Hi-lift jack

[AndyCook]

had to use factory bottle jack in the alps, when checking for wheel bearing play. the bugger jammed... not strong enough for a loaded truck it seems.
I am going to get a 6-ton bottle jack, but also thinking of getting a high-lift jack.

For a colorado 95 series would a 48" Hi-lift be sufficient.
I would also get baseplate and possibly the winch-kit, as this could save me lugging my black-rat (tirfor style) handwinch as well.

now one thing i want to know about is these tubes people have welded to sliders etc, for hi-lift jacks. I assume these are needed then, and are any other attachments needed for the hi-lift to use these?
do you also add these tubes to front and rear of the vehcile for the jack?

i have also seen you can mount the jack on the spare wheel - which is probably best option for me on trips.

there seem to be several types of hi-lift,
extreme, all-cast, cast and steel - very confusing. any recommendations on these? pros & cons.

 

[Ben]

ive had my genuine high lift for about 8 years now and its still going strong.

i pressure wash it occasionally if its dirty, and then give it a quick spray of wd40.

my mate bought one of the cheaper ones, but it didnt last very long. the cheap ones are very poor quality, so your better buying a proper one.

using a high lift adapter that fits into tube welded into the rock sliders and bumpers makes changing wheels etc. a lot safer. but..................youve still got to be careful and treat the jack with a lot of respect.

after all it is designed to be unstable to a degree, so you can tip vehicles sideways out of deep ruts.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T-Max-Hi-Lift ... _500wt_715

personally id still carry the tirfor, as i know for winching the highlift is very slow.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

you just need something strong you can put the foot of the jack under at a minimum, the tubes just add a bit of stability when used with the LR adapter that stops the jack sliding sideways. You can get a wheel adapter so you lift from the wheel but then you still need something to shove under to support the axle so you can release the jack ...

As Ben said, winching with the jack is for real emergencies only, you wouldn't choose it over a hand winch!

 

[Chris]

I don't like the round nosed adaptor at all. I have taken to jacking up on the sliders directly, The round one seems to like moving around too much. At least with the flat on flat approach there is a bit of stability. Also if you don't the thing shoved right into the socket, it bends.

I'd buy a genuine HL. Matt Savage seems to do good prices. Terrain do a much cheaper base-plate that I have used many times now and it's great. Their rear wheel mount is crap though. The jack doesn't fit!

Keep the pitman pins greased so that they operate nice and quickly. Mind yer teef when lowering off.

Chris

 

[AndyCook]

thanks for feedback guys - always appreciated

i was going to get genuine, but even with genuine there seemed to be different types even for the same 48" length.

 

[Chris]

There is Andy, but I wouldn't worry about that. I have both and I can't see material difference. I paid £85 for the absolute top of the range model. That's the all cast steel thing.

Chris

 

[AndyCook]

got one from Matt Savage
also a genuine baseplate, wheel-mate lift accessory and a vehicle-mount kit.
seems to work jacking on rocksliders OK
but i did have trouble lowering it first time i tried, the jack wasnt straight and sliding part jammed. so i used a trolley jack to take the weight to help unjam it.
i will have some more practice sessions getting used to where you place the foot of jack relative to the vehcile, so jack tilt is corrected for once you start raising it, to prevent jam

i probably wont use the vehicle mount kit, as not really sure where it will go! as not sure there is room on my rack
i may make my own bracket to fit it to spare wheel carrier on the back for trips
otherwise it can go inside the vehicle, it i split it into two parts it will fit underneath the steel framed platform that goes where the 2nd row seats normally go. under here it is secured and wont fly around.

 

[Brett]

They are ahorrible thing to carry, even worse inside the truck.

I've got a really good Hi-lift mounting system on the spare wheel carrier on my Land Rover, would be easy to copy but you obviously need a spare wheel carrier!

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I used to split the jack and mount it inside in my old green 80 as anything not welded to the truck protruding on the outside just got ripped off

 

[SpinDrift]

I have the same problem with my hi-lift jack. I user to carry it on the roof rack but now that I have the Maggiolina RTT I need to think of something else - in fact the loss of roof rack space was one of the things that was pushing me towards the more conventional RTT. I am thinking of making/buying a small roof rack basket that can sit in front of the Maggiolina to carry waffle boards, hi-lift jack and shovel.

I have used the hi-lift jack in anger on the Colorado using the lift-mate to raise a wheel to get the waffle boards underneath - so that is a piece of kit you might like to get.

I also have a bottle jack - its a Draper 12T High Lift Hydraulic Bottle Jack. 12T is a little OTT and it was not cheap. I chose it because entends to 570mm and with a suspension lift, that is pretty handy.

 

[AndyCook]

Reinhard

yes i have already got a wheel lifter accessory with it

my RTT is a Maggiolina too, so i have no space for anything and roof isnt long enough to add a basket in front of it
but my tent is the extreme model, so has a small roofrack on it, i could carry upto 20kg on top of it. So things like a jack could be secured up there.
but i wouldnt really want a full 20kg up there, as it would either have to be removed before raising the tent, or add strain to the tent lifting mechanism

i have just got a 6ton hydraulic bottle jack and it just fits in the space where the factory one used to go.
it only lifts upto 46cm, but i can put it on top of the highlift base or a waffleboard for greater height
but this is more than the factory jack i think

 

[SpinDrift]

The reason why I got the bottle jack was that after the suspension lift, the factory jack could not lift the car high enough.

One time I had a puncture and used the factory jack. By the time I came to put the new wheel on, the suspension had dropped and I couldnt get the wheel on. Nor could I reposition the jack as the car was on it. Had to call the AA to help with a puncture All they had to do was stick a second jack under the shock mounting to lift the wheel assembly. So now I carry also carry an axle stand to make sure that doesnt happen again.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

if you have a mag on bars you could slip your waffles under the mag like I did and there would have been space for the hi lift beam under there as well.

 

[AndyCook]

if you have a mag on bars you could slip your waffles under the mag like I did and there would have been space for the hi lift beam under there as well.

Yes I remember your system Jon, and it is an option I have been thinking of. But havent got round to the design process yet

 

[sae70]

I have both a 48" and a 60" Hi-Lift jack and consider them to be the Swiss Army Knife of the off roader I've used mine for lifting a single wheel out of a rut with a Lift-M8 to place a Waffle board. To rotate a vehicle out of ruts by knocking it off the jack side ways, winching and not just back and forth but to pull the rear of the vehicle a couple of feet sideways. To pull small trees, fence and gate posts out of the ground and even Jacking on occasion

I carry a medium sized folding axle stand to secure the vehicle while lifted for work or a tyre change and a 'D' Shackle with an 1/2" diameter pin to place below the climbing mechanism in one of the bar holes should I need to leave the vehicle up on the jack for any length of time as a safety measure.

WARNING - NEVER KNOCK THE JACK INTO THE LOWERING MODE WITH THE HANDLE DOWN!!! IT WILL DO ITS OWN THING FROM THAT POINT ON!!! ALWAYS KEEP TO ONE SIDE OF THE JACK WHEN OPERATING, KEEPING YOUR CHIN AND FACE OUT OF THE WAY!!!

On a lighter note the 48" Jack will fit width ways in the rear of a 90/95 series Collie or Prado I looked into making a bracket to mount mine on the rear of the rear seats up high. If you buy the winching kit (The Off-Road Kit) this comes with a Wire-Lock Pin to enable the quick removal of the jacks base plate for winching (not necessary IMHO) but usefull for storing the jack in a tight space.

Folding Axle Stands from ScrewFix, I only carry the one

Love mine :romance-heartsmiley:

 

[AndyCook]

thanks for pictures Steven

your wheel Lift-M8 looks identical to the what i got

folding axle stands, i was pondering on the train this morning if there was such a thing and was going to research that today! - but you have answered my question. definitely something i will get.
not sure about winching kit yet, since i have the Tirfor style winch anyway and the front winch,

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Are these what you have Steven? http://www.screwfix.com/p/3-tonne-foldi ... -pr/72663#

Have you got a picture of them folded? They look quite handy if the base folds? I don't think I'd realized from your previous posts about them that that's how they fold.

 

[AndyCook]

here is a link with picture of the 2t one folded Jon

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=26640


some reviews say they can be a bit unstable unless carefull. but i am sure they are more stable than a bottle jack or hi-lift.
i like the fact that they are so compact when folded. I definitely see the usefullness of one as a emergency tool on a trip, but they wouldn't replace my fleet of 6t stands in the garage.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Those look useful - think I'll have to get a set.

 

[AndyCook]

i am sure if they are at all un-stable, that one could fit a locking pin in to the sliding collar that link the 3-legs, by drilling a hole through the collar and the middle pillar of the stand