Jack or Jill .. Low-Profile .. High-Lift .. Trolley ??

[Bfg]

Trolley Jack

I'm moving home again in a couple of weeks time and this time will have a patio ..large enough to work on my car / motorcycle / boat bits / build a trailer - YIPEE  (..albeit it'll be outside in whatever the weather happens to be). And because I'm tired of crawling around on the floor - I'd like to invest in buying a Low-Profile High-Lift Trolley Jack and a couple of car ramps.  The plan being to lift the car front or back, on the trolley jack, and slip the car ramps under the wheels &/ axle stands .. hence the reason I need a high lift.  

I'm sure I can find a pair or two of car ramps cheaply, but a decent quality trolley jack is another matter, and there really is little point in buying junk / something that may fail dangerously &/or then not be manufacturer supported / unable to repair.  An aluminium trolley jack would be really nice because it'll have to be carried in and out of the house every day, but that's not absolutely essential, not least because I only need a jack of 1.5 ton capacity ..so even in steel it ought not be a monster.

Any recommendations, / links / advice on what to look for / warning not buy certain brands / someone in East Anglia who has one they no longer need. ??

Thanks, Pete.

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Bfg

[Z320]

For sure you will like this, I've seen that advertised on several magazines

https://autohebetisch.de/Dokumente/Aufbauanleitung.pdf

Edited April 4, 2021 by Z320

[Motorsport Mickey]

1 hour ago, Z320 said:

For sure you will like this, I've seen that advertised on several magazines

https://autohebetisch.de/Dokumente/Aufbauanleitung.pdf

Thats ingenious ! a good find Marco.

Mick Richards

[Hamish]

That’s very clever. Not seen that system before.

 

pete 

how high a high lift jack do you need ?

to get the wheels on a frame ramp whilst jacking off a chassis cross member or tube ( do people jack on the rear tubes ?) will need quite a height  

whar are the height of the typical ramps .

will be watching this with interest as I need to treat myself to a light weight version .

Good question Pete 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Hamish

[brian -r]

Pete just a visual idea

The right hand jack is a 3ton omega domestic / garage jack  and raises to490mm (19in) and lowersto140mm (5  1/2in) 

The lefthand jack is clarke 1.25 ton lightweight lowlevel one and raises to380mm (15in) and lowers to85mm (3 3/8in)

Both are very good and have given good service but I doubt either will give enough clearance between the ground and the wheel to slide ramps under the tyre.

Brian

[Bfg]

Thanks Brian, Your photos illustrate the point well.  Your small low-profile part-aluminium / lightweight one has I'm sure been particularly handy. 

At present I have two 1.5T budget-priced trolley jacks, which I bought at different times, in different countries.  However neither are low profile and neither lift very high. So although they've served me very well.. with the TR I have to physically lift the front of the car (just a little) to get the trolley jack under, and again a little more so to as get a 1" thick block of wood between its castellated metal end and the chassis rail.  This of course is squabbling about on my hands and knees.  It then probably lifts to approx 335mm ..ie., perhaps a 200 - 225mm lift (..much of which is suspension travel & tyre squat). I can then block under the chassis, lower the jack, insert more blocks of wood for the next stage of the lift.  I've worked like that for years and it's sorta OK., but a perhaps bit precarious the third stage of lift because the footprint (width) of the jack is small. I've only had cars topple a few times and have always had blocks to prevent it going very far.  Perhaps I've been lucky ..or just reckless.?  A friend has suggested I use axle stands.. and I must admit I've never really got on well with them with either front suspension A-frames or the IRS rear suspension arms. With tripod legs that sink unevenly into the ground (on the unpaved and non-level driveways I've usually had to live with) I honest don't trust them as much as I do a good solid block of timber.  imo axle stands are very much more useful under a live axle, having lifted the car up by jacking under the diff. 

So the long and short of it is that, for my 4A ; a low-profile, high-lift trolley jack 'ought to be' easier (longer reach under / less squabbling around / and a bigger pad with its own rubber) and also safer (more stable bigger footprint).  And then if the lift is from 80 to say 500mm ..ie., 400+mm of lift at a time, then yes I'll probably have to intermediate block the car, but I think it would altogether a better solution and investment. 

High-lift lighter-weight / aluminium trolley jacks seem to be a specialist item, and so don't come inexpensively.  That's a shame as I get older.

Pete.

[BRENDA1]

Hope you have been for a run in your TR I have just got back from a local run. This may not be helpful but this is my set up, lots of blocks (not keen on axle stands but I have the four legged ones) I have different size wedged blocks to use as small ramps to get my trolley Jack under, my trolley Jack is 5” up to 24” it a little heavy. I got this set up as I had a small trolley Jack which the car slipped off. If you have a look at there web site SGS that have some great stuff.

Mike Redrose Group 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by BRENDA1

[Kevo_6]

Hi Pete, I get my jacks etc from here. Maybe of some use to you.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Kevo_6

[ianc]

To minimise droop on the front suspension when lifting, I insert a small piece of wood between the rubber of the bump stop and the spring pan on each side.

It is important to remember to remove the two stops afterwards, and that is most easily achieved by rolling the car back and forth a few feet so that the suspension returns to its normal static position.

I am fortunate that my TR4 has a skid plate welded to the chassis, and I am able to use my trolley jack on this with its toothed plate removed, allowing the jack to slide on the skid plate as the car rises.  Of course, the handbrake will be engaged and a chock positioned under the rear of the back wheel.

When needing to get beneath the front of the car, I lift the front with the trolley jack, support the chassis on a pair of axle stands, partly lower the jack and place a chunk of 5” square fence post atop the jack, securing it with a bolt that just slides into the hole in the plate of the jack.  With the second lift, I am able to slide my ramps under the front wheels – one facing forward, the other to the rear.  Without my two pieces of wood inserted under the spring pans, I would have insufficient lift to be able to get the ramps under the tyres.

As I have an alloy differential cover, I am able to lift the rear axle at the centre, using the trolley jack with its toothed plate.  To obtain sufficient clearance at the rear for the trolley jack, I drive the rear wheels onto a pair of scaffold boards first.  Very important to chock the front wheels both fore and aft when lifting the rear of the car!

Ian Cornish

[DaveB66]

+1 for SGS, I went for this one https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tj3lp-low-profile-garage-trolley-jack, overkill on the capacity for TRs but at under 4" lowered goes under the car easily and lifts to over 21 ", plenty height to get axle stands under. The time between ordering and delivery was only a couple of hours

Dave

[Ian Vincent]

I have a pair of CJ Autos hydraulic ramps. I can either drive onto them or insert my recently acquired electric scissor Jack under the car to raise it enough to allow me to insert the ramps. Then a few pumps and the car is high enough for me to slide underneath. 

Rgds Ian

[rwest]

14 hours ago, Z320 said:

For sure you will like this, I've seen that advertised on several magazines

https://autohebetisch.de/Dokumente/Aufbauanleitung.pdf

Do you have this lift? I'm rather interested in it myself and would like to know how you are getting along with it.

[Z320]

Hi,

sorry, I do not own this lift, I only know it from advertising.

It seems to be pretty simple but genius.

Ciao, Marco

Edited April 4, 2021 by Z320

[jerrytr5]

Looks like a pain in the neck to me.

I think you'd soon get tired of moving the trolley jack from side to side. And then one day forget to remove the upright and open the door into it.

Jerry

[Z320]

No doubt at all: laying under the car on car ramps is more fun

[Bfg]

5 hours ago, Z320 said:

No doubt at all: laying under the car on car ramps is more fun

 +1

[Hamish]

5 hours ago, Z320 said:

No doubt at all: laying under the car on car ramps is more fun

I need to treat myself to a higher lift jack. Trying to shimmy under here on my back to replace my sump was a challenge. Especially when you forget the tool/socket needed and you have to do it all again !!!

[Michael Mckiernan]

17 hours ago, Kevo_6 said:

Hi Pete, I get my jacks etc from here. Maybe of some use to you.

+1 good range of equipment and nice guy's to deal with.

[Tony_C]

Good morning Pete, good luck with all this...you certainly will not be getting bored..

Just as an alternative, plan ‘B’, could you dig a pit in the patio?

[jerrytr5]

6 hours ago, Z320 said:

No doubt at all: laying under the car on car ramps is more fun

You are doing it wrong. It is the car that lays on the ramps.

Jerry

[Z320]

yeah I know,

but sorry me for my bad english, what I wanted to say is:

laying under car - while the car is about 30 cm above ground level on car ramps - is more fun.

[Z320]

The "car lifting table" you can lift step by step with a standard hydraulic car jack.

I never used any lifter or ramps because I have a car pit in my garage, and my parents had one too,

but again and again the stairs up and down is also no fun.

Luckily I don't have to earn my money with car repairs.

[Bfg]

43 minutes ago, Tony_C said:

Just as an alternative, plan ‘B’, could you dig a pit in the patio?

Plan 'B' would I suspect upset the property's owner. I'll just be a temporary tenant who might again be asked to move out, with minimum legal notice.

I did own a house once and built a garage, and in that a pit.  But I'm not sure I did ever actually use the pit, other than for storage, because aside from changing oils, most tasks are not under the middle of the car.  Most are to the wheels, brakes, suspension or steering, or under-arch chassis and body.  Recently I flushed the radiator (that would not have been good in a pit !) and changed the cooling fan to a plastic TR6 one.  A pit would have been useful for ten minutes during a half a day of work. 

I once lay on my back under a Daimler 2.5 for a week, scraping off its 40-year-old underseal, and then washing the panels off with solvent before repainting the body.  The car was on blocks so perhaps 18" above the ground, and so a difficult confines to work in, with bits in your face, then solvents and then paint.. however even if I had had a pit for that job it would have been very limited as I could not reach to either side.  As it was, I needed to slide sideways around under the car to get at any angle suitable for scraping and wiping down.  No., for my needs, a car pit is to me one of those things that seemed a great idea, but in practice was of little practical use.  I remember my grandad also had one in his garage, but again I never saw anyone actually use it.   

I would have been much better off buying a decent trolley jack and the sort of stand that Marko has shown us.  I can see that as being very much more adaptable and useful in just lifting two wheels off the ground ..to work on one side of the car, or else to work under one end of the car.    Thanks Marco.

[Charlie D]

18 minutes ago, Bfg said:

...a car pit is to me one of those things that seemed a great idea, but in practice was of little practical use...

Totally agree. I was so pleased when i bought a house that had a garage and a pit. Like Pete says, it just ends up as another storage space.

This seems a good idea .

But the problem arises again if you need to do work on the suspension. No good having the support under the wheel.

 

Charlie

 

[Ian Vincent]

1 hour ago, Charlie D said:

Totally agree. I was so pleased when i bought a house that had a garage and a pit. Like Pete says, it just ends up as another storage space.

This seems a good idea .

But the problem arises again if you need to do work on the suspension. No good having the support under the wheel.

 

Charlie

 

I don't quite see the point of them.  You still have the issue of driving up onto the ramps and then raising them is a laborious task.  My CJ Autos version is much more practical (IMHO) and if I want to work on the suspension, I insert a couple of axle stands and lower the ramp a little.

CJ Autos Ramps

Rgds Ian

PS  And when they are not in use I have them leaning against the wall tied back with a couple of elastic straps to some substantial hooks so they don't take up much space.

Edited April 5, 2021 by Ian Vincent