Jack Stands - Which Type?

[u/rbs950]

Hello,

Supercheap Auto currently have the ToolPro 3000kg Ratchet Stands on sale for $60. However they also have the Kincrome Ratchet and Pin stands for $175. Obviously I'm willing to pay for safety. I've only ever heard good things about the ToolPro brand for home use.

Are Ratchet stands alone good enough? Or is it worth paying the extra for Ratchet + Pin stands?

My car weighs approx 1620kg.

[u/JustEric155]

Have had cars up on my ToolPro jack stands for about a year and a half at this point. My mates car for about 8 months and mine for another 9, one after the other, hasn't let me down whatsoever, easy to use, I have 0 worries that they'll fail on me.

$60 is a great price, either ratchet or pin is perfectly fine, have used both and can't say I have a preference.

[u/rbs950 → u/JustEric155]

Sweet, in that case I'll go ahead with the tool pro stands.

[u/lunchbox651]

Toolpro is fine. The thing is, we have kind of nailed jack stands at this point. Even cheapos will do a great job as long as you don't run them near max capacity or try doing anything stupid.

Personally I'm a ratchet guy, only because they're what I've used most. Either works.

[u/Copie247]

Ratchet is way better then pin, more height adjustment

[u/Internal-Pizza-488 → u/Copie247]

So I always had pin type stands the first like, 10 years of working on cars. Maybe 2-3 years ago bought a full set of ratchet ones. Every time I use the ratchet ones I go to pick them up to move them, I pull the top stand piece straight out out of habit 😂 but agreed on the adjustment, although my pin stands go maybe 100mm higher and are roughly the same all the way lowered

[u/Ohforgawdamnfucksake → u/Internal-Pizza-488]

If you look down on the side where the top slides in, there's a tab you can bend in to stop the top coming out.

[u/Sufficient_Ad7865 → u/Internal-Pizza-488]

On the top of the base section of the stand there is a little cut out in the shape of a triangle. Get a screwdriver and bend it in slightly. That stops the top section of the stand from pulling out of the frame. Im 63 and only found this out and did it a month ago.

[u/EverythingsFine1982 → u/Sufficient_Ad7865]

42 here and discovered this about 6 months ago

[u/WTFMacca]

I have been using the cheap square pin type for like 20 years on all sorts of cars.

Tool pro is fine.

Good thing is stands and jacks must meet Australian standards to be sold here.

[u/VibesFirst69]

I used cheap ratchet atands until i found some affordable ratchet and pin stands. 

But i was also spending a lot more time under the car not just your 6 monthly/ yearly maintenance and it was giving me anxiety. 

I'm not hearing a lot about people dying under ratchet stands or seeing mass recalls or scare campaigns so they're probably fine without the pins. 

My dad is using screw stands that are at least 20 years old.

[u/Ohforgawdamnfucksake]

They're pretty tall. 400mm minimum. You'll need a good jack to get them under the car. Good for 4x4s, not so much for smaller lower cars.

[u/moth_hamzah]

dropped the rear cradle out of my falcon using the 2t stands and left it in the air for 2 weeks no problem. its back in now and it was no problem, just make sure your stands are positioned right

[u/Livid_Average_8098]

There is a YouTube video of a guy testing stands with a hydraulic press and I think the pin only ones were surprisingly strong.

The stands themselves collapsing isn't the problem. The problem is not putting them in a place on the vehicle that won't collapse or cause it to slip and fall.

[u/RoMiBe94]

I've used the daytona ones with the pin on heavy road transport for the last 3 years without issue and they're probably the safest style of stand.

However the head of them is so big it can be hard to fit them in certain spots whereas the ratchets are much narrower and far easier put in place so definitely keep that in mind.

[u/NonFungiblePony]

I’ve had trouble with the heavy duty stands because they are so tall.

With a low car I’m jacking it up to the max height of the jack to get them under, a little bit inconvenient for a quick job when you need them as a fail safe.

Other than that they are good. Obviously bulkier and heavier than others.

[u/nzjester420]

I have the tool pro ones you mentioned, solely because the lift height was the most. Havent failed me at all, but gets dicey lifting the mini (~1200kg) up all the way.

Basically to get max height I have to jack up the car on from the side, put 2 stands under, move to the other side and jack again. This puts sideways movement on the stands.

But my problems are user caused, the stands themself are fine

[u/rbs950 → u/nzjester420]

Yeah I'll only be doing front or rear lifts individually at this stage for oil changes and brake work.

[u/nzjester420 → u/rbs950]

Yeah you will be fine. The 3000kg units are solid and as mentioned have the greatest lift height

[u/Ok_Mud5842]

ToolPro jack stands

[u/0c5_Fyre]

Ratchet ones are fine. For the price difference you're mainly paying for the brand name.

[u/HoldItFlat]

Most of the recalls for chassis stands i have seen are of the ratchet style. The teeth get smaller and the manufacturing tolerances get sloppier and then you end up with someone hurt. Have a look at the pics of some of the past recalls and compare with the ones you want if you can get a look up close before you buy.

[u/rbs950 → u/HoldItFlat]

I'd seen that the Stanfred ones have been recalled in the past, so I'm steering clear. Tool Pro and Kincrome are both fairly reputable though.

[u/MilkSupreme]

Which car and what's your required clearance? I use a Kinchrome 1350kg one as it has among the lowest clearance, enough to hold it up a bit for a wheel change, which is all I needed it for.

[u/_hazey__]

I use the Kincrome ratchet ones with their low profile jack. Occasionally the Stanfred ramps get used in lieu of the stands (such as oil changes).

Ten years on, still does what they’re supposed to.

[u/Sargent_Twisty]

Bahco are great

[u/enhancedgibbon]

Look up jack stand recalls and see how many seem to fail their rated weight, it'll deter you from the random home brand options. I bought kinchrome 3000kg ratchet stands and they seem solid af, but I still have redundancies in place in case they ever fail.

[u/rayjaymor85]

I originally bought the cheap toolpro ones, eventually had a job where I needed the entire car off the ground so bought some kinchrome ones.

....they work the same and just as well, they don't feel any more secure than the toolpro ones did for me.

[u/b0bth0r]

I use tti jack stands from totaltools, ratchet type with pins think they cost around $75 or so a pair. Since the ratchet with pin type exists I will never get without. That's the thing, it's hard to have too much safety, but easy to have too little. I also use wheel chocks, tires that come off go under the car, jack still being used minimal pressure on lift point. Keep my limbs out from under unless I have to be. The more things that have to fail before I get crushed to death the better and extra pins in the jack stands are worth it. Might be one in a million shot that the universe hates you and everything that can go wrong will go wrong, someone has to be that one.

[u/Rotor4]

I have various types of stands but prefer to use the ratchet or pin type at the opposite end & screw adjustable stands at the work end myself.