Anybody know of a super-short jack?

Question

Not for an RV.  For my ice machine!Sometime when working on it I need to lift a corner.  It weighs a few hundred lbs, too heavy for me, so I have to find someone to lift it while I stick a block under.A jack would be nice, but there is only about 4" clearance.  I could get something 3.5" tall in there, with care.  Even the shortest bottle jacks seem to be about 6.5", though.Also the jack should not weigh 4,000lbs by itself!  My floor jack ALMOST fits, but I am not gonna take it camping :B.Any ideas?

myredracer · Answer

Look for a "low profile" floor jack.  HF has one that is min. height of 2 5/8" for $140.  There may be others that cost less.  Or why not a length of say 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" steel tubing and lever it up a little at a time and use some 1x4 or 2x4 to build it up?

mexicowanderer · Answer

Scissors jack. A lot of folks stood amazed when I used to use a 2-ton jack on a seven ton motorhome to lift it just far enough to slide in a bottle hydraulic jack. Many of those aluminum racing jacks work great rolling over concrete but hang up badly on pebble asphalt or dirt/gravel.

naio · Answer

Mex, I have a scissors jack, and I looked at others online and at an auto parts store, but all I found so far are too tall. Do you have one in mind?

Redracer, floor jacks are heavy! That HF one is 71lbs. My little van can't carry it, and I cannot lift itnin and out of van. I use one at s&b, but I never lift it, just wheel it around :)

the_bear_ii · Answer

How about using a lever and fulcrum...  Get the Ice machine up in the air, place a weight on the lever to hold it up and then place the block under the ice machine.

naio · Answer

Woohoo! I combined you two's suggestions and looked at scissors jacks on HF.Bingo!   3 3/8" tall!

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Anybody know of a super-short jack?

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