I have seen a guy use one to bend the roof of his yota back up after a roll over so he could fit back inside and continue the trail. I would say it is a good emergency tool and could save a life if you needed to use it like the Tool the Fire Department uses to bend and peel metal. It can also kill you.
I have seen a guy use one to bend the roof of his yota back up after a roll over so he could fit back inside and continue the trail. I would say it is a good emergency tool and could save a life if you needed to use it like the Tool the Fire Department uses to bend and peel metal. It can also kill you.
Like others, I've used mine more in the garage but a few times on the trail. It wasn't needed in any case but made things a little easier and I was glad to have it. It also felt sketchy anytime I had the weight of a vehicle on it, I keep meaning to buy the base they sell for it.
I got the extreme version years ago basically free(after discounts on a big order from one of the online shops) so I never felt like I have over paid for it. I was really disappointed in the powder coat finish on the extreme version and contacted hilift and got a response basically saying the powers at be switched to cheap powder coating to save cost against the better judgment of others. Not sure if they switched all models to powder coating but at the time it was just the extreme version. The powder coating on mine chipped very very easily before I even used it the first time.
I have questioned many people at my work who carry them on their DD. They seem more like an aesthetic piece than anything else for a lot of people and especially anyone with a new 4x4 vehicle.
Like others, I've used mine more in the garage but a few times on the trail. It wasn't needed in any case but made things a little easier and I was glad to have it. It also felt sketchy anytime I had the weight of a vehicle on it, I keep meaning to buy the base they sell for it.
I got the extreme version years ago basically free(after discounts on a big order from one of the online shops) so I never felt like I have over paid for it. I was really disappointed in the powder coat finish on the extreme version and contacted hilift and got a response basically saying the powers at be switched to cheap powder coating to save cost against the better judgment of others. Not sure if they switched all models to powder coating but at the time it was just the extreme version. The powder coating on mine chipped very very easily before I even used it the first time.
I have questioned many people at my work who carry them on their DD. They seem more like an aesthetic piece than anything else for a lot of people and especially anyone with a new 4x4 vehicle.
I've used mine to change a few flat tires and rock the jeep out of a few holes but the above incident was probably the most interesting. On a survey job along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, my friend drove our rented RV through some bushes at the campground at Galbreth Lake north of Atigun Pass and caught a rock between the duals poking a hole in a sidewall. We were able to find the spare tire, but instead of a jack, there was a piece of paper advising us to call AAA. Luckily I had thought to throw the hi-lift in the chase truck. It took the maximum combined effort of my hi-lift and a flimsy scissor jack from the chase truck to do the job.
Watched a buddy take a handle to the jaw once, thought it was broken, but he lucked out with a cut......fortunately he wasn't one of those "my tongue hangs out when I concentrate on stuff" guys or it would have been much worse.
I've used mine for unstucks and tire repairs, fence post removal, etc. Most folks bolt them to the bumper or roof and fail to keep them clean and lubed up, so when they need one in a emergency, they fail to perform properly.
Storing your hi-lift under the rear seat is a much better option; I use a hitch pin on the foot for quick breakdown and storage and adding a Jackmate makes it even more useful.
I've purchased 4 of them over the yesrs and always keep one on the rack of the Jeep. I have used one several times for trail recovery and tire changes but the most useful thing has been for raising the bumper for coil spring swap or ACOS adjustment. Its a must have.
I've used a HiLift twice on the trail when no other tool would have worked, and at home to lift one side of a 12'x8' shed to shore up the foundation. Handy tool.
I would never go wheeling without one. From pulling myself out of bad spots , to lifting a tire to stack rocks, to flopping my brother-in-laws wagoneer back on to its wheels while the winch was busy keeping it from sliding down Cadillac hill. There are countless times I would have been sol without one.
When I had my 2000 I'd keep it attached to the roof rack with the spare tire when I was out wheeling. Day to day use of the Jeep back home the spare usually got put in the cargo area and the Hi-Lift got put in the spare room till the next wheeling trip.
I used it more than once to get unstuck, usually by jacking up the corner of the offending wheel and packing stuff under that tire. I've done the drive off of it thing a few times too once I had rock rails on the Jeep.
It's useful but not something I carry around everyday just because it weighs so much and on the street the stock jack is just as useful.
Hi-Lifts have their uses, but they are inherently unstable. There is a reason why auto manufactures redesigned the good old Bumper Jack, then scrapped the whole idea for a bottle or scissors jack in the 80's.
Hell no. I don't even work under a vehicle with a shop jack w/o a jack stand.
I used mine a few times. Most recently when I had to pull the transmission out from under while still on a jack with a transmission attachment on it. The vehicle wasn't high enough to get it out at the current height. Chocked both passenger side wheels, jacked up on the rock rail and had plenty of room to get the transmission out.
Besides the jack you also need appropriate lifting points. Stock sheet metal won't suffice there.
Have had a highlift for about 20 years. have yet to need it for rescue purposes. Have used it to change a few tires. It gets used almost everytime I want to stick jack stands under the frame. I have stock bumpers are no side rails. At the front I lift right over the mounts, no installed recovery points, and in the rear I have a receiver so I use that. Can't use it to lift from side and know that eventually I'll will damage the bumper.
Talyn, the US car manufactures went to a slot type jack in the 80's to try and take the jaw out of the equation as the Jaw was one more point to slip and never seemed to hook on the newer box shaped bumpers right. In the end it still was a car supported at one point with a wobbly base. Your right, when the manufactures were allowed to go to install lighter, less crash resistant bumpers (I think we are down to 2 mph now) the BJ was history (and good riddance!).
The funny thing is, it seems cars were the only vehicles that carried those. As far back as I can remember, Pickups and Vans used crank type bottle Jacks. I can't ever remember owning a foreign car with anything other than a scissor jack.
1 ton PU/Vans got a longer jack due to wheel height. The jack that came with my Dodge 350 was 4" longer than the stock XJ jack, had a wider base, and a more defined saddle at the top. It was still a crank up POS, but gave more height for the taller tires I installed. I had a buddy who would get them from fleet vehicles as businesses didn't want their drivers to be able to change tires due to insurance issues.
