F-150 Owner Looking for the Best Floor Jack
Whether you’re on a budget or not, there are plenty of great floor jack options on the market.
The massive aftermarket we enjoy as F-150 owners can be both a blessing and a curse. After all, choices are a good thing. And competition only makes product offerings cheaper and better. But with so many products on the market, how are you supposed to know which one is the best? It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at least once in our lives.
Product opinions are one of the more popular questions we get here at F-150 Online, and for good reason. Our members have owned or tried out many different parts and products in their time, after all. So when StevenRamos011 needed a new floor jack for his garage, he wisely headed there for advice.
“My friends and I are looking to buy a new floor jack to get some work done on my garage! I drive a 2006 Ford F-150. There are a lot of options online and not sure which one would fit best for my truck. Which one would you recommend? I was looking at a list of best floor jacks and I’m not sure which one would be best.”
Roadie quickly chimes in with some advice. But as most of us already know, a lot of stuff just ain’t built like it used to be.
“I bought a floor jack from Sears in 1974 for $175, $869.99 in 2017 dollars. It was a great jack. Had a 21” of lift and would lift the same distance in one pump, loaded or unloaded. It lasted more than 30 years before the seals failed. I still have it but haven’t rebuilt it.
I replaced it with a “Michelin” jack bought at Sam’s Club for $60 about 10 years ago. It has a high lift and will go up quickly unloaded but takes many pumps to get a car up. It is still working but isn’t in the same class as the commercial duty jack I bought from Sears in 1974.
I also bought a cheap floor jack for my son as a present from Advance or Auto Zone. It didn’t have a high lift and took many pumps to jack up anything and it didn’t last that long. So, if you want a really good jack buy a commercial duty jack. But, a cheaper one, like my “Michelin” jack, will probably do the job.
Look at the lift range, price, construction, and height of the jack if you have a really low vehicle you may want to use it on.”
For the budget conscious, CJB XLT has a different recommendation. “I bought an inexpensive one at Harbor Freight several years ago and it has served me well.” KC8FLB also recommends a Harbor Freight jack, albeit not the cheapest one.
“I have that same “Michelin” jack. It works great and it gets good use more than a few times a year.
If I were to buy a jack today, I would buy the “Daytona” at Harbor Freight for $200 minus any coupons you can come up with. It is the same as a Snap On FJ1200 jack that sells for $600.
Don’t forget that a jack is important, but MORE important (seriously) is jack stands. When you work on vehicles, you use a jack to raise the vehicle and then securely support it on jack stands. The jack is not safe enough to work under. You also need wheel chocks.”
Harbor Freight jacks, along with Craftsman, are all heartily recommended by tbear853.
“I have a Craftsman 3-ton that’s been great for 30+ years and three aluminum 1.5 or 2-ton racing jacks from HF as well as a low clearance 3-ton from HF that all have been great. The smaller aluminum RJs hang on my wall near by my work on cars/bike area. I use the 3-ton on trucks, and generally use the smaller ones to lift one car wheel at a time.”
And if you’re a Costco member, Bonder recommends their specific jack as well.
“I picked up a 3-ton Blackjack from Costco. That and some 6-ton stands have been perfect for my ’04”
All of which are great recommendations for different budgets. Do you have a floor jack worth adding to the list? Head over here and let us know which one works best for you!
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