Want to purchase a floor jack for your truck and don’t know which one is the best for you? If so, you’ve got to the right place. We will help you find the right floor jack for the truck.
You should choose a floor jack that has enough load capacity to lift your truck. And it should have a versatile lift range so you can get sufficient space under your vehicle for installing a jack stand or getting under it.
But that’s not the end. You will need to check some of the key features of a floor jack and they should align with your truck’s needs. For this reason, let’s go through the key aspects of a floor jack.
If you want to skip the buying guide and explore the products, click the article below.
What Size Floor Jack For Truck?
Load Capacity
It is the lifting power of a floor jack. It shows how much weight a particular floor jack can lift. This factor is mentioned in terms of tons. Like 2-ton floor jack, 3 tons, 4 tons 5 tons, and so on. A 2-ton floor jack lifts a 2-ton load (4,000 lb), and a 3-ton can raise a 3-ton (6,000 lb) load or under. And so is for the 4-ton, 5-ton, etc.
Now, what size floor jack is fit for trucks? This depends on the weight of the truck. Since there are many trucks of different sizes and weights, you will first need to check your truck’s weight which can be found in its manual.
Once you got it, then look for a jack with enough load capacity to lift the truck. If the truck weighs 6000 lb, then a 3-ton floor jack is fit for it. If 8000 lb, go for 4 tons. Most trucks weigh around 5000 to 9000 lb.
A 3-ton (6,000 lb) floor jack can lift a 4-ton (8,000 lb) truck. Because you’re not going to lift your whole truck at once, nor there is any central jack point for that. You may need to raise one wheel of a truck for a flat tire. Or you will be raising each corner and then placing a jack stand, and you will raise your whole truck like this.
Generally, for vehicles, a floor jack can lift them even if they have 25% more weight than the jack’s capacity. But it is better to have a floor jack of the same or more load capacity than the load you want to lift.
Maximum Lift Height
After the load capacity, the next essential factor of a floor jack that should be cross-checked with your truck is the maximum lift height. It is the extended height of a floor jack. It tells you how high you can lift a truck with a floor jack.
Most floor jacks have 18 – 24 inches max lift height. Some have even higher lift ranges of up to 30+ inches, which also cost more than the other jacks. Which one is the best for you can be decided after you know about the ground clearance of your truck.
So check it either manually or by consulting its instruction manual. Trucks have around 9 – 13 inches of clearance, depending on their model and brand. If your truck has, say, 12 inches of ride height, you should choose a floor jack with an 18+ inch max lift height.
Because, if the jack has 18 inches max lift height, it will lift your truck 6 inches as it has 12 inches of its own ride height. The higher the max lift height, the more space you will get beneath the truck.
Lifted trucks have higher ground clearances. You need to opt for higher lift range floor jacks so they can reach that high jack point and can raise the truck. In short, a floor jack should have more max lift height than the ride height of your truck.
Since you will be installing a jack stand as well for holding the load, double-check the height of the stand as well. The floor jack that you want to buy should give you enough space so you can install a jack stand under your truck.
Dual-piston Pump System
There are different floor jacks out there in the market. In regards to pumps, which is the essential part of them since it lifts a load, you will find either a single-piston or dual-piston pump floor jack. That’s why you should know the difference.
In a nutshell, double-piston floor jacks raise loads quicker than single-piston pumps. Because here two pumps work together to lift a truck. So they will be faster. Such models save your time, and energy, which are the only pros of the dual system. However, they are expensive.
Material
Next, you have the option of choosing between a steel or an aluminum floor jack. The two products are solid and strong enough that can raise the truck off the ground. The one difference is their weight. One weighs more than the other.
An aluminum floor jack is light and weighs almost half of the weight of a steel jack. It’s handy only when you want to carry the product from one place to another. If you notice the jacks, they feature four wheels that can move over the floor. So there is no need for picking it up to displace it.
The aluminum jack is more expensive than the other one. If you’re not tight on the budget, you can choose this over the steel jack.
Ending Notes
This was all about: what size floor jack for truck. Ensure that you know about your vehicle weight first, then decide the size of the jack. If it is under 6000 lb, opt for a 3-ton jack. Under 8000 lb, opt for a 4-ton jack. You can find more about the best floor jacks for trucks in the article mentioned above.