Vehicle stands and trolley jacks

[Grizzly_Adams]

G'day all,

I need to get some bits and pieces to be able to happily work under my vehicle and I was wondering what weights I should be looking at?

Supercheap have Vehicle stands on special at the moment and they can hold up to 1200kgs, I was wondering if they would suffice? Considering that one of them won't be holding the entire vehicle up at any one time....

What size / weight for the trolley jacks? 1.3tonne? 2tonne?

For reference, I am driving a '94 300tdi Defender and the most work I will be doing with them is changing tyres (I expect).

[dmdigital]

From experience, I can say don't muck around getting a cheap trolley jack, get a descent workshop quality one.

I've got a 2500kg Armstrong and 2 x 2000kg rachet stands (need 2 more though). The jack is great, nice long handle and a small one for when you need to posiiton it carefully. This cost me about $200 several years back and was well worth it.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

A couple of years back big W had a good name one de-badged and it was pretty good value. I bought mine from there and it's been fine.

[mcrover]

I suggest you get a 2 post hoist if you want to lift the whole thing off the ground but if you dont want to then the Armstrong 2500kg trolley jacks are very good, I have one at work and I havnt had any problems.

I always found when changing tyres that if you just lift one end at a time or 1 side at a time it doesnt take any longer than lifting the whole vehical and putting it on jack stands and if you were doing brakes I normally just lift that corner Im working on and jack stand that corner as it is much more stable on it wheels than on stands.

The jack stands are rated at there maximum working load per stand unless stated other wise and then they are meant to say they must be used in pairs so if you have 2000kgs per stand and your using 4 of them then MWL is 8000kg but I wouldnt like to trust them with 8 tonne on them but a Defa should be ok.

[dmdigital]

I always found when changing tyres that if you just lift one end at a time or 1 side at a time it doesnt take any longer than lifting the whole vehical and putting it on jack stands and if you were doing brakes I normally just lift that corner Im working on and jack stand that corner as it is much more stable on it wheels than on stands.

Likewise, that's what I do. As a mater of fact, I've just done this today! Jack stands only get used fully when I need to work under the vehicle. I still push one under the axle when I change a tyre, just in case.

[Utemad]

Where do you buy good quality jack stands from?

The auto shop ones always look cheap and not tall enough.

[mcrover]

I actually built my tall ones myself but you can buy 400mm tall ratchet ones that raise to about 550mm (or taller, never measured) at any reputable auto retailer e.g. not autobarn.

My tall ones I made are 350mmx350mm square on the base and stand 600mm high but are fixed and normally need to jack and block to get things up there.

[beforethevision]

I use 3500kg locking stands, as i feel that if something was to fall, ie stand slips off the diff and catches the body, a strong stand will hold and save your life. Its not an excuse to use them incorrectly, but i feel much happier being under a car that simply cannot get to me. And yes, a good jack will get you better working height, and get there quicker. I tend to work with the chassis about 400-500mm above the ground. Regardless of disco/freelander etc.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

get a jack of 2.5 ton minimum..........
and the strongest stands you can afford.........



i jack the landies up under the diff...........they go up on an angle as the diff isnt in the centre..........
but when i lower it down onto the stands........i just make sure the stands are pretty much the same height...........
the stands are placed under the diff housing between the rotor and the radius arms......

then you can do exactly the same for the rear........

[harry]

hey grizz' get the best you can afford.
as your truck only weighs about two tons and you can only can jack one end at a time, buy something that can handle the total weight.
why, because it will not be working at the top range of its capacity, therefore it will have plenty of capacity in reserve, and not fail as early as one that 'just does the job'.
the 1200 kg stands should do the job ok, if used in a corner at a time, but i would go for a higher rating, just to be safe.
in the case of the truck falling off the jack you should have enough strength for the stand to stop it hitting you lying under it.
and don't lie under it until it's sitting on stands and rock solid.
i always try to rock any vehicle off the stands before i remove the jack from under it, the jack is stronger than me, so if it passes the 'push off and rock it'test i feel it is safe for me to crawl under it - it's amazing how you grab some part of the vehicle to move yourself when under the thing, that is why i make sure i rock it before i get under it.

[JDNSW]

While there is a point to getting the strongest stands you can afford, getting too large a ones has its problems as well. I have a pair rated I think at 2 tonnes and a pair rated at 4 tonnes each - and the larger ones have two problems - they only just go low enough to get under the axle housing, and if used on the front the base is so wide that you can't turn the wheels full lock when they are under the best spots just inboard of the ball housing.

Worth noting is that most stands are only designed for their rated load when on a level, hard surface, and you should if possible avoid using them where soft or uneven ground could lead to them tipping over. For that matter, except in an emergency, you should never even jack a vehicle except on level ground - and you do carry a jacking plate for soft surfaces don't you?

John

[DEFENDERZOOK]

it appears you may have a front and a rear set of stands there jd.......


use the bigger ones on the rear only......then it wont affect the turning of the wheels to full lock.......







even if a vehicle weighs 2 tons........you still need strong enough stands to support more than you would expect.........
the front end is usually heavier than the rear........
the weight given is for an unladen vehicle.......does not take into account any bar work or tanks or any of the load you may have in the vehicle......
and when you are swinging off spanners under the vehicle......it will shake around.....very similar to standing on an empty drink can.......
it would hold you up till you moved your foot on a bit of an angle.......or it got a bit of a dent in it.......




we are not cats.......we only have one life......so we have to take as much care of it as we can......
if you cant afford to buy the right safety gear this month.....keep saving and buy it next month.......


a decent jack can be purchased for around $150 to $200.........
mine is a ROYAL brand jack.......its work shop quality and about 15 years old........
ive had to replace the main seal on it once in this time.......

[JDNSW]

it appears you may have a front and a rear set of stands there jd.......



That is, of course, how I use them! Usually put the Landrovers on four stands to service it - makes it easy to grease the U-joints, adjust brakes etc, check wheel bearings etc

John

[Grizzly_Adams]

G'day all,

A hoist is out of the question unfortunately. I do not have room at our place so I change the tyres etc. at my Mums place, and I won't be putting a hoist up there in a real hurry :angel: She does have a large flat concrete surface just outside the garage that I can use quite happily for jacking and putting the vehicle on stands (she won't fit under the house anyway, too tall).

Thanks for all the advice, I'll keep looking.

[Grizzly_Adams]

How 'bout these? 1.8 Tonne Trolley jack (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1-8-Ton-Steel-High-Lift-Garage-Trolley-Jack_W0QQitemZ110145775346QQihZ001QQcategoryZ32053 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) and 6 Tonne Vehicle Stands (http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/item.aspx?itemid=1847070&shopid=1058)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I love the trolley jacks with pump up tyres,
makes moving them around so much easier,