Trolley jack: Recommendations - 2T+ / alloy?

[Davie]

My current 2.5T trolley jack has given up, I've tried fresh oil, new seals but I'm now fed up and looking to buy a new one. I did debate going down the pretty standard issue "SGS" route for a new one but have been sidetracked by the thought of an alloy / lightweight on.

The brief is it'd mostly be used in the garage but I do occasionally move it around and my current one, whilst a solid thing... weighs a ton. However equally, I'm not a fan of the generic Halfords esque cheapy ones as they never feel that solid when in use.

eBay has a few offerings but always slightly nervous with jacks from the far East, en though I'd always use stands etc so on that note, any recommendations or particular things to look for it indeed, avoid. Budget wise I was thinking around £100 but may go more for something that'll last for years.

And yes I could and should get mine repaired and I may still do that but it's a massive, unwieldy thing so gets to be a bit of a chore at times.

[Davie]

Just comparing a couple of offerings from SGS just as a matter of interest... but their "basic" 3 ton jack comes in at £83.00 and weighs 29kg... their equivalent alloy jack comes in at £149 and weighs 26kg. It's the saving of 3kg that surprises me, I honestly thought alloy jacks were significantly lighter.

I'm actually leaning towards said basic 3 ton jack... low saddle height isn't an issue but a good maximum lifting height would be good for getting under the car to work, plus they seem to have pretty strong reviews and it's free postage plus 2yr warranty. Seems ok, more so as I'm now less drawn to an alloy bodied jack as the weight savings don't seem that marked.

[Davie]

Thanks, food for thought.

It's not so much the weight capacity I need, but the lifting height would be handy as I've an old relic to work in over winter so getting as high as possible is important plus I've got an XC70 and a basic Halford esque trolley jack almost maxes out before the tyre leaves the ground... and it's a heavy thing and a entry level jack never feels that secure, hence was leaning towards something a bit more manly.

[Davie]

That Koveg one looks like a candidate... though on the rebranded far Eastern front, does that not apply to a huge variety of jacks? Quite a few look pretty much identical... then again, how wildly different can jack's be I suppose. I guess it comes down to quality of the welds and the moving components. Find myself more inclined to buy locally, more so for ease of return if it did go wrong. Returning 30kg of jack 18 months down the line could be a faff!

[Davie]

On that note:

https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-workshop/axl...

£130 with a 3yr warranty or £160 for a 3 ton.

Probably get trade discount too.

Thoughts?

[Davie]

Will_S said:

Just came across this! Koveg is my company (perhaps I need to rethink my branding if you're getting Eastern European vibes!)

They are actually rated to 4 tonnes, and are absolutely bomb proof. I've had one this design that I've used for the last 3 years.

I've sold a fair few to garages, who really rate them.

Also if anything goes wrong with it I'll replace it no questions, but I very much doubt you'll have any issues. You'd be helping out a fellow PHer buying from me

If you use the discount code "PH" then you'll get 15% off. Postage actually costs me £30, but happy for you to have the discount and maybe free postage if you let me know whereabout's in Scotland you are, and I'll drop it off to you.

Apologies, probably poor wording / laid out paragraph on my part but it wasn't alluding that the Koveg one was akin to Eastern European stuff - it was more a statement that the Koveg unit was a now on my list followed by picking up on what a previous poster said regarding the SGS items being rebranded stuff and not that great - but to my eye, a lot of different branded jacks look pretty much identical so are you paying for a big brand name on a pretty crap jack or a pretty good jack with a non brand name as it were. It's a bit of a minefield really! So again, apologies as it was two very separate topics but I ran them together in a poorly constructed post. However, a very kind gesture from you sir - as for location, not a million miles from the Forth bridges.

In the interests of trying to narrow the search, I've just checked my current (dead) jack and it's a Clarke Strong Arm 2T that weighs in at a whopping 35kgs according to the wifes bathroom scales and her utter disgust. It's a bit hefty for hauling around the drive / lifting in to the car to go and do emergency repairs for all and sundry but equally, I'm really not a fan of the entry level, pretty narrow and flimsy jacks for the sort of sub £50 market. They do the job occasionally but I want something with a good lift height (have a project on axle stands and an XC70 then needs a fair lift to get airbourne) plus it needs to be a solid thing as I've had a few experiences with the entry level stuff where the car just felt a bit unstable, even when jacked correctly. However I am starting to question if something that weighs 35kg and lifts 2T+ is a bit overkill but equally, I want to be able to jack the cars up front axle / rear axle... not something I'd do with an entry level sub £50 jack.