I've got a lot of work planned for the Meotter this winter and I'm not massively happy with the current jack stands I have (regular 3 ton HF jack stands). I would very much prefer to find four that feel (a) less rickety and (b) are taller to give me more manoeuvring room under the car.
Any recommendations? Budget is obviously limited, but I don't mind spending a decent wedge on some jack stands if it's the last set I ever have to buy.
Get the 6ton versions or make your own from some flat stock and square tubing.
I should have mentioned that I'd rather trust crappy Chinese manufacture than my own welding in this particular case.
I am buying 2 sets of the tall 12 ton Harbor freight jack stands for the Vanette build. With a coupon I think they are about $60 a pair.
Name 12 Ton Jack Stands SKU 34924 Brand Central Machinery Material Ductile Iron Shipping Volume 2.49 Piece Count 2 Max Lift Height In Inches 30-1/8" Min Lift Height In Inches 19-1/2" Capacity 24,000 lbs
$47 / pair on free slow shipping, max lift height ~ 2 feet;
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/80037/10002/-1?parentProductId=751340
I have two sets and honestly I have a hard time using them at their max height because I have to get the car that high somehow. They seem very decent.
6x6 wood post cut into 1' sections is probably better than any jack stand and costs less. Hard for a block of wood to fail.
Also, take the cheapo ones you currently have and weld a plate of 1/4" to the bottom and they will feel a lot more solid for not a lot of $. Then you can set them each on a couple of blocks of 6x6 and raise them any height you want.
I've used the cheapo Chinese ones for over a decade now... had them at max height with the mr2 a few times and never an issue... (had to get em up to slide the engine out)
if I can fit the big stands under thats what I use... the footprint makes them so much more stable vs the smaller ones.
a miata isn't going to stress them... just as always do the shake test before you get under
er I'll also add... being a fat guy I tend to raise the car higher then most people do to move around comfortably...
I have two sets of the 6 ton HF model (with the red rubber pads), and I've been pleased with the height and stability they provide.
i have 4 of the HF 12 ton ones and had my dually up on them at max height for a few weeks. they got it up high enough to roll the transmission under the truck on the tranny jack. that's pretty high. i could sit up under it and not hit my head on the floorpan.
Geeeeez I know you guys know what you are doing but it still makes me nervous. A dually at max height on jack stands.........gulp.
In reply to Feedyurhed:
I'm almost more nervous under lighter stuff way up high. Takes less sideways force to send 'em over, and I don't even want something as gossamer as an engineless Rabbit landing on my head...
i have 2 pairs of Craftsman 6 ton stands that go up just a hair over 2 feet at full extension. they are very stable at full height as long as all 4 of them are making solid contact with the car.. i think they were $20 a pair about 10 years ago.
i also made a 6" jack saddle extension that allows me to actually get the car up high enough to use them at max height.
Feedyurhed wrote: Geeeeez I know you guys know what you are doing but it still makes me nervous. A dually at max height on jack stands.........gulp.
You'd love what we do at work sometimes. The only lift we have that can handle much over 6000lb is a drive-on. (I think it's rated to 5 or 6 tons) It doesn't have jacks in it like an alignment rack would. So, if you need to pull the wheels off of that Chevy 4500 dump with a bunch of landscaping crap in the back, you set it the axles down on these 4' tall jackstands...
It's not wobbly at all. Trust me, with that much weight, any free-play in the stands is locked down.
Time for a lift!
Actually I am tempted by this kind of lift, just not sure if I can swing it between the impromptu 325ix restoration and the recent house purchase.
Feedyurhed wrote: Geeeeez I know you guys know what you are doing but it still makes me nervous. A dually at max height on jack stands.........gulp.
Try lifting a crew cab long bed Dodge Cummings diesel dually on a 6k lift....
Ranger50 wrote:Feedyurhed wrote: Geeeeez I know you guys know what you are doing but it still makes me nervous. A dually at max height on jack stands.........gulp.Try lifting a crew cab long bed Dodge Cummings diesel dually on a 6k lift....
Overheard at an oral surgery clinic, while a doctor was looking at the day schedule: "Oh, he's a nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."
"What's that again?"
"He's so heavy that the chair doesn't lift, it just goes nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."
In reply to Knurled:
It did lift it, rather unhappily, but it did get lifted. Of course, once it was in the air, I put a 3 post jack under the trailer hitch as it was also a touch "unbalanced", but it was as far forward as I could get since my toolbox was in the way of going farther.
Knurled wrote: Overheard at an oral surgery clinic, while a doctor was looking at the day schedule: "Oh, he's a nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh." "What's that again?" "He's so heavy that the chair doesn't lift, it just goes nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."
I'll take "things that will make you laugh like an idiot in front of beautiful women at a resturaunt" for $1000, Alex 
I'm with oldopelguy, the 6x6's made into a stand are much more stable than any jackstand you can buy. Also, if for some reason the car were to shift and the stand were to roll over, they will catch the car about the time it hits your beer belly.
Knurled wrote: Overheard at an oral surgery clinic, while a doctor was looking at the day schedule: "Oh, he's a nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh." "What's that again?" "He's so heavy that the chair doesn't lift, it just goes nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."
Being a fat guy myself I probably shouldn't have laughed at this but a couple years ago I get a call for a bus with a stuck wheelchair lift. Not uncommon as they get used alot and sometimes act up. They are rated at 600 lbs but they will usually do a bit more. The bus is listing like Fred and Barney just got a rack of ribs and there is a ginormous woman and a very weary little scooter are about halfway up. The driver said the lift stopped moving and won't go up or down, he thinks it's overloaded, every time he hits hits the button the bus engine bogs down and the groans. She starts yelling that she's not that heavy, 2-250 tops. I tried to calm her down by saying it's probably the scooter but now she's trying to call a security guard over she thinks is a cop to arrest us for insulting her. I was able to lower her manually with a little hand crank which has to be pumped as hard to lower as to raise. I finally get her off and stow the poor lift and she took off for another bus, but on the way ran over a grate, collapsing it and causing her to get stuck as the helpless drive wheel kept spinning. We pushed her over to get moving and it was like pushing a Buick with a flat tire while wherever you tried to push from she would yell at you to stop groping her.
Wally wrote:Knurled wrote: Overheard at an oral surgery clinic, while a doctor was looking at the day schedule: "Oh, he's a nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh." "What's that again?" "He's so heavy that the chair doesn't lift, it just goes nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."Being a fat guy myself I probably shouldn't have laughed at this but a couple years ago I get a call for a bus with a stuck wheelchair lift. Not uncommon as they get used alot and sometimes act up. They are rated at 600 lbs but they will usually do a bit more. The bus is listing like Fred and Barney just got a rack of ribs and there is a ginormous woman and a very weary little scooter are about halfway up. The driver said the lift stopped moving and won't go up or down, he thinks it's overloaded, every time he hits hits the button the bus engine bogs down and the groans. She starts yelling that she's not that heavy, 2-250 tops. I tried to calm her down by saying it's probably the scooter but now she's trying to call a security guard over she thinks is a cop to arrest us for insulting her. I was able to lower her manually with a little hand crank which has to be pumped as hard to lower as to raise. I finally get her off and stow the poor lift and she took off for another bus, but on the way ran over a grate, collapsing it and causing her to get stuck as the helpless drive wheel kept spinning. We pushed her over to get moving and it was like pushing a Buick with a flat tire while wherever you tried to push from she would yell at you to stop groping her.
should have just left her stuck in the grate..
pres589 wrote: $47 / pair on free slow shipping, max lift height ~ 2 feet; http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/80037/10002/-1?parentProductId=751340 I have two sets and honestly I have a hard time using them at their max height because I have to get the car that high somehow. They seem very decent.
Might hafta check those out, looks good for trucks
otherwise I might fab my own
Ranger50 wrote: In reply to Knurled: It did lift it, rather unhappily, but it did get lifted. Of course, once it was in the air, I put a 3 post jack under the trailer hitch as it was also a touch "unbalanced", but it was as far forward as I could get since my toolbox was in the way of going farther.
Reminds me of the late 60s Bronco we serviced for a while. The truck that is the reason I think bedliner in the interior is a capital-B Bad Idea. (Good luck trying to cut it, and it's thicker than paint so you can't really use Nutserts without removing the bedliner from the area, complete CF to install a new seat)
Anyway, Broncos are short wheelbase and don't provide many good frame lifting options. This particular one had a winch bumper that probably weighed 200lb even without a winch on it. It was on the lift and co-worker leans on the light bar for something. I think it got up about 10-15 degrees by the time he jumped off and I ran to the back to pull it down.
It got a jackstand under the front after that.
(PS. Another bad idea? 35s and manual steering with a 10" steering wheel. We were installing a power steering setup from one of the Bronco parts suppliers. Made the truck immensely more drivable.)
Knurled wrote: Another bad idea? 35s and manual steering with a 10" steering wheel. We were installing a power steering setup from one of the Bronco parts suppliers. Made the truck immensely more drivable.)
How big were the owner's arms? 
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