Hi Lift help...

[thejoking__explorer]

Hello everyone! I have been slowly building my 4Runner up over the last few months. For the most part it is stock other than my roof rack and upgraded tires to BFG KO2's. I was recently tooling around Moab and noticed most everyone has a Hi Lift jack mounted somewhere on their rig. Now, I have personally never used a hi lift or even messed around with one so I don't know much about them. From what I've read you need to have somewhere on the vehicle to use it? So if I don't have sliders or metal bumpers does that make having one useless? I do plan on adding sliders soon.

 

[Cort]

You’ll get a lot of differing opinions here but I prefer a bottle jack and the stock scissor lift(I used i military hummer scissor lift on my Jeep with 37”s. I do own a high lift but I don’t like to use it.

 

[Kevin108]

It's not completely useless without sliders or bumpers as it can still be used as a "come-along," but it may be unnecessary for your travels. You should definitely experiment with the stock jack and see if it suits your needs - it might.

I have carried this Hi Lift for almost 20 years now just this past weekend used it for the first time. The truck it was originally purchased for had steel bumpers. The two rigs I've had since then had rock rails. Having sliced a sidewall on the trail, this combo made quick work of the tire change.

I also carry the Jack Mate to simplify attaching chain and using the jack as a come-along. You should read up on them, as well as check out rock rails or sliders for your rig. They are a nice addition, and there are styles to fit the look of any build. In the mean time, you should also look at exhaust jacks. The Xjack is probably the most popular, but it's also probably the most expensive. Shop around, as I believe there are better values out there.

 

[thejoking__explorer]

It's not completely useless without sliders or bumpers as it can still be used as a "come-along," but it may be unnecessary for your travels. You should definitely experiment with the stock jack and see if it suits your needs - it might.

I have carried this Hi Lift for almost 20 years now just this past weekend used it for the first time. The truck it was originally purchased for had steel bumpers. The two rigs I've had since then had rock rails. Having sliced a sidewall on the trail, this combo made quick work of the tire change.

I also carry that Jack Mate to simplify attaching chain and using the jack as a come-along. You should read up on them, as well as check out rock rails or sliders for your rig. They are a nice addition, and there are styles to fit the look of any build. In the mean time, you should also look at exhaust jacks. The Xjack is probably the most popular, but it's also probably the most expensive. Shop around, as I believe there are better values out there.

Thank you! You're post has been very helpful.

 

[Kevin108]

Glad to help. I'm following the thread if you have any other questions.

 

[NotGumby]

You can use a Hi-Lift without having bumpers or sliders when you use a Lift-Mate, which allows you to lift from the wheel. Important is that the rim holes will accommodate the Lift-Mate hooks. This will of course not allow you to use the Hi-Lift to lift for a wheel change. You might want to explore the option of an air jack instead of a Hi-Lift. Takla or ARB X-jack would be something to research. I’ve offloaded my Hi-Lift for an X-jack.


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[StuntmanMike]

I think a lot of folks carry Hi Lifts more for an appearance mod than anything else.

I had one in my Grand Cherokee that had sliders, and I used it in the same way as Kevin did with his FJ above. In my case the Jeep was buried in mud up to the rockers. Two trucks couldn't budge me. Luckily I had a shovel, and we found some planks in the woods. Dug out enough to get a plank and the high lift under the rockers, then one side at a time lifted the jeep till the wheels were out of the mud. We stuck the planks under the wheels, then drove the thing right out. We had to lift it pretty high as my swaybars were disconnected and solid axle Jeeps have quite a bit of droop. I doubt this would have been possible with any other type of jack, especially not the stock jack (I had to keep a thick piece of wood in the jeep to put under the stock jack for it to even work once I put on bigger tires)

Also, note that Kevin has his door open in that pic. That's good hi lift technique, as the jack can pivot inward as you're using it, and can put a helluva dent in your door. I had my door open when I used mine too for that reason.

If you have sliders it's worth it, otherwise, not so much.

 

[Spud]

If you don't have an area to lift from such as sliders or bumpers, then I honestly wouldn't carry one. You can lift from the wheel with a lift mate but you'll need a jack stand to set the axle down on the change a tire. Rather than carry a jack stand and high lift, I carried one of these for a while. It's called a uni-jack, jack stand and bottle hack in one, nice big stable base.

 

[Lindenwood]

I honestly don't know why more people don't use a Lift Mate. As of last night, I have used my hi-lift 5 times, on three vehicles with 4 sets of wheels, to lift for routine maintenance. For any wheel or tire removal, I place a jack stand under the axle after lifting; on the trail I do the same with my bottle jack. I don't even own a trolley jack anymore.


Plus, lifting from the wheel is dramatically safer than lifting from bumpers or sliders. I have armor on all 4 sides of my rig, and would still reach for the lift-mate 99 times out of 100 unless I needed to kick the vehicle over.

IMO it is a must-have accessory for a hi-lift.

 

[Mogwai]

I honestly don't know why more people don't use a Lift Mate. As of last night, I have used my hi-lift 5 times, on three vehicles with 4 sets of wheels, to lift for routine maintenance. For any wheel or tire removal, I place a jack stand under the axle after lifting; on the trail I do the same with my bottle jack. I don't even own a trolley jack anymore.


Plus, lifting from the wheel is dramatically safer than lifting from bumpers or sliders. I have armor on all 4 sides of my rig, and would still reach for the lift-mate 99 times out of 100 unless I needed to kick the vehicle over.

IMO it is a must-have accessory for a hi-lift.

View attachment 54945

And if you have an IFS truck like that FJ you can lift from the center of the lower control arm in the front, it's fairly low (like the suggestion of lifting from the axle) and any bottle Jack and maybe even the stock Jack would work for most applications. For the rear, the axle housing. You can also make or buy something that you place on top of a bottle Jack that looks like the top of the lift-mate above, I have one that fits around my frame which is nice because it won't slip off.

But no hi-lift for me.

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[Kevin108]

I honestly don't know why more people don't use a Lift Mate.

Lifting the vehicle from the wheel I need to remove makes zero sense to me. On top of that, it requires carrying the accessory plus carrying or crafting something to hold the vehicle up while the wheel is off. Is it safer not supporting the vehicle with the jack? Theoretically. Is it worth the weight and space of additional components? Maybe on your rig. Not on mine. I typically keep everything between the rear seat and the back door. Interior storage is at an extreme premium.

 

[Bob (Fishingbob)]

Hi All

I carry a Hi-Lift,Lift -Mate, a jack stand and 4x6 blocks of wood. They are easy located in a plastic milk crate which I carry behind the rear seat-always. Haven't used them yet. Definitely read up on the proper use of the Hi-Lift jacks -as mentioned above they can be a little tricky to use. Proper placement of the base from the vehicle, also watch, especially coming down, the handle don't put your head above the jack (in case the handle slips from your grip), keep constant pressure on the handle ( a must) and not a bad idea to use gloves, mainly to keep a good grip on the handle.

Hope this helps
Bob

I like the the jack pnw.frontier mentioned above-may have to purchase one.

 

[Lindenwood]

Lifting the vehicle from the wheel I need to remove makes zero sense to me.

Kevin, in case this wasnt clear.

For any wheel or tire removal, I place a jack stand under the axle after lifting; on the trail I do the same with my factory bottle jack.

View attachment 54945

Placing the jack stand takes the same amount of time as it would anyways, and removing the hi-lift to get to the wheel takes an additional 10 seconds.

Sure, for pure economy of motion, there are perhaps more efficient options available to change a tire. But, the hi-lift is always with me anyways due to its many other uses, and the small, 5lb lifting accessory is just a dramatic increase in safety and utility that is still smaller and lighter than any remotely safe jacking option.

Additionally, with my lift-mate, I could assist almost any vehicle. However, it would be tough to slide an 8-15" Bottle jack under a sedan or crossover if the scissor jack (eep!) were missing.

As for storage goes, mine is on the hood, so perhaps that is a fair limit for you.

Finally, as to your preference to work on a vehicle supported only by a jack... I suppose that is your prerogative.

 

[Dilldog]

I have also hooked a hi lift into the tow points on a few of my rigs and lifted from them using a strap or chain. If I had to lift my rig with one that is how I would do it.

 

[slomatt]

Hello everyone! I have been slowly building my 4Runner up over the last few months. For the most part it is stock other than my roof rack and upgraded tires to BFG KO2's. I was recently tooling around Moab and noticed most everyone has a Hi Lift jack mounted somewhere on their rig. Now, I have personally never used a hi lift or even messed around with one so I don't know much about them. From what I've read you need to have somewhere on the vehicle to use it? So if I don't have sliders or metal bumpers does that make having one useless? I do plan on adding sliders soon.

Without solid lifting points a High Lift is not really useful for jacking up the truck. You could use a trailer hitch to lift the back, but most trucks don't have good factory lift points on the sides or the front. As mentioned above you could get a lift-mate and lift a wheel, but given that one of the most common uses for a jack is replacing a damaged tire the lift-mate doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You could still use it as a portable winch, but it's not really ideal.

Personally I prefer to use the factory jack and a saddle adapter so it can be used on the axle tubes.

 

[obrianmcc]

I've carried one for years ... primarily to use in place of a winch if needed. Thankfully I have never needed to use it. I don't hardcore wheel, but have been hung up/stuck in holes before and a high lift will pull you the 2 or 3 ft to get you unstuck. For long technical pulls you can't replace an actual winch. As far as lifting ... I prefer to use a bottle jack.

I used to have it mounted in the bed inside my topper. It has since moved up to my rack after installing a Decked Drawer System. I figure it's better have it and not need it vs needing it and have it sitting in the garage.

 

[Homeguy]

I’ve got a Hi-Lift and have used it a few times. I’ve also got the lift mate and bumper lift. I’ve been know to bury my Jeep in some deep mud and have used the Hi-Lift as a winch to get me out.

 

[CR-Venturer]

I think for most applications, a 12 ton bottle jack is a better choice. It's very compact, can lift far more weight, and is far safer and easier to use in most cases. Having said that, a Hi-lift jack can do a few tricks a bottle jack can't, such as manual winching, but only if you have a bunch of other accessories for it. Best bang for your buck is probably a 12 ton bottle jack and a 4x6 piece of wood.

 

[RedRob]

I find the versatility of a Hi-Lift worth the weight and space. I’ve never actually used it for anything other than simple lifting, but I know I could.

I got ugly high centered just the other day (by my own stupidity, granted) but we needed my Hi-Lift to get me in position to even use my buddy’s winch.

BTW, I have the real Hi-Lift, and it seems beefier than other brands. Check out PepBoys. They used to frequently have good discounts.

 

[Kevin108]

The additional utility of the Hi Lift is what makes it worth carrying. It's a jack, sure. It's a serviceable winch, fine.

I've used it to pinch together warped hardwood flooring. I've used it to lift a corner of a deck so I could replace a broken 4x4 on the corner. I've used it to straighten a bent crossmember on a Jeep after a fender-bender.

Costs: I bought a jack handle isolator that was dissolved by the sun in less than 3 years. Zip ties have held up longer. I did put a new pin and spring kit in it when I moved it to the FJ three years ago. And it got a fresh coat of WD-40 the last time I used it. Oooh!

I've had it almost 20 years now. I think I paid $80 for the 60" all-cast model in a group buy. Averaging it out, have I gotten $6 a year out of it? Yeah, I think so.