HF here, too. I actually have two of their floor jacks - a 3-ton steel, and a lightweight aluminum (I used to use it for track days). The 3-ton was purchased after a fairly pricey Craftsman jack sh!t the bed after about the 3rd time I used it. Out of warranty. No more Craftsman after that, except hand tools.
On the 3-ton, it's a Central Hydraulics - *that's* how old the thing is (probably nearly 15yrs old by now). It will lose height after a few hours now, if weight is left on it. Other than that, it's been a great jack. And I've never maintained it (change / add jack oil, put a grease gun on its zerk fitting). It has a large round pad on the end of the ram (they used to sell them; no longer).
Two ways to go about determining the needed jack height, in my mind...
- Take your jack stands, put them at the highest position you envision using them at, and then measure that distance. Add at least 1", and that's 'how much' lifting height you need.
Or...
- Compare the max lift height of all the jacks you're looking at (with HF, they give the height in their catalogs, which are (only) online, now), and get the highest lifting one they have. This is the "better to have too much, than not enough, and I've got a 'no exclusions' coupon" school of thought. (side note: it's rare to see a HF coupon that doesn't exclude 'Daytona', or 'floor jacks', specifically)
A 'long reach' / 'low profile' tends to be the jack that has the highest lift. Downside is that they do take up a bit of room, both for storage and in using them. If you've got a vehicle with low ground clearance, they're worth their weight in gold.
The next best thing to have is a foot pump, which can be useful in tight spaces (my 2pc handle hits the garage door when I'm pumping up the jack, especially when I have the Sierra crew cab in the garage.) My 'next' jack (if I ever need one) will have this.
Re: that two piece handle - I've used the (hollow) top section many times as additional leverage with my breaker bar! (e.g.; 'cheater bar')