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Why Should You Get An Aluminum Floor Jack?
The main benefits of using an aluminum floor jack are that aluminum is going to be lighter in weight when compared to steel. Because most floor jacks are going to be made with steel as the main material they are going to be inherently heavier than an aluminum floor jack. If you are a traveling mechanic or if you are going to be using your floor jack a lot on a consistent basis then you may want to look at investing in an aluminum floor jack.
What Are The Benefits of An Aluminum Floor Jack?
Like I mentioned above the main benefit of using an aluminum floor jack is going to be how light the floor jack is compared to a normal steel floor jack. Because the aluminum floor jack is lighter it will be easier to carry around your garage.
Many traveling mechanics and race teams could benefit from using an aluminum floor jack. I could see this being a benefit to any traveling mechanic or any traveling race team as the lighter aluminum floor jack would not be as heavy to move around and would lighten the overall load of your tools.
Aluminum floor jacks generally look nicer than normal steel floor jacks as normal floor jacks are made from steel from a stamp. With aluminum floor jacks they are going to be made from stamped aluminum which is, in my opinion, better to look at. That’s really going to be down to personal preference though.
What Are The Downsides of An Aluminum Floor Jack?
We’ve discussed what the benefits of using an aluminum floor jack are now we will discuss the downsides. If you are unaware that aluminum is lighter than steel you may also be surprised to find out that aluminum is also inherently not as strong as steel which is why steel is going to be the main material used in floor jacks. In general, most aluminum floor jacks are going to have a lower weight capacity when compared to a normal steel floor jack.
The second downside to most aluminum floor jacks is going to be the cost when compared to a steel floor jack. Most aluminum floor jacks are going to cost considerably more than a comparable steel floor jack with the same weight capacity. That is why you would want to cross-shop other comparable steel floor jacks to see if you really want to go with an aluminum floor jack.
Weight Capacity
The main consideration you would want to take when purchasing an aluminum floor jack would be the weight capacity of the aluminum floor jack. If you are unsure of the weight of your vehicle you would probably want to look that up online before you decide to purchase a floor jack just to make sure that your vehicle is not going to be over the max weight capacity for the floor jack.
Otherwise, you would want to go with a floor jack that has a higher weight capacity. You can do a quick google search for your vehicle online by searching for the make model and year of your vehicle and finding out the weight of the vehicle.
Once you know how much your vehicle weighs you can now figure out what weight capacity will work for you and your vehicle. Most floor jacks are going to express their weight capacity in tons so you would want to make sure that your car weighs under the number of tons listed on the weight capacity. One ton equals 2,000 pounds so you would want to make sure that your car is going to weigh less than the number of tons listed on the floor jack.
If you have a lighter car you can probably get by with just a 2-ton aluminum floor jack as most small cars are going to weigh under 4,000 pounds. If you have an SUV or a truck you would probably want to look at getting a 3-ton floor jack as it would be able to handle 6,000 pounds of weight.
My aluminum floor jack recommendations
1. Arcan 2-Ton and 3-Ton Aluminum Floor Jack
Depending on what type of vehicle you are going to be working on would determine what weight capacity of jack you would want to get. If you are mostly working on small cars and SUVs I would go with the 2-ton jack. If you are going to be working on large vehicles like heavy-duty pickup trucks I would go with the 3-ton version.
Both aluminum floor jacks offer the same sort of design with only slight differences. They also have dual jack pump pistons to make it easier to get the vehicle in the air with less effort on your part. They both come with dust shield to protect the piston from dust and dirt contamination which should help the aluminum floor jack have a longer life.
Bypass and overload valves are installed on both versions to prevent from overextending the lifting arm and damaging the floor jack. They also come with 2 piece handles that can be broken down to aid in storing the aluminum floor jack when it’s not in use.
Looking specifically at the Arcan 2-ton aluminum floor jack it has a lower lifting capacity than the 3-ton version but also costs less. It has a lifting range of 3-1/2 inches and can lift up a vehicle all the way to 19 inches in the air.
With a bottom range of 3 and a half inches, it should be able to get under most cars even if they are lowered. The 2-ton version weighs only 50 pounds so it is lightweight enough to transport around easily. If you are interested in checking out the current prices of the Arcan 2 ton floor jack on Amazon click here.
Now looking at the Arcan 3-ton aluminum floor jack it is going to cost a bit more than the 2-ton version but will offer another ton of lifting capacity. This means it will be better suited for large vehicles such as large trucks, SUVs, and vans.
The lifting range has a bottom range of 3-3/4 inches and a top range of 18 inches so about an inch less than the 2-ton aluminum floor jack from Arcan. If you are going to be working on heavy vehicles and want to have an aluminum floor jack at your disposal then I would go with the 3-ton version. To check out the current prices of the Arcan 3 ton floor jack on Amazon click here.
2. Pittsburgh 1.5 Ton Compact Aluminum Racing Jack with Rapid Pump
Another plus of this jack is that it only weighs 30 pounds which makes it very portable. The Pittsburgh 1.5 ton aluminum floor jack has a lifting range from 3-1/4 inches to a max height of 14-3/4 inches.
It comes with a two-piece aluminum handle that can be removed for storage of the jack. The handle is equipped with a foam bumper to help prevent damaging your vehicle or anything in the vicinity of the jack.
If you have a car or small SUV 1.5 tons should be enough weight capacity to lift the vehicle up in the air. You will only be lifting up one corner of the vehicle at a time with this jack so you don’t need to support the full weight of the vehicle.
Once the corner of the vehicle is lifted up in the air you can then use jack stands to support the vehicle and move onto the next side of the car. I have a 4 door medium-sized car and ended up going with a 2-ton jack.
However, 1.5 tons should be fine as long as you are lifting one end of your car at a time. If you have a medium-sized SUV or truck you may be better off going with a 2-ton aluminum floor jack like the Arcan mentioned in this article. If you are interested in checking out the current prices of the Pittsburgh 1.5 ton aluminum floor jack click here.
3. Torin Big Red 2.5 Ton Aluminum/Steel Floor Jack
One thing to note is that jack is not made of all aluminum, it has aluminum and steel construction. The base of the floor jack would be made up of aluminum, the arm of the jack is made of steel to allow it to lift to its max capacity of 2.5 tons. If you are looking for an all-aluminum floor jack then you would want to look elsewhere.
Having steel integrated into this floor jack increases the weight of this jack. It weighs 60 pounds which is 5 pounds over the weight of the 3 ton Arcan floor jack but costs less than the Arcan all-aluminum jack.
If you are looking for an aluminum floor jack but are on a budget then you may want to check out this Torin 2.5 ton aluminum and a steel floor jack. To check out the current prices of the Torin 2.5 ton aluminum floor jack on Amazon click here.
How To Maintain An Aluminum Floor Jack
With aluminum floor jacks they are going to have a hydraulic arm that they use to lift your vehicle from the ground into the air. Because it uses a hydraulic system the floor jack may need to have hydraulic fluid reapplied to the hydraulic fluid reservoir from time to time. This is especially true if your floor jack is leaking hydraulic fluid.
Another consideration you would want to take when you are done with your floor jack for the day is to lower the floor jack arm to the bottom position and let the pressure off of the floor jack arm so that the hydraulic pump is not always in the locked position. This will also help extend the life of your floor jack.
Aluminum Jack Stands
If you do not already own a set of jack stands and are planning on getting an aluminum floor jack you may want to look at going with aluminum jack stands as well. It’s important when working on your vehicle that you always use jack stands once you have jacked up your vehicle to the height that you want it.
If you do not use jack stands when working on your vehicles you run the risk of having your floor jack fail on you and possibly have your vehicle fall on you. If that happens you are going to have a really messed up day.
Really any steel or aluminum jack stands are going to serve the same purpose which is going to be to support your vehicle while it is in the air and make sure that it does not fall from its position. Aluminum jack stands are going to be lighter than steel jack stands so keep that in mind. Aluminum jack stands will also typically cost more than steel jack stands.
In Conclusion
If you are looking for the best aluminum floor jack for your needs you would want to first look at the weight capacity of the vehicle or vehicles that you are planning on lifting with the aluminum floor jack.
After you have ensured that you are getting a floor jack that will be able to handle the weight of your vehicle your next main consideration should be the cost of the aluminum floor jack.
Hopefully, this guide was better able to give you some ideas as to what to look for when you are looking for an aluminum floor jack and informed you of what you should look out for.