Jack Stands for 1/2 ton

[gmyeah]

What is the appropriate rated jack stand for my 2008 sierra z71 1/2 ton? I actually bought a set of 6-ton...which I know is more than adequate (12,000 lbs). My issue is as I'm jacking up the truck (to put my winter wheels on) once I get the wheel of the ground by an inch or 2, I would like to slide a jack stand under the frame. My current 6-ton jacks are too tall at that point. I'd have to really jack the truck up to get the frame high enough. Would it be ok to use 3-ton jacks (6000 llbs). That's pretty close to the weight of the truck, but the jacks really aren't supporting the entire weight of the truck.....so is this ok? Can't seem to find 4-ton jacks....so that's not an option. Thoughts?

[fondupot]

I think you would ok.

[Duelin]

What is your jack rated for 3 ton? If your jack will handle it then the stands will. The main thing is it stable while sitting on the stands.

[00Silverado4x4]

3 ton will work just fine, and if you are using two stand then you could even go down to 2 ton stands. I have two sets myself, one tall and one short just for the front and the taller ones for the rear.

[CoasterCOG]

3 ton will work just fine, and if you are using two stand then you could even go down to 2 ton stands. I have two sets myself, one tall and one short just for the front and the taller ones for the rear.

 

I would not work under a truck on 2 ton stands. Most stands are rated AS A PAIR! The front end of a 1500 is knocking on 4000Lbs.

 

I'll gladly choose overkill on weight ratings when the result is me being squished.

[Doug_Scott]

When you get a flat on the side of the road, what jack stand do you use? If your winter tires are already on rims, then essentially what you are describing is changing a flat tire. Loosen the nuts before jacking the truck up, and just snug the nuts up before lowering the jack, doing the final torque with the wheel on the ground. The point of that is to reduce any rocking of the truck while tightening nuts on the jack.

 

When working under a vehicle safety is paramount. When changing a flat, you would not likely even lower the jack to put the load on the stand. Most would just place the stand under the frame to "catch" the truck if it fell off the jack. Changing a flat does not require you to get under the truck, except to put the stand in, and until the stand is in place, you are under the truck with no stand to protect you. Quite the conundrum.

[gmyeah]

Sorry...I started using the word 'jack' instead of jack stands later in my post. I probably should not have put so much detail in my note. I have a bottle jack that is rated ~4x the weight of the truck. It's convenient to use and easy to grab when doing a work on equipment, trucks, etc. So I'm all set with the jack. There are a variety of reasons I would use jack stands for my truck.....I should not have said I was changing my tires. Assume I want to use jack stands for no reason....I was curious if a 3Ton (6000 lbs, per pair) set of jack stands...would be adequate. I just want to be able to slide the jack stand under the truck as soon as the tires are and inch or 2 off the ground.

[Doug_Scott]

3 ton stands are sufficient, 4 ton are better. Something to be mindful of is the actual quality of the stand as well. A stand may support 3 tons of direct downward force(call it 180 degrees), but will it also support 3 tons of force at an angle of 160 degrees? If the front of the truck is being supported by stands that can be from 18 to 28 inches, the angle of the load will be different as you go higher. Reason I bring this up is simply because every stand I have seen that failed, all failed by collapsing sideways. Usually one of the legs would collapse. The first stand collapsing sideways like that will also take out the other stand due to the twisting action. The cheaper stands tend to have 4 legs instead of one piece of bent steel with bracing. If your 4 year old can move the stands, let him use those stands for his tricycle and get some good ones for your truck.

[gmtech4]

Front and rear weigh different , go to a scale and check ., also the drivers A pillar has Gvwr , split it up per corner ,

 

Why is this so difficult people ? Sweet jebus..

[j-ten-ner]

3 or 4 ton stands won't make much of a difference if you use two to raise either front or rear axle.

 

More important is to set your parking brake and/or chock the wheels.

(just a reminder as there is recently some confusion about how to safely prevent the truck from moving)

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Doug_Scott]

Specs are easy enough to find online, minimum curb weight for a 2014 CrewCab 2wd with 5.3 and 6'6" box is 5104 pounds, with a weight distribution of 53% front, 47% rear.

 

Empty truck has 2705 pound on the front(both sides combined), and 2398 pounds on the rear (again both sides). 3 ton stands are plenty large enough capacity, you will need to verify quality though.

 

My point in previous message was that the lower capacity stands tend to be lower in quality. The lower the capacity the more important it is to watch for any non-direct downward load being applied.

2 ton bottle jack can lift either end and not overload the jack. Bottle jacks tend to be used for one wheel only and have a very small footprint, watch your driveway in the hot days, bottle jack is likely to sink into driveway. Same for jack stands.