Bottle Jacks vs Floor Jacks: Which One You Should Buy?

Talking about the minimum height of both jacks, Bottle jacks are taller than floor jacks. They have 8.5 – 11 inches (22 – 28 cm) min-height. Floor jacks, on the other hand, have a 2.75” to 4.5” (7.6 – 11.5 cm) minimum lift range. 

Bottle jacks are the tallest jacks in the car jack industry while floor jacks have the smallest height. One reason is that bottle jacks are for high-ground clearance vehicles. And you can use floor jacks, which have lower height, for lowered cars. 

That was about the minimum lift range. Let’s see their max lift range. In this regard, floor jacks also extend more than bottle jacks. You can lengthen floor jacks up to 2 feet. They have an 18 – 24 inch (46 – 61 cm) max lift range. The max lift range in the bottle jack is from 17 – 21 inches (43 – 54 cm). 

You need to check your car’s ground clearance before picking either floor or bottle jack. According to that, you can decide which jack you can fit under your vehicle. Knowing about your car’s ground clearance will also help you to know beforehand which jack will lift your car how much off the ground.

Low profile bottle jacks are also available in the market. Their lift range is from 6 – 11 inch — min and max lift range respectively. While some bottle jacks have a 23 – 43 inch min and max lift range. But they’re used for engine hoists, not for lifting a car for a repair or a tire change.