Hi lift jacks

[cdbrow1]

My experience and what I do now:
Having my Hi-Lift jack along with me (instead of in my garage at home) would probably have helped me in this incident.

gallery_2431_15_62119.jpg

So now I do carry my Hi-Lift with me on trips, in my camper, in the catch-all storage spot behind the couch. I carry it packed away inside, rather than at-the-ready on the outside, because there had been at least 100,000 miles (probably more) "incident-free" miles without need of the jack...so carrying-convenience is a higher-priority for me than quick access. And it's not like a fire extinguisher that needs to be deployed in seconds to be effective.

To make the Hi-Lift more useful in those rare incidents, I got one of these and carry it, too:
Hi-Lift Jack LM-100 Lift-Mate. If I'd had the jack with me I would have used the it to lift the wheels to chain up the tires or at least lay chains under the tires, and a Lift Mate makes that more efficient than lifting at the bumper.

Lift-Mate.jpg

I also got and carry the Hi-Lift Jack ORB Off-Road Base.

ORB.jpg

I carry both of those, plus the "Handle All" tool and Smittybuilt Compressor - http://www.hi-lift.com/handle-all/

 

[Vector1]

http://expeditionportal.com/jack-of-all-trades-3/#content

 

[idahoron]

I read the thread. From the looks of the picture it doesn't look that stuck but when the tires spin they spin. I got swamped back in 2010. The land was super wet and it was frozen when I drove in. It thawed out and the bottom fell out. On top of that the little creeks coming in were river crossings on the way out.
I didn't have a Hi-lift or chains. I bought my Hi-lift, and lift mate right after that and I also bought a set of 4 chains. But after that I got pretty spooky of mud and I pass when the weather is real wet and scheduled to warm up. The Hi-Lift would have got me up out of the hole and off the rock I was high centered on. A friend came and got me with a full set of chains. We left and came back the next morning. That was Christmas morning. I was hoping for a hard freeze. What I got was 28 degrees. We lifted it up put wood and rocks under the wheels. He pulled he off the rocks and wood so I didn't spin them out, and I put on a set of chains. I didn't take the chains off until they were sparking on the pavement.

 

[buckland]

Thanks Vector1 !!! That site was just what I needed: seeing with explanation of how to use the device... it really is a handy tool and to think of the times I came REAL close to getting stuck in the middle of nowhere without one ...nuts!
I've also seen people carry the 'tracks' ... plastic about 16" wide and 5 ft long to put under the wheels.
All the photos of the experiences also make me smile as I am not the only nut out there!! Being on the east coast there aren't that many of us to meet out in the boonies...good and bad... to share experiences.
I am definitely going to get one...not sure what the difference between 'extreme' model and regular but with a Tacoma ...it seems like the latter would do.
Great replies thanks.

 

[Vector1]

Been using a Hi-lift since 1974--one comment: they are extremely dangerous unless carefully maintained and operated.

 

[Bwht4x4]

My first line of defense is always tires. Both the tires themselves and airing them down. It's amazing how well any tire will do when it's aired down quite a bit. I've recently started running mud terrains on my truck and haven't had any situations recently where I've needed a jack, winch or even airing my tires down. Just be cautious airing down too much with a camper on the back. Easy way to pop the bead.

I'd like to get a really powerful come-along like these:

https://www.wyeth-scott.com/index.asp

 

[Smokecreek1]

Having a handy man and all the right gear is great and smart! What's more important though, is the nut behind the wheel-all that gear will not help if you don't know how to drive and avoid getting stuck in the first place. ! I know we all have stories about getting stuck when (we thought) we were being good drivers and things still happened-being prepared is the watch word of any back country adventure. Way before I got my first 4x4 I drove VW's anywhere a 4x4 would go and if I had to carry a bunch of gear for a long stay, I used my dad's 59 chev with a granny gear-and survived (most of the time anyway ) . And Victor1 you are right, as was stated earlier in this thread, a handy man is a dangerous tool if you don't know how to use it ! Have fun out there!

Smoke

 

[JJ1]

I've also seen people carry the 'tracks' ... plastic about 16" wide and 5 ft long to put under the wheels.

MaxTrax: Clicky

 

[jha6av8r]

MaxTrax: Clicky

Or a pair of TREDS at half the price. I carry a pair.

http://www.billet4x4.com/pro-tred.htm

 

[MarkBC]

Been using a Hi-lift since 1974--one comment: they are extremely dangerous unless carefully maintained and operated.

One time -- many years ago -- when using a poorly maintained, rusty, unlubricated Hi-Lift jack we had a hell of a time lowering the vehicle after jacking it up to change a tire. The jack mechanism wouldn't move/operate due to its poor condition. I remember one of our group (a guy who'd been drinking more than the rest) suggested just driving off the jack -- we vetoed that idea...but I don't remember how we got the jack unstuck.

The take-home message -- don't let the jack get rusty and un-lubed and sticky.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Before I got smart and started carrying a can of WD-40, the secret of "unsticking" a stuck handy man jack was to pore water over the mechanism-no water -a good pee worked too (field craft)!

Smoke

 

[craig333]

Driving off is a tried and true method, frequently used when you're high centered. As always no one should be in the vicinity. I carry WD-40 also.

 

[MarkBC]

Driving off is a tried and true method, frequently used when you're high centered....

If we had driven off in the way our buddy suggested we would likely have crashed through the wall of the Fields Cafe... But yeah, we would have gotten off the jack.

 

[craig333]

That probably wouldn't have made you too popular. In a pinch, before I tried water or other, I'd consider motor oil, vegetable oil or almost anything slippery.

 

[MarkBC]

...I'd consider motor oil, vegetable oil or almost anything slippery.

Yeah, we must have done something like that. I don't remember...it was at least 25 years ago.

CraggyMan was there (though it wasn't his idea to drive off either). We were on the home stretch back to Bend from exploring the West Little Owyhee country in middle-of-nowhere far-southeastern Oregon.

On the way to the Owyhee country we made our first use of the Hi-Lift to get our rig (Isuzu Trooper II) unstuck when it was high-centered driving up the bank after crossing a dry stream bed.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Before I got smart and started carrying a can of WD-40, the secret of "unsticking" a stuck handy man jack was to pore water over the mechanism-no water -a good pee worked too (field craft)!

Smoke

Smoke, there's too much info in that post.

 

[buckland]

For what its worth...I'd like to recommend a truly terrific product. FLUID FILM. It is lanolin based. We in the northeast have rotten winter weather and the underbody gets heavy salt that is basically there all winter (hard to use a car wash at -10) I bought an applicator set up and attached to my compressor took a few hours to apply. The thing is this stuff does every thing. It would be perfect to coat the HI Lift Jack at the same time maintain lubrication. It is totally environmentally safe (right from sheep wool). Comes in gallons for under coating but also in spray cans. I use WD 40 all the time and tried forever to free up a stiff lock mechanism on the tail lift on the wife's car (salt again) ...2 squirts and bingo... and it stays put. I even can be applied when the truck is wet or has rust salt dirt etc ... It totally coats it and stops the oxidation from continuing. (it is better to apply in warm weather and clean off salt first tho) It almost never drips in application so doing this in the driveway is fine.
So for all those HI lift jacks that get covered in dirt and rust.... this might be an answer. (only if stored outside truck) but the spray can is a great tool for the camper.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

I echo everyone else's comments. I haven't used it since the mid-80's when our old Chevy K10 slipped off the shoulder of the "track" I was negotiating and the right suspension hit the ground. My bottle jack wouldn't have helped. The Hi-Lift allowed us to get truck high enough to place boulders under the right wheel and remove enough of the bank edge to move truck back on solide ground.

I pray I will never need it again, However I always carry it because you never know what you will encounter in the back country.

We mount it on a custom bracket inserted into the front receiver on our Tacoma. After seeing "IdahoRon's" we modified the bracket as follows - see pictures:

 

[idahoron]

Looks real good!

 

[Happyjax]

That fluid film stuff looks good. WD-40 will eventually ruin rubber products so it is not as versatile.