Eric Moore, fleet manager at Griffin Pavement Striping in Columbus, Ohio, has a full schedule performing maintenance on fleet vehicles. A floor jack is one of those shop staples that – when well-designed and executed -- can be an asset and even help speed maintenance and repairs.
Moore’s first impression of the Zendex GoJak was its solid build. Moore reports “It’s … heavy. It took two of us to get it out of the crate; we had to unload it with a forklift. It’s definitely solid.”
The GoJak arrived at the shop with an adapter that was about ten inches long. Moore describes it as “just a straight bar, or load bar.” He found this item helped to distribute the weight and allowed Moore options when it came to positioning the jack.
To prep for use, Moore and his team removed the jack from the crate, installed the casters, and finally installed a fitting for the airline. He found the GoJak setup was similar to a tag axle or pusher (with the same type of airbag), only smaller. While he has used similar jacks in the past, the Zendex GoJak uses just air and does not have hydraulic function.
Moore was particularly impressed with how low profile the product is. “It’s very low profile, and it probably goes about two-and-a-half inches higher than most floor jacks of that style,” he says, adding, most floor jacks he’s used typically go about 21 inches, while the GoJak reached about 23.5 inches. “That extra two inches can make a big difference between being comfortable and being a contortionist.”
This technician and his colleagues put the jack to work on the eight Toyota Tundra currently housed at the shop. They used it to help remove wheels for brake inspections, and prepare the trucks for tire rotation and oil changes.
Moore says it took him some practice to develop finesse with the jack. “Once you hit it, it’s up and it will start jacking the vehicle up,” he says, noting it’s quicker than hydraulic jacks he’s used. He recommends technicians consider their air pressure and regulate, if needed. His shop’s air is regulated at 135 psi. “I think if you regulated it down maybe to 90 you could probably slow [the jack] down a bit,” he says.
This quick up-and-down of the machine (“like a light switch”) could be time-saver in shops. “If you had a vehicle you were really familiar with and could get it lined up with one of the jacking points, you could get it jacked up and have the wheel off in less than a minute,” Moore says. “It’s definitely a benefit to have something like this if you have a vehicle that you’re familiar with. If it’s not a vehicle you’re familiar with and you had to line things up, you could probably still have the wheel off in less than two minutes. For a quick inspection, it’s perfect.
For Moore, the speed, sturdiness and convenient, low-profile design of the GoJak contributed to a faster and more comfortable workflow with his fleet vehicles.
