|
 | Hi-Lift Jack ($75, Mar 98): |
| Ease of Installation: |
Not Too Bad |
| Product Usefulness: |
Couldn't Live Without It! |
Click on pictures for larger view, then "back"
on your browser to return here.
 Let's face it, a Hi-Lift jack look really cool on a Jeep! I mounted mine right
out there on my front bumper so everyone could see that I was a real Trail
Jeeper. I also wanted it to remain fully assembled for quick use. I know a
couple of buddies who disassembled they Hi-Lifts and mounted this part here and stored
this part there. When it came time to use his jack on a recent trail ride, my one of
my buddies couldn't remember where he stored one of the parts! So he ended up
borrowing mine!
 I got the Hi-Lift a few months before my winch, so
originally I had the jack mounted on top of my front bumper using some custom-made
mounting brackets I made at my welding class.
After installing the winch, however, I had to make up some new mounting
brackets for the jack. Now the jack sits a little higher and farther
forward, and even provides some protection to the winch. The picture to the
left shows the final mounting location, using the new brackets.
Notice the steel U-channel over the jack handle. I tossed the cheesy
little Velcro strap that came with the jack and made up this one.
There's a hole in the front of the bracket, which slips over the mounting bolt
and is secured with a wing nut that holds the jack in place. I drilled a
hole towards the end of each of the two mounting bolts to accommodate a small
pad lock or keeper pin (so the wing nuts won't vibrate loose).
I've had several requests from fellow Jeepers for plans of my Hi-Lift Jack mounts.
So I finally drew some up, scanned them into my computer, and e-mailed them out.
Then one guy used a drafting program on his computer and turned my rough drawing
into a professional product, which I am proud to make available for you to download.
Thanks to Mike Siefke for doing the drafting work!
Click here to
download Hi-Lift mount plans
(then click Back on your browser to return to this page)
(note: requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader--click here to download free)
 I've used my Hi-Lift on numerous occasions so far. On a trail ride in August
1998, I was determined to make it up this particularly steep, slippery hill. On my
last attempt, I caught quite a bit of air under my front end. Upon landing, I heard
a huge pop. Not knowing what a braking axle sounded like, I thought that's what I
had done. My head sank into my lap! Then someone yelled out that I blew my
right front tire. A big sigh of relief came from within. As it turned out, I
just popped the bead on the outboard side of the rim. We positioned another Jeep in
front of mine, secured the two together with a tow strap, and proceeded to jack up the
front of mine with the Hi-Lift. With three people helping, the task went quick and
we were soon back underway. The next day, I cleaned the mud and stuff off of the rim
and the tire bead. Then a nice young man at Wal-Mart swished on some of that bead
sealing solution and reseated the bead for me--no charge. And since the tire hadn't
rotated on the rim, I didn't even have to get it rebalanced.
Here's a
shot of the Hi-Lift in action. This was on our Christmas Vacation '98 to my in-laws
place near Cloudcroft, New Mexico. They have hundreds and hundreds of miles of
trails in the Lincoln National Forest right our their back door! Lucky!!
Anyway, we were wheelin' (alone) in and around the mountains and hit a sharp rock.
Good thing that we were on nice flat ground when we noticed that we were losing air
(fast!). Problem was, it was getting dark (quick), we were 45 minutes from home, and
we were getting hungry!
| Hi-Lift Jack Mounting Relocation
($5, May 99): Since I adding the Hi-Lift Jack to my arsenal of recovery
equipment over a year ago, I've had the opportunity to use it on several occasions.
You know that little caution sticker on the top of the bar that says "Will Not
Function Properly Unless Lubricated"? Well, they're not kidding!
More than once, I've had to clean either mud or ice off of the jack and hit it with a good
dose of WD-40 before it would work. If you frequent any of the more popular 4x4 or
Jeep bulletin boards/on-line forums, you know that discussions regarding "where to
mount a Hi-Lift in a short Jeep" is a regular thread. Well, I finally
found a suitable mounting location inside the cab where the jack will stay
relatively clean! I got the idea from the same guy who was kind enough to do the drawings
of my previous mounting brackets; the ones you can view and download
above! My set-up is just a bit different than Mike's in that I didn't end up using the
angle iron at all. While holding the jack up to the rear of the roll bar, in order
to determine exactly how high I wanted to mount it, I got the idea just to mount it
directly to the back side of the roll bars. This method, however, required me to
drill a new hole in the jack; at the tip of that little piece that's bolted to the top of
the bar. I also flipped the jack around so that the side with the shear pins points
towards the front of the Jeep, leaving a flatter surface to the rear. |
The mounting hardware cost practically nothing (less than $5) and installation was
really easy! I used ½-inch hardware: two each 4½-inch carriage bolts, nylock
nuts, and wing nuts; and four fender washers. I unzipped the roll bar padding,
C-clamped the jack bar into position, and drilled a ½-inch hole through each roll bar.
In determining the exact mounting location, I made certain that the soft top would
open and close okay, and that the jack was low enough to keep any rear seat passengers
from cracking their head open on it in the event of an accident. Next I removed the
jack, inserted the carriage bolts from front-to-rear through the roll bar, and reinstalled
the roll bar padding (with bolt sticking out of the rear of the padding). I then
installed one fender washer (which I curved to fit the contour of the roll bar) and a lock
nut on each bolt, on top of the roll bar padding. Finally, I remounted the jack,
installed the other two fender washers, and the wing nuts. Here are a couple of
pictures, which show one of the mounting bolts and the final product!
| Hi-Lift Jack
Protective Cover ($22, Jul 2000): Well, although
mounting my Hi-Lift inside the cab kept the mud and snow off of my jack, it
still got caked with a really thick layer of dust, especially since moving
back to the southwest, and more so because I tried to keep it well
lubricated. A well-oiled Hi-Lift attracts dust more than stink on $hit
(I learned that phrase while living in Alabama for a few years).
Anyway, the solution was finally to purchase a protective cover for my
jack. Despite the ultra-cool look of a Hi-Lift Jack proudly displayed
on a trail Jeep, the only way to keep it working properly was to oil it
really good, then cover it. This was a really simple project. I
just slipped the jack into the cover, poked a hole in each end of the cover,
then remounted the jack to my mounting studs on the rear roll bar. |
Okay, enough about mounting locations already! For a really great
article on how to use your Hi-Lift, visit www.4x4now.com/bb0997.htm.
For more information about the Hi-Lift Jack and other related products, visit
the Hi-Lift web
site at www.hi-lift.com
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