So what kind of jack is my best bet if I have a 2-2.5" lift now and big ol tires. I'd like the flexibility to change a flat or to recover. Is the hi lift my only solution? And is the cheapest way to do that to carry the hi lift, the wheel lifting adapter AND a jack stand? Just to change a flat? Not to mention the off road base for wheeling? Yeesh.

 

In a pinch, you could put blocks of wood under the stock bottle jack. That would work for recovery too, just stuff rocks or more wood under the tire after it's lifted until you can drive out. On pavement, I think I can still get the tire off the ground without wood blocks, and I'm running 32s. Like I said, I only use the high-lift as a last resort.

Oh, and buy a used hi-lift for $40 or so on Craigslist, make sure it works, then carry WD-40 in case the mechanism jams occasionally.

 

Craigslist here I come. But either way I need additional crap on top of a jack. Whether it's blocks under the bottle jack or stands under the axel once the hi lift does it's job. That's a boner. Jack stands and/or wood blocks all crampin my cargo style. Damn.

 

LOL, get used to it. I carry a 5' long duffel bag of recovery gear at all times, strapped into one of the rear seatbelts. I'm still working on finding a place to mount the hi-lift, perhaps the front bumper?

 

There's a base you can buy for the hi-lift. It makes it a lot more stable. Out of all my off road trips I have only used the hi-lift once and that was to change someone's tire on the trail.

 

it will lift it until the whole lot slews off side ways, use a high lift for changing wheels only, do not ever climb under the vehicle when on a high lift only very unstable units, if you have to get under the truck make sure it is sitting on blocks, or a stand and all the wieght is off the hi lift, and when coming down with high lift hold onto the handle, if you let it go on the up stroke the handle can go a good distance if it is not secured!!! or thru your jaw

Pedro

 

I agree. It's a very bad idea to lift from the receiver hitch. With a floor jack, I lift a whole end (front or rear) of a vehicle routinely. With the hi-lift, you must only ever lift one corner at a time. I tried to lift the Discovery from the receiver hitch on the weekend and indeed it started to slide sideways. I had it chocked and with jack stands under the frame rails but I was scared if it slipped anymore sideways it would fall to the side of the jack stands. I let it down onto the stands while I still could and jacked one corner, raised the stand, jacked the other corner, raised the stand -- back and forth until it was high enough on the stands.

I would never crawl under any vehicle on any jack. Always place jack stands and remove the jack.

I'm not fond of Hi Lifts but I just bought one because they're pretty useful. For lifting axles to change a wheel, the Lift Mate is the best bet -- put all the lifting on the wheel not the body where you are just decompressing the spring and end up having to lift five times higher. You will need a stand.

Hi Lifts also work great to pull lines. Put a shackle on the top to a non-stretch winch extension or rigging line, and the loop of a non-stretch tree-saver, rigging line, or winch extension over the lift tounge. Anchor opposite ends to the vehicle and a suitable anchor and you can pull. The advantage over a winch is you can pull sideways, backwards, etc. whereas rigging a front-mounted winch to pull you backwards is complicated.

Just use chain or a synthetic line. Don't use wire rope anything that stretches like ****** straps. To anchor on the vehicle, the best bet is a choker sling around the frame.