Recommendations for 'low-profile' trolley jack?

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:00 pm

You dont buy a quality jack for $25 and bear in mind these are safety items- a jack that fails may not be funny. Better to do a bit of research and buy something that is either repairable or has a some credentials for reliability. When the small 4 wheel trolley jacks were first on the market I bought one - that was 40 years ago- A UK brand- it still works well. It cost then $100- that would be exxy in todays money but its done well.

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 9:02 pm

Sure, and I bought a $1000 mobile 25 years ago too, but that doesn't mean I should pay $10,000 for one today either. What's ya point, that technology/engineering only gets more expensive or what?

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KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:20 pm

Jacks lift the car ... STANDS secure it. These are where quality is paramount. NEVER do anything, no matter how stupidly simple, until the car is sufficiently solidly secured with quality stands.

The best jack can fail.

The best jack is never good enough ...

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rossburns · Postby **rossburns** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:13 am

i'm using kingchrome stands, i'm assuming that they are good quality

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 4:15 pm

Not exactly low profile, but has big lift, is bluddy tough and freakin' heavy - I bought one today.

Fits under the NC OK.
On sale until next weekend at Repco.

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:04 pm

If I was a Costco member or knew someone who is I'd have gone for the Arcan one they're offering.....
Unfortunately that wasn't the case so this is what I ended up getting.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360772227528 ... 1497.l2649

Starts very low, goes very high, twin piston so quick and weighs a tonne!....... I call him Gigantor! :mrgreen:

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 7:14 pm

Nevyn72 wrote:If I was a Costco member or knew someone who is I'd have gone for the Arcan one they're offering.....
Unfortunately that wasn't the case so this is what I ended up getting.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360772227528 ... 1497.l2649

Starts very low, goes very high, twin piston so quick and weighs a tonne!....... I call him Gigantor!

I bought one of them on Saturday, hopefully pick it up tomorrow

MrRevhead · Postby **MrRevhead** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 7:25 pm

I will be interested to see how it copes >2000kg for a sustained period of time.

Ebay items from certain retailers often exaggerate on specs, but if it truly can perform according to what it is advertised for, it is a great jack for those that not only have a MX5, but also a SUV or other med-large modern day vehicle.

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:01 am

Since this seems to have become the 'Which jack do you use thread' I'll throw my 2c in.

Bought the most budget of budget jacks from one of the big three, and it's laughable.
There's so much play in the jacking handle, you can raise and lower it by 30cm and it will still be taking up slack and not actuating the piston.
So obviously it can't jack up the mx-5 because handle travel is limited.

Live and learn, I have a Costco membership so I'll be grabbing one of the mentioned jacks.

Ned Loh · Postby **Ned Loh** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:09 am

I carefully measured the height of the front cross member, then looked for the highest capacity (cheap) aluminium jack that would fit under the cross member. bought one of these

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ROCK-TOOLS-A ... 1e7e52ec58

It's a -> ROCK TOOLS ALUMINIUM STEEL RACING JACK 2000KG TJ2000RAC

Only to find that I'd correctly measure the cross member and the 'entry' height of the jack was fine...but.. THE BODY OF THE JACK DOESN'T REALLY CLEAR THE FRONT SPOILER/PLASTIC UNDER PROTECITON! Well, you can jack the car up, as long as you don't mind giving the spoiler and plastic under a bit of a touch up. :oops:

No issues with the jack itself, seems very good.

Ned Loh · Postby **Ned Loh** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 2:12 pm

For my information only, can someone confirm that the Arcan from Costco is low enough to jack from the middle of the front cross member without fouling the front body or under body of a standard height MX5?

Cheers.

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 2:31 pm

I've got the arcan. My na8 is a bit lower then factory with a factory lip, I just have to ease the lip up a touch while I push the jack under to reach the cross member. I would think a standard height 5 would be fine but not sure how low a nb lip is.

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aka_juffa · Postby **aka_juffa** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:41 am

Fyi. Costco in Docklands Melb has 2 pallets of Arcan jacks in stock. These are rated at 1500kg. $139.99

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:00 am

That is the lowest price I have seen for those. I think I paid $169, perhaps more, for mine.

If you want one, move quick before the ebay resellers clean them out.

:mrgreen: