The bitch tried to kill me (1 Viewer)

[1973Guppie]

I realize that this thread dates back some years.
However, the importance of major safety does not end.

The same design Harbor Freight jack stands discussed here are still for sale today, and are purchased in the thousands in many countries.

I was told by my buddy's brother, a fire captain in Orange County, Calif., of numerous rescue calls he went on, only to find deceased people who had cars or trucks crush them to death when their jacks or jackstands had failed. He told me to only buy US-made safety products from long-standing, huge American companies with a lot to lose in potential liability lawsuits. Small, relatively-unknown, upstart American companies would not be advised. The Hein-Werner jack I bought back then cost nearly ten times the cost of a similar Chinese-made jack.

I still believe his warnings hold today.
However, it troubles me that a huge corporation such as Sears, can market safety products branded made in China. While any product has the possibility of failure, hence the need for liability insurance, it seems that large American companies may now feel they can absorb millions of dollars of lawsuits, and still turn an overall corporate profit. Maybe they weasel-out of paying, by virtue of the mind-numbing fine print in their warranty booklets. And I am not sure if Harbor Freight is a wholly American company subject to US liability standards--though they appear to be large enough to suffer huge liability punishments for selling sub-standard products.

So, while I personally follow the Made-in-the-USA rule, I now modify that to also insist on an extremely heavy-duty design, with considerable excess capacity. Coupled, of course, with other back-up protections to protect against collapses--just in case.

Everything is made is china at this point. It is more about how the tool is used safely than the tool. I have found most harbor freight stuff to be safe and decently made. Using though a jackstand for a camry on a landcruiser is not a good idea. Match the tool with the job and once the truck is up in the air give it a good shake. I have been using harbor freight large jackstands for years with no issues. They are probably at this point 20 plus years old.

 

[joebattle1]

I wonder how many people had to have a vehicle fall on them before this HF Jack Stand Recall happened. Looks like the recall applies to 454,000 jack stands. At $27.99 that's a cool 11 million bucks give or take. I'm guessing they got to about 5 cases went... Houston... We have a problem.

 

[1973Guppie]

yup, just took mine back today, full refund........

 

[RT Cruiser]

When I remove a tire, I lay it under the side rail near the exposed wheel as a backup in case the jack stands (and jack) fail. Looks like I'll be purchasing extra jack stands elsewhere than HF.

 

[Retro LC]

Bumping for safety's sake. The thought of a jack stand failing due to a crappy weld or poor build quality gives me the heebie-jeebies. About ready to start wrenching on my FJ80 myself rather than continuing to hire the repair shop as the latter is getting $$$ and sometimes of questionable quality. That said, anyone have a recommendation on 12 ton jack stands-- there's so many choices?!Biased toward made in the USA and quality over quantity. Not sure if I'm fully convinced on U.S. Jack though.

 

[Slow Edward]

That was really close! Glad that you alive. When I was an OSHA Director, I evaluated 5 accidents involving cheap jack stands and all resulted in fatalities. Use a secondary support and have an exit plan. Thx for the opportunity to be a part of this Forum@

 

[Retro LC]

That was really close! Glad that you alive. When I was an OSHA Director, I evaluated 5 accidents involving cheap jack stands and all resulted in fatalities. Use a secondary support and have an exit plan. Thx for the opportunity to be a part of this Forum@

Welcome to Mud!

 

[Retro LC]

Anyone have a recommendation on 12 ton jack stands for the hefty 80 series?

 

[sdnative]

Anyone have a recommendation on 12 ton jack stands for the hefty 80 series?

I have the Big Red 12 ton double locking jack stands. All I can find right now is the standard 12 ton stands, and double locking 6 ton. Not sure if they make the 12 ton double locking any more.

Like this but 12 ton:

Amazon product ASIN B00026Z3DQ