Harbor Freight Daytona Vs. Pittsburgh Floor Jacks: What's The Difference?

When it comes to floor jacks, Daytona and Pittsburgh offer a wider variety of models than any other brands owned by Harbor Freight. Daytona has the most floor jack models with 12 variations ranging from 1.5-ton up to 4-ton capacities. In addition to the capacity options, there are Daytona floor jacks that feature lowered profiles, longer reach designs, rapid pump hydraulics, solid steel frames, some (or nearly all) aluminum construction, and a variety of colors to match your shop's decor. Harbor Freight's Daytona floor jacks range in price from $139.99 to $299.99.

Harbor Freight lists nine variants of Pittsburgh brand floor jacks on its website. While there is some variance in paint colors among the different models, there isn't the same array of color options available with some of the Daytona jacks. There are some Pittsburgh floor jacks that feature low-profile designs and an even wider array of load-lifting capacities. Pittsburgh floor jacks match Daytona's range of 1.5-ton to 3-ton ratings, but add a 2.5-ton version and a 22-ton air-over-hydraulic floor jack for good measure. Pittsburgh floor jacks also have a wider price range, with the least expensive model priced at $49.99 and the air/hydraulic jack carrying a $389.99 price tag.

Like many of the tools found at the budget-friendly retailer, Harbor Freight contracts directly with the manufacturers that make the floor jacks under the Daytona and Pittsburgh brand names. While owning its store brands sounds like a safe bet, it hasn't prevented other brands from claiming patent infringement.

At first glance, some of the floor jacks from Daytona and Pittsburgh are visually similar, especially those presumably intended for the same end users. While it makes sense that two brands owned by Harbor Freight would share engineering philosophies, Snap-On felt Harbor Freight's floor jack design was too similar to be a coincidence.

In order to compare floor jacks from Daytona and Pittsburgh, we'll have to sort through the offerings from each to find models designed for similar uses. The first comparison we'll explore is the $229.99 Daytona 2-Ton Professional Racing Series Aluminum Floor Jack versus Pittsburgh's 2 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack at $199.99.

Both floor jacks boast aluminum construction designed to reduce weight. Harbor Freight specs for the Pittsburgh model list its weight at 37.5 pounds, while the Daytona jack is heavier at 42.7 pounds. For comparison, the steel version of the Pittsburgh 2-Ton Low-Profile Floor Jack weighs 54.4 pounds and costs $139.99.

The Daytona jack's heavier weight is due to a couple of key factors. First, the Daytona floor jack is slightly larger than the Pittsburgh model. It has a footprint measuring 23.5 inches long by 11.9 inches wide and stands 8.5 inches tall, not including the 45.5-inch-long handle. The Pittsburgh floor jack measures 22.75 inches long by 11 inches wide and 6 inches tall with a 45.9-inch handle. Another feature that makes the Daytona jack heavier is its steel handle compared to the aluminum used for the Pittsburgh jack.