What jack do you use?

12 Ton Air Hydraulic Bottle Jack

HF 12-ton Air Jack. 19 7/8" max. lift lifts my '99 tall with stock tires just fine. I gave it a good workout when I did my frame swap (see sig). At some points, I had to use a brake rotor as a base for extra inches on that job. On the road, I just have the stock bottle jack. I've never had to use it in 20 years; my Michelins have been bullet proof. Off-road I carry a high-lift. I should upgrade the bottle for DD driving though.

I'm also looking for a good low-profile jack for the euro cars in the family fleet. (BMW3, Mini, 'Cedes, FIAT). Thanks for the suggestions on those.
 
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I am like the OP and have a bottle jack as I live in a apartment style complex and do not have a garage to keep one of them large jacks. Ca you all recommend a travel/portable jack other then a hi-lift? For instance would a 10 or 12 ton bottle work better as it is a taller? or is there another option?
 
I have a low profile Arcan XL35 3.5 ton from Northern Tool for about $130 I think it was (if your lucky enough to have NT in your area). Really happy with it. Costco sells a very similar Arcan jack for $100.

But for on the road I still have the Toyota screw jack. If I'm offroading I take wood to put underneath. Still need to figure it out. I like the look of the SafeJack bottle jack kits but they are very expensive. I've never actually had a flat in all my years of driving, knock on wood, but I consider tires one if the most critical components of a car so keep them up to snuff. I replace them after 5 years regardless of tread depth left.
 
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Thanks for the input. I think I know what my Christmas present is going to be this year. Those datona extra reach jacks look nice. I'm hoping to have a single, simple jack process that can get me up on jack stands without having to do the shuffle I normally do.
 
repo said:
I like the look of the SafeJack bottle jack kits but they are very expensive.
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Been using a few of Safe Jack's extensions & jack pads for about 5 years. They make my cheap 6 ton bottle jack significantly more functional but they're pricey. I carry the safe jack accessories, 6 ton bottle jack, wheel chocks & a few hockey pucks in a small bag for DD.

For my garage I have the hf aluminum 3 ton floor jack & yellow 3 ton Daytona (both purchased with coupons). The Daytona is much nicer to use but the aluminum is significantly lighter. I bought the aluminum jack several years ago when I lived in an apartment bc it was much easier to carry up/down several flights of stairs. It's still going strong but if I didn't have to carry it around I would have just gotten the yellow Daytona.
 
fourfive said:
Been using a few of Safe Jack's extensions & jack pads for about 5 years. They make my cheap 6 ton bottle jack significantly more functional but they're pricey. I carry the safe jack accessories, 6 ton bottle jack, wheel chocks & a few hockey pucks in a small bag for DD.

For my garage I have the hf aluminum 3 ton floor jack & yellow 3 ton Daytona (both purchased with coupons). The Daytona is much nicer to use but the aluminum is significantly lighter. I bought the aluminum jack several years ago when I lived in an apartment bc it was much easier to carry up/down several flights of stairs. It's still going strong but if I didn't have to carry it around I would have just gotten the yellow Daytona.
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I carry wheel chocks too which most people don't seem to bother with? But you cant always find a rock or log. I was looking at the SafeJacks again after I posted that and the starter kit is $179 which isn't too bad I suppose. But it doesn't come with the jack stand or base which really makes it "safe". I don't trust bottle jacks on their own much. But for a tire change it would do the job much better than the stock jack. I think most bottle jacks actually fit quite well on those plastic hi-lift bases so might get one of those.

The other option is those lightweight big wheel offroad floor jacks which look super nice. But again they are about $500. Could do double duty in the garage though if you didnt already have a floor jack.

I was reading about those yellow Daytonas and apparently they come from the same place Snap-on gets their $700 ones. They are basically the same, just HF doesn't have to mark them up like that.
 
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After fighting with jacks for years I splurged and got one of these. Amazing, and if you have on-board air then easy to take with you. I use 6x6 blocks to get it where I want it and let the air do the work.

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fourfive said:
Been using a few of Safe Jack's extensions & jack pads for about 5 years. They make my cheap 6 ton bottle jack significantly more functional but they're pricey. I carry the safe jack accessories, 6 ton bottle jack, wheel chocks & a few hockey pucks in a small bag for DD.

For my garage I have the hf aluminum 3 ton floor jack & yellow 3 ton Daytona (both purchased with coupons). The Daytona is much nicer to use but the aluminum is significantly lighter. I bought the aluminum jack several years ago when I lived in an apartment bc it was much easier to carry up/down several flights of stairs. It's still going strong but if I didn't have to carry it around I would have just gotten the yellow Daytona.
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I can use a higher lift floor jack and the popular HF Daytona Super Duty yellow is/was the plan.

Daytona™ Super-Duty Professional Car Jack

I now see the Daytona Professional green. It goes lower and about an inch higher than the Super Duty yellow. I'm inclined to get that one. Is there something in the design that makes the Super Duty (yellow) more desirable?

Daytona™ Long Reach Low Profile Heavy Duty Car Jack
 
TonyB66 said:
I can use a higher lift floor jack and the popular HF Daytona Super Duty yellow is/was the plan.

Daytona™ Super-Duty Professional Car Jack

I now see the Daytona Professional green. It goes lower and about an inch higher than the Super Duty yellow. I'm inclined to get that one. Is there something in the design that makes the Super Duty (yellow) more desirable?

Daytona™ Long Reach Low Profile Heavy Duty Car Jack
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I don' know if I remembered seeing that specific green jack when I was shopping for one. Other than a few cosmetic differences like the jack pad they seem to be the same in function. The extra inch of lift height is a nice feature of the green jack. The green has a 90 day warranty vs the 3 year on the yellow. I just bought the yellow one because I saw more reviews on it than the green.
 
I plan on getting the Daytona Super Duty yellow. It seems the consensus is the Yellow is the most popular and best for price.
 
fourfive said:
I don' know if I remembered seeing that specific green jack when I was shopping for one. Other than a few cosmetic differences like the jack pad they seem to be the same in function. The extra inch of lift height is a nice feature of the green jack. The green has a 90 day warranty vs the 3 year on the yellow. I just bought the yellow one because I saw more reviews on it than the green.
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In my haste, I didn't catch the warranty delta. Very noteworthy. Likely back to the Super Duty yellow... Thanks.
 
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