Trolley jacks - What's the best?

[trigger]

Yo, I want to upgrade my shite £25 Wilco car jack for something a little more manly but i don't know what to go for, I'll find one i like until i read the review for it and then decide it's not going to last so i need to real world advice really.

 

I don't really want to spend more than £50 and it needs to have a better range than my current 135mm-330mm and feel stable, I've got two jack in mind at the moment but i need some help to know if they are any good or even some other recommendations.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121722888408?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

There's this one which I'm edging towards buying, It also comes in red and costs £47.90 plus i have a Ebay 10% voucher making it about £42. I like Sealey stuff but there's some very mixed reviews about it.

 

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ctj2250lp-2-25-tonne-low-profile-trolle/

 

And this is the other, It goes nice and low which can be a help as well as slightly higher than my current one and it's it's a good make.

 

What do you lot think?.

[Andrew353w]

I bought a hydraulic JCB jack several years ago and it's never let me down! It was sold as a D.I.Y. jack but it's worked as almost a professional one on an almost daily basis without fault! Being bright yellow there's little likelyhood of overlooking it when tidying one's tools away, too!

[Kiltox]

Spend £20 more and get one that lowers by twisting the handle rather than arsing about with the little valve

 

I have a 3T one from SGS and it's been great

[panhard65]

If you are a member of costco or know someone who is then get one of their trolley jacks. They are a little bit over your price range about £90 but far safer with a proper top plate that is just under 5 inches diameter. They will lift 2 ton and costco will refund it if it ever goes wrong. I use them professionally and have taken 2 back over 10 years. Each time they give me a refund and I go buy another. There little ones with a tiny little top plate aren't worth the risk in my opinion.

[Junkman]

Buy a pre-1986 one from a bankruptcy sale.

Make sure it says 'Made in England' on it, not 'Made in China'.

[trigger]

Someone else said about Costco but my nearest one is in Thurrock which is MILES away. 

[fordperv]

I've got the Clarke one and it's great the bonus with it is the handle pivot moves ideal if your jacking up in tighter spaces e.g near a wall or next to another car, even better buy if there's a vat free day

[Lankytim]

I got mine from Euro car parts with a discount code. Seems alright!

[Tamworthbay]

Stretch your budget a little and go for 'pro' type from Clarke and they are great.

[I_am_Diesel]

I've got a Sealey Steel/Aluminium trolley jack. I must say that it's pretty good. I prefer to turn the handle to lower rather than remove handle and turn separate valve. My advice is buy the most expensive that you can afford. Get some stands too, safety first!

[Station]

Check the clip that holds the lever arm goes in (or not) onto the hydraulic press bit is decent, these break on cheap trolley jacks. The crap ones have a U shaped clip, have destroyed many jacks this way.

[inconsistant]

 

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ctj2250lp-2-25-tonne-low-profile-trolle/

 

And this is the other, It goes nice and low which can be a help as well as slightly higher than my current one and it's it's a good make.

 

What do you lot think?.

 

I got this one from Machine Mart when they did 25% off. It's had light use over the 18 months I've had it. I'd guess it's been used 20-30 times max, most of those have been swapping my parents winter/summer tyres over.

It's OK but I wouldn't get another one. It's useful that the handle is a wheel nut wrench, and that it has a couple of sizes of sockets provided.

The handle/wrench broke after changing two wheels (10 wheel nuts!) it broke under the black plastic ribbed bit where the solid metal bit goes inside the red tube. The tube split. It wobbled a bit when new and each tightening bent it further.  I got a replacement no probs but I reckon it's just a matter of time before this one does the same. 

 

It leaks oil from the hydraulic bit just under where you stick the handle/wheel wrench bit, and the handle doesn't really work that well as a wheel wrench because it tends to foul wheel arches, unless the wheels are flush with the bodywork, because the metal bit goes quite deep into the provided sockets.

The black bit that the sockets are stored in fell off as one of the nut/bolts came lose.

 

Also the bayonet slot where the handle goes into the jack has bent open a bit so the handle can't be used to pull the jack along as it pulls straight out.

 

The wheels have damaged the tarmac on the drive by digging in, but if I put a bit of board under it I loose the benefit of the low entry. it 'just' fits under the front valance of the 924. Dropping the car down is tricky to do gently and worries me a bit.

 

The one good thing is that it's got low entry, especially useful if your shite is low slung like mine and has a flat tyre. I can't get it to lift the car any higher than the bottom notch of my adjustable axle stands though, unless I then re-jack the car up off the stands with 3x2 wood between the jack and the cross member to give extra height.

 

Summary: only buy this if low access is important, otherwise don't the quality is shit. Shame, I thought Clarke were a good make.

(I only have experience with this jack so the above is all relative to my expectations rather than other trolley jacks).

[Bstardchild]

If you are gonna use it frequently then save more and buy better, I've had one of those, bought as an emergency purchase when my sealey one died after 15 years. It was rubbish and when the E38 fell off it as a result of a small point of contact it was binned and I went and bought another sealey one

 

Link should work, search for the model code

 

http://www.sealey.co.uk

 

3000CXD £93 in new year sale

 

Nice big cup for contact, twist handle release and lock, wide floor print so nice and stable till you get the stands under. Frankly all the aspects that compromise the one you are looking at.

 

Last one did 15 years and it wasn't the jacks fault it failed, I been grinding under a car and the Catherine wheel sparks generated had been hitting the ram, the seals didn't like the shaft much after that.

[gordonbennet]

Probably the most important tool the home shiteist mechanic will ever buy, and in my humble one should avoid far eastern crap at all costs.

I prefer pro quality for things like this, my previous one cost well over £100 over 30 years ago (prob a round 35 now i think about it) and served me well all through my kerbside cowboy days, it's Weber replacement cost about a fiver under £300 around 3 years ago, the original enjoys semi retirement now with my son and its never broken or leaked, hopefully it'll see me out and then do my lad good service.

 

The pro quality you find infinitely variable and easily controllable lowering control, this is where the cheap stuff lets itself down every time.

 

In a previous thread about Jacks only a few months ago, i linked to a special offer on a Weber £100 off at one of the tool places at £200 give or take a few quid, that's serious value for something properly made, might seem bloody dear but so will an injury or worse be if a cheap shit thing fails just as you place some axle stands.

[PiperCub]

I've got one of those 2.25Tonne Clarke ones too - very good bit of kit and low too so will go under most cars so can recommend. 

 

If you sign up to MM's mailing list (if you aren't already) they will send you discount (VAT free on Clarke gear) offer day info (spend total of over £50 though) so may pay to wait until they are doing one of these offers.

[mat_the_cat]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121722888408?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

There's this one which I'm edging towards buying, It also comes in red and costs £47.90 plus i have a Ebay 10% voucher making it about £42. I like Sealey stuff but there's some very mixed reviews about it.

 

I've got that in red - had it for around 10 years and feels pretty well made. Would be nice to have a handle which swivelled and lowered the jack though, but at this price range I'd rather it went towards construction rather than frills.

 

A few years ago it developed an internal leak so would sag after a while. Not a great lifespan but I was able to buy a complete overhaul kit for under £2. I was actually more pleased it was rebuildable in this day and age, than I was disappointed at the failure in the first place!

 

No obvious damage to the sealing surfaces, so assume it was a defect in the rubber somewhere.

[Bren]

I bought one of the clarke ones with the extra low saddle - sick of driving moderns onto pieces of wood to jack them up.

[trigger]

Lots of food for thought on here, I'm not going to be using it all the time like a garage would but I do use them a fair bit when playing with my cars and i don't want something that's going to fail on me or give up the ghost after a couple of years.

 

My current one is very temperamental when lowering, it's a bit all or nothing which isn't ideal when lowering a car onto axle stands!. my dad has a big blue Weber one which is a great piece of kit but It was very expensive even though he never uses it as he don't want to get it dirty... Don't ask!.

 

My only problem with a jack that has the big handle is that i often have to work near my garage wall and i don't know if I'll have enough leverage with a long handle with the wall in the way.

[mat_the_cat]

In that case one with a swivel handle sounds a good bet, I sometimes have to just use a ratchet handle instead of the jack handle to pump it up.

[Bstardchild]

In that case one with a swivel handle sounds a good bet, I sometimes have to just use a ratchet handle instead of the jack handle to pump it up.

The swivel handle ones are frequently two piece, on mine I leave the bolt that holds both parts together loose so that if I am in a tight spot it takes seconds to remove. It is however a work out using it with a half length handle.

[Richard]

I've a feeling that green jack is exactly the same as my disposable Lidl job.

[trigger]

I can get a Sealey 3000CXD for £94 (inc postage) here which seems the cheapest, still a little over budget but probably cheaper than the top one over time.

 

https://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-352708/sealey-3000cxd-3tonne-standard-chassis-trolley-jack.html

[cort16]

That Sealey one looks good. The main problem with cheap jacks is they won't fit under the car and you can never get it up enough (oo-er mrs).

The only thing is it might be a bit big depending on the space you've got to keep it. 

[Tickman]

Try this place, I have had some of there stuff and is usually pretty good.

 

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/trolley-jacks

[dugong]

If you put a Halfords trolley jack near Station it will be broken when you come back.

CHAOS THEORY

[UltraWomble]

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/trolley-jacks/tj3x-3-ton-trolley-jack

 

That looks reasonable for under £60.

3 Tonne as I royally fooked a Halfrauds 2T one jacking the C8. It went pop and sicked up its oil.

[UltraWomble]

[Thick as a whale omelette Question]

Which is better - bottle or trolley jack for most "normal" car use?

I can pick up a higher capacity bottle jack cheaper than a trolley and they take up less space / are lighter. Im just thinking of something around the 3T or 4T mark for the C8 for odd wheel changes and the like and axle stands if I need to go under for whatever reason...

[/Thick as a whale omelette Question]

[trigger]

I'd say it's because a trolley jack is much more stable than a bottle jack which can easily slip over.

[Tickman]

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/garage-equipment/trolley-jacks/tj3x-3-ton-trolley-jack

 

That looks reasonable for under £60.

Also plus Vat so £70. but free delivery. 

I have been looking for a decent one but am after height as a priority so still looking.

 

I did treat* myself to a normal 2 ton sealy jack from Machine Mart to replace my £20 Lidl one. The Lidl one is much better to use and has put up with mor abuse and survived better than the over twice as expensive replacement!

I was not impressed.

[gordonbennet]

pteonline.co.uk is just about the cheapest source for Webers, they've also got a cheaper non Weber 3.2t jack @ £95 so that'll be plus vat and del (probably) which looks a seriously sturdy bit of kit.