Best Floor Jack 2018 – Buyer’s Guide and Review

There’s one thing any garage owner or mechanic can’t live without a floor jack. Screwdrivers and wrenches are one thing, but if you need to do change the oil, the tires, or get underneath your vehicle to perform repairs, a floor jack will quickly become your best friend.

Needless to say, if you just opened a shop or own a vehicle and plan on putting in a little elbow grease from time to time, a quality car floor jack should be at the top of your must-have list. After all, should a jack fail with you under it, some serious injuries may take place.

In this helpful guide, you’ll find all you need to know about floor jacks and which models to trust for your pride and joy. Based on serious research, years of experience, and actual hands-on use, our guide will point you in the right direction and shed some insight into these essential garage tools.

And remember, no floor jack is safe without a good jack stands to go along with it.

Best Floor Jack Reviews

Like cars, not all floor jacks are created equal. Whether you drive a big 4×4 and have some money to spend or a compact and find yourself strapped for cash, one of the following first-class floor jacks is sure to be the perfect fit for you, your vehicle, and your needs.

Powerzone 380044 3-Ton Aluminum and Steel Garage Jack – Best 3-Ton Floor Jack

Unlike many other hydraulic jacks in its price point, this Powerzone has a generous maximum lift height of 18.25 inches. Plus, it lifts fast too, and there is a safety valve for the hydraulic cylinder to ensure it isn’t loaded beyond its max.

The saddle of the Powerzone is quite nice as well. It’s not made out of leather or anything, but it does have rubber padding to protect the frame of your car. The rear wheels also swivel, which is a nice touch and helps it maneuver around any size garage.

Did we mention it can lift up to three tons? All in all, it’s arguably the best 3-ton floor jack on the market today.

Torin T83006 Big Red Steel SUV 3-Ton Service Jack – Best Budget Floor Jack for Trucks and SUVs

Aptly coined “Big Red”, the Torin T83006 Big Red Steel SUV 3-Ton Service Jack features a bold bright red color and a quality steel construction that can withstand years of abuse. It’s also very stable. Thanks to its greater saddle surface area, you can work under your vehicle without worrying about it slipping or collapsing. Of course, wheel stands help too.,

Sure, it requires a lot of pumping in order to lift, but Big Red’s lifting ability is second to none in its price range. If you’re looking for an affordable and more than capable 3-ton jack for your car, SUV, or full-size truck, the Torin T83006 Big Red Steel SUV 3-Ton Service Jack shouldn’t disappoint.

Pro-Lift F-767 Grey Low-Profile 2-Ton Floor Jack – Best Budget-Friendly Low-Profile Floor Jack

This Pro-Lift floor jack has one of the lowest profiles out there, making it a great choice for anyone with sports cars and other vehicles with low ground clearance. Like the Powerzone, it also has an integrated safety valve to prevent overload, which is a nice feature for its low price tag.

Everything considered this Pro-Lift lives up to its name and is an excellent low-profile jack. If your car sits low to the ground and you need a quality jack that won’t tear it up, it might just be the floor jack you’ve been searching for.

Arcan XL2T Black Low-Profile Jack – Best Overall Low-Profile Floor Jack

Arcan is known for crafting innovative, well-made tools that just plain work, and the Arcan XL 2T Black Low Profile Steel 2 Ton Service Jack is no exception. Featuring an impressively sleek design, it sits snug to the ground to easily lift snazzy sports cars and any low clearance vehicles.

That being said, it also drops nearly as fast, which may make you nervous, regardless of how long you’ve been wrenching on cars. Aside from this, and a higher price tag of course, the Arcan XL2T checks all of the boxes and then some.

Liftmaster Hydraulic Trolley Floor Jack Heavy-Duty Car Lift – Best Floor Jack for the Wallet

As a nice finishing touch, its frame is coated with a corrosion-resistant finish. Combined with its quality steel construction, this makes the Liftmaster one of the most durable inexpensive floor jacks on the market.

While it could live up to its name better by offering more than 13 inches of lift, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better floor jack at such a low price.

Alltrade Powerbuilt 620422E Heavy Duty Triple Lift Jack – Best All-Around 2-Ton Floor Jack

If you’re in need of a high-quality floor jack with plenty of lift for working on transmissions and a versatile design for working on a variety of vehicles, this Powerbuilt 4000 lb Triple Car Lift Jack won’t disappoint. It’s dependable, easy-to-use, and makes an ideal addition to any shop or garage.

Some of the Powerbuilt’s best features are its padded lift rail and removable lift saddle. Combined with its strength and build quality, it has no problems lifting cars, trucks, ATVs, and even motorcycles. Who makes the best floor jack? Alltrade Powerbuilt, I think.

The lift range is also impressive. While it doesn’t extend 24 inches like some floor jacks out there, it can lift any 2-ton vehicle up to 17.5 inches, which is more than serviceable for most vehicles.

Performance Tool W1614 2-Ton Floor Jack – Best User-Friendly Floor Jack

The Performance Tool Floor Jack with 15-Inch Lift is a solid low-profile option that can fit underneath almost any car with no issues. Despite its heavy-duty steel frame, it only tips the scales at 33 pounds, making it one of the lightest 2-ton cheap floor jacks around.

All in all, it’s a solid floor jack for a solid price. While it won’t blow you away in any particular category, it gets the job done and gets it done right.

Blackhawk B6350 3.5-Ton Jack – Best 3.5-Ton Floor Jack

It may be larger than many other jacks, but the Blackhawk B6350 Black/Red 3.5-Ton Fast Lift Service Jack can effortlessly lift almost anything. In fact, with a 3.5-ton lift capacity, it will lift almost any full-size truck. We’ve even heard rumors of it lifting a ’76 LTD!

Best of all, the Blackhawk only takes a few pumps to lift up to its 20-inch max height. It’s nice and smooth dropping motion is simply the icing on the cake! With a price tag that won’t break the bank as well, it’s easily one of the best 3.5-ton floor jacks on the market today.

Goplus 3-Ton Heavy Duty Floor Jack with Rapid Pump – Best Lifting Floor Jack

Goplus isn’t the name you would expect to turn to when shopping for a floor jack. However, the Goplus 3-Ton Heavy Duty Steel Garage Floor Jack with Rapid Pump Quick Lift impresses in a number of ways.

Firstly, it’s rated for three tons and has a generous 19.88-inch maximum lift height. It also has a low-profile design to get underneath any car, not just the trucks and SUVs it’s more than capable of lifting. Plus, it features swivel rear wheels and a nice padded rubber saddle to protect your vehicle’s frame.

Sunex 6602LP 2-Ton Low Rider Jack – Best Floor Jack for Versatility and All-Around Use

The Sunex 6602LP 2-Ton Low Rider Service Jack is an excellent heavy-duty floor jack with a low-profile design that allows it to lift virtually anything under 4,000 pounds. This steel service jack is right at home in the garage and can safely lift a variety of vehicles. From a Miata to a Tacoma, if you have a vehicle weighing less than two tons, it won’t let you down.

With all of these features and quality construction to boot, it’s a great floor jack for any car, crossover, or light truck. As far as versatility and usability are concerned, this Sunex is tops in its class.

Buying a Good Floor Jack – Best Value Jack

As you can clearly see, there’s a wide variety of floor jacks out there for the picking. While it’s nice to have options, this makes choosing the right one for you and your needs easier said than done. To do so, you need to have some basic understanding of floor jacks and know what to look for.

Different Types of Floor Jacks

It’s important to know the different types of floor jacks before you go shopping for one. Fortunately, there are only three types of automotive jacks made in usa to choose from:

• Hydraulic Floor Jack

Most garage and car owners prefer hydraulics jacks due to their effectiveness and ease of use. When a hydraulic floor jack is pumped, hydraulic oil is transferred to the hydraulic oil chamber from the reservoir, which forces the jack’s saddle to begin rising.

• Bottle or Piston Jack

Bottle or piston jacks work very similar to hydraulic floor jacks. Only, rather than having along arm or lever, they’re designed in the shape of bottles. On the downside, bottle jacks are the opposite of low-profile and only suitable for large trucks and vehicles with plenty of ground clearance.

• Scissor Jack

Scissor jacks are inexpensive floor jacks that utilize a screw and a lead to lift a vehicle. These cheap jacks often come included with many vehicles, but they require a lot of effort and should only be used in emergency situations.

What to Consider When Buying a Floor Jack:

• Weight Capacity

The weight capacity of a floor jack is an obvious yet often overlooked aspect that will play a critical role in its ability to safely and efficiently lift your vehicle. The more a jack can lift, the better. The weight capacity of a floor jacks is rated in tons. If you have a small or mid-size car, a 2-ton floor jack will get the job done. On the other hand, a 3-ton jack or higher is best for trucks, vans, and SUVs.

• Build Quality

The build quality and materials used in the construction of a floor jack should be a deciding factor as well. Most quality floor jacks are made of steel, aluminum, or a hybrid of both metals. Steel jacks are heavy, strong, and relatively inexpensive. Aluminum jacks, however, are lighter, more portable, and usually, cost a little more.

• Maximum Height

The maximum height of a jack is essentially how high it can lift your vehicle. Some of the best floor jacks can extend up to 20 inches or more, while others top out as low as 13 inches. The higher a jack can lift, the more room you’ll have underneath!

• Ground Clearance

Like cars, jacks for home use have different heights and profiles. If you have a sports car or any vehicle that sits low to the ground, you’re going to need a low-profile floor jack. The last thing you want is to purchase a jack and wait for it to arrive only to find out it won’t fit underneath your car. So, take some quick measurements and keep clearance in mind when picking the right jack for you and your ride.

• Lifting Speed

The less you have to pump a jack handle to lift your car, the better. Fortunately, most good floor jacks only require about 15 pumps to lift an average vehicle. However, some floor jacks have dual-piston and handle designs, doubling their lifting speed.

• Warranty

Many floor jacks come with warranties of two years or longer, while others come with one-year warranties or none at all. Not only will a longer warranty take care of any fixes or provide you with a replacement if needed for a longer period of time, but it also says a lot about the quality of the jack and its manufacturer.

Essential Accessories

A floor jack alone will lift your car up, but a few other key accessories will make your wrench jobs easier and help ensure it stays safely put. Some other must-have related items include:

• Jack Stands

Nearly all floor jacks are “heavy duty,” at least they are according to their advertising. However, this doesn’t they can’t fail. To protect yourself from being crushed, good jack stands should also be used. These simple supporting struts can be a real lifesaver, literally.

• Wheel Chocks

Wheel chocks are another simple yet incredibly important item to have in your garage arsenal when jacking up your car. Nothing more than wedges, you place them behind your car’s wheels while lifting to prevent it from rolling away. Wheel chocks are generally sold in pairs, and if you use them along with the emergency brake and jack stands, they can keep your car safely in place while you’re working underneath it.

• Ramps

There’s nothing special about ramps, but they can be real time saver for small jobs like quick oil changes. Rather than lugging out a floor jack, you can simply drive your car up onto them in order to free up space to crawl underneath. Just remember to put wheel chocks down to keep it from rolling down the ramp and out of your driveway. Also, while ramps can come in handy, they can’t provide you with the extra space and safety of a quality floor jack.

• Mechanics Creeper

Also known as a car creeper, a mechanics creeper will make wrenching underneath your car much more comfortable. Rather than crawling and lying on cold hard concrete, a mechanics creeper will allow you lay comfortably and roll around underneath your car with ease. Basically sleds with wheels, mechanics creepers come in all shapes and sizes to help make working on your car as comfortable as possible.

Safety Tips for Using a Floor Jack

Best Floor Jack – The Bottom Line

Well, there you have it. Not only do you now know the best floor jacks on the market in a variety of categories, but you also know what to look for when choosing the right floor jack for you and your vehicle. Remember to always consider the weight capacity, lift height, build quality, ground clearance, and lift speed of a floor jack when making your decision. With a little wisdom and thought, you’ll be able to enjoy an outstanding, high-quality floor jack for years to come!