Your Guide to the Types of Car Jacks and Stands

When changing your tire, it’s natural to rely on a car jack. However, is a car jack suited for all your repair needs when it comes to lifting your vehicle?

Car Jacks and Jack Stands Explained

Car jacks are tools that lift vehicles off the ground for repair. They come in many shapes and sizes. While they’re designed to lift a vehicle, most car jacks are not made to maintain the height for extended periods. That’s where jack stands come in.

But, what is a jack stand?

You usually put your car on jack stands if you plan on keeping it up for longer repairs or maintenance work. They’re great at holding static loads and are designed like pillars to support your vehicle while it’s raised. After lifting the vehicle with a jack, you can position jack stands under your vehicle to maintain the height.

Car jacks are typically bought as a single piece of equipment, while jack stands come in sets.

Types of Car Jacks

There are multiple types of jacks out there for you to pick from. One of the main differences you’ll notice is between hydraulic and mechanical jacks.

Mechanical Jacks

Mechanical jacks use various mechanical methods such as screws or a ratcheting system to lift your vehicle slowly. Mechanical jacks include:

Scissor Jacks

Scissor jacks have their distinctive shape to thank for their name. They look a bit like scissor arms and are incredibly lightweight and portable. Many manufacturers include them with a spare tire when they sell you a vehicle.  A long screw runs through this jack’s two sides. You can twist this screw to open or close the joints, which raises or lowers your vehicle.

High Lift Jacks

High lift jacks, also known as farm jacks, are more specialized jacks designed to provide maximum lift for off-road vehicles, farm equipment, and trailers. They’re typically designed for vehicles with high clearance. These jacks are built tall with a small footplate and a long handle. Due to their small base, they can be unsteady and require more caution when in use.

Hydraulic Jacks

Hydraulic jacks are more complicated than mechanical jacks. They work by using Pascal’s Law. In a confined incompressible liquid, pressure is equal to force divided by area. As a result, force equals pressure multiplied by area. If you increase the area while the pressure is constant, force increases.

The pistons in a typical hydraulic jack are usually designed so that one piston’s area is smaller than the other. As a result, a little pressure on the smaller piston multiplies the force across the area of the larger piston, leading to lift. A series of pump plungers and suction valves are in place to move the liquid. They also prevent pressure from returning from the larger piston to the smaller piston.

Hydraulic Jacks include:

Bottle Jacks

Bottle jacks are a type of hydraulic jack shaped like a bottle. You can operate one by pumping the handle up and down. Thanks to their compact size and range of lift capacities, bottle jacks make for great emergency jacks. You can easily opt to have one in your vehicle for emergencies.

Bottle jack lift capacities can go from 2 to 12 tons for typical vehicles all the way up to 100 tons for extra large vehicles. If you want extra stability, you can purchase a bottle jack with a wider base.

Floor Jacks

A floor jack is a larger type of jack with wheels and a long handle. You can easily slide it under a vehicle and pump the long handle to raise and lower the vehicle. This comes at the cost of portability. Floor jacks are typically larger than scissor and bottle jacks, but they make for a great garage tool.

Trolley Jacks

Trolley jacks are very similar to floor jacks, but they have a wider range of clearances . This allows them to be used for regular cars, trucks, and SUVs, but also for sports and luxury cars, which usually have low ride heights. Trolley jacks tend to be more robust, with heavier structures and more versatility. They do tend to come with higher price tags, but they’re usually favored by professionals even with the cost.

Other Jack Types

Pneumatic Jacks

Pneumatic jacks are used to inspect heavier vehicles such as buses, trucks, and construction vehicles. They’re also known as telescope jacks and look like a tower of small, inflatable tires. These types of jacks are powered with compressed air rather than hydraulics.

Exhaust Air Jacks

Exhaust air jacks use the air from your exhaust to inflate, lifting your vehicle in the process. You can attach a long hose to your exhaust pipe, filling an inflatable sack. Unlike typical jacks, you can position the sack anywhere under the chassis instead of only on the jack points. You can release the air using a one-way valve. This type of jack is great for softer ground.

Types of Jack Stands

Pin Jack Stands

Pin jack stands are very simple. You can adjust them by removing a pin and adjusting the stand’s height manually. Return the pin once you’re satisfied with the height. You can then position the stand underneath your vehicle.

Ratchet Jack Stands

Unlike pin jack stands, ratchet jack stands automatically lock into place using a built-in ratcheting device. Simply adjust it to your desired height and it’ll lock securely. You can use the handle on the side to unlock the ratcheting mechanism and lower the stand. Be careful not to hit it while underneath the vehicle.

General Safety Tips

When using a car jack or a jack stand, there are a few safety tips to keep in mind:

• Only use a jack on stable, level ground.
• If you get a flat, don’t jack up your car on the side of the road. If possible, drive to the nearest stop or wait for highway patrol before doing anything.
• Find out where your vehicle’s jack points are so you don’t just place it anywhere under your vehicle’s chassis. You may damage your vehicle if you put the jack in the wrong locations under your vehicle.
• Make sure your emergency brake is engaged.
• Use jack stands to prop the vehicle up. Don’t rely solely on the car jack for extended periods of time.
• Don’t climb under the vehicle if you’re only using a car jack to keep it raised.

Do Cars Come With Jacks?

Most car companies include a jack and a spare tire with your purchase when you buy a car from them. This isn’t the case for all models, however, so it’s best to ask if one is included when buying your car. If one isn’t included, you can buy a car jack for $170 to $410. Jack stands will run you $60 to $260.

Check out these videos on how to use the jacks: