36" hi lift jack - Adequete? (1 Viewer)

[Soberacho]

I plan to install a set of BFG K02s in the near future and I know the tires will be larger than the military set my BJ40 is currently sporting. I'd like to buy a Hi-Lift jack but I wanted to mount it inside the 40, under the jump seat. The only size jack that will fit is a 36" . The 48" is too long. South Texas is pretty flat country and I don't see the 40 making a trip up to the hill country. Basically, mine will be an asphalt queen.

Question: Will the 36" jack raise the 40 enough to safely install the spare tire?

 

[peesalot]

IMO a bottle jack is way better for that purpose.

 

[Living in the Past]

I would never use a High Lift jack to change a tire. They are not stable enough.

 

[mattressking]

If it’s an asphalt queen, hi-lift is the worst choice. Find a factory bottle jack if you don’t already have.

 

[kerplunk]

Get a bottle jack that you can put under the axle / ubolt plate.

Hi lift jacks are really only good for recovery efforts, picking tires sunk into holes out. And really kinda dangerous for anything else (well, actually kinda anything, period.).

 

[Soberacho]

Great advice, guys. Thought hi-lifts were just as safe as the old bumper jacks that were standard equipment on older vehicles. Different animal, I suppose.

Comments were much appreciated .

 

[Living in the Past]

Great advice, guys. Thought hi-lifts were just as safe as the old bumper jacks that were standard equipment on older vehicles. Different animal, I suppose.

Comments were much appreciated .

Fifty years ago bumpers had slits the jack fit to help stabilize the jack. Do any new vehicles even come with a bumper jack any more. Believe they have gone the way of the Dodo bird. Bumper jack are easier to use without getting dirty. If there were just as safe sure they would still be used even with plastic coated bumpers. Believe is was here on mud there was a thread about someone being hurt when the 80 series there were changing a tire using a High Lift fell on them. I have a couple High Lift jacks. I mainly use them to move a vehicle sideways by jacking on the vehicle end and tipping them to the side I need clearance.

 

[pb4ugo]

To complete your nice 40, I'd suggest getting the stk jack along with the jack handle and jack rods and rod holders. A bottle jack works too.

 

[charliemeyer007]

The 48" hi-lift are nice to jack up the rig and push it off side ways to get out a rut you fell in. They make a short winch with some chains/cables.
I really like my harbor china 6 ton bottle jack - nothing wrong with the OEM screw one - make a doe hook so you use a cordless drill.

 

[Living in the Past]

The 48" hi-lift are nice to jack up the rig and push it off side ways to get out a rut you fell in. They make a short winch with some chains/cables.
I really like my harbor china 6 ton bottle jack - nothing wrong with the OEM screw one - make a doe hook so you use a cordless drill.

Sometimes with a flat tire even a stock jack is too tall to fit under the axle plate springs which is my preferred location. Carrying a short length or two of 2X6 or 2x8 can give you a stable base when extra height is needed. @LandCruiserPhil sell a nice piece that fits the top of the bottle. It U shaped on top and help prevent the jack from slipping under just the axle.

When ever I change a tire I put the spare under the frame when removing the tire off the axle. The tire I just removed replaces the spare under the frame before mounting the spare on the axle. Besides being safer it will limit the damage to end of the axle if it does slip off the jack. Besides gloves something like an old sleeping bag comes in handy to work off of. Only took once during the middle of summer in Phoenix to figure that one out. I have AAA but not patient enough to wait just to change a flat.

 

[Fjtdi]

My family uses hi lift jacks on the farm. Twice they have had one slip a tooth and the handle hit them in the face. My grandpa cracked most of his teeth when it hit him in the jaw slamming it closed. The second time was my uncle and the handle hit him right between this eye and nose. Any closer to his eye he would have lost it.

 

[kerplunk]

Great advice, guys. Thought hi-lifts were just as safe as the old bumper jacks that were standard equipment on older vehicles. Different animal, I suppose.

Back in the day dashes were bare metal and there were no seat belts, steering columns didn't collapse... I think they expected you to die young?

 

[Soberacho]

Back in the day dashes were bare metal and there were no seat belts, steering columns didn't collapse... I think they expected you to die young?

You just described my BJ40. lol

 

[charliemeyer007]

The skinny pins that hold the springs on the climbing pins bend, I replaced them with roll pins.

 

[igotta40]

Here’s how I mounted my 48” to the front

 

[Living in the Past]

Back in the day dashes were bare metal and there were no seat belts, steering columns didn't collapse... I think they expected you to die young?

Wouldn't be long until people will say cars use to require the driver to apply the brakes and expected to steer and keep the car in it's own line without aid of a computer. By that way of thinking would would expect no single circuit brake would have survived this long. People paid better attention to their driving when the vehicle wasn't loaded with devices to do it for them. Also didn't have to worry about half the people on the road were on a cell phone talking, texting or worse using it as a computer.

 

[Mark W]

Hi-lift(s), handyman(s), farm jack(s) or whatever it may be branded as are great tools and sometimes they are exactly what you need. I have used them for decades, and still do. I just serviced the half dozen that I have on hand. I think the newest I have is over 30 years old and they have all spent most of their time out in the weather, either on rigs or just stacked against the back wall of the shop. They all work as good as new still.

That said... More often your needs can be served better by other choices. If you are not in the bush, there are almost always better choices for vehicular uses.

These type jacks are also finicky, unstable and dangerous to use. They can kill you or make you wish you were dead. I personally know people who have had their lives severely and permanently impacted (negatively of course) due to mishaps while using them. Years ago I avoided a busted jaw and shattered teeth by a fraction of an inch when a jack handle kicked back. Luckily I wound up with just a scraped nose and an instant respect for the beast!

They are my absolute last choice for lifting and supporting a rig while changing a tire!



Mark...

 

[igotta40]

I would offer that the same could be said for a winch. It’s a matter of knowing your equipment, using the proper tool for the job, and how to work safely. I’ve had a hi-lift and old school bumper jack both go sideways in my lifetime.

 

[4x4veteran]

Great advice, guys. Thought hi-lifts were just as safe as the old bumper jacks that were standard equipment on older vehicles. Different animal, I suppose.

Comments were much appreciated .

Even the old bumper jacks were not safe. Heard many stories about them popping out or falling sideways from improper use.
The stock bottle jack or a good equivalent is best.
If lift height is a concern, maybe a couple of short pieces of 2x6 or 12 screwed together with grain at right angle for a base to set the jack on.

 

[fjwagon]

As a teen, I remember lifting a car with the factory jack but wanted to jack it up even higher so I got the Hilift and I'm not sure how it happened, next thing I see...is the handle coming off the Hilift jack and twirling about ten feet and landed on the car. We mainly used them to remove poles out of the ground when working on a fence and around the farm. They have their uses, just be extra careful when you use them. I have also used them to lift trailers. But I'm not so sure i would use it to change a tire on my forty unless I really had no choice.