Truck jacks come in as many varieties and brands as trucks. No questions about that! There’s not a DIY enthusiast’s garage or workshop in the whole of North America that doesn’t have a hydraulic floor jack or bottle jack to lift cars and trucks for undercarriage repair. These cool tools make lifting heavy vehicles look easy with their hydraulic systems.
Workshops with service pits employ pit jacks and rolling bridge jacks to further reduce downtime for truck fleets. Let’s just say, cars and trucks can stay on the roads for years because of the jacks.
What kind of jack do you need to lift a loaded truck? And, what’s the best floor jack for trucks? If these questions are bothering you so much that you still can’t decide on the right tool for your ride, this blog is for you.
Like we said, there are all sorts of truck jacks on the market. But there are some key parameters that need to be considered before buying one. Here’s a look at them:
- Weight capacity: This rating tells you how much weight a jack can lift safely without stressing its components. If you are planning to lift loaded trucks, your truck jack better has a weight capacity exceeding the maximum weight you plan to lift. Else, it can buckle and fracture causing serious damage to the vehicle and the operator.
- Lift height: What’s the ground clearance of your vehicle? If it’s a lifted truck or an offroad vehicle, it will have a high ground clearance. Consider how high a particular truck jack can lift before buying. This decision can make all the difference if you are stuck in a rut on rugged terrain.
- Durable components: A lot of things can go wrong when tools and equipment come under stress. Truck jacks are regularly exposed to a lot of stress over prolonged periods. So, it only makes sense to buy jacks made of materials that have high tensile strength like different types of steel. Moist regions and the wet season need your tools to be coated with corrosion-resistant materials for durability. Consider these factors before buying your tool.
- Safety measures: No matter how good a jack is, it’s only a tool and is susceptible to failure after prolonged use. Make sure you use jack stands alongside your truck jack in case of loaded trucks or military vehicles. They reduce the stress on the jack, prolonging its life in the process. Also, go for jacks with built-in safety mechanisms like stage locks, extra-long handlebars, and remote controls to keep yourself safe during the lifting operation.
Now that we have addressed the elephants in the room, let’s explore a few jack types.
- Hydraulic Floor Jacks Serving the automotive sector since the advent of cars, the floor jack has been a trusted partner of car and garage owners worldwide. Heavy duty floor jacks operate on the principles of hydraulics in which pressure applied on the handlebar is multiplied many times at the lifting end via a hydraulic fluid stored in a watertight cylinder. The piston at the lifting end applies force on the lift points of the vehicle and raises it high enough for undercarriage maintenance. Precision-engineered heavy duty floor jacks like the Scorpion MJ25 can lift loaded trucks as heavy as a whopping 25,000 lbs. with ease to a height of 36”! The MJ25 and the TJ series also use compressed air pressure to assist the hydraulic system in the lifting process, making it easier for the equipment to deal with bulky vehicles. These jacks also feature a class-leading three-stage locking mechanism for added safety.
- Scissor Jacks It’s more of an honorable mention since we are talking about jacks. Scissor jacks use a smart mechanical system to convert rotational motion into upward thrust, lifting cars and small vehicles high enough for tire changes and light maintenance activities. Your car probably has a scissor jack as part of the standard toolset. But don’t expect to lift loaded trucks with scissor jacks!
- Bottle Jacks Bottle jacks are called so because they look like bottles. They use the same principles as floor jacks to lift cars and trucks. A stubby base and thick pistons make the bottle jack a reliable tool to lift large and bulky vehicles. The only caveat: bottle jacks aren’t known for lifting high.
- Pit Jacks Pit jacks are exclusively used in workshops with dedicated service pits. They can lift big, bulky vehicles in a jiffy, thanks to their combined hydraulic and pneumatic (compressed air) systems. Products like the Scorpion Pit Jacks from our inventory feature a durable and compact design that fits into any service pit on the continent. Telescoping arms with stackable adapters are good for any vehicle type, from loaded trucks to EVs. For instance, the Scorpion PJ35S can lift loaded trucks as heavy as 35,000 lbs. to a height of over 20”!
- Rolling Bridge Jacks If your workshop has a lift, you can consider buying a rolling bridge jack. It’s a great tool to use with loaded trucks because of the ease and efficiency with which you can operate them. Like pit jacks, bridge jacks use the combined power of hydraulics and pneumatic pressure to lift heavy vehicles. The Stan Jack J50000H is a great example of an ultra-efficient bridge jack with a weight capacity of 50,000 lbs.So, what’s the best floor jack or truck jack you can buy? Any tool that has been manufactured by a reputable manufacturer known for producing well-reviewed equipment is the thing to buy. Don’t always go for cheap. Remember, saving a few dollars upfront may prove to be expensive and unsafe in the long run.
