Best Floor Jack for the Money (2021) – Top Picks Reviewed & Compared
In this article we go over our top 5 picks to find the best floor jack for the money in 2021. These floor jack reviews are here to help you buy a good one, and at a good price. Owning a good floor jack is crucial to your safety.
Although most options you pick from amazon will be reasonable, there are some duds out there. We’ve scoured through countless consumer reviews to come up with this list in order to help you out.
But first before we get started, a quick note on safety. You should never get under your vehicle with just a floor jack holding it up, the weight should be supported by jack stands.
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Best Floor Jack for the Money – Our Top 5 Picks
Table of Contents
The purpose of this article is to help you to get good value for money when you go shopping for a new floor jack. After reading through these reviews you should have a pretty good idea of which one is right for you. If you’re still looking for more information after reading the reviews, check out the buyer’s guide at the end of the article.
Blackhawk B6350 Floor Jack
This floor jack from blackhawk is reasonably quick, and extremely durable. It’s also easy to store away in tight places. This floor jack has a whopping 3.5 ton capacity, so it can lift even larger vehicles like trucks and sedans.
The blackhawk is made from heavy duty steel that you can rely on to stay rigid under load. It will also easily put up with regular wear and tear that it undergoes during use. The downside of heavy duty steel is that the tool is not light. It being so heavy makes it a little difficult to lug around (it weighs about 85lbs).
Another downside of this tool is its price. It is well on the steep side as far as price goes. If you’re on a tight budget you might want to look for something that costs a little less. However the high price does reflect great quality. Overall this is a great option for your garage, if you can afford the price tag.
Torin T83006 Big Red Hydraulic Trolley Floor Jack
The Torin T83006 is a highly affordable option which makes this our number one pick for best value. It can be used on sedans, trucks, and SUVs. It has wheels that can rotate 360 degrees making moving it about and navigation much easier than some other common models.
This floor jack is great at accommodating trucks and SUVs because it has an extendable neck to give you more clearance. Despite it being quite large, it’s still quite portable weighing only 43 lbs (The blackhawk option above weighs much more at 85 lbs).
As with all things, there are some trade offs. Namely the mobility and light weight design of this jack comes at the cost of durability. This floor jack isn’t quite as strong as our top pick, however for the price it is a really good option for work that is more on the lighter end of things.
Arcan ALJ3T 3-Ton Aluminum Floor Jack
This is our number one choice as far as the premium options go, however it is not our number one pick overall because of its steep price tag. If you’re in the market for a good high end floor jack then this would likely be the best choice for you. The Arcan features aircraft grade aluminum that is strong, durable and still very light weight.
It has dual pistons which are designed to make the lift factor fast and stable, and most crucially, safe. This floor jack also takes into account your vehicles well-being as it is padded in the part that touches the car. It has a tough rubber surface which is durable, but soft enough to not scratch your car.
Overall this is a great floor jack, and has a plethora of high end features to accompany the high price tag. If you’re comfortable dishing out some extra cash for a premium product then this should be your number one pick.
Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton Floor Jack
This floor jack from Pittsburgh is heavy duty (3 Ton) so it is great for lifting trucks, SUVs and the like. It’s also perfectly fine for smaller vehicles as well, like hatchbacks and sedans. This tool is pretty compact considering its durability and capacity. But despite being compact it is on the heavier side weighing in at 79 lbs, so it’s not the easiest model to move about the garage.
It’s worth noting that some consumers have complained that the part which makes contact with your vehicle is unfortunately quite rough. This can result in some scrape marks or scratches being left behind. For some users this could be a deal breaker. Not all people who used this jack reported this experience, but enough did to warrant us putting this warning here. Although overall this is a very good tool, and ticks the boxes required to be a good floor jack for use in your garage.
Liftmaster Low Profile Steel Floor Jack
The liftmaster low profile floor jack has a whopping 3 ton lifting capacity which means it can easily work with trucks and SUVs. It’s also great for working with smaller vehicles like sedans.
It’s constructed from high quality steel, so it is very durable. It also features well functioning wheels which ensure it can move about easily despite being pretty heavy. The part of this tool which makes contact with your car is also coated in a foam surface to make sure it doesn’t scratch your vehicle.
Overall this is a good product at a decent price. Although, a review wouldn’t be complete without first listing some gripes that consumers have – some consumers have noted that even though the wheels work very well, their build quality is fragile. So they could break which would be very inconvenient.
Best Floor Jack Buyer’s Guide
If after reading through the reviews above you’re still unsure about which floor jack to buy, we hope to clear things up in this section. Here we will discuss in more detail some of the considerations that you need to make in order to make a well informed decision when you’re shopping.
Types of floor jacks
One thing you might want to consider when you’re shopping for a floor jack is that there are a few different types for you to choose from. The options vary from basic scissor jack style tools, to industrial hydraulic jacks which are certainly overkill for some.
The different types of floor jacks come at a variety of different prices, the cheapest is the manually driven scissor jack style, which if you’re on a very tight budget could suit you. However this style of jack isn’t suitable for proper maintenance of your car or truck, and is generally only used in emergency situations.
Professional work, or maintenance of vehicles requires a good floor jack. People usually favor a hydraulic jack for this. If you do a lot of work on your car a hydraulic jack would be a great addition to your garage.
How Stable is it?
Obviously your floor jack needs to be extremely stable as your safety is at risk otherwise. The thing that isn’t so obvious however is knowing whether a floor jack will be stable or not. A number of factors determine the stability of a given jack.
For instance, cast iron is very durable, and so is steel. But these are not light weight materials. So jacks made from these materials may be more suitable to professionals than DIY people. Aluminum is another popular choice, it is durable, and yet relatively lightweight.
Can it be stored well?
Whether or not you can effectively store your floor jack is an important thing to consider. They can be surprisingly difficult to move around and store in the garage. Depending on the capacity and level of sophistication a given floor jack has it might be a real pain to store.
Features that make it easy to store a floor jack can really make the experience of using it much more pleasant. For example wheels make them a lot easier to move around so having wheels is a major benefit. Furthermore, some of them can fold inwards on themselves making a smaller overall size to be stored. Because you may have a limited space in your garage it’s a good idea to keep an eye open for these features.
Will it scratch the car?
You need to think about whether or not it matters if your car gets a little scratched. Some floor jacks are rough at the part which makes contact to your car which can result in scuff marks. To mitigate this issue some of the more premium models have padded parts at the area that goes in contact with the truck/car. It’s not a huge feature, but it’s definitely something worth considering if you care about your vehicle.
Weight Capacity
Not all floor jacks are suited to a given vehicle as they may not have a sufficient capacity. For example the owner of a small hatchback car has a different weight requirement to the owner of a truck or SUV. The easiest way to cover all your bases is to get a floor jack which has a very high weight rating.
With a floor jack that has a high weight rating you won’t need to worry about the weight of your vehicle most of the time. The drawback of having a more heavy-duty model is that they’re obviously harder to move due to the added weight. And they also might be overkill in terms of price. This is because the higher weight rated jacks tend to be much higher in price.
The key point in regard to your safety is to use a jack that is at least rated for the weight of your vehicle. Not doing this and using a lightweight jack on a heavy vehicle can be very dangerous for your safety.
Floor Jack Frequently Asked Questions
A floor jack is a must have item in anyone’s garage, especially if you often work on cars or trucks. A good floor jack can make the difference between a job being easy and a job being extremely difficult, so it’s important you understand the requirements for buying one. We’re here to help so let’s start by taking a look at some commonly asked questions
Q: What is a Floor Jack?
Basically a floor jack is just a tool designed to raise your car up off the ground so you have access to the underneath side for maintenance. This is necessary whenever you want to change a tire, or change your oil for example.
Q: Why should I buy a Floor Jack?
Maybe you shouldn’t if you don’t do any maintenance on your car yourself. But if you do, it’s clear that you can’t get much done without owning one of these handy items. An oil change is so much simpler when you have the ability to jack up your vehicle.
Q: How do Floor Jacks function?
They work using either hydraulic power or the manual ones use good old fashioned mechanical power. The mechanically operated ones tend to be much cheaper and therefore more common. But the downside is that using a mechanical floor jack requires a serious amount of effort and elbow grease. Unless you don’t mind hard physical work, we recommend a hydraulic floor jack
Q: What capacity should my Floor Jack be?
How big your floor jack needs to be depends on your vehicles weight and size. You should opt for one which can handle at least the weight of your own vehicle just to be on the safe side.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion the Blackhawk is our top choice due to its high quality feature round up. However it is fairly pricey so you should keep in mind there are options on this list which are more affordable and still high quality. Hopefully after reading through the reviews and buyer’s guide you’re well equipped with all of the relevant information necessary to buy a good floor jack. Ultimately if you choose any one of the floor jacks on this list you can’t pick poorly, as we have thoroughly researched all of these options and found them to be compelling.
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