BUDGET QuickJack Alternative from Harbor Freight and Amazon

Since we are too cheap here at Retro Grade to purchase one of these really handy looking QuickJack setups, we opted to put together a budget friendly alternative sourced from Harbor Freight and Amazon and decided to share it with our massive viewer base. Can our setup provide the same convenience and capability as a Quickjack? Does it make sense to buy a Quickjack? Check out this masterpeice to find out!
#harborfreight #harborfreighttools #amazon #quickjack #snapon
Links to Products Referenced and Utilized in Video:
Harbor Freight DJ3000 Floor Jack
www.harborfrei...
Powerbuilt All-In-One Bottle Jack and Stand Combo:
www.amazon.com...
Harbor Freight Heavy Wheel Chocks:
www.harborfrei...
Harbor Freight Jack Cross Beam:
www.harborfrei...
Powerbuilt All-In-One Pinch Weld Adapters:
www.amazon.com...
Quickjack (For those 'Rich Dipsh*ts out there):
www.QuickJack.com
For anyone who wants to reach out to us specifically, feel free to send us an email at [e-mail]
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***SAFTEY DISCLAIMER***
This video is for INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! It is NOT intended to be an instructional 'How To Video' on lifting your car, truck, or SUV. Please do your own research, follow all manufacturer's instructions and warnings, and take all safety precations when preparing to raise and work underneath of your vehicle.
***COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER***
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute in utilization of material that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement.
This KZbin Video constitutes non-infringing fair use under U.S. copyright law because it is transformative in nature, uses no more of the original than necessary, and has no negative effect on the market for the original work.
We do NOT own some or all of the video materials used in this video. In the case of copyright concerns, please reach out to us at [e-mail] for any further action.

[@BillyBoblovesthedirt]

I thought I was in a 90’s arcade game. Love Honda C series content. Long live the C90 and CT90/110.

[@retro_grade]

Haha, that's awesome. Yeah we have a big appreciation for the Honda Trail content! If you haven't stumbled across it yet and want a laugh, watch the one where we pull the boat across the yard with the new 125. Comparing that and doing some really good off road riding to stack that against the CT110, CT90, and Trail 55 is on the "bucket list". We've been focusing in on boat content lately because that's what we're working on and figure maybe we're too much all over the place in topic. While we may slack off on some of the motorcycle content, the off road stuff like the Honda CT's, possibly older dual sports like our Husqvarna 610's is what we'll keep doing.

[@bradmaas6875]

Costco just had QJ on sale, $1,500, included the truck/hi lift lifting bits ($500). With the 2% from my Costco card and 2% from my credit card, came to a shade over $1,100. Watching him lift and lower his car, QJ for the win.

[@retro_grade]

That is a VERY good deal on a Quickjack setup. When I was looking (including using my inlaws Costco membership, which not everybody has), they were still around $1500 on sale I think, without any of the truck attachments. To be honest, if I was able to get that setup for that price, I may very likely have bought that over the setup I went with here. (The sale also must not still be one because, I'm not finding one that cheap on Costco's site). My brother recently sent me a link for someone selling a used Quickjack for $1200 on Facebook marketplace. And I bet it'll sell within a week or so. If I were to watch only the section of me lifting and lowering the car, your impression is probably the one I'd take away. It's why I initially was going to purchase a Quickjack before thinking on it a bit more. But, once I priced out what I would be 'charging myself' per hour for the time savings with it, with the estimated frequency I'd use it at, then I changed my mind. It just didn't make sense at the time. (With the numbers you managed to purchase a setup at, those figures would have been quite a bit different).

[@bradmaas6875]

@@retro_grade I got lucky with the sale.

[@smashingartful]

You guys are hilarious!

[@retro_grade]

@@smashingartful we are glad somebody thinks so 🤣

[@tiamoe9955]

I enjoyed this video I do like the safety feature of those jacks

[@retro_grade]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I really like the all in one jacks alot, they've worked well also on my Mazda RX8 and my pickup truck. The redundancy of the locking mechanism combined with a bottle jack is very nice. The biggest thing left to worry about is the car being stable on the jack stands, especially when lifted up high. -Brock

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

If @quickjackusa doesn’t send you one to test out on the channel, we’d honestly be surprised after the valiant effort put forth in this video. After the best part of the video at 28:47, they should at least be concerned enough about your future overall safety, since your Daytona is now compromised 😆

[@retro_grade]

The floor jack is pretty much a Snap on, so we're gonna bank on it still being A-OK. We don't have a Safety Director yet to tell us otherwise 😂 As expensive as they are, Quickjacks certified would have been on - they take videos throwing them 40 ft off building tops!

[@keithr2969]

So what you're saying is it becomes dark by the time you get the car up & down on stands. Hilarious when you were out of breath and your buddy says hey are you struggling over there?

[@retro_grade]

Oh, it's usually dark by the time I'm done fooling around and 'thinking' / procrastinating on working on my car anyways! Yeah, I could probably have been a little more efficient and gotten it done in around roughly 10 minutes. Maybe. I'm not sure why I was so out of breath. I think it was because the excitement about knowing that I was going to be in a video viewed by MILLIONS of people was just too much too contain 😂

[@tenflat2009]

Shout-out from Canada! Although quick jack is expensive, roughly $2200 Canadian shipped to me, i am seriously considering something like this for oil changes and tire rotations on my two vehicles. Its still much faster.

[@retro_grade]

That is alot! I had looked at several used ones around $1,000 here (for the old model), all of which sold fairly quick or $1700 for the new Quickjack. I was seriously considering buying one after I bought the Ralliart, upon which several of my friends laughed at me for it. So I dug around and found the setup I decided to make the video on (because anything to do with Harbor Freight typically gets good hits on KZbin). The intent of what I was going to use mine for was lifing the car up high.....projects which would take awhile to do (transmission rebuild), and in which the car would sit on them for some time. So, in my mind, time savings in that case didn't really matter. For things such as fluid changes, I only need the car high enough to sit on the jack stands at base level, which takes alot less time than getting to that full height I was trying to match the Quickjack at. For my Toyota Tacoma, those All-In-One Jack stands are fantastic. As I mentioned, I can get them underneath and jack the truck up using them alone, and they'll get the wheels off the ground. Last time I rotated tires on it, it took me roughly 15 minutes to do....and I'm one of those weirdos that take the time torque my lug nuts at that :)

[@retro_grade]

Also, don't get me wrong, I'd still love to have one 😂

[@tenflat2009]

@@retro_grade I was also looking at the "big boy" unit, 7000tl I believe. But I think I've settled on building something similar using electric trailer hitch jacks. They've naturally got a "lock" built in with the worm and wheel gear set so no need for additional safety locks. It'll basically be locked anywhere.... Might not be much cheaper but it'll be better built.

[@retro_grade]

@@tenflat2009 nice, any time you can build something better for the same price, that's a win as well!

[@andyspeedshop]

C’mon @quickjackusa, these guys deserve a little help! 🔧

[@retro_grade]

We aren't too hopeful of that one after this video, Andy, but we appreciate your optimism! 🤣🤣🤣

[@luckystrike240]

The problem with that setup, especially at full height, lifted on all four corners like the video, is you can push that car super easy. As soneone who has done it , you also see in the video, is the fourth jack floats during lifting to full height. So you have a car floating on 3 jackstands super easy making pushing it over even easier. Newer or inexperienced people working on their car / leveraging on it trying to torque a bolt / separate a component that arent paying attention will push car over. Even experienced mechanics having a lapse in judgement or attention can still do it.

[@retro_grade]

Well, yeah, in the lifting process one jack stand can be lower than the others and not have pressure or a gap underneath of it. (I certainly wouldn't get under the car at that point). But you pump all 4 up evenly and let each one down onto the safety lock and you shouldn't have that condition past that point? I always push on the car hard to make sure it seems solid and secure before getting underneath. (Also not a bad idea in any setup to add more redudancies and throw more stuff under to catch the car if something bad does happen). The section of driveway that we jacked the car up on was not preferable, or even, at all. (It was picked out due to the lighting at that time of day). I wasn't satisfied with the placement of the jack stands on the concrete (which I menionted several times) so didn't want to push it with 'safety testing' my setup.

[@TJsVette]

I wouldn't trust those jack stands. They just don't look safe for some reason to me. If I don't have to take my wheels off I use wheel cribs. If I do I get the 6 ton jackstand.

[@retro_grade]

What about these jack stands don't you trust? Personally, if I'm only using them on the first setting, I prefer them to traditional ones due to the 'pin' setup at the intial lift (rather than the standard lock that most have). Once they lift higher, they also have the redudancy of having both the safety lock and the bottle jack (both of which I would think are unlikely to completely fail simultaneously). If anything, the base could be a bit wider and they could use a little less play between the components. That'd be my gripe about them if I had one. I'm not sure how a jack stand's capacity affects its overall safety, unless you're actually approaching the weight rating of them. What on earth are you lifting requiring a 6 ton rating?

[@TJsVette]

​@retro_grade I just don't trust jack stands. I have a fear of them failing while I am underneath. The 6 ton ones are wider and have more material and I feel a little more safe if I have to use one. I've never been a fan of a bottle jack either. I guess I've seen too many videos of stands failing lol.

[@retro_grade]

​@@TJsVette - that's fair, and some (AKA Harbor Freight recall awhile back) have failed. I'd be more concerned with the lock mechanism not working correct though, and that's likey independant of what the jack is rated for. I guess my thought is that the likelyhood of both the lock and bottle jack failing catastrophically on these jacks at the same time is low. If I was just going to buy jack stands only (without the lifting capabilty), I'd go for the ones that use the pin (rather than the lock mechanism). Nice thing with these is that I can use that feature and not the lock, if I don't need to get up as high. The base width for the larger jack stands I'd agree with you on. Typically the only downside to having those big ones is that they're also taller, so getting them underneath a car can be a bit of a challenge.

[@TJsVette]

@retro_grade I did brakes and rotors on a 07 Hyundai Elantra this past weekend and with the same jack that you have I had no issues lifting that car up and getting the 6 tons under. Now my Corvette yea that is alot tougher to do but it can be done. I was very wary about buying the Daytona jack from harbor freight but after seeing that it's made in the same factory as the snap on I knew it would be a good buy and I'll be honest it's been one of the best jacks I've ever owned. As far as the stands go, I love watching Project farm and he did a jack comparison and those 3 tons are just horrible lol.

[@retro_grade]

@@TJsVette - I've seen that video before and re-watched it again (briefly). He didn't test the All-In-One types that we used (that's what I was checking for). The two that did the best are the ones that I figured would (although I was surprised the smaller pinned ones did as good as they did with the narrower base). None of the jacks 'failed', it was the side load and stability (as I figured) that caused the vehicle to fall off them. One thing that I do feel the jack stands selected in this video here would excel at, which Project Farm made me appreciate, is that they have a plate welded across the entire bottom of them to create a pad and brace between the legs. I do feel, however, that they could use a wider base of support and less play between telescoping components (both factors in Project Farm's video that in my mind contributed to decrease in stability watching each one tip over). I'm now pondering a few 'bolt on' improvements that I could make to mine in order to help out with that aspect :)

[@brianh2324]

Sorry, but its quickjack for me. Around $1500 -$1700 with bundle.and wheels would have been off in 15 minutes

[@retro_grade]

Wow, interesting! A couple of thoughts on that: 1) In full disclosure, jacking up the Ralliart took longer than it normally does for me. I've had it up in about 10 minutes recently doing brakes on it. (Many times, I only need the front or back up at a time anyways). 2) With a Quickjack, 15 minutes is pretty awful. As easy as they make it look, I'd hope those wheels would be off in less than that! 3) Depends on the vehicle I'm working on, but....with my Tacoma, I can lift up the truck with those All-In-Ones alone, without using a floor jack, and do a FULL TIRE ROTATION in roughly 15 minutes. Not too bad for under $500 investment on those. 4) With the rough math shown at the end of the video, you must either work on your vehicles ALL TIME TIME (in which case I'd suggest possibly a 2 post lift), or your time is VERY valuable with what you typically make, after taxes. In that case, congratulations! 5) A 2 post lift, if you have the space, isn't really a whole lot more? Heck, I recently saw one listed on markeplate, new / open box for $1,600! (Granted, it sold within 24 hours). Thanks for the feedback, enjoy your Quickjack system 👍

[@shroom903]

No real industrial floor jack has quick valving. Those will alway fail. The real one's can be rebuilt after you wear it out in 20 years or so

[@retro_grade]

If this $289 HF Jack actuslly lasts me 20 years I'd consider that a win lol. I'm fine at that point throwing it out