Mine is much like the one from Harbor Freight minus the handle. I don't know what the minimum height is, but it was low enough to get under that Honda Civic. I have it somewhere in my automotive junk pile but haven't used it in years.

I first found out about and fell in love with Harbor Freight when they sent me a catalog out of the clear blue years ago. While purusing the catalog, I found a 2 1/2 ton capacity floor jack that lifts 31 5/8", their model no. 42820-5VGA. Being on the heavy side, the clearance was a god send for me. I bought (4) 6 ton jack stands because they were capable of being raised to 29" to hold my cars way up there when I have to work underneath them.

Bountyhunter

Hehehehe you should see whats in my truck as of late. I try to get together and current inventory soon.

I carry a bunch in my truck too. One thing I always keep in there is a spare poncho, a blanket and other "stuff" like that. My camping stove is in there, a roll of TP, chains for all 4 corners, a come a long, pot, 2 gals of water, a hot seat (and a bucket to sit on), plastic bags, fork and spoon, large FAK, large fire extinguisher, flares, orange contruction site tape, Gaffers tape, a dual band J pole antenna and shor mast, with coax for my ham rig (gets out a lot better than the truck's antenna) - Heck, until last week, I even had a spare ham rig in the truck - but I figured between the dual bander, a 2m mobile for APRS, 3 HTs (dual bander, 2m and 440Mhz rigs) with spare batteries - I probably had enough radios. I've got food, wire ties, AND lacing cord, a spool of 550 cord, 30 feet of 1.5" flat line, some steel carabiners (heavy, but are stronger and more corrosion proof) - I could go on, but

The joke? It's a "city slicker" truck - I add MORE when leaving the city

Bounty,
If it's not too much trouble, can you dig up that old jack and find out what brand it is? Thank you.


Robert

Somewhat off the subject, BUT if you ever let your tank get below 25% or so, if you are equipped with electric fuel pump in the tank, you can overheat or even burn up your fuel pump.(the fuel keeps it cool) I have had that happen in a car once (it was a lemon, just one of the bugs wrong with it) and a school bus as well.
If it happens, best thing to do is let it cool for an hour and try again. It acts like vapor lock on carbureted engines.

I'll try, but with my gadget and stuff filing system, don't hold your breath. If I do find it and if it does have a brand name on it, I can't remember what auto supply or hardware outlet I bought it from.

Why do you have a vehicle with less than 5 1/2" clearance under it in the first place?

Bountyhunter

Haven't you ever heard of a "low rider"?

I have not lowered the car since I bought it. However, I'm not sure what the clearance of my car is, and I would think it would be even lower near a flat tire.


Robert

Robert, i have one of these aluminum floor jacks,

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47246

it fits under the front of my Miata without any problem. If you are looking for smaller and lighter this one would work,

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039

But if your car has been lowered you might have a problem, my little brothers Miata has been lowered about an inch and has a slightly larger front air dam than mine and he has to drive up on a couple of two by tens laid flat on the ground if i want to jack the the front end off of the ground. And that is only to clear the air dam. I don't think that you would have a problem with a Civic just jacking up one tire even if it had a flat. The handles on these also break down into two pieces, so you can store it easier.

Whatever jack you decide to use be sure you test it, a friend of mine had his brand new floor jack break when he lifted the front of his car. This also reenforces the idea of using jack stands before crawling under your vehicle.

Rbruce:

Found the jack, but the metal plate that covers the pump area is missing, so I can not tell you the brand.

It doesn't really matter as the it has a minimum saddle height is 5 1/2" which means it is higher than the Harbor Freight $19.99 model. If you don't have the clearance for the jack, rather than spending a lot of money for one with 3" clearance, buy the Harbor Freight model and carry (2) 4" thick x 10" wide by 2 foot long planks in the trunk of your vehicle with one of the ends cut with a ramp end and drive up onto it for flat tires.

The ramp option is not much good if the car does not run, in which case a scissors or other low clearance jack is going to be necessary.

I would stay away from hydraulic bottle jacks. They have a lot of power, but not much lift.

Bountyhunter