Where do you put the lifting arm on a high lift jack to lift your Jeep?

[ThiccBoyardee]

I’m new to off-roading and I don’t know how exactly to use my high lift jack. The videos I watched weren’t very helpful. They said to put it on the rock rail but the rock rail looks so thin. I have a 2019 JL Wrangler where do I put the lifting arm of the jack to lift it? Thanks.

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[D60]

I actually just had to lift a tire on the trail and I used the Rubi rock rail. I don't think it's ideal but it worked. You may want a rag to protect the body if the top of the jack starts to tip in. I was using my ARB so it's shorter.

More than that you want (NEED) a game plan to keep the suspension from dropping out, esp if you're lifted. I broke two 1" ratchet straps (individually) while jacking. The second one held just long enough but snapped as I was finishing up.

I'm very seriously considering welding a grab hook to the frame at all 4 corners and carrying a short length of chain. At the axle you can usually find a bracket to hook on to.

 

[GearWhore]

Rock rails work if necessary. So does the hitch receiver. Neither are ideal, and the jack can slip side-to-side on the rock rails if you aren't careful. As D60 suggests, I keep a couple rags in the tool kit or floor storage area to cover the top of the jack if I need to protect paint.

Some bumpers and rock rails have "T" shape slots built-in for a hi-lift jack. Hi-Lift also had a small hook on chain accessory at one point. Maybe similar but less permanent than D60s idea.

I've had to jack the back end up using the hitch receiver, then push Jeep sideways to get off a large boulder. Not the safest, but also allowed me to get home that day. I've also used the jack on the rock rail to get enough clearance to get the traction boards under the tires.

Your hi-lift also works as a come-along winch with a shackle and strap on the top and another on the lift arm.

 

[Donut]

Anyone else have tips for Hi Lift Jacks? I still have mine from my TJ days, but never used it (used the handle as a breaker bar extention before).

 

[TJDave]

Put the Hi-lift in your garage. Use a bottle jack under the axle, and a piece of 2x6 for a base. Unless you crawl under the Jeep and strap your axle, the suspension travel on modern Jeeps is greater than a farm jack. JMO.

 

[Nokones]

You can lift the vehicle by using a soft shackle and a hard shackle attached to the bumper, and jack the vehicle with the hi-lift hooked through the soft shackle.

 

[Sparty]

I’m new to off-roading and I don’t know how exactly to use my high lift jack. The videos I watched weren’t very helpful. They said to put it on the rock rail but the rock rail looks so thin. I have a 2019 JL Wrangler where do I put the lifting arm of the jack to lift it? Thanks.

Read, watch, learn as much as possible. These things have been known to rearrange your face....and not in a good way. Consider them armed and dangerous if you don't know how to use them.
A bottle jack as suggested would be a much better option. 99% of the highlifts I have seen are purely ornamental as a bumper attachment or hood ornament.

 

[houstonstroker]

I have this attachment that lets you use your Hi Lift Jack on your D rings.

https://jeepsneeds.com/products/d-lift-adaptor-hi-lift

 

[Jtphoto]

Leave it a home on the farm where it belongs. A stock Jeep has no where safe to lift from with a JackAll. Many aftermarket bumpers have special places for Jackalls to be placed.
As noted here you must strap the axle with a HD ratchet strap to the frame if you want to lift a tire enough to change it. Lifting the body that high, with suspension fully drooped is (widow maker) absolutely not a safe situation to change a tire.
a Good bottle jack and jack base are your best options.

 

[JP52]

You can use a lift mate
attachment to lift the wheel if your wheel has holes that fit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00042KGWG/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[GATORB8]

Leave it a home on the farm where it belongs. A stock Jeep has no where safe to lift from with a JackAll. Many aftermarket bumpers have special places for Jackalls to be placed.
As noted here you must strap the axle with a HD ratchet strap to the frame if you want to lift a tire enough to change it. Lifting the body that high, with suspension fully drooped is (widow maker) absolutely not a safe situation to change a tire.
a Good bottle jack and jack base are your best options.

Amen!

Just a note, make sure your bottle jack can fit under the axle tube with a complete flat tire, and reach far enough to allow for installation of a full tire. That can be a 10" throw with a ~5" compressed.

 

[Whaler27]

Read, watch, learn as much as possible. These things have been known to rearrange your face....and not in a good way. Consider them armed and dangerous if you don't know how to use them.
A bottle jack as suggested would be a much better option. 99% of the highlifts I have seen are purely ornamental as a bumper attachment or hood ornament.

The last time I used my Hilift jack was in my shop, so the jack had a perfectly flat, inflexible, surface as a base, with the foot of the jack sitting securely on a polyurethane Hilift base. I inserted the jack tongue into a shackle on my rear bumper. That‘s about as stable/secure as you can get with that jack, and it was still spooky. That afternoon I went out and bought a new floor jack with much more vertical lift than my old one.

I‘ve used Hilift jacks for many years, but other options are safer for most uses. I prefer the bottle jack with extensions and a few chunks of wood for most situations. Exhaust jacks have their place too.

The OP should watch some “which jack is best” videos and then consider what‘s best for his particular environment. (If I was a beach/desert/highway guy I’d seriously consider an exhaust jack.)

 

[roaniecowpony]

Last year, I bought a 1 1/2 ton (smallest) Pro Eagle big wheel floor jack. Pro Eagle | Off Road Jack | 1.5 Ton "Talon"

It's probably the safest and fastest way to jack your jeep on the trail or in the driveway for changing a tire. I now carry the Pro Eagle on the trail. They make a mount which can go on the angle of the roll bar in the back. The 1 1/2 ton Pro Eagle weighs about 35 lbs. Not bad for what it does.

I also have 3 other floor jacks, (2 steel jacks and one 3 ton aluminum with extensions), 1 real HiLift, 2 24" scissor jacks and 2 aluminum hydraulic ARB style recovery jacks . I have a virtual jack store to pick from. I'm still evaluating the utility of the ARB style hydraulic jack. But right now, the Pro Eagle is my top choice for taking on the trail. But last weekend, I did have the ARB style jack, the Pro Eagle and a 24" scissor jack with me on a lightweight trail. Just in case.

Am I over-thinking this?

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