Do Jack Stands Live up to Their Rating? The Hydraulic Press Tells All

As we scour through the news, there can be some pretty scary instances of jack stands fail. The safety measure is literally the only thing, at times, between a person working on a car and the machine falling on and crushing them. Most recently, a massive recall would impact jack stands purchased at Harbor Freight. The manufacturer acted as quickly as possible to get these things back in their doors and issued customers a refund. Naturally, they wanted to make sure that the defect impacted as few people as possible.

While we don’t necessarily question the integrity of a jack stand every time we use one, sometimes, we may wonder just where the limits might exist. While different forms of stands may cost different amounts of money and potentially be more convenient, is one stronger than the other? Furthermore, while these stands usually have their individual rating for weight, we can’t help but wonder just how far past this rating the stand might be able to go.

This certainly doesn’t act as any sort of advice or guidance for how to use a jack stand. However, putting these stands up against the likes of the hydraulic press could be an interesting way to see just how far they can go. At the end of the day, we would assume that the advertised weight limit is probably a little bit lower than each stand is actually capable of. After all, they don’t want users going right up against the limit.

By following along with the video below, the Hydraulic Press Channel digs right into this concept. We put an incredible amount of trust in companies like these to protect our safety. When push comes to shove, are these things actually capable of what their advertising insists? It’s time to find out just that.