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Not impressed with my new Hi-Lift. What am I missing?

Zandcwhite

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If your only use for a hi lift is changing a tire on smooth concrete, obviously the scissor jack is better. The scissor jack on the other hand doesn’t have nearly the travel if you are trying to lift a tire out of a hole to stack rocks under it. Need to pull your stuck rig from an angle the winch isn’t going to work? Scissor jack is useless there too. Trying to jack out of a soft surface? The scissor will sink before it lifts, hi lift may have enough travel to reach a solid surface below and still lift. We wheel solo often, I like the peace of mind of having a backup, mechanical device that can be used should the winch fail. Is it the right tool for every job? Nope, but nothing is. Is it a very versatile recovery tool that is simple, solid, and damn near indestructible? In my experience, absolutely. We bent the hell out if a trac bar on the rubicon. Pulled the joint off the end, hammered the hi lift handle on to it, and wheeled the rest of the trail. Not sure how you’d do that with a scissor jack?
 

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Sheepjeep

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the hi lift jack is more of a multi tool than a jack for changing tires, their biggest advantage is helping to get a high centered jeep unstuck by lifting the belly of the jeep off the ground or shifting the weight around

it can jack up the jeep in worse conditions than a stock jack

i have used it for reseating coil spings that have popped out

it can also be used as a shitty come along winch

a 36" jack is way too short for a jeep
 

brewski

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I've used them in the past and don't use them anymore. They rust super easy if left on the vehicle and with some of the recovery gear and jacking options available now days I think there are better tools that are safer (but more expensive). Hi-Lifts are also known as farm jacks, and they are super useful for lots of stuff not jeep related. I personally see it as a thing most people want for the looks or what it implies you do with your vehicle more than they actual use it. Obviously some people use them a lot, most don't from what I've seen.

I personally recommend SafeJack bottle jacks, which are great for any kind of lifting you may need on a trail. A winch, ropes/tree savers and pulleys can do any of the pulling you could use a hilift for.
 

entropy

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yeah. I am never getting one of those things. They look like a suicide device. And the pain of storing/carrying one around. nah.

So many "dos and donts". so many things can go wrong. I just can't trust myself I would remember all of those on the trail. I rather invest my time,memory,learning on how to properly use my winch.
 

Sidspider

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I’ve only seen one used once. Our group was going up a rocky hill and right by the top a guy busted a U joint. We jacked it up right where it sat and someone went to the parts store for a new joint. I think we used a total of 3 Hi-Lifts that day, but looking back That may have just been because everyone that had one wanted an excuse to use it. After about an hour and a half we were back on the trail and I don’t see how we could have done it without the Hi-Lift.
it’s like the fire extinguisher everyone insists on strapping to their roll bar. You’ll probably never need it, but if you do, you’re glad it’s there.
 
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omnitonic

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it’s like the fire extinguisher everyone insists on strapping to their roll bar. You’ll probably never need it, but if you do, you’re glad it’s there.
I've used a fire extinguisher exactly twice. Once, to put out a tire fire, before it turned into a truck fire. They say you aren't supposed to use a fire extinguisher for a tire fire, but what was I going to do, piss on it?

The second time, I opened my shed, and a bunch of yellowjackets flew out and stung the hell out of me. When I got done running and swatting, I grabbed a can of liquid wasp death, and hosed everything down. There was a big pile of writhing, dying yellowjackets in a puddle, and to show those bastards how angry I was, I flicked a Bic and lit that puddle on fire! Wasp killer burns REALLY well. Yeah, that was stupid. Luckily, I had a fire extinguisher handy.
 

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entropy

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it’s like the fire extinguisher everyone insists on strapping to their roll bar. You’ll probably never need it, but if you do, you’re glad it’s there.
Which should be required for anyone wheeling in the west coast during fire season. A small burning bush can quickly turn into an enormous wild fire.
 

Pinion

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These things evolved from farm use and old school bumper jacks.

They can work wonders, but it depends completely on the person who is operating it.

Even though I have a winch, I still always wrap it in a blanket and throw it in the back when I go wheeling.

It's a tried and proven design. If you own one and it's not maintained, it is your fault, not the manufacturer's if it fails.
 

Zandcwhite

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I've used them in the past and don't use them anymore. They rust super easy if left on the vehicle and with some of the recovery gear and jacking options available now days I think there are better tools that are safer (but more expensive). Hi-Lifts are also known as farm jacks, and they are super useful for lots of stuff not jeep related. I personally see it as a thing most people want for the looks or what it implies you do with your vehicle more than they actual use it. Obviously some people use them a lot, most don't from what I've seen.

I personally recommend SafeJack bottle jacks, which are great for any kind of lifting you may need on a trail. A winch, ropes/tree savers and pulleys can do any of the pulling you could use a hilift for.
If you find yourself alone in a spot where a simple pull backwards 6”-1’ gets you out of a bad situation, have fun rigging up some series of pulleys in order to winch yourself backwards. I’m a fan of options, and always have the winch, hilift, tow strap, and kinetic recovery rope in/on the Jeep. If we are going somewhere where there is a lot of soft terrain I might bring the traction boards and the exhaust jack too. There is no perfect tool for every job, why limit my available options?
 

brewski

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If you find yourself alone in a spot where a simple pull backwards 6”-1’ gets you out of a bad situation, have fun rigging up some series of pulleys in order to winch yourself backwards. I’m a fan of options, and always have the winch, hilift, tow strap, and kinetic recovery rope in/on the Jeep. If we are going somewhere where there is a lot of soft terrain I might bring the traction boards and the exhaust jack too. There is no perfect tool for every job, why limit my available options?
If you only have to go 6-12in to go why not just use traction boards? Have you ever used a hi-lift as a winch?, I have and they are not a quick option nor an easy option to set up with their short travel and taking out the slack in the setup. Wasn't worth the effort. At that point I only had a winch, 1 pulley, ropes/straps and a hi-lift. I have a more gear now and see no point in using a hilift on a jeep. If I end up living in a rural farm or mountain area again I would use one for land work again.
 

Zandcwhite

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If you only have to go 6-12in to go why not just use traction boards? Have you ever used a hi-lift as a winch?, I have and they are not a quick option nor an easy option to set up with their short travel and taking out the slack in the setup. Wasn't worth the effort. At that point I only had a winch, 1 pulley, ropes/straps and a hi-lift. I have a more gear now and see no point in using a hilift on a jeep. If I end up living in a rural farm or mountain area again I would use one for land work again.
I've used a hi-lift as a winch, it's work for sure. I've also used it to lift a tire out of a hole, to lift at the rock slider to get the belly off a sharp rock without dragging forward or back, to lift the front end when the tie rod was pinned against a rock, and I've sleeved a bent Trac bar with the handle 1on the trail. They are heavy and cumbersome, but very versatile. I used it to lift the body in the driveway last weekend so I could straighten a coil in it's seat. It's work but it works well.
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