I don't know for sure but to me it looks like Harbor Freight jacks and Sears Craftsman jacks are one in the same.

 

What good would straps have done? The bottle would have let go, the lift arms would have fell, the straps would have loosened, the bike still would have fallen over.

 

jaymcgil19,
I agree with you on the two being almost the same. I bought the Harbor Freight one (my RK Classic sitting on it right now with the lock on!) and compared it to the Craftsman that the neighbor has. I could not see much difference at all. You go to blogs on the Craftsman jack and see lots of complaints on the seals going bad. Price wise, when Craftsman goes on sale, it's the same price as HF BUT for $12.00 at HF you get a full replacement for 1 year. Sears gives you like 90 days, period.
Untill proved otherwise, I'll stay with the one I have.

 

You always get what you pay for,whether its tools or anything else.You skimp you loose 99% of the time.

 

As a general statement I must disagree with you. I have mostly HF and Craftsman tools here and over the years have replaced more Craftsman for breakage than HF. Both have lifetime warranties on their hand tools. There may be some items in the HF lineup that are sub-par, but there are also some stellar values like their torque wrenches. Mine test out almost perfect across their ranges, have not failed in 10 years, cost $15-20 each, and have a lifetime warranty. Are there any other TQ wrenches on the market with a lifetime warranty? I sold my $300+ Snap-On TQ wrench that was seldom used when it tested much worse than the HF units, and Snap-On wanted $40 to calibrate it.

I just bought a ratcheting air-hose reel from Lowe's for $60 that is identical to the HF reel ($50, now on sale for $45), the only difference being the latter has 25' vs. 50' of hose. I went with the Lowe's reel because it had more hose and I had a $15 coupon. Many of HF's tools are identical to those sold elsewhere, usually at higher prices.

My point is that not everything in the store is sub-par in quality, any more than all Craftsman or other brands are all above-par.

 

I have a Sears and a Harbor Freight situated right next to each other so I'm always comparing back and forth . . .

When I was looking at jacks here's what was available:

This is the Sears yellow jack for $199.00



And here's the two jacks they had at Harbor Freight:

This first one was $165



And this one below was $79



The $79 one HF had on the floor was broken just from people trying it out, LOL . . .

But I couldn't find much difference, if any at all, between the other two. The HF one had good "feel" to it, and a better price, so I purchased it.

I haven't had much weight on it yet, but after a month I'm happy with it. Works very smoothly, and it's easy to lower slowly if you're not ham handed.

 

I have the HF jack and it works great.Before I bought it I was reading threads here about jacks.It seemed to be alot of problems with the seals leaking on the craftsman and most people that had the HF jack were happy.Your gonna have bad apples in every bunch.I have to put seals in my snap-on every couple of years and I thought that was one of the very best on the market.Just my 2 cents.

 

A bad seal could happen to any jack. This is one reason I don't store my bike on a jack during winter. I wouldn't trust it, not even with the locks set and the pressure relieved. I'm also not a fan of placing unsprung weight on the frame for long periods.

 

One thing with the J & S... it that one leaked down, and the kickstand was down on the bike... It would just put the bike on the ground on its kickstand. HAHA!

I, also, was a 'snob' with tools. But HF does, indeed, have some value in what they sell. A LOT of times, as a contractor, we need that 'one special tool' for a job. So, I could buy a Greenlee, or real Rigid, or whatever for big bucks and let it sit for two years until needed again,. Or... I could buy a HF tool that may only last the length of the job, but can easily pay for the whole tool through that one job.

A power pony pipe threader comes to mind right now.

Then do a ' its broke' return and have a NEW free tool in the garage for two years until needed again.

Locks are on all jacks (even J&S) for a reason.

 

I love when people get pissed off at someone else ove their own idiocy. I can just see how that conversation at HF would have gone down.

"How may I help you Sir?"
"Your stupid jack gave out and dropped my bike, and I'm pissed"
"Well Sir, was the bike tied down?"
"No"
"Did you have the locks engaged?"
"Ummmm, no."
"Next customer...."