Thread: Possible to weld (or otherwise put) hi lift points around a D1 without bar work?

Forget the hilift, used mine once on a car and the bloody handle cracked me on the head.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Forget the hilift, used mine once on a car and the bloody handle cracked me on the head.

Oh wow haha I shouldn't laugh but that took me by surprise!

Can re-iterate and confirm that for lifting, an inflatable jack is much better than a hi lift.

brother has a hi lift(came with his car) and I got myself an 'exhaust' jack. (no need for two similar items, so I thought best to go laterally with our joint capabilities)

Hi lift requires a bit of work, and is slow, and you got to be careful if you don't want damage to life and vehicle .. and on it's own on soft ground is pretty much useless(ie. you need a base plate of some type for it)

So in terms of weight, the air jack is the winner here.

Only problem so far with the air jack(and why I call it an air jack and not an exhaust jack .. is that the flexible link in the Tdi doesn't really allow the air jack to fill up easily or quickly .. or even at all!
You plug the exhaust plug into the rear tail pipe and you hear the loud chuffing coming out the front of the exhaust instead!

BUT!! .. what does work well is that some of these air jacks come with a schrader valve fitting as an accessory, and you use a compressor to fill the bag instead(hence air jack)
Works brilliantly, and I guess the quality and output capacity of your compressor will determine how long it takes to lift the vehicle to a suitable height.

I have a piddly little 1 or 2CFM ebay compressor I got about 15years ago(that still works!?!?!) and it take about 2mins to lift the D1 to a point where the wheel is off the ground to change tyre.
But as you can't lift from the axle(just like a hilift can't) you need to lift from the body.

I've lifted from both the sides and the rear .. not game to try from the front tho.

Mine cost me about $100, in a large bag with all accessories, and it makes far less noise when stowed away than a rattly hilift!!

Hi lift advantage is that it could act as a psuedo ram if ever needed too in an emergency, and hence as a short winch if set up safely.
(question is unless it's life or death, why bother?)
But the air jack can double up as a pseudo bean bag seat if you can put up with the hard faced surface on your posterior!

Ideally, you probably want both, but if you had to choose one over the other, definitely the air jack. Just takes up more room(volume of) but the lighter weight of it makes up for that.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Forget the hilift, used mine once on a car and the bloody handle cracked me on the head.

the senario of being out bush and you get one of these let go and it breaks bones away from medical pain relief sends shivers up my spine. as your body is real close to it when using it, at least with a winch you can stand way back.

If your keen to use the Hilift look at the wheel adapters.
Genuine Hi Lift Wheel Lift Kit - Lift Mate - www.roadrunneroffroad.com.au

Originally Posted by alien

If your keen to use the Hilift look at the wheel adapters.
Genuine Hi Lift Wheel Lift Kit - Lift Mate - www.roadrunneroffroad.com.au

A 10t bottle jack is far easier and safer to use and at about 30-40 bucks each they are far cheaper as well, They also take up bugger all room and also weigh a lot less

Originally Posted by trout1105

A 10t bottle jack is far easier and safer to use and at about 30-40 bucks each they are far cheaper as well, They also take up bugger all room and also weigh a lot less

A bit hard to get underneath a vehicle bogged in mud or bellied out on the differential housings in ruts with a jack.
It's about being equipped for the terrain you intend to drive

Originally Posted by alien

A bit hard to get underneath a vehicle bogged in mud or bellied out on the differential housings in ruts with a jack.
It's about being equipped for the terrain you intend to drive

I am talking about using a jack to change a wheel or to lift the truck so that you can work underneath it.
Being equiped for the terrain you intend to drive is about having a winch, maxtrack's, snatch straps and the like, A highlift jack is a very poor substitute for these bits of kit.
I would Much rather spend 10min using a winch to get out of a bog hole that a few hours grovelling about in the muck struggling with a highlift jack anyday