Thread: Hi Lift jack

I have a genuine one and just replaced pins after 30 years. It has had much use. There are various attachments like baseplate, LR shoe to enable it to fit Defender jack points, and winch/ tow chain attachment. I have seen them for not much more than cheap copy prices.

You may find these do not fit alt copies. There are 2 sizes and the larger more useful if you have the room.

Like all these things Id want to see the unit and check the quality and fit of the mechanism.

The Jack is a tool that only gets used infrequently but when you use it you need it and they can be quite dangerous. Particularly when they self operate if the handle is left down.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by iClick

I'm looking for a Hi Lift jack and not having owned one before could do with some advice.

Are there any to avoid? I've found this so far:
eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

Save the money and sped elsewhere...

The only time I've used my hi-lift was to lift a car body whilst I pulled a fuel line out.

Jacking plate and bottle jack are far more useful.

So are MaxTrax or similar ilk.

we use the hi lift jack around the place but not really on trips on anything.
They are quite big and heavy and can be dangerous, and what Tombie said was pretty spot on.

Originally Posted by iClick

I'm looking for a Hi Lift jack and not having owned one before could do with some advice.

Avoid them .... Plenty of accidents waiting to happen for the inexperienced.
Seen more problems than solutions due to the unstable nature of a "High lift"

They will bend, twist, pinch fingerers and crush limbs ...



Buy the exhaust jack if you want a safer lift
I've got 1 ^^^^^^ .... never used it

Cheers
Mike

I bought my current hi lift jack in 1978. Was great on the series 1 at the time as it could fit almost anywhere. As mentioned they are nasty things that are really dangerous but at the same time can me very useful if you are aware of their instability problems. Also my handle goes lower than horizontal so when close to the ground may not work properly - have had dug a few holes in the past so the handle could go down. I have been sconed on the head by the handle once and when lowering the vehicle has dropped a couple of times - that is the vehicle did not fall off the jack but it just went straight down.

The jack was no use trying to get my Suzuki out of a Yabbie flat in 1985 - the jack just sank into the mud even with a large base plate. I have never used it since - no use on my RRS as it cannot clip in anywhere - it can only lift the 101 at the rear.

I did use it it in 1992 as a porta-power to push out a body panel on a car but it stuffed that as well.

I think that if you are totally aware of the safety issues and other cons then they may be OK on a Defender with T slots in front and rear bars but realistically I would be looking at other recovery equipment.

Garry

great to get fence posts and star pickets out with

Mine is bolted to the back of the defender and its a pain to get it off, invaribly I end up using the bottle jack, but to change springs they are good as the get the car up high enough, (there are safer ways to do it) but for recovery, unless youve got jackable rock sliders/rails forget about it.

I always used mine to break beads for tyre repairs but now I've got tire pliers the jack is slowly rusting up & becoming decoration only.

.

Originally Posted by goingbush

great to get fence posts and star pickets out with


.

exactly what we use it for

Some great info there - thanks!

I guess I should've mentioned in my original post, my plans for a hi-lift jack.

I've recently purchased an aluminium canopy which I plan to turn into a tray-back camper. (Roof top tent, kitchen etc)

What I'm missing is a leg support system to remove and store the canopy. I could buy the manufactures original wind up legs but that would set me back $880.

As an alternative, I'm considering welding lift points onto the side of the canopy and jacking each side independently onto fixed legs. Hence my need for a hi-lift jack. The amount of lift I'll need is about 20cm at approx 1 metre off the ground (tray hight)

I do own an ARB exhaust bag which has been useful in the past for extractions from sand.