Jack Stands - which one??

[Ben10281]

So I recently found out that jack stands are now(since 2015 or so) rated as a pair.

"After ASME PASE-2014 became effective in 2015 all jack stands must be rated per pair and not per individual stand."

My van, when fully loaded for a camping trip, is a little north of 11k. I am looking for a jack stand to allow for repacking wheel bearings, tire rotations, brake changes, and other medium duty maintenance work on the van at home. I am not looking to swap out my axles or leave the van up on jack stands for extended periods of time for major mechanical work. With that said, I was also hoping to get a jack stand that would allow me to do the same type of work on my car.

The question I have is what size jack stand is needed? My van will most likely not be fully loaded when doing maintenance, but lets over assume and go with a van weight of 12k, evenly distributed across all four corners. If I am lifting one corner at a time, I am in essentially supporting 3k with the individual jack stand. I was thinking of getting a pair of 4 ton jack stands. These would be 2 tons each stand, so 4k per jack stand. That is roughly a 33% capacity buffer which seems like plenty. If I were to go with a pair of 3 ton jack stands(3k each)I would basically be right at the capacity of the jack stand(assuming a 12k van, which obviously it won't be at the time of maintenance work). Do I need 4 ton jack stands or am I good with 3 ton?

Next question, height - My van is a Quigley conversion. The frame rails sit about 20 or so inches off the ground. The Axle tubes sit about 15 or so inches off the ground. For the maintenance I described is there really any reason to ever be placing the jack stand under the frame or am I good just using the axle tube as the contact point for the jack stand? Also, if I needed to place the jack stands under the frame rail for some reason, is it acceptable to use wooden cribbing under the jack stand to achieve the additional height needed? The reason I ask, is because I found a 4 ton jack stand that when lowered is 11" and when extended is 17" so it would not be too much of a monster for my car, but would be slightly on the shorter side to use on the van's frame rails, if ever needed. It also might be slightly short on the van's axle and would require cribbing.

TIA for any input the collective group can provide!

Ben

[eddyturn]

Certainly not Harbor Freight jack stands.

[JoeH]

I have a pair of the Hein Werner 6 ton jackstands. Bomber.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...hoCNX4QAvD_BwE


6 tons is 12,000lb so more than adequate with an ample safety margin for my 10,000lb rig.

[neatvan]

Originally Posted by Ben10281

For the maintenance I described is there really any reason to ever be placing the jack stand under the frame or am I good just using the axle tube as the contact point for the jack stand?

I have a 2005 Quigley. I recently pulled both front rotors to get them turned. Needed to leave van on jack stands for 2 days. I couldn't find a good spot for jack stand on axle, on the driver's side, between the knuckle and diff. Ended up putting driver side stand under frame aft of quigley torque arms. Passenger jack stand was under axle. All this to say that I needed the extra height on jack stand to reach frame.

[4x4Ken]

USJack makes America made jack stands, I think a pair of 6 ton ones are $150 but you’ll never have to buy another pair and you can pass them down for generations To come.. keep Americans working, buy made in the USA