We always take jackstands for granted, because they are one of the go to safety items in every garage. When there was a recall on some of them from Harbor Freight last year it was crazy how many people were up in arms. I have lots of Harbor Freight jackstands, but none that fell under the recall, no pun intended. With that said, we all throw a set under the car and climb under without much concern as long as they are sitting flat when we let the jack down on them. And nobody ever thinks about just how much load is on them or how much load they are rated for.

With most weight rated items there is a safety factor. I’ve been told this is 3 times the rating, but I’m not sure if that is true. So just how much will a jackstand hold up compared to its rating? And does the design really matter? Are aluminum stands really strong enough to use with your muscle cars, trucks, etc? Watch this video and you will find out just how strong they really are. And just how catastrophic their failure can be! The destruction ends with a broken window in the hydraulic press room.

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