I carry all kinds of stuff while I'm on the road in the summer. In the winter I can't tell you how many times I had my excursion up in the air with the factory supplied jack. That think would lift the Ex with a 8k trailer on the ball with no problem. Now that I've gotten rid of the ex I might get another one out of a junk yard just to have. A nice compact jack really. Stable blocking is always a must especially if your off the pavement at all.

 

FYI, on the Wal-Mart 6 ton Black Jack bottle jack I have, it started leaking hydraulic fluid a few weeks ago. It still lifts, but I'm looking around for a replacement.

 

I have a Harbor Freight 8 ton bottle jack in the trailer. I bought it on a sorta wimp. Did some research prior to the HFT run. For the size it goes high but stores small. 8 tons is overkill for the trailer. However, I generally have a mix of 2x12s and 4x6s blocks in the trailer. The bottle jack has gotten me out of a couple of low spots when getting the trailer level. Knock on wood, never needed it for a tire replacement.

OP The HFT 4 ton floor jack. If you get it on sale it's a great buy. That's what I use to jack up the truck when I am at home. It does a nice job lifting the truck for tire rotation and oil changes or any other repair.

 

I consider the Wal-mart jack just slightly higher on the quality ladder than Harbor Freight jack. I've been looking around a lot and all these jacks are starting to look identical.

 

You will find that most jacks look the same, because they are the same. Pricing depends on the brand name that you are buying. But most of the jacks are manufactured in China, from a handful of companies. They are identical, but sold with different labels. When jacks eventually fail, and need to be serviced, almost all of them use the same parts, seals, and gaskets. Your consideration has to be who you are buying from, what they offer in terms of warranty, and what their return and exchange policy is. Buy from Craftsman or Torin, and they will make parts available and offer rebuild service. Buy from Harbor Freight, and you will get no support. Buy from Wal*Mart or Amazon; don't expect any help once the return window has closed.

 

Your bottle jack needs new seals. Get in touch with Torin, and they will send you a set of seals, o-rings, & gaskets. Refill with fresh hydraulic fluid, and your jack will be fine.

You can own a bottle jack forever, if you purge excess air trapped in the hydraulic system, keep the hydraulic fluid at the right level, change the hydraulic fluid as needed, & refurbish with new seals, o-rings, & gaskets as needed. Always use hydraulic jack fluid. In theory, with the right fluid, the seals, o-rings, & gaskets are conditioned by the fluid as you are using the jack.

Your floor jack is the same. Remove the cover plate, and you will see a bottle jack. Same rubber plug for checking and adding fluid. The piston drives the lift mechanism to raise the jack saddle. Keep the extra moving parts clean and well lubricated. Service the hydraulic system accordingly. Replace wheels when worn. No reason why you can't own it and use it forever.

For anyone who does not want to do all the maintenance, I don't blame you. That's why there are hydraulic service shops. They can work on your jack.......usually for far more than the cost of buying a new one. Do you really want to pay $250 to have maintenance performed on a $15 jack? Jacks are cheap. I've paid as little as $11 for a 6 ton Craftsman from Sears.

Think of something simple......like an elevator. They replace the fluid as needed. They purge air from the hydraulic system. They fix any leaks with new seals, gaskets, and o-rings.