Need ideas for a usable jack...NOT a HiLift (1 Viewer)

[Dissent]

My LX450 is stock now, will be raised 2" with 33's one day. What's wrong with the stock jack or any other jack besides a Hi-Lift? I've had a Hi-Lift and have used it and I don't see the appeal. What recommendations are there for a real world jack? What's wrong with stock or improved bottle and a chunk of 4x6?

This isn't a Hi-Lift bash but I truly believe they are a very serious decoration and are highly overrated. I want any other option. What say you Mudders?

 

[murf]

A tall hd sissor jack
http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jac...tml?feed=npn&gclid=CNai1J_u6cACFRSEfgodzjAAXQ

OR step up to this. On CL just for you...meant to be!

http://tucson.craigslist.org/pts/4623761836.html

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The stock jack is an excellent and safe design. Since you're lifting the axle and not the body, the amount of lift doesn't really matter. Even with big tires, a small 2 inch block of wood and you're good to go.

I keep 2 of the stock jacks on board. Very handy and useful, and can be used as jack stands which is why I carry 2.

I actually prefer the late 70s design made of nodular iron, but all are good.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Factory jack suits my needs just fine

 

[Dissent]

Never used an air bag. Wonder how they work. I like the iron version, my old Chevy used to have one. Where can you pick up iron jacks these days? Carrying 2 is a great Idea.

 

[Saddletramp]

4x6 block of wood. Always worked for me.

 

[murf]

Never used an air bag. Wonder how they work.

The air bag uses your exhaust to air up the bag which in turn lifts your frame

 

[Rudster]

I use a block of wood, the stock jack and it works fine -

 

[Dissent]

Air bag sounds perfect for sand or mud.

 

[chappysfj40]

High lift has its draw backs for lifting 80 s because of the awesome flex but why I love the high lift is for its other uses. Like a winch go pull the back fender off something. But for just simple tire lifts I like bottle jacks and a firm base.

 

[Stepmurr]

This and a jack stand makes for an easy lift and a safer tire change:

http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/lift-mate.html

I got a lift-mate for my Tacoma when I found out that the front bumper had to be ~ 3 foot off the ground to lift a tire!

An axle sitting on a jack stand is much safer than an axle on a jack, and you have to be crazy or desperate to change a tire with a rig raised only by a hi-lift because they are way too unstable.

I carry a hi-lift and couldn't imagine driving around without one. Good luck using a bottle jack to get you out of a mud bog when you are sunk down to the frame! As chappysfj40 said the hi-lift has "other uses".

 

[msahr]

Yup, what he said... ^^^

 

[chappysfj40]

This past tall corn cruiser classic we used the heck out of my high lift and not once did we use it jack up my truck. We moved trucks sideways off trees. Winched a couple feet and lifted trees out the way. Love um.

 

[Dissent]

If I were stuck in mud like that, I assume my come along would suffice to move my truck to or fro but if I had to jack, I'd still have to put a base plate of some sort down to avoid sinking in mud and still use the bottle jack right? The jack stand is a great idea but I like the 2nd jack idea better for that reason plus the two could be used alternating lifting the bumper/frame until you get under the axle. Win goes to the Bottle Jack(s).

Back in 1991, I had a Chevy Blazer and my dad gave me a Hi-Lift he picked up at a yard sale. I hauled that jack around for about a year and then I got stuck once and found the jack was useless on the chrome bumpers since it didn't reach. I broke out my bottle jack and unstuck myself. Win goes to the Bottle Jack.

I bought Hi-Lift's bumper hook adapter thingy to accommodate the curved bumpers and managed to get my Blazer stuck again. I used the Hi-Lift and adapter to twist my bumper into silly taffy shapes while I waited for someone to drag me out of the river bottom. I ended being pulled out with two other trucks a few hours later. I bought a come along on my dad's recommendation when I got back home and gave the Hi-Lift back to my dad. Neither of us have carried or since and he did use it once to actually lift his John Deere tractor to repair a wheel. Win goes to the Come Along.

Now that I have this truck, I'm seriously questioning the value of the weight/size/cost of the Hi-Lift vs. picking up a 2nd jack along with my existing 4x6 and come along. Only one of these arguments is compelling so far involving the shifting a 6000 lb truck around on the trail. I really think I could just use the come along again to pull the other way rather than pushing it. Win goes to the Come Along.

Back to the original post of jacking up the car, I am still not seeing the point of the Hi-Lift. Seems more 4x4 bauble then serious consideration. Keep in mind my truck is going to be 2.5" higher than stock with 33" tires. No 44" swampers here.

 

[chappysfj40]

You make a lot of good points but can the handle off the come along or bottle jack be used as a sleeve for a temp fix on a tie rod. I love the heck of high lifts they just make since to me. Anyway its all good.
Cheers.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The hi-lift has a lot more tricks than just jacking the truck up for tire changes. We generally make sure at least one person has one in the group, and there have been a couple of memorable times over the years when only a hi-lift would do. In fact, one of those times was at Rubicon this year when one of the participants, simultaneously, had a flat, had the wheel buried in a deep hole, the front dif was caught on a diff rock and the rear bumper was caught on a ledge. All while pitched down at a steep angle. The winch alone would not move him out of the hole forward or back. So it was hi-lift, rock stacking, more winching, tire change and finally, recovery.

But generally I agree, the hi-lift is only occasionally useful. I have used mine most often to level my truck to sleep inside. Really, this works insanely well if flat ground or the right sized tire rock cannot be found. Also, the upper end of the high lift is a great place to hang a camping lantern.

But for tire changes, on firm ground, the stock bottle jack is unbeatable.

 

[PbnFJ]

X2 the hilift is great for hanging a lantern

 

[Dissent]

LOL, that's true, very handy for the lantern.

 

[Rocky_LC]

It's (the High-Lift) is good for cracking Alvin in the chin occasionally... But that was a long time ago.

I think he stays out-of-reach of the handle now!

Rocky

 

[inkpot]

LOL, that's true, very handy for the lantern.

While I do carry a high lift on my swingout, my first go to usually is my stock bottle jack with a few blocks of wood, as needed. I also carry an 8000# HF come along with me, and in the last 30 years of wheeling in Az, I have used the come along more times than the high lift. I do realize that the HF unit that I paid only $20 for will not lift a full 4 tons, it will do an awful lot for the money. John