Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Handy man jack, new or used

Check out the local pawn shops.

http://www.hi-lift.com/index.html


Those things look plenty robust... Wow..

PLUS ONE!

The Hi-Lift web site tells you to never lift more than 1 wheel at a time. I've got unstuck more than once by lifting the entire front end then pushing it sideways off the jack to walk the tires out of a rut. It's a standard maneuver.

One should be aware of those things' capacity to go into "Full Auto" in the lowering mode,.......that's ONE of the potentially aggressive, potentially injurious moves they can make. It's also the one that bends the relieving pins, and screws up the timing.

Absolutely useless without some decent "Cribbing" to set up on in soft terrain.

For wheel changing, not a bad idea to secure the lifting pad to the vehicle with a coupla' wraps of "Oklahoma Rawhide" (tying wire), or a wrap of 1/4" chain.

WD40 dittos

GTC

Keep your chin clear of the arc of the handle. Keep bystanders away from the sides of the jack, as they like to spit out sideways.

As my dad says, "The Hi-Lift is the best jack in the world; it's also the worst jack in the world".

Went to go buy one today off craigslist. It went up no problem, but the top pin wouldn't pop out to let it back down.
Also when you wanted to switch the lever up to make it go up, the owner told me he always required a screwdriver to lift the gate in order to swivel the lock lever.

Needless to say, I didn't buy it for $40, but wondering if they are easy fixes if he comes way down on price or if I should just keep looking.
He also had replaced the lower bolt on the frame, there are two bolts above and below the handle that go perpendicular to the movement of the handle. He replaced it with a non original bolt, stuck way out on both sides. Could that have been the problem? I doubt it as that bolt is way below the top pin.

Thanks for any advice in my quest for a good one
Jon

If youre ever going to lift the rear of a dodge truck make sure you block the front tires so it dosent roll forward, in turn slamming the top of the jack into a otherwise perfect tailgate. That's what I heard.

I gave my old 60" hi-lift away to another roo shooter when I quit, I was given an old unit that lacked a base plate, handle, had a broken top jaw, and had the top pin cock-eyed by 4mm which locked the unit up.
I replaced the plate with one a mate gave me, whacked a piece of gal pipe in for a handle and replaced the pivot bolts and tapped the cock-eyed pin across 4mm, and added some moly grease to all bearing surfaces and pins, the top jaw was welded with castcraft rod.

The thing clicks up and down like it is meant to, and is far better than my old unit...all up I have au$40.00 in it.




I am well pleased.

ps, I am thinking of drilling the lump on the lower jaw and adding a large D-ring to the unit for clipping a star post lifting chain to.

That hole in the lower jaw is there for just that reason. I have a used locking carabiner (7K lb test from R.E.I.) that I use to hook to various and sundry attachments.

Ed

I am aware of that, but dragging three and a half feet of steel star picket out of hard ground is a job for something a little more substantial than a carabiner.

Consider yourself advised on rigging , Greenhorn Rookie.

GTC

Picked up one today off craigslist, bottom pin was stuck, a little hammering and some WD-40 and that thing climbs and descends like an old pro! Stopped by a 4 wheel parts store and picked up the rubber handle rattle preventer that made the ride home worth it.
I gave the guy $20 for it, handle keeper was $14, I think I did ok.

Thanks again for the advice and words of wisdom. I'll give it a few rounds of practice before I need it for real.

Now toss it in the back of the toyota and let it beat around, get dry, dirty and add a protective covering of thick rust. Or you'll never know the full joys of jack usage......

Used? Now wait till your 40 miles from nowhere, stuck real good, and in need of that jack real bad. Hope she works Ok for ya.

I figure it will get a good cleaning to get the rust off, maybe a coat of rattle paint to prevent any further and then ride around in the back seat that's too small to sit in and perfect sized to hold the little lady steady. I hope to never need it, but figure it's better to have it and not need it than vice versa!
This one may have already spent some time in the great outdoors. Needed a few good whacks with a hammer and a bit of WD 40 to break that bottom pin loose, after that, all seems to be good. She ain't pretty and shiny, but she shore is pretty and hard workin'!

One of the most useful and dangerous tools a fella can own. Adds spice to life.

Are these things worth anything for a full sized rig 3/4 ton diesel rig? I have always wanted one, but my truck scales around 9,000 pounds when loaded for the woods.

I had one on my old '64 (really a '62) Fj40. Used it as described more than once to lift and push over, repeat until out of the hole I'd gotten into. The bumpers on that thing allowed me to jack up each corner or the whole front end / back end at a time. Carried a 18"^2 steel plate to put it on in mud.

However without replacing both bumpers on my current rig ('11 F350), I'm not sure how I use one now, except as a come-a-long. How to you guys use them on newer rigs?

Over here most just bolt a large, heavy, piece of C section to the rear of the chassis and a substantial bar on the front...make sure the two edges of the C section point to the ground, and if you are feeling really fancy then you can cut a step near the ends to stop the jaw from slipping off.