Which jack stand and lift?

danattherock

Active Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Location
NC
I need to buy 4 jack stands and a lift. I have a 81 CJ 7. I plan on using them to rotate tires and to remove all tires so I can get at the wheel wells and put the Herculiner on. Stock now but should have 3" lift kit with 33's soon if that effect things. Are the 3 ton jack stands ok to use or should I look at something else? Don't know what to buy. Any suggestions?
 
3 tons are fine, 6 tons are better. When working on the Jeep, I advise to only jack up one end, or one side at a time. It will be much more stable.
 
The 6 ton stands are also taller, which will be nice with a lift
 
The 3 tons will be fine for rotating tires, as Chip said, the 6tons are taller, which will be good for installing a lift (need to allow the axle to droop by supporting on the frame). 3 tons are lighter though, better when you just need to set it on the axle.
 
Is it unsafe to put the jeep up on 4 jack stands and remove all tires? I need to send the wheels of for a chrome bath. I will do the wheel wells with the Herculiner while they are out. Is this an acceptable practice? If so, any suggestions on where to put the jack stands? And where is the best place to put the jack when lifting. Stop laughing and just answer the question.
 
As Chip mentioned, it would be better to only do one side/end at a time. Seeing that you should not be under the jeep, based on your description of what you want to accomplish, I think you should be fine. That said, it's always better safe than sorry. Put the Jeep on the jack stands, take the wheels off, give them the chrome bath, do the Herculiner after you get them back two wells at a time. Or reverse it and Herculine it before the chrome.
 
I have done this (all 4 wheels off at once) and used 4 jackstands. I ALSO had a HiLift under one end and a floor jack under the other, for a total of 6 places that the jeep was supported.

Jack stands I had at the 4 corners, under the axle tubes, close to the outside edge near the tires.

I believe I had the floor jack under the rear diff and the high lift on the front bumper.

I had this in the middle of my garage / nothing around it and made DANG sure I was not underneath the rig in any way.

I did this in stages, did not want to be jerking on the truck so I had the lugnuts broke loose before all 4 tires were in the air, etc. (IOW, had 1 set of tires broke loose but still on the rig, then the other..then got everything raised in place, etc)

I STILL think after all this it was pretty dangerous...I THINK I had some cinder blocks and wood stacked up underneath it all too in case it started falling...


With all that said, yeah YOU can do it.. but brace it a billion ways. (There is another thread here somewhere with a yota that was up/braced and then another pic shows where it had fallen / guy was lucky to not be under it)

Not sure I would do this for a long period of time...if you are rechroming rims...buy a set of el cheapos to bolt on there while they are gone. (Was thinking the same thing again / gonna swap a set of 4 tires in soon..I might have to buy or borrows something to use that day)
 
Put it on jackstands while the wheels/tires are still on, and have the tires about an inch off the grand. Now beat push bang bump, etc and see how stable it is. Then you will know, without endangering yourself or others.

I get that nervous feeling around cars on jackstands, but when you get right down to it, it would take a lot to knock one off (like your buddies jeep rolling down a hill into yours, ask me how I know).
 
If you use the 6 ton stands you should not have any problems as long as you get them set so they are perfectly flat on the ground. The 6 ton stands have a way wider base. I had my YJ in the garage on 4 of them for over a year. Before I pulled the wheels and tires off I pushed and jerked and rocked the jeep and it was more stable than it was on the tires. It was also supported by the frame though. That way there was no suspension movment in the equation. Worked great.
 
Four 6 tons it is. I see most have around a 12" base compared to the 8-9" base on 3 tons. And going 24-26" high as opposed to 16-18" would be worth having. Thanks for the input here. I liked the idea of keeping the lift under the rear diff and putting a Hi Lift on the front bumper. A "six point" approach. If someone would tell me how the Hi Lift helps you off road I would be more inclined to buy one. Seen them before, but never in use. What exactly do they do for you. Being that I AM NOT putting a winch on my Jeep, this may be worth having just in case. But I don't really know how they work. If applicable, I will pick one up and do the "six point" while working on the Jeep or cleaning and what not.
 
Hi-lift under the bumper for a 5th or 6th point is not a good idea. It won't make it any safer than 4 jackstands, and probably just be in the way. The hi-lift will be useful when you put the lift on and need to jack it up real high to set the frame on jackstands. Other than that, I doubt you'd get much use out of it. Off-road, its useful if you need to change a tire. You could also use it for extraction, if you also had a chain/cable/strap long enough, but to be honest, I would rather wait for someone else to show up and hook up to their rig.
 
So it works like a come along?

A big ratchet, that can be connected to cable/rope and attached to tree or a spike. It can pull you out of mud holes and what not? If so, sounds like a good thing to carry along. Just never really seen one before.
 
Hi lift is one of the most useful offroad tools there is, as well as likely the most dangerous as well. As he said, there are few times that I would get under a vehicle supported by only a hi-lift. To use it as a come along you just attach a line to the hook and one to the top of the jack, but with a 48" and using straps, it's about useless. It can also be used as a clamp. The handle has been known to break jaws as well...
 
I have a basic come along. Never used it though. Would that be suitable enough to winch you out of a tight spot. Likely for me a mudhole I underestimated. I won't be using a winch, but wanted something since I am almost always alone. Come along good enough?
 
comealong is better than a high lift for that for sure. Don't wheel alone, you can get into more trouble than you can get out of. Also, don't buy a high lift brand, go to tractor supply and buy a farm jack, same thing, half price.
 
Also see you are in R'ham if there isnt a harbor freight nearby Nortehrn has some nice 6 ton jack stands for $30 a pair....

Also its been assumed but not stated, if you are sitting this thin long term on jackstands, I hope its on concrete or in a grage no in the yard.
If it is in the yard but something under the jackstands to level the base out.
3/4" plywood or sheet steel etc.
 
Hi-Lift is just an old farm jack, you can use them to rip fenceposts out of the ground, all sorts of stuff when you have one.

Yes, you can use it as a winch...I have the 60" version instead of 48", so in theory I can extract myself 5' at a time.

As someone mentioned a strap will "stretch" much of that reduce the effectiveness. (Really old school would be a chain / combined with a hi-lift. Naturally flying chunks of metal CAN be LETHAL and should be avoided)

That being said...I have used it with a chain to remove said fenceposts, etc.

The handle if not clicked down WILL come up and hurt you bad. If possible NEVER have your chin/face over the handle, of course that makes it tougher to use, so be aware.


When I used it as my 6th point...I got it in the air on all 4 stands. I then put "some" pressure on the diff and front bumper with my floor jack and hilift. SO there was pressure on all 6 points.

I then REMOVED the handle from my hi lift and my floor jack so I couldn't trip over then, accidently, etc.

I left my Jeep in the air like this for approx 48-72 hours as I drove to Ohio and back. This was in the middle of my garage, no one else in/out of there during that time, wifes car parked outside, etc.


So...yes, a come along WILL do the same thing, have used dads for years to "winch" and the hi-lift is a racheting version that does the same thing.

Well worth the $50ish imho
 
There is nothing wrong with supporting your rig from four jack stands, as long as you do it right. I had mine like this for several weeks.

awww.supermotors.net_getfile_199626_fullsize_dscn1953.jpg


-You see tons of pics on the net of guys putting stuff under their jack stands to make them taller. I'm sure most of you have seen cinder blocks, wood, welded on extensions, etc, being used for this purpose. That shit is very dangerous. If you need to go taller, you really need to buy a taller stand.

- Support the load from the most stable position, i.e. NOT under the axles. Under the axles may be fine for just rotating the tires, but if you're actually working on the vehicle you'll want to support it by the fame. Putting the jack stands under the axles makes the vehicle still sit on it's suspension, which can be very flexy for a lot of us. You're better off going to the frame.

-Jack it up in the right place, level concrete being the best place. I've seen jack stands sink down into dirt and even asphalt on a hot day, which can obviously make it unstable.


danattherock said:
Thanks for the info. Think I will just keep my come along in the back. The Hi Lift sounds like a pain in the a$$
Click to expand...

It can be, but it is also indispensable on the trail. I've seen many situations where you could tug on a stuck rig all day with a huge winch and never get it to budge, but lifting a corner of the vehicle a few inches with the Hi-lift frees it up. Mine has been super used and abused, and I really wouldn't feel comfortable wheeling without it. Just do yourself a big favor and keep the slide pins lubed up, and if possible store it inside the vehicle to prevent the mechanism from rusting. If you do that it'll go a long way toward making it a safer, more usable tool.
 
Great info there man. I appreciate you sharing that. I can now see where the Hi Lift comes into play. Sunk deep in the mud, yep, it makes sense to lift her up a bit before using the winch or in my case, come along.

Also, thanks for the picture! Getting ready to jack mine up for the first time next week. Taking the wheels off to get the clear coat off and reapply clearcoat. Going to sand/degrease/etch the wheel wells while the wheels are off and repaint. Should make a nice improvement after 28 years of neglect:)
 
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