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My neighbor called my old jack stand setup 'a good way to get dead' and I had to listen
I was under my truck last month, just using a single 3-ton jack stand on the front frame rail like I always did. My neighbor Mike, who used to be a mechanic, walked over and said, 'Riley, that's a good way to get dead. You need a matched pair and a backup.' He pointed out that my one stand was on uneven concrete and the truck could rock side to side. I felt pretty dumb, honestly. The next day I went out and bought a second identical stand so I have a pair for the front, and I started using my old, heavy duty wheel chocks behind the rear tires as a backup. It cost me about 80 bucks for the new stand, but now I won't even crawl under without that setup. It just feels way more solid. Anyone else have a simple safety rule they learned the hard way?
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adamgreen6mo ago
Honestly, sometimes the old way works fine if you know your rig. My dad used a single heavy duty stand on level garage concrete for decades on his F-150, no issues. It's all about the surface and the vehicle weight. @the_avery, I get being safe, but a lot of this feels like overkill for a simple oil change. If the ground is flat and the stand is rated for way more than the truck's weight, that truck isn't going anywhere. People act like one stand is a death trap, but common sense goes a long way too.
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dakotawood6mo ago
Man, I did the exact same thing with my old Jeep. Used one stand under the axle for years. Then I watched the truck settle one day and the whole thing shifted just a little bit. My heart just dropped. Now I won't touch anything without two stands on solid ground and the tire stuffed under the frame rail as a last ditch backup. That feeling when it wobbles is just not worth it.
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