Do you guys think a factory brush bar will support the weight of a Hi-Lift jack?
It wont be on there all the time, only when off roading.
Opinions?

 

How much does that sucker weigh and how is the brush bar attached to the truck?

 

never tried it, but some basic engineering principles tell me that if you're going to mount about 30 pounds or so on the bar, then you'd want to do it at the lowest point possible. So you'll have a low fulcrum point and it won't have a lot of opportunity to develop some energy (the jack will want to leverage the bar against its natural fulcrum).

ideally, you'd want to support the upper ends of the bar; but that's not likely here nor aesthetically pleasing.

so I'd say 30 lbs is fine, mounted low. i would check the mounting bolts against the plates and upgrade them if possible because 30 extra pounds after hitting a bump has the potential of exceeding 100 pounds of downward force against creases of the bar.

 

if you're just using it for off-roading, then you can run two guy-wires from the extended vertical bars (the same bars used for mounting to the under carriage) to your roof rack. just brainstorming here... don't know if that would clear the hood or not.

that would allay any fears on my end and I wouldn't be sitting in the car saying to myself, "man, that jolt was a good 100-pounder of force on the bar" and then noticing that after your run, the bar has pulled a bit from your front end.

 

Just build a little trailer and tow it artillery style.

 

that would be cool. could you believe that some guy thought i was towing something artillery related? it was just a log splitter...

 

I like that idea.

 

I get what your saying and that is something I had not really thought of.
I had thought of a panic stop and it flying off and decapitating someone.
It weights ~35lbs.
The factory brush bar bolts to the frame.
I have not really looked at how it might attache to the brush bar yet.
http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/tube-mount.html
I do not know if the jack would fit lower on the brush bar or not.
There are already 2 holes in the middle bar for off road lights, bolts could easily go through those holes and bolt the jack to the bar.
Another option is to mount it to the spare tire carrier but the extra weight on the cargo door hinges is a concern.

 

I like that idea that mount could hold the extra weight I'm betting.

 

i see the mounting tube and that's pretty neat. but the cargo door is a good option - those are some beefy hinges back there and i agree with lipad.

wait - do you have a roof rack? because i saw on that site you posted of some nice mounts on the side of the racks...

i took a look at the diagram of the brush bar and where/how they mount. if it were me, i'd be worrying if i mounted that jack that high up on the brush bar. i'm thinking you'd be ok if you can go low.