Harbor Freight tool box

Are we talking about the same lift? This thing is a heavy chunk of steel. Were you trying to lift your truck? It picks up my bike with plenty of muscle to spare. I think it's rated to 1500 lbs and my bike weighs almost 800.

Ordinarily, I would not recommend stuff from China. They may make some good things, but they usually send junk to the US. This is a case where something good slipped through, maybe by accident.

In a jack or lift, all I want to see is heavy metal and good welds. You will quickly see both on this lift. Pump is way underrated.

You can find some good deals at HF if you can see the products before you buy. Generally speaking, simple products made out of mild steel are OK. NEVER buy anything needing precision. Also, some products are not worth the cost of the packaging.

You can blame it on China. But
The Buyers in the U.S. go to China to have things built.
Years ago, China looked at increasing their trade.
They said if you build mfg factories the business will come.
So they built factories and the buyers from the World came to them.
The Buyers came with say a tool box they want built.
China will show the buyers several different ways to build a tool box.
Lets say they show the buyer 10 different tool box builds.
With each tool box they show the cost of the material. The labor cost to build it and the profit in each build.
Its up to the buyer to deceide on which box they want to pay for according to the profit.
China can build something as cheap as you want, or something as well as you want.
The bottom line is the buyers decision .
China does not deceide.
The profit margin is what the buyer determines that he wants.
Its all about money. And people don't build things to last a long time anymore.
We live in a desposable world.
The Unions here has gotten out of control and has drove most of the mfg out of the U.S. because of their cost.
Butler Mfg to give a example has dealt with the unions, their striking and the cost and problems dealt with the union.
If a worker don't want to work he can not be fired.
Butler Mfg who builds buildings like walmart found they could go to Mexico and have the buildings built cheaper and have them sent back to the U.S. and still come out cheaper than if they had it built in the U.S. and was built by union labor.
The cost of the union in the U.S. , most buyers do not want to deal with because of their prices.
So wheather you like it or not.
Things today are built around the world.

If you make your living with a tool box. and want to pay thousands more for a snap on box go spend the money on one.
The craftsman tool box or the Chineese tool box does very good for holding my tools.

I agree slightly. "heavy metal and good welds" are subjective terms. Chinese junk doesnt have the same quality of materials or workmanship. Buyer beware.

Cardboard, you are right about what China can build. US companies want the most profit from something that LOOKS OK and sells cheap. Problem is when it looks OK but has hidden defects or poor grade materials. US companies don't want to have to send back defective junk.

A good eye can determine if welds are good. Your fingers can tell when metal is thin or sub-par, or parts don't move smoothly. Again, you gotta see and touch before you buy.

With that, I would ask why would someone buy a Harley if they could buy a Kung Fooey V Twin for half the money?

H-D's reputation and image firmly rest on the idea of quality. Some will be fooled by an Asian import that has shiny chrome and paint, or can go faster. But you have to agree that only after owning a Harley can you say it's the quality that made you invest in another one.

If you gotta ask, you wouldn't understand.

See, that's the problem. Left wing believes in getting it free, or somebody else paying for their lunch

I must be right wing cuz I still eat eggs and donuts for breakfast, hot dogs and whole milk for lunch. Then I gotta go back to work to pay for my low income house payment while Obama sez I didn't earn that. Where have I gone wrong!

If you want to pay for quality stuff from china you have to pay quality prices

Well HRK, once again we disagree. Quality is seen in many ways: fit and finish, user-friendly, advanced features, dependability, long-term affordability, etc. Everyone has a different concept of what is a quality product.

How about getting your money's worth. It's easy to build a great product if cost is no object. Rolls Royce can be considered quality--but at what cost and who can afford it?

Every maker has it's share of defects. You cannot name even one that delivers 90% defect-free. High tech is not the answer either. It breaks just as quickly as something cheap.

You seem enamored with BMW. They used to mean quality and reliability--not anymore by a long shot. I would bet a Chinese Hyosung would be more reliable AND durable than a new BMW today.

And no one can beat American made socks.

Look at the label closer FLHT. Strange little factoid: 99% of our socks are made in the USA.

HRK, I'm not trying to sell you on something you don't want to believe. But the facts are: H-D builds nearly 500,000 new motorcycles a year. That's more than all the other brands combined. In Europe, BMW was the #1 brand followed by Honda, then H-D. In 2011, H-D closed that gap by 40% compared to 2010. An American only icon? You will see H-D as the #1 brand in Europe within the next 5 years. Gee, I wonder why? Even German motorcycle magazines performing long-term tests rated H-D as #1 (ahead of BMW) for durability and reliability.

When you build nearly 500,000 motorcycles each year, you will hear about problems because of the numbers. And you will always hear about the problems because they scream the loudest. You don't hear from the millions who are satisfied because they are out riding--not screaming.

Toyota denied they had any problems even after 1,400 people died driving their new cars. "Operator error" they said. That was only 2 years ago, and they are still claiming to have the highest reliability.