Hi-Lift Jack
 

Just to discuss something other than LC vs LR.....

Back to the point - just got a hi-lift jack sent through with compliments from a 4x4 company and not wanting to turn down anything thats free.....BUT its very heavy!

It is a 4ft jack and I do wondor if I'll ever use it? and hence is it worth carrying the extra weight (14KG) as I have a winch? What do you think?

Also where can i jack the rear of the toyota up?

Cheers

Becky

I think there is a hook and chain accessory you can get for rounded bumpers
though not much use if it's plastic. Probably more use than a winch in the desert but very dangerous if not used properly. It you google hi-lift you should get lots of info on their use. I've used one a lot around the farm and always carried it in the desert but never been that stuck.

Leave it at home and use a good quality hydraulic bottle jack - much quicker to use

- the problem with a rack jack is you have to jack up the chassis/body until the wheel lifts - the bottle jack under an axle etc lifts the wheel straight away

I find they are better in muddy conditions, where its not always easy to get under the vehicle and place a bottle jack, you can also cast the vehicle to the side with them.

and yes they are heavy, a pain to store on/in the vehicle and as mentioned can be dangerous - if the handle is left down and it starts to self lower.

cheers
Grif

You just strap the axle to the frame so it doesn't droop.

They can also be handy for breaking the tire bead.

Hi Becky,

You can use the rear chassis rail for jacking on an 80 - what sort of winch bar do you have at the front - for ARB style ones will need additional attachments to hook onto the lower lip.

Personally I hate hi-lifts and would rather stick to the standard 80 bottle jack and then an air bag jack for the rare muddy jacking.

I also am not a fan. Big, heavy, they dont like dust or sand in the mechanism and if that handle slips through your hand before the pin locks I don't even want to think about it...

I bought one and it sat in a corner doing nowt (it is still there). I would say a good thing for extreme off roading in experienced hands but dubious for expedition use. Maybe worth it if you see yourself doing heroic sand and jungle action.

I have thought about a modified hydraulic cabin lifting cylinder from a MAN truck - kind of like a really long stroke skinny bottle jack with a small remote pump. But I have no idea of the lifting capability, but it would be light and easy to stow, and capable of lifting a considerable height.

Gil

This is a lot more use in the sand
YouTube - DreamingOfDakar.com -Bowler Wildcat High Lift Ram in action!

I love my hilift (no, not in that sort of way.... :-)

I never go off road without one, used it for lifting, pulling, pushing, bead breaking, as a (slow) winch, all sorts,

as they're long and (relatively) thin, you can store them quite well "out of the way" so shouldn't really be a problem, and 14kg isn't that bad... compared to a cars overall weight.

Dunk it in water or pour water over it.
Never grease them.

Becky,

From your post it appears you have no off-road experience. You need to get proper training to appreciate how useful a tool it is, but also how dangerous it may become in unskilled hands. The same applies to the winch. Until then, you'll be safer without them.

Sound advice:thumbup1:

Off roading and winching is no problem - just have never used a hi-lift myself although have seen them used.

There are jacking points on the ARB bumper but its where to jack at the rear? I plan to get someone to run through with me before I go.

This post was more of a "do I need it?"

hmmmm, having thoughts about taking mine now - I wouldn't normally travel anywhere without it but as there will be at leat two others carrying one in the group I guess it's dead metal. Good bottle jacks aren't exactly featherweight either though and I much prefer changing a wheel with a high lift, saves all that scrabbling on the floor and I find it much quicker.

A bottle jack is much more useful for doing repairs though - I found out how unstable hi-lifts are in the summer when doing an impromptue rear bearing change on a trip - as careful as I was it only took some pressure on a wrench to send the car backwards and off the jack. Luckily I kept myself clear and it was on grass, would have done some damage on hardstanding. :pinch:

You probably all know this, even if by bitter experience (we've all done it), but for anyone new or inexperienced NEVER rely on a hi-lift or simmilar to hold a vehicle in the air to work on. Once it's raised you must put something under the axle or sill - spare wheel works well or even a log or rock. And it's not just the car falling over the jack itself hurts when it lands on your toe.
Used properly they are a usefull tool.
Chris

Do I need it ?
 

It's one of those items you buy and hope you'll never need.
Same goes for sandplates, a shovel, winches, towropes, etc. or even beter a fire-exthinuiser or a firstaid-kit.
Their value only shows when you wouldn't get out of a situation without them. Otherwise when you are without them you wil probably figure a way to improvise another solution.
It will mostly depend where you are planning to go and how independant you are, one hi-lift per expedition is more than enough.

About using a highlift, never forget their nature (it's a lift or jack not a support). It is a serious but very instable tool, which can lift incredible loads incredible high, but always secure your load (vehicle) before starting working on them. For changing wheels I use a bottlejack but I've been in situations I was glad we brought the Hi-lift too.
Getting some practise before really needing one is advisable, maybe let somebody really demonstrate you one before deciding if you can life without one.
If you take one, consider making or buying a extended baseplate to bolt under the base. For easy recovery there are some extensions available, they fit in your rim or around the axle, which makes it possible to directly jack a wheel off the ground and slip a sandplate under the wheel without lifting the entire body skyhigh before clearing a wheel.

About storing them, the fact that most people tend to bolt them somewhere on/in their vehicle shows how often they are used. BTW they are easy to dismantle a bit, removing the baseplate and slide the rail off the mechanism and/or removing the handle will give you much more freedom to easily store it somewhere inside your vehicle or a trunk.

But please don't forget the 'street'credability, you are not a real overland traveler without some highly visible sandplates mounted on your roofrack (or better on the sidepanels of your 'rig') with a robust hi-lift beside them, on the backdoor-sparewheel-shovel-carrier-unit or mounted on the frontbumber.

I have never took my hi-lift to the Sahara, yet.
But when I'm there I always wish I had the thing with us.

Sometimes I hear about people who rarely or never get stock in soft sand, this is not the case with me.

In our last trip the air-jack blew-up in the middle of work, natuurlijk,hurting an american biker. Back home I did send a picture of it to the manufacturer and a day later the maker told us our broken air-jack had a factory problem with the seals. The air thing was tested at home but over-weight car and very hot temperatures in direct sun were not included in the test.
The story of it told by Matt, the american biker and member of this forum, can be found page 2 of:
http://intravelmag.com/index.php?opt...1&limitstart=1

Recovery is always a tricky business, you are tired, it's hot or windy, you can get anxious, etc...
Favorite place to carry the H.L. : bolted to the front bumper, previously protected in a used tube.

fair wind and following seas....

bottle jack / Hi Lift!!
 

The Hi Lift is a versatile piece of equipment.
Also you should check whether the bottle jack fits under the axel with a flat tyre!
On my HZJ75 I cannot use the bottle jack under the axel with a totally flat tyre because it doesn't fit! So for changing a tyre I need the Hi Lift. It also good for breaking the bead when removing the tyre from the rim and when your stuck in the mud; jack and pack or jack and push (sideways). I would recommend to take it with you.

Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

[QUOTE=noel di pietro;163604].....
Also you should check whether the bottle jack fits under the axel with a flat tyre!
......QUOTE]

People running large tires can have a surprising experience when trying to use a bottle jack and they learn that it won't raise the axle high enough to mount a fresh tire - the sidewall height being greater than the throw of the jack. :)

A good scissor jack can be handy, and they're relatively light in weight compared to the bottle jacks.

A Hi-Lift can be used to defend against tribes of hungry cannibals, cook the fruit of gigantic marshmallow trees, gather electricity during lightning storms, splint your pet camel's leg or neck, and other nifty things.

Can't wait to roast marshmellows over open fire with my hi-lift........

On a standard 80 you will need too use the rear chassis member that doubles as the rear bumper, although you have to jack it some way in order to get the rear wheels off the ground.

If you had sliders (heavy duty versions of the running boards) you could use those, although the sliders themselves are quite a bit of extra weight.

Why not just use the standard 80 hydraulic jack for the rear axle?

Thanks Julian

We have an ARB duel wheel carrier and sliders fitted already. As far as I know we cannot jack the bumper when the wheel carriers are closed due to the excessive strain it will place on the hinges - maybe it would be possible if we opened the carriers first? Will look into and post a response.

Also would the sliders take the weight of the vehicle?

Will probably be taking a bottle jack anyway just in case.......

Exactly - more messing around

in the time it takes to get the hi lift out and the vehicle raised strapped up etc - you can finish the tyre change with the correct size bottle jack

I like this thread! Honest!
 

Hi,

I am wondering how you guys avoid messing around with a bottle jack to perform such jobs off-road as:

- change tyre in mud or in a rut
- move wheels out of a rut
- lift a high centered or hung car off an obstacle
- change broken shocks or springs
- straighten, clamp or pry out objects or body parts, bumpers
- break bead on a tyre
- improvise a winch anchor
- use as walkabout winch
- use the handle or rail separately as improvised spare parts or for tasks requiring leverage, support, as a funnel extension, club, etc.

To mention just a few common uses. And with a simple webbing and hook attachment (Lift Mate) you can also lift a single wheel off the ground.

So, there's nothing wrong with a bottle jack, as long as you stick to tarmac or watch someone else getting you out of a tight spot using a hi-lift.

I'm staggered the ARB rear bar can't take the weight of the vehicle! They are pretty, but pretty useless if they can't support the vehicle weight. Also be wary of dirt getting into the latches - dirt can build up there making the latches difficult to operate.

What sliders do you have installed? They should in theory take the weight of the vehicle.d

To make things a little safer, if the sliders don't already have the slots/tubes for attaching the hilift (or hilift + adaptor) get them added.

Hi Julian

I;m not 100% sure about the wheel carriers but when I asked a 4x4 preparation specialist they wouldn't fit adapters in the rear bumper for this reason.....as I said if you open the swing wheel carriers then theres a hefty bumper there that I'm sure would take the weight but playing it safe at moment.

The sliders/side protection bars are also ARB as we found the toyota c**p and delicate when off road. They attach to the front bumper and then run to the rear wheel arch. No ponts but thinking I could use the Hi-Lift adapter that allows you to lift by the wheel.

As I have already said I will be making sure I am familar with the use of the jack because in the areas we're travelling there will be times when there are no other vehicles and I don't want to get squashed.

Rear bars...
 

"The bar will accommodate up to two tyres or a tyre and a jerry can holder and comes with a number of features including tow hitch, Hi-Lift jacking points and HF aerial bracket options."

from the ARB website, sounds like it should be strong enough.

Carry a hi lift jack AND another jack such as bottle, scizzer etc. Learn to use them BEFORE you head out on a trip. I carry a hi lift not to use as a jack, but as a come along. Learn how to hook it all up to your chains/tow roaps, anchor it in the ground etc. Have a backup plan in case your main gear fails. On the other hand what do I know, I just grew up in the outdoors in off road vehicles and have done recovery in the worst weather so you may not want to listen to me.

EDIT: I want to add your best survivla/recovery gear is between your ears. Without that all the rest is useless.

Personally, I detest the Hi Lift and have opted to go for this instead Hydraulic High Lift. At only 5.8 kgs and no danger of climbing pins seizing and breaking, I'll never go back to the mechanical ones!

hydraulic? not for me!
 

With a 440 mm lift on the hydraulic jack (see site) you can't even change a tyre on tar if you have large size tyres. My side walls are over 200mm plus the lift in the suspension, you might be able the take off the flat but the car won't be high enough to put on the spare tyre! Plus its missing most of the functions listed above by Roman! I will stick with the mechanical high lift. Never had the pins sticking ! I keep that part of the highlift inside the car. Dust and dirt free. Spray it before use with WD40, no problem whatsoever!

Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

just to chip in . . . havn't used mine much in off-road conditions, but . . .if you are driving a landy its going to need jacking up on a regular basis!, and what swifter way? that, plus the admiration of the locals when it facilitated the rescue of their bus from certain death is enough for me to never leave home without said lump of over-heavy basic engineeering (i mean the jack, not the landy . . . . .)

Huey

I use mine a lot both for maintenance and recovery and haven’t carried a bottle jack for years. Being a landy owner with jackabel sills helps as I can pick it up from just about anywhere 

The biggest advantage to me as mentioned above is using a “Jack Mate” You can lift the wheels independently of the chassis to put trays under – no digging and a easy 5 min recovery in sand.

Another advantage for Romans list but should be used with a little caution – if you use a roof tent you can jack up a corner of the car to get it level to stop you sliding out at night

Just got back from a Libyan trip, and after reading this thread, decided to ditch the hi-lift and take a bottle jack instead. What a good move - we ended up having to change a mates clutch plate on top of a dune in the middle of a sand sea, and the bottle jack was invaluable to hold up the gearbox. We also needed a hi-lift to act as a hand winch to pull the car away from the 'box so both were useful - in future I will always make sure there are one of each with us.

Fantastic tool - saved my arse a number of times. But, don't buy/use the cheap copies - they are deadly for use with expedition weights and are only suitable for urban cowboys.

Best exteriorly mounted with a brackets welded onto an rear exterior wheel carrier. Bolting them onto the bullbar is also good but can get bent out of shape in a collision.

Just bag the mechanism or bind it with a wide strip of innertube to keep the crap out.

Would`nt leave home without one, apart from changing wheels mine has seen a lot of other use, removing gates from their hinges when locked, as mentioned earlier the handle also comes in handy as an extented breaker bar handle.

I have used it as a rear winch to pull me out from a ditch back wards, over the 5 or 6 years I have had it, it has seen a hell of a lot of use, but in saying that I have always owned defenders, they are not as user friendly with other types of vehicles or bumpers, we also have a Disco II and I don`t use it on that, the std bottle jack has been sufficient, coupled with an air jack.

totally Agree
 

Fantastic bit of kit - got a base plate and a wheel adapter - can jack chassis high, wheels high, lift wheels out of ruts, push whole vehicle sideways... the lot...

It was on the must buy list when I had to sell all my stuff and move overseas.. now bolted to my roofrack - (wife won't let me bolt it to rear seat foot well....) and it goes every where.... used more than I care to remember....

Tony.