WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
This past December we headed over to Pasco Washington check out Juniper Dunes OHV area. While passing through Pasco I arranged to stop at Safe Jack and get the shop tour.
I had spoken to Warren the lead engineer/designer previously last summer about there Made is USA bottle jack and was curious if and when it was going to be available.
Safe Jack is a small family owned company that Warren is working on getting it up to the 90s (not my words, his) and was buzzing with activity due to the Christmas rush. I was lucky to even get the tour!
It was a bit old school, reminded me of the steel pail factory I worked at after high school. Even though a bit dated they were cranking out new products!
I was fortunate enough to get to see the soon to be released Made in USA bottle jack. Currently there is only ONE company in the US that still makes bottle jacks state side.
Whats so great about this jack? Well it has the same capacity of the imported one they currently sell, works in any position IE horizontally or odd angles and is smaller is size than the import, is not affected by temperature, and all your old Safe Jack accessories will work with this new jack as well.
Last summer I had also seen the new folding chocks. My old Taco is a manual and I got in the habit of carrying a set of Harbor Freight rubber chocks. Not always is there a convenient rock or log around when you need to chock a vehicle and can be a injury/wreck saver on a failed hill climb if the brakes don't hold! I was bit concerned about the weight of the steel chocks but to our surprise when we weighed them against the rubber chocks the difference was less than 2 lbs! The set also nests so storing them is much easier than the rubber ones.
While there I wanted to supplement my basic kit I already had and picked up a few extensions a base plate frame/axle cradle. Being the mechanic of Three Amigos and a Toyota IFS owner I've replaced a few Tango Uniform CVs in my past and my have not been the safest preforming the task.
I'm not sure of the actual release date of the USA made bottle jack but my guess would be around mid June for the Northwest Overland Rally. I got my name on the email list so patiently waiting!
I had spoken to Warren the lead engineer/designer previously last summer about there Made is USA bottle jack and was curious if and when it was going to be available.
Safe Jack is a small family owned company that Warren is working on getting it up to the 90s (not my words, his) and was buzzing with activity due to the Christmas rush. I was lucky to even get the tour!
It was a bit old school, reminded me of the steel pail factory I worked at after high school. Even though a bit dated they were cranking out new products!
I was fortunate enough to get to see the soon to be released Made in USA bottle jack. Currently there is only ONE company in the US that still makes bottle jacks state side.
Whats so great about this jack? Well it has the same capacity of the imported one they currently sell, works in any position IE horizontally or odd angles and is smaller is size than the import, is not affected by temperature, and all your old Safe Jack accessories will work with this new jack as well.
Last summer I had also seen the new folding chocks. My old Taco is a manual and I got in the habit of carrying a set of Harbor Freight rubber chocks. Not always is there a convenient rock or log around when you need to chock a vehicle and can be a injury/wreck saver on a failed hill climb if the brakes don't hold! I was bit concerned about the weight of the steel chocks but to our surprise when we weighed them against the rubber chocks the difference was less than 2 lbs! The set also nests so storing them is much easier than the rubber ones.
While there I wanted to supplement my basic kit I already had and picked up a few extensions a base plate frame/axle cradle. Being the mechanic of Three Amigos and a Toyota IFS owner I've replaced a few Tango Uniform CVs in my past and my have not been the safest preforming the task.
I'm not sure of the actual release date of the USA made bottle jack but my guess would be around mid June for the Northwest Overland Rally. I got my name on the email list so patiently waiting!