Alternative to a high lift

[cstamm81]

Are there any other viable tools out there to use other than a hi lift? I know they're great and all, but I wanted to see of someone else was using another means of raising the vehicle off road. Anything other than the exhaust jacks? I like to carry as little as possible and be as safe as possible.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Are there any other viable tools out there to use other than a hi lift? I know they're great and all, but I wanted to see of someone else was using another means of raising the vehicle off road. Anything other than the exhaust jacks? I like to carry as little as possible and be as safe as possible.

It really depends on the region, the truck, and the type of driving you do. If you are in a watery/muddy area, there is no replacement for a hi-lift, because you might want to lift your truck half a yard out of a mudhole.
If your truck is sprung over, or lifted obscenely high, it is hard to find a jack that has enough travel to put under the axle.
If you do expedition style travel with a stock or moderately lifted truck, you don't need a hi-lift.
On all my long desert/Baja trips I carry 2 stock jacks, 2 20 inch long 4x4s, and a 20 inch long 6x6. never missed a hi-lift.
so I guess there is no general rule.

 

[cstamm81]

my truck is 3.5" lift on 35's, so sort of big I guess. I just thought that maybe someone knew of a really tall bottle jack or something. I will buy a hi lift if I have to, I just wanted to see if there were any other options.

 

[rusty_tlc]

my truck is 3.5" lift on 35's, so sort of big I guess. I just thought that maybe someone knew of a really tall bottle jack or something. I will buy a hi lift if I have to, I just wanted to see if there were any other options.

Check with heavy equipment sites. They use really tall bottle jacks.
I've found bottle jacks to be even less stable than sissor jacks.

 

[BiG BoB]

It all comes down to preparing your work area, and using equipment in a safe manner.

The thing that makes a hilift so special is its ability to be useful in many different situation, however bottle jacks can be better (in some cases)

Always carry a big heavy bit of timber for your bottle jack to sit on. Packing under the jack with suitable timber extends its lift height, rather than using some of that lift just to reach the vehicle

Sean

 

[dmede808]

my truck is 3.5" lift on 35's, so sort of big I guess. I just thought that maybe someone knew of a really tall bottle jack or something. I will buy a hi lift if I have to, I just wanted to see if there were any other options.

Overland Journal has a review in the Fall issue on a double height bottle jack (12") from Power Team, but it's $240!!

 

[flintknapper]

Are there any other viable tools out there to use other than a hi lift? I know they're great and all, but I wanted to see of someone else was using another means of raising the vehicle off road. Anything other than the exhaust jacks? I like to carry as little as possible and be as safe as possible.

It will be pretty tough to beat the hi-lift for versatility. One accessory that I have put to good use many times is this:

http://www.hi-lift.com/products/liftmate.htm

The liftmate is great and can be used for more than just attaching to a wheel.


The off-road base can be handy as well.