SGS trolley jacks and other stuff
Discussion
I'm in the market for a new trolley jack and i've been looking at the SGS engineering website.
I need a low profile jack minimum 2 ton lift but ideally 2.5 or even 3 ton to future proof it.
SGS seem very good value.
I currently have a Halfords 2 ton low profile jack i've had for 15 years or more but i'm losing trust in it and it looks worse for wear.
Would ideally like to keep under £150 budget.
I need a low profile jack minimum 2 ton lift but ideally 2.5 or even 3 ton to future proof it.
SGS seem very good value.
I currently have a Halfords 2 ton low profile jack i've had for 15 years or more but i'm losing trust in it and it looks worse for wear.
Would ideally like to keep under £150 budget.
Jamescrs said:
SGS seem very good value.
if your look over the last few pages of this thread there have been some comments on SGS equipment:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Just about everyone says stuff arrives incomplete or faulty & spares are an issue. Even the last post by someone who bought a press says there were parts missing on delivery.
Years ago like 10 years ago SGS where really good and I had a low profile jack. Last summer it decided to shear the knuckle in half for lowering thankfully I'd just lowered the car or I'd have been in a world of pain at Blyton Park.
Since then a few friends have bought things like jacks, presses and even a huge tool chest. Missing bits, poor quality and horrific service.
I've since got a halfords low profile jack on trade club was in your budget and great. Sealey is also good but wouldnt give SGS my money.
Since then a few friends have bought things like jacks, presses and even a huge tool chest. Missing bits, poor quality and horrific service.
I've since got a halfords low profile jack on trade club was in your budget and great. Sealey is also good but wouldnt give SGS my money.
I bought a Clarke low profile quick lift 2.5 jack a few years ago to replace my old cheap 2 ton halfords jack.
Checking SGS and machine mart, they seem to offer two very similar jacks. SJS one is reduced to £115 (from £155) and Clarke one is currently £180 so there is a price difference, but when you look there are minor changes between them. The wheels are better on the Clarke and it has a grease nipple for the main shaft, I suspect there are probably a few other less obvious slight upgrades that'll mean it'll be nicer to use and likely last longer.
Having heard similar recent quality issues regarding SJS, I went for Clarke, although I think the price difference was much smaller.
Checking SGS and machine mart, they seem to offer two very similar jacks. SJS one is reduced to £115 (from £155) and Clarke one is currently £180 so there is a price difference, but when you look there are minor changes between them. The wheels are better on the Clarke and it has a grease nipple for the main shaft, I suspect there are probably a few other less obvious slight upgrades that'll mean it'll be nicer to use and likely last longer.
Having heard similar recent quality issues regarding SJS, I went for Clarke, although I think the price difference was much smaller.
Kev_Mk3 said:
Years ago like 10 years ago SGS where really good and I had a low profile jack. Last summer it decided to shear the knuckle in half for lowering thankfully I'd just lowered the car or I'd have been in a world of pain at Blyton Park.
Since then a few friends have bought things like jacks, presses and even a huge tool chest. Missing bits, poor quality and horrific service.
I've since got a halfords low profile jack on trade club was in your budget and great. Sealey is also good but wouldnt give SGS my money.
I got a 3 tonne jack from them about 12 years ago, the last few years of does droop slowly but up to then it was great.Since then a few friends have bought things like jacks, presses and even a huge tool chest. Missing bits, poor quality and horrific service.
I've since got a halfords low profile jack on trade club was in your budget and great. Sealey is also good but wouldnt give SGS my money.
Wouldn't buy anything from them now though.
Keep meaning to bin the jack but I do use it occasionally for non-critical tasks....
FWIW I've got this Draper low profile jack: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-31481-Profile-Quic...
It's been faultless and I've used it in anger, a lot, with my cars and never had any issues
But, as an example, my F31, even on OE M Sport suspension, is still too low at the front to get to the front subframe jacking point, so low rise ramps are needed etc; ie: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-LAS5669-Low-Rise-Ra...
It's been faultless and I've used it in anger, a lot, with my cars and never had any issues
But, as an example, my F31, even on OE M Sport suspension, is still too low at the front to get to the front subframe jacking point, so low rise ramps are needed etc; ie: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-LAS5669-Low-Rise-Ra...
I bought SGS’s aluminium trolley jack and 4no axel stand deal a little while ago when eBay had an offer on.
The trolley jack is heavier than I expected considering it’s aluminium but it’s well made and low profile. The axel stands are solid but the mechanism is fiddly compared to a normal pin.
For the cost of them I can’t complain at all.
The trolley jack is heavier than I expected considering it’s aluminium but it’s well made and low profile. The axel stands are solid but the mechanism is fiddly compared to a normal pin.
For the cost of them I can’t complain at all.
I'm happy with my Halfords jack, would buy another if I ever needed to.
Get yourself a Trade card and you'll get 20% off (although they do have a similar offer fairly regularly for non Trade customers)
My local branch didn't even want to see any proof of 'Trade' status when I got my card, applied online and just bowled up at the store to pick up the card
Get yourself a Trade card and you'll get 20% off (although they do have a similar offer fairly regularly for non Trade customers)
My local branch didn't even want to see any proof of 'Trade' status when I got my card, applied online and just bowled up at the store to pick up the card
I've got a clarke 2 ton that is a "twist handle to release", with weight on it it gets really tough to twist the handle to release, the ore weight, the harder it gets, it also releases very suddenly, so its almost impossible to release it and let the car down slowly. I assumed it'd loosen up over time, it has not and at 15+ years old I guess it won't now..
I also have a sealey which has a separate screw to release, much nicer to use, doesn't bind up like the clarke.
Never had SGS stuff, but have read other stuff as per this thread, used to be good, now, not so much.
I also have a sealey which has a separate screw to release, much nicer to use, doesn't bind up like the clarke.
Never had SGS stuff, but have read other stuff as per this thread, used to be good, now, not so much.
Lotobear said:
Ultimately I suspect they are all made in the same Chinese factory and rebranded in the UK.
I took a snap-on trolley jack to a local company to have it refurbed.They reckoned they came off the ship unbranded,some went to Sealey,some to snap-on and others to other brands, with them all being the same just with different stickers,packaging and of course prices.I've had all brands including SGS,none of them last long if they're used daily in a workshop but for a diyer they'll all be ok
Bluevanman said:
Lotobear said:
Ultimately I suspect they are all made in the same Chinese factory and rebranded in the UK.
I took a snap-on trolley jack to a local company to have it refurbed.They reckoned they came off the ship unbranded,some went to Sealey,some to snap-on and others to other brands, with them all being the same just with different stickers,packaging and of course prices.I've had all brands including SGS,none of them last long if they're used daily in a workshop but for a diyer they'll all be ok
The problem with Chinese tat is that it's not only potentially dangerous, but you will get absolutely no interest from the UK agent when (not if) it goes wrong.
I bought a 2T trolly jack and a pair of 2T axle stands from SGS a few years ago.
The jack failed rather spectacularly without any warning while the car was jacked up.
Fortunately I wasn't under it and the axle stand held up OK.
I still lost a bit of wee though.
I emailed them and they said it was my fault and I should bleed the oil in the jack.
I did that several times but it was obvious that the main seal had blown.
They then had the gall to tell me that it was easy to replace the seal if i could find a replacement that fitted.
It was around a year out of warranty and had only had light use.
I don't buy their stuff anymore, but I'm still using the axle stands.
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