Floor Jack Extensions

motovan_mn · 09-22-2023, 10:01 AM

Hi everyone,

I have a H1 scissor jack w/ Agile Offroad adapter that I keep in the van for emergencies. However I'm currently looking at purchasing a floor jack that I can use while I'm at home. What I'm debating is whether I should buy two separate jacks - one for my daily driver (would require a low profile jack) and one for the van, or if I could get away with a single low profile jack + an extension adapter like this one:

Floor Jack Extension Kit

It feels "wrong" to have such a long extension on the lifting pad of a floor jack. Any lateral force at the lifting point of the extension would exert a torque where the extension attaches to the jack and could be a potential failure mode. Of course the van would immediately be lowered onto jack stands.

I think the regular low profile jacks should have plenty of lift (19-20" max lift height) if I'm jacking up the van on the diff cases and just enough lift on the axle tubes, but they would certainly not allow me to lift by the frame rails. For reference, the van has a 6" lift and is on 35" tires.

What is everyone's preferred method of jacking up their van in their garage or driveway?

kbeefy · 09-22-2023, 10:12 AM

How low and high do you need to go? The Harbor freight 3 ton gets good reviews and goes from 3 1/2" to 23". I have the snap on jack that it copies and its a really nice jack.

I have a couple extensions by Pro-Eagle... They are OK for my 2000# sxs but I wouldn't use them on my truck.

A nice big chunk of wood beam (like 6x12) makes a pretty good jack extension.
You just need to understand that floor jacks move as they rise, so be aware of it if your lifting something that can't roll with the jack, or if the surface is too rough for the jack to move on it's own.

motovan_mn · 09-22-2023, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbeefy

How low and high do you need to go? The Harbor freight 3 ton gets good reviews and goes from 3 1/2" to 23". I have the snap on jack that it copies and its a really nice jack.

I have a couple extensions by Pro-Eagle... They are OK for my 2000# sxs but I wouldn't use them on my truck.

A nice big chunk of wood beam (like 6x12) makes a pretty good jack extension.
You just need to understand that floor jacks move as they rise, so be aware of it if your lifting something that can't roll with the jack, or if the surface is too rough for the jack to move on it's own.

Ah interesting, I now see that the Daytona 3-ton offerings from HF go to 23". The 3-tons I was looking at (pittsburg brand) only went to 19.5". Either way, I would only need to lift the van high enough to get it on a jack stand and remove a wheel.

Great point about the jack needing to roll as well, hadn't thought of that.

kbeefy · 09-22-2023, 10:33 AM

Any time I can't get the 3 ton under a vehicle pinch weld I drive it onto a couple wood blocks for extra clearance.

Never had an issue with normal vehicles, only with really low vehicles like exotics, racecars, some corvettes etc...

aarcaris · 09-22-2023, 10:38 AM

When I was doing my 4x4 conversion I quickly realized that my floor jack was not tall enough so I ended up getting a Jack extension similar to the one you linked from 911 motorsports. I wouldn't say that it inspires the same level of confidence as a normal jack setup, but it got the job done! I also had to use multiple concrete pads to get my jack stands tall enough during that process but unless you're dropping axles and such it probably wouldn't be as necessary.

You can kinda see the jack extension in use in this picture

The other option I considered was a Pro Eagle 3 TON BIG WHEEL OFF ROAD JACK "KRATOS" but at the time I was on a time crunch and couldn't wait for an order to ship plus they are very pricey. Since then Harbor Freight has also released their version"BADLAND 3 Ton Off-Road Jack". It is especially a knockoff of the Pro Eagle which obviously won't be as good but it is more affordable.

motovan_mn · 09-22-2023, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aarcaris

When I was doing my 4x4 conversion I quickly realized that my floor jack was not tall enough so I ended up getting a Jack extension similar to the one you linked from 911 motorsports. I wouldn't say that it inspires the same level of confidence as a normal jack setup, but it got the job done! I also had to use multiple concrete pads to get my jack stands tall enough during that process but unless you're dropping axles and such it probably wouldn't be as necessary.

You can kinda see the jack extension in use in this picture

The other option I considered was a Pro Eagle 3 TON BIG WHEEL OFF ROAD JACK "KRATOS" but at the time I was on a time crunch and couldn't wait for an order to ship plus they are very pricey. Since then Harbor Freight has also released their version"BADLAND 3 Ton Off-Road Jack". It is especially a knockoff of the Pro Eagle which obviously won't be as good but it is more affordable.

That Badland 3 ton looks pretty attractive. Don't know if I can justify it at the moment, as it's got quite a tall min-height, so it would really only be useful for the van. But maybe one day

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbeefy

Any time I can't get the 3 ton under a vehicle pinch weld I drive it onto a couple wood blocks for extra clearance.

Never had an issue with normal vehicles, only with really low vehicles like exotics, racecars, some corvettes etc...

Good trick w/ the wood blocks. Lots of workarounds here I'm sure, just have to get creative.

boywonder · 09-22-2023, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbeefy

How low and high do you need to go? The Harbor freight 3 ton gets good reviews and goes from 3 1/2" to 23". I have the snap on jack that it copies and its a really nice jack.

I have the HF version of the above jack and it's the cat's pajamas.....can't say enough good things about it....Snap on Knock-off for around $239..maybe a bit more these days.

kbeefy · 09-22-2023, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boywonder

I have the HF version of the above jack and it's the cat's pajamas.....can't say enough good things about it....Snap on Knock-off for around $239..maybe a bit more these days.

Still $219-239 depending upon model. That thing came out a couple months after I paid $700 for the snap on one. I could've bought 3.

Kibo · 09-28-2023, 11:03 AM

I know you're looking for an all-in-one solution, but I'd like to suggest another option. I have a low profile / long reach HF jack with claimed range of 3-1/3" to 24-1/4", but to be honest I've never used it with the van. I have a pair of these, and they've proven to be infinitely useful for the van:

https://www.northerntool.com/product...640912-5713333

The combination jack+stand also means you don't have to set up separate jack stands.

I even used them when replacing the rear leaf springs with progressive Alcans--basically lifted from the axle, used Sunex 1310 10-ton jack stands to hold the frame rails, and dropped the axle down without the wheels.

motovan_mn · 09-28-2023, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kibo

I know you're looking for an all-in-one solution, but I'd like to suggest another option. I have a low profile / long reach HF jack with claimed range of 3-1/3" to 24-1/4", but to be honest I've never used it with the van. I have a pair of these, and they've proven to be infinitely useful for the van:

https://www.northerntool.com/product...640912-5713333

The combination jack+stand also means you don't have to set up separate jack stands.

I even used them when replacing the rear leaf springs with progressive Alcans--basically lifted from the axle, used Sunex 1310 10-ton jack stands to hold the frame rails, and dropped the axle down without the wheels.

Nice, looks like a great option.

My desire to find a single floor jack solution is more about storage space than cost savings. An integrated jack/stand solution somehow seems better than having two floor jacks. Maybe not totally logical, but... this is pretty high on my list now