Quickjack thoughts?

[DGatzby]

If you go through the various pictures that people have posted, the main legs are either tilted "forward" (pointing at engine), or tilted "backwards" (pointed towards the trunk).

I use my (usually) tilted backwards, which is wrong according to this....


See how the main legs are tilted "forward"...


"USE ONLY AS ILLUSTRATED"


Oops...




View attachment 177615

With all due respect, for two reasons it wants to indicate what it says. 1) it is ONLY the specific instruction printed, regardless of the direction of the jacks. It specifically DOES NOT say to point it one way or the other. It would be at least reckless for them to not indicate that LOUDLY. You are presuming that it must be pointed at the direction shown. 2) I have repeatedly done it both ways not a problem and IMO it is fine.

No oops here. It has been both ways for months for years now.

 

[BULL]

It's a horrible picture and ambiguous instructions at best, are they only talking about the rubber blocks, or are they also talking about the orientation and direction of the main legs?

 

[drag racer]

With all due respect, for two reasons it wants to indicate what it says. 1) it is ONLY the specific instruction printed, regardless of the direction of the jacks. It specifically DOES NOT say to point it one way or the other. It would be at least reckless for them to not indicate that LOUDLY. You are presuming that it must be pointed at the direction shown. 2) I have repeatedly done it both ways not a problem and IMO it is fine.

No oops here. It has been both ways for months for years now.

It is fine either way, but there is a difference in leverage one way vs. the other. First, one should always have the position locks/arms facing outward - for SAFETY - visual monitoring that the cams roll and catch properly on the stops, and for quick access in case one or both stick (happened to me once) without risking getting your arm/body in and under the frame and vehicle trying to reach for it in the event of stopping a potentially real bad day.

With that said, that leaves two proper orientations for the frames. When I first started using the 5k unit on the Hellcat, I was doing doing a bunch of mods underneath - exhaust, driveshaft, subframe connectors, etc. and my primary objective was to place the frames in the position that would arc the car such that I could shut the garage door with the car on the ground and at full lift position 2. I happened to the have the rams pointing rearward, which arcs the car in the same direction as it lifts. The opposite configuration would be with the frames swapped side to side and rotated 180° (locking arms still facing outward), will have the rams pointing forward, and will arc the car forward during lift.

I never thought any more about this until....I got the Durango...1300 pounds heavier than the Hellcat, and very front-heavy due to the 4x4 running gear. I was doing some research and came across a tip that for better leverage, always have the rams pointing towards the heaviest part of the car - in the case of front engine vehicles...the front. By the time I saw and thought about it and visually studied the kinematics of the frames, I had already tried to lift the Durango with the 5k unit and the rams facing rearward like I had lifted the Hellcat, and it stalled before getting all 4 wheels off the ground. In hindsight, I have a feeling it would have lifted the Durango had I tried it with the rams facing forward. But I feel more comfortable with the 7k unit and some better margin, even though QJ has a video demonstrating the MS of >=3 with the 5k unit lifting something like 15 or 20,000 lbs of deadweight IIRC.

 

[1971demon]

I have owned two - started off with the 5k model - it lifts the cars just fine. When I got the Durango, I was hoping to be able lift it too with the 5k, but was a no-go, so I sold it to a family member and then bought the 7k model, which will lift the Durango, but I have not tried to lift the cars with it yet (I'm hoping I won't have clearance issues, because it is slightly "thicker"/taller at rest). All in all, I would say they are pretty good for what they are and their usefulness when a full-size lift is not in the cards.

And yes, just as Hunter said, they seems to get a little heavier with each use LOL, but technically, are portable, which may be important to some. They are pretty quick and easy to setup, just a little back-and-forth checking at all 4 corners when lifting to make sure the frames are straight and parallel, and the touch points are good, etc.

Durango on the 7k:

View attachment 177604


Chally on the 5k:

View attachment 177605

First time I've seen them in use...so they totally block off access between the wheels..and they are @ least a foot under the car on both sides and lift the vehicle maybe 15 inches or so...so on a creeper you must slide under the front..or back...with maybe 6" between you and the car.....no thanks

 

[drag racer]

First time I've seen them in use...so they totally block off access between the wheels..and they are @ least a foot under the car on both sides and lift the vehicle maybe 15 inches or so...so on a creeper you must slide under the front..or back...with maybe 6" between you and the car.....no thanks

Yes they block the sides from access, and you do have to enter & exit from the front or rear. Lifting at the pinch welds keeps them outboard as much as possible, maximizing the room under the car. Not ideal, but give the utility of a 2-post lift when a full size is not available.

 

[1971demon]

Yes they block the sides from access, and you do have to enter & exit from the front or rear. Lifting at the pinch welds keeps them outboard as much as possible, maximizing the room under the car. Not ideal, but give the utility of a 2-post lift when a full size is not available.

It does have it's limitations...sure glad when I built my buildings I made provisions for 2 lifts...

 

[DGatzby]

First time I've seen them in use...so they totally block off access between the wheels..and they are @ least a foot under the car on both sides and lift the vehicle maybe 15 inches or so...so on a creeper you must slide under the front..or back...with maybe 6" between you and the car.....no thanks

My picture above shows the “lower” stop. It can go 12” higher. They are positioned under the pinch welds.

I and everyone else use the highest setting to be under it. After I am done with all of that it sits lower like the picture. That is the level to take wheels on and off unless you like to lift them an extra foot. At that level I also get my legs under the tires to help a bit as necessary.

@drag racer has a good post above. Important point about the stops being accessible from the outside. Also good discussion on force and direction for bigger loads that get more close to this good product’s capacity. It is well over designed for 4500 lbs, especially the larger models.

 

[16GoManGoHC2]

I built my shop to support a 2 post 10 years ago and honestly have never needed it so never got one.

4 post takes up too much space and I never really saw the point vs 2 post.

I'm probably past building cars and engine swaps so thought this might make general maintenance easier, but Race Ramps have been getting it done nol problemo.

Hey Speedy, if you do end up buying one and need a pinch weld lifting pucks, I have 6 of them in like new condition, make you a deal on the four if you need them, let me know, I don’t lift by the pinch welds, never liked doing it, just seems wrong in my old school mind.