I just inherited a small floor jack and two 2-ton jack stands. I'm sure they are Walmart of Harbor Freight, but all are in good condition.

Will those stands be adequate to hold my JKU to work on?

 

Yes. Should be fine. A Jku weights about 2 tons. You will never be supporting all weight on a single jack stand.

 

I use 6 ton jack stands and personally I would not use 2 ton stands. Most 2 ton stands I have seen are pretty small not sure they would work. my stock jkur weighs 5050 lbs. It takes nothing to get one up to 6000lbs. My stock 2 door weighed 4500lb. these were nobody in the rig and full tank of gas.

 

I personally wouldn't use anything less than 3-ton, and bigger is even better. Your life is worth a few extra bucks. A quality jack and jack stands are items you'll get your money's worth out of many times over. They should be considered standard tools just like a good socket wrench set and screwdrivers.

 

Although I advised the 2 ton stands would work, I also use the 6 ton stands from harbor freight. They are more stable than 2 ton ones as the footprint is wider.

 

Another thing to keep in mind, most of the cheaper 2-ton jack stands and jacks, won't even raise high enough to lift a JK without using blocks of wood, etc. I would recommend finding an bigger Truck/SUV jack that wouldn't require blocks of wood to lift the jack high enough.

 

If you're only working on one side (front or back) then yes. I wouldn't be in a hurry to throw them out as others have suggested. I've got an older set of 2 ton stands myself that work just fine. Putting the stand under the shock mounts gives plenty of clearance to get the jeep off of the ground (even on common 35's). When I need to mess with the suspension, I go for the 6 tons, merely for size, under the frame rails and the 2 tons go under the axle for support.


Safety factor, etc- I get it- but if we're not lifting the entire jeep up on the two stands then why would a 4,000 lb limit be an issue? Roughly half of the weight of the jeep is 3,000 lbs if its crazy heavy and even then, the manufacturer has a safety factor of their own built in. To each their own, but I'd use them until you can afford better, just be aware that you're only doing one portion of the jeep at a time.

 

That's what I do as well.

 

So, the question is...Is the 2 ton rating for each stand, or for a pair of stands?
Even after doing some homework on the subject, I can't say for sure if a particular stand is rated per each, or per pair, unless is says on the stand's label.

 

Thanks to all. Each stand is rated for 2 tons. But looking at the footprint compared to the 6 tons i'd feel a lot more comfortable with a larger set. I think I'll keep these for the Mule and mower and grab heavier ones for the Jeep.