HiLift jack: is it really needed?

[N2JEEPN]

We use Hi-lift jacks in the FD as a tool in the tool box. In a emergency situation you can use them to pull, push, clamp, spread, lift, or lower. Having a winch and/or a hi-lift jack is a tool, however if you do not practice with the tools in a emergency situation your tools may not work properly. Every year when I organize a vehicle recovery clinic, someones winch, winch line/cable, or hi-lift jack does not work or malfunctions. Get out and practice under controlled situations, know your tools/equipment and know that they will work when needed under stressful emergency situation.

 

[Jeff Graham]

One of the problems and benefits of a Hi-Lift jack is its instability. I have been stuck in deep ruts, jacked up the back of the rig, and pushed the rig sideways off the jack. Repeat up front, and you are out of the ruts. This is just one of many recovery techniques that the Hi-Lift is uniquely good at.

Depending on where I'm going, I may carry my Hi-Lift again. For now, I'm leaving this heavy beast in the shed.

 

[GreyWolf]

I always say, it's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. It has a time and a place of use. It can be repurposed for many other things. Ive used it to hold in a wheel from a rear axle shaft breakage, limped the Jeep along until I could get a proper tow off the trails. That's just my 2 cents, it's an item that will stay on my rig

 

[Jeff Graham]

my initial reason for starting this thread, was to reduce weight of my vehicle load out, by carrying less stuff. One argument for carrying the Hi-Lift, is that it can be used for winching. The challenge with this is the heavy chain that must be carried. One of our fellow OB members started a thread about alternative ways to whinch with your Hi-Lift. This would use a strap, with multiple loops. We still haven't found the right product, but I think I can make one. If this is successful, I might have to reconsider the highlift again.

 

[O.Dfj]

I have used my Hi-Lift enough that I leave it on the back of my fj. I oil it once a week to make sure it doesn't get rusted riding around in the elements. I use it less now that I have a winch but I won't leave home without it.

 

[Quicksilver]

I had thoughts of taking mine off before as well since I hadn't ever used it. Every time somebody else needed a jack on the trail (only happened twice that i remember), somebody else had their hi-lift ready before i knew it. I have mine mounted in front of my driver door, so it's out of the way, weight is low, and is easy to access, so i just left it on. Last month I got high centered bad enough that the guy winching me couldn't pull me out - his winch just pulled him to me. Thankfully i had my hilift, because it was the only way i was getting out of there. A few minutes of jacking me up and tossing some rocks under a wheel and i was out of there. If i had known it would go that fast, i would have done that right from the start and not dealt with the winch. I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it at this point. Especially considering all the other uses it provides as well.

For as much concern as there is about HiLift jack safety, it is also worth considering the fact that the winch probably has just as much or possibly more injury potential if not used properly - which i've seen way too often.

The Wifey has been considering one of these mounts for her TJ. How do you like it? Does the door open all the way without hitting the jack?

 

[nomad666]

I'm exploring other jack options. I have found some light weight aluminum floor jacks, that might be interesting, with modifications.
View attachment 28822

Now this is a great looking setup never occurred to me to put a skid plate on mine sure would solve alot of problems thanks for the post...
I am not fond of hilift jacks bent many a bumper and body panels with one in the past..
Just try and get a lifted vehicle high enough to even get the tires off the ground with a hilift jack so one can build a road under the tires or change a tire no can do!

 

[Jeff Graham]

Now this is a great looking setup never occurred to me to put a skid plate on mine sure would solve alot of problems thanks for the post...
I am not fond of hilift jacks bent many a bumper and body panels with one in the past..
Just try and get a lifted vehicle high enough to even get the tires off the ground with a hilift jack so one can build a road under the tires or change a tire no can do!

FYI: You may find this interesting.

When I'm on the trail alone, I carried jack stands, in the past. Now I carry this two in one devices: Powerbuilt Unijack in the 6K veriety. Depending on terrain, I often will leave the Hi-Lift home now. The two Unijacks I carry, are lighter then the Hi-Lift. Probably much safer in many situations. I bolt them down in the vehicle, so they are easy to get to, but won't fly around in an accident.

 

[nomad666]

FYI: You may find this interesting.

When I'm on the trail alone, I carried jack stands, in the past. Now I carry this two in one devices: Powerbuilt Unijack in the 6K veriety. Depending on terrain, I often will leave the Hi-Lift home now. The two Unijacks I carry, are lighter then the Hi-Lift. Probably much safer in many situations. I bolt them down in the vehicle, so they are easy to get to, but won't fly around in an accident.

View attachment 32430

I like! would be nice to have when working under the vehicle with jacks and safety stand all in one nice find...

 

[Jeff Graham]

I like! would be nice to have when working under the vehicle with jacks and safety stand all in one nice find...

Just what I thought. See, great minds work alike LOL...

 

[GertJantH]

Hi all,
Although you all have good alternatives for the Hi-Lift jack, I consider it a very worthy tool to take on an longer overland trip.
During our travels with our Series 3 Land Rover, Milady Landy, I used the jack many times to jack up the vehicle and do the uncountable repairs that were needed to do our 16.000 miles on African roads. Yes you need to be very cautious with it, so I also carried and used my bottle jack and two axle stands, but it is a fantastic tool.

Apart from jacking up for repairs I also used it to jack up the car one end when I got stuck and the left rear and right front wheel started to spin.
The other occasion was to repair the broken chassis in a tiny village in Tanzania where tools were limited to my tool box and the welding station of the local blacksmith. Here we used the jack to push the chassis back together in shape and then weld it.

All in all I wouldn't have wanted to left the Hi-Lift home, it was fantastic!

The Hi-Lift was always wrapped in canvas stored on the front bumper of Milady.

 

[Jeff Graham]

Hi all,
Although you all have good alternatives for the Hi-Lift jack, I consider it a very worthy tool to take on an longer overland trip.
During our travels with our Series 3 Land Rover, Milady Landy, I used the jack many times to jack up the vehicle and do the uncountable repairs that were needed to do our 16.000 miles on African roads. Yes you need to be very cautious with it, so I also carried and used my bottle jack and two axle stands, but it is a fantastic tool.

Apart from jacking up for repairs I also used it to jack up the car one end when I got stuck and the left rear and right front wheel started to spin.
The other occasion was to repair the broken chassis in a tiny village in Tanzania where tools were limited to my tool box and the welding station of the local blacksmith. Here we used the jack to push the chassis back together in shape and then weld it.

All in all I wouldn't have wanted to left the Hi-Lift home, it was fantastic!The Hi-Lift was always wrapped in canvas stored on the front bumper of Milady.

Thanks for your input, your experience is very valuable!

I think most agree, it's atleast a nice to have. Although I can think of few instances, where I used my Hi-Lift, where it was my only way to accomplish the task. In your opinion, when you used your Hi-Lift, could you have done the same with your Bottle jack or possibly an air-jack?

If you are building a very heavy expedition vehicle, you can carry everything. This strategy has served me well in the desert, but not so well in the jungles. Lots of heavy vehicles get abandoned in the jungle. The lightly loaded vehicles seem to have fewer problems. This is my conundrum. Crossing wide open places in Africa, heavy is fine, and is my preferred method. Slugging through jungles of South America, not optimal, in my opinion. It's not that it can't be done. You can force a square peg into a round role, with sufficient resources. It is my experience, that it isn't optimal for every terrain. This is why I ask the question. Trying to reduce weight by evaluating every piece of gear with a critical eye. What are my must carry, vs nice to have. I'm very interested in reading your response!

 

[GertJantH]

Thanks for your input, your experience is very valuable!

I think most agree, it's atleast a nice to have. Although I can think of few instances, where I used my Hi-Lift, where it was my only way to accomplish the task. In your opinion, when you used your Hi-Lift, could you have done the same with your Bottle jack or possibly an air-jack?

If you are building a very heavy expedition vehicle, you can carry everything. This strategy has served me well in the desert, but not so well in the jungles. Lots of heavy vehicles get abandoned in the jungle. The lightly loaded vehicles seem to have fewer problems. This is my conundrum. Crossing wide open places in Africa, heavy is fine, and is my preferred method. Slugging through jungles of South America, not optimal, in my opinion. It's not that it can't be done. You can force a square peg into a round role, with sufficient resources. It is my experience, that it isn't optimal for every terrain. This is why I ask the question. Trying to reduce weight by evaluating every piece of gear with a critical eye. What are my must carry, vs nice to have. I'm very interested in reading your response!

Hi Jeff,
No, jacking up a high car like the series land rover just with the bottle jack is merely impossible. As you can see in the pictures above I already used stones and the likes to get sufficient height for the stands etc.
Yes, the car was heavy-ish, but being an old (1980) series Land Rover, it doesn't have superfluous equipment like an airconditioning or other car electronics or a heavy winch. We managed all terrain quite well with just the hi-jack, an air compressor to deflate and inflate the tires and a shovel to dig away sand or mud. As a matter of fact the total load was less than 2.5 metric tonnes (2.75 short tons).

 

[resurrection_discovery2]

I guess it's in the name, hi lift. My factory bottle jack now is obsolete since I lifted my truck that I needed to get a taller jack and the Hilift is one of the best jacks out there for lifted vehicles.

It's has more then one use so great to have, and it's kept out of the way on my truck and does complement the look of the truck now that it's been overhauled to a 4x4.

Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Jeff Graham]

I guess it's in the name, hi lift. My factory bottle jack now is obsolete since I lifted my truck that I needed to get a taller jack and the Hilift is one of the best jacks out there for lifted vehicles.

It's has more then one use so great to have, and it's kept out of the way on my truck and does complement the look of the truck now that it's been overhauled to a 4x4.

Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

I agree that the factory jack doesn't work for modified vehicles. My UniJack can easily lift my Jeep with 3" lift, and 35" tires. I carry two of these, because they are also jack stands. Add a Air-Jack, and I'm much lighter then a Hi-Lift (Hi-lift and Jack Stands versus UniJack and Air-Jack).

 

[Jeff Graham]

Hi Jeff,
No, jacking up a high car like the series land rover just with the bottle jack is merely impossible. As you can see in the pictures above I already used stones and the likes to get sufficient height for the stands etc.
Yes, the car was heavy-ish, but being an old (1980) series Land Rover, it doesn't have superfluous equipment like an airconditioning or other car electronics or a heavy winch. We managed all terrain quite well with just the hi-jack, an air compressor to deflate and inflate the tires and a shovel to dig away sand or mud. As a matter of fact the total load was less than 2.5 metric tonnes (2.75 short tons).

Thanks that great information. Do you Cary chain, in case you do need to winch?

 

[GertJantH]

Thanks that great information. Do you Cary chain, in case you do need to winch?

No, I didn't, just straps and ropes.

 

[Neil Q Smith]

Just returned from 6 weeks Arctic Trucks Expedition around Iceland - www.ice2017.no

We took just one HiLift Jack with us, to share between vehicles.
Also, took only one spare wheel, that fit all vehicles.

This not only cut down weight and volume used, but also reduced our fuel consumption.

Where we drove, which was often on F-Roads (mountain gravel roads / rough /difficult roads), we could not afford to go without the option for repair.
But I agree with a lot of the thread material above - is there a better / lighter alternative?

For your daily town / city commute - not needed.
If your trip is close to "Civilization", then maybe you could leave it out (help is just a phone call away).
If you are going "Off Grid" as a group, consider sharing resources with others, but ensure coverage.
If you are going "Off Grid" alone, always take it.

Would be really interested to hear if a better / equal alternative jack is found to work.
Interesting thread....

 

[Cort]

Hi lifts are a specialty tool that requires significant knowledge to use properly and there is required mainanance if you mount externally or it will fail. I carry my stock jack along with a 6000 lb power built bottle jack and for winching I have a 3 ton more power puller with am steel blue line.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

You can use synthetic winchline extensions instead of chain to winch with the Hi-Lift. This is something I've recently seen a picture of (the setup) and have since purchased the equipment to do it. But I have yet to do the setup and practice it in person.