Do you still carry a High Lift?

[Greylandy]

G'day AULROnians,

Over the weekend I was looking at a few options to mount the high lift jack, something I've neglected to do since getting my Extreme. While trying out a few options it got me thinking ... I've probably used it only once or twice (in the garage) since getting it 3 years ago and being a large, heavy and cumbersome beast ... is it really worth carrying around?

I see numerous Toyosans with high lifts mounted on the roofrack and I often wonder how many times that thing has actually come off that smart looking Kaymar bracket? I presume it's either too much effort to take it off or it adds **** value in the city :wink:

I often hear fourbie owners say ... "if it saves your arse once, it's worth it" but I tend to disagree. We seldom go out alone when tracking around and using the high lift is always the last resort (cause normally it's the most effort to remove from the vehicle!). Even if you do some serious offroad driving on a regular basis, how often do you really use it. So I would like to put the question forward .... is a high lift jack worth carrying around?

[RichardK]

I've never owned one and we do some pretty serious driving from time to time. I don't even have one on my wish list.

[noddy]

Henry -- I have had one for 8-9 years. It only been used in anger twice -- both when we were stuck in deep sand.

We do I lot of travelling around on our own and despite them being heavy and dirty, I like the peace of mind it provides.

They are also extremely dangerous when not used properly -- to both you and your vehicle. Bit like a giant can/human opener style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

The hoot is watching people driving around with them that do not have proper jacking points available:?

[Outlaw]

could try an exhaust bag jack smaller and lighter but get more lift than a regular :?: :?:

on the other hand, if you want to sell it cheap :twisted:

[Tusker]

Yes & no.

Touring/holidays, nope, its too heavy & takes up too much room. Any dicey tracks would probably be closed anyway.

Day trips if rockhopping or playing hard, yep. Weekend trips if on our own, yep. In a group, no.

This applies to hi-lift & the tirfor. Most of the time they get used recovering someone else..

Regards
Max P

[Frenchie]

I've used mine a fair bit over the years. I keep it under the back seat so it is easily accessible.

Most vehicles these days don't have suitable jacking points though.

[walker]

I don't carry one but plan to get on in the next few months. 2 reasons for having one.

1. The standard Disco jack will not jack the car high enough with the lift to change wheels.

2. On a recent trip, if a mate had not have had one things would have been a lot harder. on the exit from a deep bog hole (even those with 36" had to winch) there were a couple of large boulders which could not be avoided. The high lift was used to lift the front of the car high enough for diff to clear rocks while winching. It was slow slow work but we tried without the jack the first time & broke 2 winch cables.

[Frenchie]

I once managed to ground my front diff on a rock while descending a hill. I secured the vehicle to a tree and jacked the front to lift the diff off the rock so I could be pulled backwards without ripping the front axle off. 8O

[Ace]

I dont have one, but i have thought about getting one, as mentioned above my major worry is where do i put it if i get one, i dont have a roof rack, and cant afford an ARB rear bar yet. I think i will wait. Matt

[Redback]

Ace Wrote;
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I dont have one, but i have thought about getting one, as mentioned above my major worry is where do i put it if i get one, i dont have a roof rack, and cant afford an ARB rear bar yet. I think i will wait. Matt
[/b][/quote]

Yep what Matt said, i don't have one either i have the exhaust jack, i have used it when i broke a shock on the Explorer works pretty well my only concern is if it gets punchured while under the car 8O the advantage is small and packs away easy.

[hiline]

no good to me :cry: :cry:
no place at rear for jacking

[Ace]

Originally posted by hiline
no good to me :cry: :cry:
no place at rear for jacking

I am the same, i have been told that a good place is in a hayman reece tow bar receiver. I could use the bullbar as it is a winch bar so it should hold the weight, still doenst help me when working out where to stach itr in the car. Matt

[Outlaw]

was just chatting with a mate of mine who has one, and he uses it all the time... his is attached to the rear wheel carrier

[Ace]

Originally posted by Outlaw
was just chatting with a mate of mine who has one, and he uses it all the time... his is attached to the rear wheel carrier

How has he done that, is it an aftermarket wheel carrier, or is it factory? Did he have to make a bracket or buy one? Matt

[noddy]

Originally posted by Ace+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ace)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-hiline
no good to me :cry: :cry:
no place at rear for jacking

I am the same, i have been told that a good place is in a hayman reece tow bar receiver. I could use the bullbar as it is a winch bar so it should hold the weight, still doenst help me when working out where to stach itr in the car. Matt[/b][/quote]

The tow bar receive is not all that stable as you will be jacking both rear wheels :? From memory the 130 HCPU tub has too great an overhang to enable the jack tongue to fit?

[Ace]

Originally posted by Noddy+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Noddy)</div><div class='quotemain'>
Originally posted by Ace@
<!--QuoteBegin-hiline
no good to me :cry: :cry:
no place at rear for jacking

I am the same, i have been told that a good place is in a hayman reece tow bar receiver. I could use the bullbar as it is a winch bar so it should hold the weight, still doenst help me when working out where to stach itr in the car. Matt

The tow bar receive is not all that stable as you will be jacking both rear wheels :? From memory the 130 HCPU tub has too great an overhang to enable the jack tongue to fit?[/b][/quote]

This method was suggested in the recovery hand book printed by 4wd Monthly. Matt

[disco95]

Originally posted by Ace+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ace)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Outlaw
was just chatting with a mate of mine who has one, and he uses it all the time... his is attached to the rear wheel carrier

How has he done that, is it an aftermarket wheel carrier, or is it factory? Did he have to make a bracket or buy one? Matt[/b][/quote]


I read a little story about a guy with a nissan who had his mounted that way. He dropped off a 4ft shelf, landed on the base of the jack and the leverage sent the top of the jack and wheel in through his back screen.

Personally, I will get one. I've had occasion where it would have been invaluable to me. Not having one I had to do things the hard way, turning a 15 minute recovery into an hour or so. :roll:

[Ace]

Originally posted by disco95+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(disco95)</div><div class='quotemain'>
Originally posted by Ace@
<!--QuoteBegin-Outlaw
was just chatting with a mate of mine who has one, and he uses it all the time... his is attached to the rear wheel carrier

How has he done that, is it an aftermarket wheel carrier, or is it factory? Did he have to make a bracket or buy one? Matt


I read a little story about a guy with a nissan who had his mounted that way. He dropped off a 4ft shelf, landed on the base of the jack and the leverage sent the top of the jack and wheel in through his back screen.

Personally, I will get one. I've had occasion where it would have been invaluable to me. Not having one I had to do things the hard way, turning a 15 minute recovery into an hour or so. :roll:[/b][/quote]

I will get one eventually, just to many things in front of it on the shopping list at the moment. Matt

[landrovermick]

I have one - but I have no where to jack from on my disco anyhow style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif .

Me and the old man made a bracket for it that goes on the spare wheel carrier, using the exising bolts with the wheel over the top of it. The jack is held on by two pieces of all thread, I can take a pic if you like

mick

[Ace]

Originally posted by landrovermick
I have one - but I have no where to jack from on my disco anyhow style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif .

Me and the old man made a bracket for it that goes on the spare wheel carrier, using the exising bolts with the wheel over the top of it. The jack is held on by two pieces of all thread, I can take a pic if you like

mick

That would be good LRM. Matt

[rmp]

Hi-lifts can also be used as winches. I've done this and they pull well but need resetting every metre. You need a rat-tail file to widen the head and a 3.2 tonne shackle. The larger ones do not fit.

I'm considering a hi-lift to replace the standard LR jack, which is too short and takes too long.

I would not mount anything on the rear wheel carrier, in fact I'd recommend all Defenders be fitted with an aftermarket carrier.

Hi-lifts can also be used to break beads on tyres. Done that too, works very well.

They are also useful for levering trees and so forth off tracks, although extreme care must be taken.

The hi-lift is very versatile.

[walker]

For those with series2 Disco's, you maybe interested in some rock-rails which have been designed and will be manufactured soon. They are done by a guy in Melbourne and should be available in about a month. They will be compatible with a high-lift.
At the moment I don't know of any other rock-rails in Australia and these should retail for around $500 but I don't think a price has been finalised yet.

[barney]

Originally posted by rmp


I'm considering a hi-lift to replace the standard LR jack, which is too short and takes too long. .

i wouldn't RMP, get yourself a good quality hydraulic bottle jack for changing tyres and jack from under the radius arms. the vehicle is too unsteady on a hi-lift to take a wheel off, you can do it, but it's really dangerous.
by all means get one for recovery. i've had one for a few years now and have used it a fair bit. funnily enough, not for recovery. i've used it for lifting the vehicle up far enough to put new springs in, it's got an extra tongue on the top that can be turned at right angles and with the aid of this i've used it as a crude clamp and vice, i've also used it for pulling a 6ft star picket out of the ground, which was sort of like winching i spose.
but you can bet that if you have one and you don't take it because someone's got a winch or the track isn't supposed to be that hard, you'll need it because the winch'll break down or the track will be worse than expected....you never know!

[hiline]

i dont using hi-lifts at all
i find them way to unstable 8O

[Outlaw]

Originally posted by barney+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(barney)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-rmp


I'm considering a hi-lift to replace the standard LR jack, which is too short and takes too long. .

i wouldn't RMP, get yourself a good quality hydraulic bottle jack for changing tyres and jack from under the radius arms. the vehicle is too unsteady on a hi-lift to take a wheel off, you can do it, but it's really dangerous.
by all means get one for recovery. i've had one for a few years now and have used it a fair bit. funnily enough, not for recovery. i've used it for lifting the vehicle up far enough to put new springs in, it's got an extra tongue on the top that can be turned at right angles and with the aid of this i've used it as a crude clamp and vice, i've also used it for pulling a 6ft star picket out of the ground, which was sort of like winching i spose.
but you can bet that if you have one and you don't take it because someone's got a winch or the track isn't supposed to be that hard, you'll need it because the winch'll break down or the track will be worse than expected....you never know![/b][/quote]

so looking at these posts, i'd say 2 highlifts would be a better alternative for stability... but then the problem of finding where to stow 2 :roll:

[barney]

they can be a bit scary. but they are not meant for jacking a car to get underneath, just for recovery. if you used it to change a tyre, you'd have to have some sort of support as well, like a car stand

[DaveS3]

Yes on the roll bar.

I have rock sliders, bull bar that has jacking points and can use the rear bar as well.

Dave.

[mikesolo]

Hi all
About the Hilift jack. Yes I have used my jack just a few weeks ago, and if I did not have a Hilift jack. It would taken a lot of very hard akward digging to get free of the MUD. Using the Hilift it just lifted my defender out of the mud allowing me to fill in the holes where the wheel were and built an excape route.

PS I would love to know, how to attatch some photo to this reply for you all to view.

My Hilift jack is keep under the back seat with the rest of my recovery and that type of equipment.

Mike