The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest jacks and stands

Hi all, I am pretty new to this. I have a 58 3600. I need to buy a jack and stands. Questionis if the truck is 3 tons, Do I need a 3 ton jack and 3 ton stands or would a 2 or 2.5 version work? 3 tons is 3 times more $ than a 2
Rick

I think the 3600 weighs around 3600 pounds without any cargo, so that is a little over 1.75 tons. Presumably you are only lifting the front or the back, and the front weighs the most --- about 2000 pounds, so a 2 ton jack ought to handle that just fine. Since you support the front with two jack stands, each will carry about 1000 lbs, or 1/2 ton. So a two ton stand should be fine.

That being said, I if I had the dough, I would get the 3 ton stuff, because it should be better built and safer, and you never know but you might need 3 ton stuff in the future.


Kurt

I have 4 (STEEL) jack stands and they're 3 tons each and I would never use anything less. I only use 'em for 1/2 tons and my one daughter's Toyota pee-pot Corolla, but I feel pretty safe when I need to "go under".
Call me a coward if you will, but I think "too much" is way better than "maybe not enough" or "it looks OK so I hope it is".

"Over-kill" is fine by me.

JMO

3-ton stands from Harbor Freight, Sears, Tractor Supply and elsewhere sell for about $25-$30/pair

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-heavy-duty-jack-stands-38846.html

How 'bout this; Get ones that are really tall, provided your jack will lift that high. Its so nice to have more room under there when toiling.

Don't skimp on a floor jack. Make sure the handle will control the hydraulic release.

Where jacks and stands are concerned, bigger is always better. A "3-ton" stand, for instance, is actually the capacity of two stands. Each stand is designed to support 3,000 pounds, so the pair actually has the ability to support 3-tons. You'll need a hard, level floor, also. Jacks are for lifting only- - - -don't ever get under a vehicle supported only by a jack!
Jerry

Sorry, my bad, the max. GVW is 6900lbs. I take it that means truck and cargo. I thought that was the weight of the truck. (You can stop laughing anytime now).But I guess it is fairly unanimous, go big or go home. I'll get the 3 ton stuff. The other problem is the truck is quite high. 17" tires and double leaf springs. When I was looking at the 2 ton stuff they only went up to 16". Hopefully the 3 tons goes higher.

you don'need jackstands to work on a truck that big, you need a ladder

Rickyt, nobody will laugh at you, we'll all laugh with you since you obviously have a good sense of humor.
Good luck with your truck.

I have the greatest respect for Tim but I have to strongly disagree about buying Harbor Freight jack stands. I would never, never buy or use anything from HF that my life depends on, never. I've had so many chinese made tools fail that I refuse to crawl under a vehicle held up by equipment made there. It's your life so do as you wish but it's not for me.

I have also used a set of Harbor Freight 6 ton jack stands under my 2-ton 54/55 (Z-series) GMC COE with 25" flat bed. They had 100% stability.

They are much stronger and have a much wider and taller base (as would be expected) than the 3-ton HF stands that I have used regularly for many years on my 1/2 trucks.


For those of you who would like objective evaluations of jack stands, do not look here, check out the objective evaluations by Optimus Prime, Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, and Shockwave. (chuckle folks, chuckle)

I do not trust/mistrust those characters, but I trust my extensive personal experiences. BUT, I do not have an automatic xenophobic/sinophobic rejection of Chinese parts - I study the quality of the parts. Also, I guess that if the HF stands were so unsafe, HF would be broke from being sued by even a small percentage of the people injured by the failure of these stands (from the 1000s (10s of 1000s?) of people who have bought them).

If these stands were unsafe, you could bet that would be a lawyer's godsend.

By the way, Megatron sent me a PM to inform me that the highly rated ESCO stand is now made in China.

...lets just say "buyer beware". One brand may be good this year but the same item may not be very good the next. All that we discuss here is information and the more information, objective or not, helps me to make the "best" choice possible when I actually look at and inspect a piece before buying.

Products DO change from year to year...some better, some worse.

I hear ya guys. Will go for the big stuff and the best quality. Will need to do a little research up here
Thanks Rick

There are some well made chinese tools. A reputable company will establish quality specs and inspect the tools to verify those specs are being met. I've had SO many HF failures that I don't trust them with my life. It only takes once to kill you.

What does HF stand for

Harbour Freight.