Thinking about dropping the hi-lift

JaSAn

Grumpy Old Man
I recently had a tire self destruct on me. Not enough room to get the bottle jack under axle. Either I could try and dig a hole for the jack in the rocks or I could use the hi lift to get the truck up high enough to get the bottle jack under the axle. The hi lift was much easier.
I drive up on lego leveling blocks to get a jack under the axle. Lighter and safer.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
I recently had a tire self destruct on me. Not enough room to get the bottle jack under axle. Either I could try and dig a hole for the jack in the rocks or I could use the hi lift to get the truck up high enough to get the bottle jack under the axle. The hi lift was much easier.
The factory jack should have no trouble fitting in the factory jacking location with a fully flat, shredded tire. That is what they are built to do...... change flat tires. Looks like you have lifted the truck substantially with the high lift and the suspension droop is the issue.

The big drawback to a high lift changing tires on a lifted, modded suspension is the articulation of a well built 4x4. You can lift the bumper 3 feet and the tire stays on the ground. That was the big reason I quit carrying one.... since then I've paid attention to the safety issues too.
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
I don't lift the vehicle body as it would leave the tire on the ground. I use a lift mate hooked into the wheel to lift it and then put a screw jack under the axle.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
I don't lift the vehicle body as it would leave the tire on the ground. I use a lift mate hooked into the wheel to lift it and then put a screw jack under the axle.
so you carry the factory jack plus a 40 pound hi lift plus the lift mate........ obviously GVWR is not an issue

I carry the factory jack cuz the factory stores it securely in a space I have no other use for. WEIGHT is an issue for me.
PS, I have a flat every 10 years..... the last one was 4 years ago.
 

Kevinm

New member
Lots of comments about having to unload the suspension and jack endlessly. Im surprised no one has mentioned the simple solution of just throwing a chain (or what have you) around axle and frame to limit suspension droop.
Only takes a minute or two and its super stable, not jacking everything sky high until the suspension unloads. You can even use it to jack in ways that would be too dangerous to attempt normally with hilift, for example lifting off your tow hitch to change a rear tire. Just chain the one side and jack a couple inches. The non chained side will stay planted and keep you stable.
Might be little awkard to attempt with independent suspension but atleast they generally don’t have a ton of travel anyways
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
This is what I have been experimenting with lately. I call it the "Tauler Jack".

TJ6.jpgTJ8.jpg

25lbs, 25" collapsed, 15" stroke, 6" to 50" overall range.

It is built on an 8000-lb side crank trailer jack.

For me, this has been a HUGE improvement over a traditional farm jack setup when working 'around' the vehicle. I really like that it has fine adjustment without having to work between 'clicks' like with a farm jack. It's also non-hydraulic so you don't have to worry about it bleeding down, leaking all over, or working at odd angles. With the foot at the top, there is very little risk of the jack getting into a body panel as it doesn't have a long 'stem' sticking up when the jack is down.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Curious to see what you think after using it a bit.

I've been testing with it for a few months now. I think I am on version 3.5 of the foot. Overall, I really couldn't be happier with the concept. There are still little tweaks and mods to be made for other features, but overall it works great for doing lots of different things. I've been a mechanical bottle jack guy for years ( like a Toyota or Ford factory screw drive jacks ), I think this might be better for a lot of things. In general, I think there are two different camps when it comes to vehicle jacks. One would be jacks that go 'under' the vehicle, typically used for repairs more than recovery. Two being jacks that allow you to work 'around' the vehicle, typically used more for recovery than repairs. It is really challenging to have a jack that will do both very well, and you usually end up with a lot of compromises. In the end, people use what they like and are use to. It's really difficult to get people to change what camp they are in unless they carry both. Personally, I make it a priority to keep trying new things and revisiting concepts to continue learning and developing new ideas.

Things I noticed that I really like about it so far.....

-You can easily carry it with one hand when it is collapsed by just grabbing the top or handle. I am looking at adding a small soft loop to the top to make this a touch more comfortable. It feels a lot less cumbersome than a farm jack.

-It doesn't have to work 'click to click'. You can infinitely adjust the jack for height. This comes in super handy when trying to get bolt holes to line up or leveling a vehicle. This also works in the DOWN direction which is great. You also don't have to go up to go down like with a farm jack.

-The jack will sit on the floor and stand upright by itself. It isn't constantly falling over. I have even used it to hold up material for the bandsaw in the garage when cutting full sticks of material. ( that infinite adjustment is super handy for that stuff )

-The extended lift height over something like a bottle jack or floor jack is handy. It won't go as low as a floor jack, but it will go from 6" to 50" with 15" of stroke available where you want it. Both the base and the foot adjust in 2" increments.
 

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