questions about hi lift jacks and fj60

[jb welda]

so of course i have one of these for my ome lifted 60, but ive never even used it or unmounted it from the mount i mounted it on!

but i know the day is coming so i have a few questions:

1. what accessories do people find necessary or even handy with these? i have the adaptors to use with my arb bull bar but thats about it. there is an accessory to lift a vehicle by the wheel with the wheel still on the car...looks handy if you want to build a rock ramp or something under the tire to drive off an obstacle. is that what its for?

2. to lift the back end or the rear right or left, is it correct that the jack lift part can just be put under the stock rear bumper and the car lifted that way? it wont bend the bumper? thats how they seem to recommend using the jack but im not so sure.

3. is there a good place on the side of the fj60 to lift from? i mean the chassis...is there a good place to put the lifter part of the jack to lift the car one side at a time?

4. any other words of wisdom concerning use of this apparently well regarded tool?

many thanks in advance!

one love
jah bill

 

[hammer1]

just dont store it outside the vehicle.
ran out and bought a used one on Ebay after i got my iron pig rear bumper, since it had a set of studs made for a hi-lift. i bolted it on with tamper-proof "lug" nuts, and some Mo-Mo must have taken a battery operated sawzall and cut it off a week later from the house where i was working. of corse, no one saw a damn thing, none of the other workers, all of who probably had a toll just like that.
but i got them back...once i was finnished with the bookcases around the fireplace, i took a crap in the bathtub of one of the SIX baths!

 

[Cruisergreg]

1. dunno

2. You would likely bend the stock bumper

3. You can lift the whole chassis by the lip of the rear fender well. Wrap the jack in rags to avoid direct contact with the sheetmetal.

4. The jack mechanism must be well-lubed to work - carry a can of spray lubricant. Sunscreen works in an emergency.

 

[tclndcrz]

ive used my high lift on the stock rear bumper. just put the lift under where the bumper is mounted to the frame. same with a stock front bumper if thats what you have. as for the sides of the truck im not sure. sliders would be best

 

[cruzerfetish]

Haven't used it but I bought an accessory that is for curved bumpers that I was planning to use on the rear when necessary.

 

[Clutchee]

First off when using a hi-lift-BE CAREFUL!
They can & will cause you pain or body damage to your vehicle!


Also don't count your factory jack out.
Unless your vehicle lift amount is huge the factory jack should work in most situations. (changing a tire,fixing a birfield or axle)

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Also don't count your factory jack out.
Unless your vehicle lift amount is huge the factory jack should work in most situations. (changing a tire,fixing a birfield or axle)

Totally agree. I have fixed far more tires on the stock jack then on the Hilift.

The ARB adapter works great on the front bumper. They make a bumper adapter with a hook that works well on the rear if you are careful about where the hook goes. I would not jack on the body or wheel well unless there was no other choice and I could do my own body work.

The Hilift is for stucks and emergencies only.

 

[brett76]

has anyone seen/used that kit thats supposed to make it easier to use as a winch. its supposed to have a bunch of crap that just makes it easier to do. i just glanced at it the other day at an offroad shop but my girl was waiting outside so i didnt get to really look. it was like 70 bucks. thoughts?

 

[cody c]

im gonna try and find the pics of the friend who knocked out 3 or 4 teeth and cut right through his lip about 2-3 inches at the corner of his mouth, needing a ton of stitches so people can see what happens when you use a hi lift jack stupidly. but on a cheerier note there is a product that is essentially 2 hooks with a strap between thats made to lift a vehicle at the tire by putting the hooks in the holes in the rim. also a block of wood or 2'x2' piece of plywood will help the jack from sinking to much when your changing a tire in a mudhole.

 

[Godwin]

I've used a HiLift more as a winch to pull a stuck Cruiser than for lifting. For this you'll need chains and/or straps, and a D-ring or two.

 

[lunyou]

i just acquired my dads old "handy man" jack i have to relube it so it works right and get a good handle for it.

I will second the "the hilift is dangerous" comment......the only dent in my dads old 4runner was from the hilift "falling" messing up the rear gate.

lunyou

 

[87CRUSR]

Well I have a brand new highlift riding in my FJ and from what I have read about them in the past...use only when absolutely needed due to danger factor.

 

[HntWhtTail]

From my own expierience,
They are dangerous, and can and will dent or bend most anything you put them on. the vehicle can fall sideways if great care is not taken when lifting. Dented my 90 toy pu when it fell off jack into wall of garage. I got a tow hook and a good bolt and mounted through the hole in th lifting part, and use a chain to hook i t onto the tow hook on the truck works good but chain bends bumper good part is after you do it once it wont bend it again.

 

[2mbb]

I bought the thing that's made to let you lift by the wheel. It won't work with my wheels, so I'll be selling it. I was going to ebay it, but let me know if you're interested...

I fabbed some brackets made out of c-channel to help with lifting under the rear bumper. I bolted it between the frame and the rear tow hook. Had to notch the bottom of the rear bumper. Here's a thread with more info: https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=705189&postcount=3

When you eventually get sliders, WabFab makes a nice adapter to allow your hilift to lift off the slider tubing: https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=75169

 

[Cruisergreg]

I would not jack on the body or wheel well unless there was no other choice and I could do my own body work.
QUOTE]
Disagree - the rear wheel well can be lifted with zero damage as I did it to both sides when installing a body lift. The trick is to ensure that the jack's lifting point is well cushioned to spread out the weight. Not ideal but certainly doable.

 

[Cruisergreg]

...the vehicle can fall sideways if great care is not taken when lifting...

Everybody keep in mind that the Hi-Lift's instability is one of its virtues. The "jack up and then push over" technique is very useful to realign a rig's line in a tough spot. Also used it recently to move an abandoned Dodge dually far enough off the trail to get my truck by.

 

[pismojim]

A friend picked up a "hand winching" kit for his Hi-Lift. We tested it out by pulling his 80 Series up a hill. It worked OK, but after watching the demo I decided to buy a winch.

If you decide to try it, be sure to pick a scenic location, it's a S L O W process.

A few more pics HERE

 

[jb welda]

hey thanks for all the replies, keep em coming!

>Well I have a brand new highlift riding in my FJ and from what I have read
>about them in the past...use only when absolutely needed due to danger
>factor.

yes im sort of getting that impression. truth be told in most cases i think my stock bottle jack (that *was* stock, right?) will probably work and i dont think if i were stuck 10 miles from the nearest pavement that a split lip and missing teeth would improve my disposition any (although if i were in "deliverance" country perhaps the teeth missing would give me some much-needed "trail cred" when i was squealling like a pig!). so i think i will use this thing advisedly only when i have to.

i like the part about "is it a bug or a feature" re: the tippy business. i have the wide base to use...does that improve its stability (when stability is needed, eg: not when the point is to jack and tip etc)?

i already got a winch so im hoping i wont be out there trying to hi-lift my way out of a situation like is illustrated but you never know...its pretty hard to winch a car backwards when the winch is on the front bumper and i never was good at figuring out angles to get clever in winching something in an angle to the gear...

2mbb, i might be interested in that accessory if youre willing to sell it including shipping for less than they want at the 4wd shop. i have stock wheels and i *believe* it will work with them, anyone know different? if you like you can email me at justw@dgweb.com and discuss it.

anyway again many thanks for the replies and warnings. im somewhat used to working around stuff like this so know it can be a ticking time bomb especially if used under stress (which, if youre stuck, that IS my definition of stress and a good time to be getting hurt if youre not careful).

now back to the jacking up of the rear end, i just had a thought...i wonder if the lift part fits inside my trailer hitch receiver? if so is there anything inherently problematic about using that as a rear jack point? i would think perhaps the angle as the car is lifted might increase to the point where the jack would fall away (and hopefully my face wont be where its falling to).

i think i will take to heart the advice to use this tool carefully and sparingly and try to use the stock jack if at all possible.

one love
jah bill

 

[andrew7elk]

I do not have one of these bases but have been in many situations where i wish i did have one. I do plan on getting one and will update on its effectivness

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Everybody keep in mind that the Hi-Lift's instability is one of its virtues. The "jack up and then push over" technique is very useful to realign a rig's line in a tough spot. Also used it recently to move an abandoned Dodge dually far enough off the trail to get my truck by.

Does not always work

I disassemble the hi-lift and keep it under the rear set