Best Floor Jacks - Top Picks, Reviews & Complete Buying Guide

Floor Jacks: The Ultimate Buying Guide

If you do not want to spend more hours at a car mechanic or you have started auto-repairing and maintenance as a new hobby you will need a floor jack to lift your car so as to be able to do the job.

Since we know that buying a floor jack is not an easy task, we are offering you this buying guide with all the important things you need to know in order to buy the right tool for your needs.

Do I need a floor jack?

You need to know that a floor jack’s purpose is to lift vehicles.

The necessity of lifting a vehicle usually has to do with maintenance and repair related reasons.

So, if you do not repair it yourself, you do not need a floor jack.

However, if you do any kind of work on your car, then you definitely should get one.

How to determine whether to buy a 2-ton or 3-ton floor jack?

As you might conclude, a 3-ton jack can lift anything, while a 2-ton jack can lift only vehicles weighing that much.

So as to be sure that it will lift your vehicle, it is better to get a 3-ton jack.

Which one is the right for you can be determined if you look at the vehicle’s weight.

How can I know how much my vehicle weigh?

As the vehicle weight is important when purchasing a floor jack, you will have to get some information about it prior to purchasing a floor jack.

You can find your vehicle’s weight by looking it up in your vehicle’s manual or in the vehicle’s title deed, or by simply weighing the car at a weighbridge.

What you need to find out is whether your vehicle is more than 2-tons or not, being that the majority of cars are within the 2-ton range.

However, if you have SUVs and trucks, they can weigh between 2 and 3 tons.

How can I find the right minimum height of a floor jack?

Firstly, you need to determine how you will use a floor jack.

The minimum height is very significant.

The place of the jack is under your vehicle, thus it has to be low enough to get under it.

If the jack is not low enough you would not be able to do anything with it.

What you should do is to check your vehicle’s ground clearance, which is sometimes called the ride height.

This is the vertical distance between the lowest part of your vehicle and the base of the vehicle’s tires.

The vehicle’s ground clearance has to be more than the floor jack’s minimum height so that the jack can be useful.

What about the maximum height?

As we spoke about the minimum height, we have to mention that the maximum height also plays the crucial role when determining which floor jack to buy.

Once you place the jack under your vehicle at an appropriate jacking point, you will pump it until the vehicle is off the ground.

So as to be able to do the job, the vehicle has to reach an adequate height.

If it is reached, you stop pumping and place jack stands under your vehicle.

The conclusion is that you need to get the floor jack which will allow enough height so that you can do the job under your vehicle.

You have to know the answers to two questions so that you can determine how much height you require from your floor jack.

The first one is how much lift you need so that you can work comfortably under the vehicle and how much the floor jack can lift.

You are the only one that can tell whether the lift is sufficient for you to work well or not.

What are the features to have in mind prior to purchasing a floor jack?

We have already mentioned some of the most significant features of a floor jack, such as lift capacity, minimum height and maximum height.

Other characteristics you should look at the jack’s build quality, lifting mechanism, lifting arm, saddle, weight, mobility, and warranty.

• Build Quality: The material of which the jack is made is very important and the majority of tools are made of heavy duty steel. There are some of them that are made of cast iron which is prone to rusting is an issue. You should look for a model with anti-rust coating.
• Lifting Mechanism: If you want to lift your vehicle faster and with less effort and power, you should go for a model with a dual-pump, but you have to have in mind the fact that it is more expensive than a single pump model.
• Lifting Arm: You should know that the longer the lifting arm is, the easier it would be to lift the load. A long arm should be made of sturdy material so as not to break after a while. If you have enough budget, you should go for a single piece lift arm instead of a two-piece lift arm.
• Saddle: The saddle rests under the jacking point and it is designed to protect both the tool and the vehicle. There is kind of cushioning material on top of the saddle which reduces the damage to your vehicle at the jacking point.
• Weight: If you think about portability, weight can be an issue if you carry the floor jack around frequently. If you plan to use it just in your garage, weight is not that important.
• Mobility:  Sturdy and pivoting wheels are crucial for moving the jack with ease in case you plan to often move it around.
• Warranty: The warranty period equals the belief of producer in its product. The longer the warranty period, the better quality model .Usually, an expensive machine offer a more reliable warranty and 2-year warranty is considered ideal.

We believe that a well- informed buyer will be able to compare different brands and make the right decision easily.

I think I got it, what are my options?

If all the data provided here is not enough for you, we suggest you to do your own research and take a closer look at the product review section.

There you will find a product that suits your needs and by using the information you will know that it is the right one for you.

You can check other brands such as Torin, Liftmaster, and Arcan.

Conclusion

Now that we have gone through all the main pros and cons of the floor jacks, we can conclude that our top pick, the Powerzone 380044, which is a 3-ton floor jack, equipped with a rapid lift and low minimum height is the best of the best and available only to those who do not have a limiting budget, being that it is expensive.

The Torin T83006 is also a 3-ton floor jack with better lifting capacity than the 380044, but without the rapid lift technology.

When the 2-ton category is in question, we described the portable Liftmaster Hydraulic Trolley.

It provides a maximum height of only 13 inches so you might like the Arcan XL2T better as its maximum height is 24 inches.

Lastly, there’s the Hein-Werner HW93642, an all-American machine but also the most expensive model on our list.

If all the characteristics are taken into consideration, the Powerzone 380044 is the model you should go for, due to the great balance among its price, performance and durability.

I hope you liked my article about Floor Jacks, if so, please share or comment.