Good trolley jack

veganrun

Thinking of investing in a trolley jack and set of axle stands just so I can do some home DIY and servicing.

Was checking out Halford's trolley jacks (the orange ones) and they don't have great reviews from what I can see.

Any recommendations for good trolley jacks? I drive a Nissan Almera so I wouldn't need it to jack up a bus or anything

Interslice

veganrun wrote: »

Thinking of investing in a trolley jack and set of axle stands just so I can do some home DIY and servicing.

Was checking out Halford's trolley jacks (the orange ones) and they don't have great reviews from what I can see.

Any recommendations for good trolley jacks? I drive a Nissan Almera so I wouldn't need it to jack up a bus or anything

The lidl one does the job grand. Good sturdy build quality. Ultimate speed is the name of them!

If I was spending money on one I'd go for a bigger 3t jack with more lift. Only 30cm out of these smaller ones.

canhefixit

+1 for the one lidl sells

I bought one about 4 years ago and it has been well used and was a great buy

veganrun

Cool. Must keep an eye out for when they have them back in stock.

bazz26

+1 for the Lidl trolley jack, does the job for me. Lifts up to 3 tones so should have no problem lifting an Almera.

colm_mcm

I have a McAnax 3 ton one for years that I got in Top Part. Think it was only €25 or €29

dr.fuzzenstein

I got an orange jack from Halfords and it's no different from the Lidl ones. There isn't a lot that could be different, it's a small jack, not much scope for large differences.
The one thing that is different is the handle. On the Lidl one it swivels, on the Halfords one it doesn't, so it will always stick straight out the back. That would be the one thing.

macplaxton

I've got a no-name one I found in the shed, but it's cack. I've also get a yellow Halfords one and a Clarke 2T mega heavy hi-lift one (but that's in Glasgow).

This www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/88590/trolley-jack-reviews-product-group-test might give you some pointers as to what to look for in a trolley jack.

I like my Clarke one, despite it weighing in at 37kg, it at least can get a car high enough to get the axle stands high enough so I can get my gut under the car.:o

veganrun

macplaxton wrote: »

I've got a no-name one I found in the shed, but it's cack. I've also get a yellow Halfords one and a Clarke 2T mega heavy hi-lift one (but that's in Glasgow).

This www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/88590/trolley-jack-reviews-product-group-test might give you some pointers as to what to look for in a trolley jack.

I like my Clarke one, despite it weighing in at 37kg, it at least can get a car high enough to get the axle stands high enough so I can get my gut under the car.:o

Sounds like I might need a Clarke one too

CJhaughey

I have one of the small 2t ones, its OK but for home use I have a 7t one and the difference between them is night and day.
I don't need 7t of lift but the ease with which it lifts the car is amazing.
4x4's no problem as it has lifts high enough to reach the axle on any 4x4 I have had.
The length of it also means its very stable.
For home use I'd buy the biggest one you can afford TBH.

macplaxton

Don't have that racing-snake physique I used to...

A cheap one is fine for the odd use. For extra height, it's the messing with blocks of wood and great care to get the extra height that I can't be doing with. Plus the bigger ones have a more generous size lifting pad rather than a euro coin to lift things with.

The only drawback I'd say for the heavy ones are is that if you don't have a wheelable path from wherever you store it to where you'll be working with it, it's going to be a right old chore getting it out to start work.

veganrun

Storage wise I'm ok in that respect.

Where can you buy one of the bigger ones? Think I'd prefer not to buy online and would rather get one from a physical store. I'm in the north too btw so somewhere local would be good.

macplaxton

Do bear in mind some things are just re-badges.

Take for instance the Clarke I linked to above. Machine Mart sells them in 2 and 3 ton versions. I think the starting heights are 135/145 and the max heights are 485/500.

Anyway, this for all intents and purposes looks like it's from the same Chinese factory: http://www.tfortools.co/mcanax-3-ton-floor-trolley-jack-3-ton-axle-stands-5513.html Although the two pictures have two different brands on the stickers...

Motor factors sometime do them. Tool dealers.

I've never dealt with T for Tools, but I suppose if you give them a call you could ask what they have and see for yourself.

Other than that, you could stake-out liquidation/bankruptcy auctions for some rebuildable ex-garage monster jack!

5500

Did you pick up a jack? Im on the lookout for a good one thats going to last myself too. I had a lidl one for years but it's just about dead/falling apart and I really need something with low entry. I was looking at this sealey below, anyone any experience with it or aluminium jacks in general?

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/jacks-chassis-stands/sealey-trolley-jack-2-5-tonne-aluminium-steel-rocket-lift-rjas2500

veganrun

Not yet. I'm not sure now which one to go for and I'm considering a Halford's one as I'm not sure I'd use it a lot so it might be a waste to spend lots of money on a more professional one.

Having said that, it seems to take an eternity to jack a car up with a Halford's one so hard to know what to do.

nd

Got this one 5 years ago ( it was 22 euros back then)

http://www.irishautoparts.ie/single-part.aspx?PartNumber=1712101

use it a few times a month on average and it's working as well as the day I got it.

Great for the money, but of course greater lifting height would be handy.

veganrun

Ended up going for a Halford's one. http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-workshop/trolley-jacks/halfords-2-tonne-trolley-jack

Went to a parts place as well and looked at a Draper heavy duty 2 tonne jack. I'm not sure if 2 tonnes was how much it weighed too as I tried lifting it and it barely budged!

Will see how this one goes anyway.