. Scare the shite out of me … 😯

Most of the proper trolley jacks weigh tonnes if they are proper ones so weigh is the least of my concern rather the reliability and safety of it.

I’m pretty sure that Arcan jack is a lot cheaper in costco. They also sometimes have a low profile (higher rating) steel jack but its not one you want to have to lift up.

The Clarke CTJ2000A 2 Tonne Aluminium Trolley Jack looks fine to me.

I know 2 tonnes jack is enough but the price for 3 tonnes jack is not that expensive really, considering at one point in future that you might get a bigger heavier car.

I don’t think there is a car on sale in the UK that you need a 3 tonne trolley to lift one corner 😀

(Maybe an original Hummer ??)

But if that’s what you need to feel safe, I’m not stopping you 😉

nealglover – Member

I don’t think there is a car on sale in the UK that you need a 3 tonne trolley to lift one corner

Oh … no, no it’s not for one corner it’s two corners/wheels up for me so I feel safer with 3 tonnes … 😀

For one corner 2 tonne trolley is fine.

Or this one.

Clarke CTJ3000G 3 Tonne Professional Garage Jack

Or this one with minimum pump to get to the right height …

I might get this one but need to find out a bit more about the rocket effect first …

Sealey 3003CXQ 3 tonne Super Rocket

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcJusaqVO2o[/video]

Just got one of these….

Warrior Quick lift

… to replace a rapidly failing Halfords one like the narrower types shown above. Fits under toy car easily and has a higher lift range (longer arm) than some of the similar style jacks, so lifts closer to vertical for further IYSWIM. Was looking for an Arcan, but think they’ve been discontinued by Costco. Pleased with it so far, and Warrior were great to deal with.

the warrior is the same as the clarke and liftmaster jacks.
they are pretty flawed jacks made buy the same manufacturer and rebadged.

The problem is they don’t have a lift stop to you can keep pumping till the piston cracks the cylinder ( ooh er )

Ive decided on a 1.8 ton Arcan – looks to be the best value Vs quality.

thanks all 🙂

on and on – Member

the warrior is the same as the clarke and liftmaster jacks.
they are pretty flawed jacks made buy the same manufacturer and rebadged.

The problem is they don’t have a lift stop to you can keep pumping till the piston cracks the cylinder ( ooh er )

Ive decided on a 1.8 ton Arcan – looks to be the best value Vs quality.

thanks all

Didn’t realise that they are so flimsy …

Glad that you have chosen Arcan 1.8 ton but where did you order it from? The website link? How much? ❓

I am liking the Sealey 3003CXQ 3 tonne Super Rocket at the moment … anyone any experience on this? ❓

Did some researching on the some car forums and the advice given was to avoid Halfoods jack if you want some heavy duty reliable jack. 😯

http://www.cjautosheywood.co.uk/bascroller.shtml

backinireland – Member

http://www.cjautosheywood.co.uk/bascroller.shtml

That’s a good website with plenty of toys to buy !!! 😀

Will look at them toys in detail later.

🙂

Tidy garage furniture here

http://www.garagepride.co.uk/

and here

http://www.dreamgarage.co.uk/

Just bought on of those Halford’s lifting kit. The only good thing in it are the stands. The wheel chocks are laughable and the jack struggled to lift the back end of my mondeo. I’ll be taking it back once I’ve finshed with the stands (car currently sans wheel and hub due to bearing replacement!)