Jack Stands, to Carry or Not To Carry

That is of course the question I have. We are planning another longer roadtrip/off road/exploration X-mas trip and came up with that question. During the last trip (2016) we had zero problems. Shortly after that however we were in downtown LA and had a front CV joint fail. Parts of the cage came through the boot, it sounded like it was going to explode, it was a good time.
It clunked along until we could stop by a NAPA to grab a temp spare and then make it to a Harbor Freight parking lot in La Habra so I could buy a tarp and some jack stands to make the repair. Since then I've had these larger "truck sized" jack stands in the 4Runner. Space is at a premium on these trips already so I'm thinking of ditching them. And no, not because I think I can bench press a truck off of me. I just came come up with a scenario where I need stands, but don't need to stop by an auto parts store for parts first. Can anyone come up with a "trail fix" situation where you would want stands? It would suck to buy another pair, but I'm thinking its worth the risk vs dragging these along for the ride.

https://safejacks.com/collections/frontpage/products/12-x-12-compact-jack-stand-kit

That might be the best of both worlds, but I'm out of money and shipping time. Plus I think I could probably build my own version of that at some point. Just not sure who's going to test it! lol

Stick Figure said:

That is of course the question I have. We are planning another longer roadtrip/off road/exploration X-mas trip and came up with that question. During the last trip (2016) we had zero problems. Shortly after that however we were in downtown LA and had a front CV joint fail. Parts of the cage came through the boot, it sounded like it was going to explode, it was a good time.
It clunked along until we could stop by a NAPA to grab a temp spare and then make it to a Harbor Freight parking lot in La Habra so I could buy a tarp and some jack stands to make the repair. Since then I've had these larger "truck sized" jack stands in the 4Runner. Space is at a premium on these trips already so I'm thinking of ditching them. And no, not because I think I can bench press a truck off of me. I just came come up with a scenario where I need stands, but don't need to stop by an auto parts store for parts first. Can anyone come up with a "trail fix" situation where you would want stands? It would suck to buy another pair, but I'm thinking its worth the risk vs dragging these along for the ride.

https://safejacks.com/collections/frontpage/products/12-x-12-compact-jack-stand-kit

That might be the best of both worlds, but I'm out of money and shipping time. Plus I think I could probably build my own version of that at some point. Just not sure who's going to test it! lol

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Wow that’s quite and expensive jack stand.. What do you use to lift up the truck? You could probably get away with not having jack stands and be fine, is it necessarily safe? Probably not.. that’s your judgment to make imo..

The route I’m going is to just carry my oem bottle jack and an 8ton bottle jack. I most likely won’t carry jack stands or a hi lift.

I'll probably never do it, but I'd consider getting this: https://www.amazon.com/ARB-72X10-Orange-Bushranger-X-Jack/dp/B007RY5NTK

I usually have 2 bottle jacks and I throw the tire I take off under the frame.

I've put the spare tire under the frame and I've bought a jack stand when I've been away from my full suite of equipment. I've decided to take a jack stand along for future trips, but I put it in a storage bay in my motor home because there's only so much room in the 4Runner.

Stick Figure said:

https://safejacks.com/collections/frontpage/products/12-x-12-compact-jack-stand-kit

That might be the best of both worlds, but I'm out of money and shipping time. Plus I think I could probably build my own version of that at some point. Just not sure who's going to test it! lol

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Those look really nice, but jeez. Over $600 for a pair? You could flatbed home for that price!

The OP loves his tools but as a fellow tool hog I don’t know if even I would spend that kind of money on jack stands.

I usually just replace my Oreily CVs ever three years for peace of mind.

The OP takes great pics btw.....

2 in 1
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbu...+and}:rt+qu:{bottle+jack+and+stand+in+one}:qu

At a minimum take a bottle Jack. I prefer over rated bottlejacks. Factory Jack is barely adequate for a factory weight vehicle.

kball said:

2 in 1
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbu...+and}:rt+qu:{bottle+jack+and+stand+in+one}:qu

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Got a couple of those, and actually just put them away moments ago after finishing the TBU. I rarely use the floor jack now, but sometimes use it as a safety back-up. I like the very stable base on these compared to other jack stands. That looks to be a very good price too (seem to recall paying more)...

I carry a second jack (Humvee scissor jack, $40) when I go out remote camping and such. Just carry the stock bottle jack in the city.
If you expect needing to get under the car, bring one jack stand.
BTW, those Bushranger inflato jacks work, but you'll tossing it into the trash after about 6 years 'cause vinyl lasts about 6 years.
That extra scissors jack I bought will be good past my lifetime.

Get a hydraulic bottle jack, and carry a few pieces of 2x4 or maybe even 2x6 wood as well. You can typically just tuck the wood in anywhere, and its handy to have for chocking tires, or additional needed when using the jack. I would leave the jack stands at home. They are too heavy and take up too much space for a lengthy trip.

Reinout said:

I'll probably never do it, but I'd consider getting this: https://www.amazon.com/ARB-72X10-Orange-Bushranger-X-Jack/dp/B007RY5NTK

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I looked at that as well, but I've never seen it in person. It's also close to what the Safe Jack kit runs in price which is why I think I stopped considering it.

rkntoy said:

I usually have 2 bottle jacks and I throw the tire I take off under the frame.

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Always a good idea, but still not quite high enough to make sure the truck couldn't severally injure you if it did fall. Like I wouldn't be under the truck trying to pop that axle c clip loose on a high lift or bottle jack with that as my only safety. lol Would I throw it under while I fixed a brake caliper on a jack? Of course. I just would make sure my head was never inside the fender!

I_bRAD said:

Those look really nice, but jeez. Over $600 for a pair? You could flatbed home for that price!

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You aren't traveling far enough if you can get home for that cheap! lol I agree though they are way more than I want to spend. I think I would probably copy the design and build my own before spending that much.

LittleCaesar said:

The OP loves his tools but as a fellow tool hog I don’t know if even I would spend that kind of money on jack stands.

I usually just replace my Oreily CVs ever three years for peace of mind.

The OP takes great pics btw.....

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Thanks, and yes I'm a tool whore lol. Both axles were replaced with Toyota parts when we got back home, and the Napa sits as a spare just in case. I was just using that scenario since that's the reason we had to buy a set of stands on the road. If I have to do it again it's not a huge deal, but what I didn't want was to be on the trail and have everything I need to do a repair except a safe way to do it.

kball said:

2 in 1
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbu...+and}:rt+qu:{bottle+jack+and+stand+in+one}:qu

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I saw those mentioned on the Sportsmobile forum. The problem is that would actually take up more room than the two stands stacked together do!


So to sum this up. I'm going to stick with my decision to not carry stands. If something breaks that requires me to be under the truck again, I'm 99% certain I'm going to need to get it or at least me to the auto parts store first anyway. Carrying a spare $100 bill takes up a lot less room than these stands do, and I'm pretty sure I can find someone to make that trade if I'm in a pinch! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't over looking some obvious scenario. Thanks all for the input.

I don't carry jack stands but if you have the space, why not.

I had a steering knuckle failure on the trail earlier this year that left me in a pretty bad spot. Going about 20mph on flat ground the knuckle cracked where it holds the upper ball joint. Luckily we were able to source some parts from some local guys and have another buddy drive up a spare 3rd gen steering knuckle and repair on the trail. We didnt have a ball joint press so we got it "repaired" enough to get off the trail and have a tow truck come pick it up. Theres a writeup on TW https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/spindle-failure-trail-repair-success.559597/

We used two hi-lifts, a bottle jack, and put the tire under the 4runner, and worked on it like that all day. 2nd hi-lift not pictured here, we added it later. Not the safest but did the trick and never felt unsafe (only looked like it).

tcT4R said:

I don't carry jack stands but if you have the space, why not...........

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I've had the space on shorter trips. Longer trips means we drag more crap with us so that's where space becomes a premium. Longer trips also means I try to be extra cautious about how hard we push things and where we go. Back to your story, it kind of goes back to what I was saying. If you did feel that the jacking method wasn't safe, you could have asked your parts delivery driver to bring stands with him. That's kinda where I'm at here. They would be great to have but it's also a pretty easy to source item if you're broken to the point that you need them. Unless someone knows of an auto parts store that stocks everything for a 3rd gen but not a pair of stands lol.

A regular 6 ton stand with a plate welded to the bottom would work.
The foot print is about 12" x 12" x 16" would be easy to pack things around it
with how its shaped, probably 10lb's, cheap.

kball said:

2 in 1
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbu...+and}:rt+qu:{bottle+jack+and+stand+in+one}:qu

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That's a great looking product. If they sold a version with a minimum height of 8", I'd be all over that like stink on a 4Runner owner. That would be very handy around the shop for working on other vehicles. I don't think I'd take them with me on the road though... as someone else said, pretty bulky.

tvpierce said:

That's a great looking product. If they sold a version with a minimum height of 8", I'd be all over that like stink on a 4Runner owner. That would be very handy around the shop for working on other vehicles. I don't think I'd take them with me on the road though... as someone else said, pretty bulky.

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For the garage, I really like these. They are useless on some family cars, and most certainly lowered sports cars though. I wasn't able to use these until I got the 4Runner last year actually...

AND, they are dang heavy, in addition to taking-up much space. Not something I'd want to be lugging-around.

I woudln't get the ARB one (no offense to them, just too small of a wallet): This maybe: https://www.amazon.com/Honhill-Oran...id=1544814038&sr=8-3&keywords=inflatable+jack