Jacking Points on Hi-Lift

[Asugolf14]

I was just wondering, for those of you who have a Hi-Lift Jack, what are some of the jacking points that you use that are safe? I just got mine, but I didn't see much of any way to be able to lift the frame at all. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ray Lobato]

Well You could buy some full size GM tow hooks and mount them to the front. They make a great place to use your Hi-Lift jack. If you have rock sliders, they will also work. If you use the bumper, it will bend it upwards. I used to have a rear tow loop that I got from a Explorer sport that worked ok for me as far as jacking up the drivers side rear. I have a custom bumper/tire carrier now, so it doesn't make any differance where on the back I put the Hi-Lift, it will work anywhere. They do make a bumper attachment that you can use with your hi-lift that can be used on a normal bumper, but I have never seen anyone use it. Hope this helps.

 

[Asugolf14]

Alright, thanks for the info!

 

[Blue Steel]

what about using a trailer hitch to use as a "jacking" point? would that be all right? anyone have any experiences with stuff like that? got a hitch on the front and back... a little more concerned with the rear tube style hidden hitch. thanks for the comments in advance.

 

[Ray Lobato]

Well I guess you could use your hitch if you had to, but then you are jacking your truck up from the middle, which means you are jacking up the whole front or back, as opposed to just the front left or right side or back left or right side. Seems like it would be a little unstable in the middle.

 

[JoshC]

It is really unstable in the middle of the hitch, i've tried it before and it just falls to one side. I don't have an air dam on the front of mine, so i actually use my bumper but i put it right under the mount for the bumper, where the bracket bolts to the frame. I've been doing this for a while now and it works great for me. But i'm nuts like that i guess!

Happy trails!!

 

[Jason_25]

I jack from my rear bumper all the time with no problem. No bending.

 

[Asugolf14]

So you can use it on your bumper? I am just trying to find out ways to jack my car up, for one just incase I ever pop a tire, I need a way to get the spare on. That is the main reason I got this jack, and I see I can reach the frame on the back underneath the bumper to get to the rear tires, but on the front I can't do that because I have a grill guard, so I wasn't sure if I could jack up from my bumper or even from my rockers. If I can't find a way, I might just take the jack back and find something else that works, cause I don't really see anything that great from this, especially if I can't even use it to change a tire.

 

[Jason_25]

I used the Hi-lift on the bumper for a combined time of more than an hour with no problems when I changed out my leaf springs. You may want to consider building a larger base for it though to make it more stable.

 

[Ray Lobato]

You can use your Hi-Lift on the grill guard bottom cross bar. I do that all the time on my winch mount/grill guard. If you are going to do any off-roading, then you need a hi-lift jack. It will get you out of trouble. In fact I have used my Hi-lift jack more than I use my winch.

 

[JoshC]

Ray, do you acutally use yours as a come along? I've never tried it yet, how does it work?

Jason, have you built a bigger base for yours? I've been meaning to but i don't know what i want to use as a base.

Happy trails!!

 

[Jason_25]

Nah I haven't, but a piece of wood should work nicely if deep enough to accomodate the jack.

 

[Asugolf14]

Oh yeah, good call Ray, my dumb a$$ never thought of that. Yeah, I have heard you need one, but since I couldn't find a way to use it, I wasn't sure, but thanks, now I will definitly keep it. How would you build a larger base for it? Thanks guys!

 

[Ray Lobato]

Originally posted by Jot017
Ray, do you acutally use yours as a come along? I've never tried it yet, how does it work?

No I use it to pick up the truck when I get stuck on rocks and stack rocks under the wheels. ( Yes I do put the rocks back)

Asugolf14
I use the seat from an old wooden rocking chair. A piece of 2X12 works pretty good also. Go to a lumber yard and see if they have any remnents laying around, then put some sealer on it and your good to go.

 

[rpenner54]

I have used it on my bumpers, front and rear. I have also used it on my body (Don't have sliders). It made a slight impresion into the body when I tried it that way but no real big dents.

 

[bmdenver1]

I bought the "curved bumper attachment" for the Hi-Lift from a local parts store for about $20. It can be used for slotted tubular bumpers in one configuration or can be used basically as a hook on a chain in it's other configuration. Truthfully, it didn't work all that great.

I got my rear diff hung up on a rock in Canyonlands NP a couple weeks ago. Good time to test out the new accessory! I hooked the attachment to the Hi-Lift (note: the bolt they give you is just barely long enough. Go buy a longer one) and hooked it under my rear bumper. Then, I just started jacking. Well, I entended the Hi-Lift all the way to the top, and my rear tire was still sitting on the ground. All I succeeded in doing was flexing my rear springs and bending my bumper to the point I thought it was going to rip off the truck. I ended up just setting up the my jack under the axle and it worked just fine. Couple rocks under one of the tires and I was off and running.

So, in my experience, which probably isn't the same as other folks, I wouldn't bother with a Hi-Lift for jacking from the stock bumpers. If you get a nice aftermarket bumper, go for it. If you don't have a winch or a nice come-along, I'd still carry the Hi-Lift to get you out of a jam.

 

[bmdenver1]

Incidentally, here's a good web page about the many uses of the Hi-Lift jack:

http://www.4x4now.com/bb0997.htm

I've never posted a web link before. Hope that works.

 

[CBoug76]

bmdenver1, One way to slove the problem that you had when jacking up the Explorer, is to cary a chain, and when you have to jack up the rear end, wrap the chain around the Axle and then tie it the frame, then when you lift the frame you lift the axle too!


To ALL: I would suggest that you read as much info about the Hi-Lift as you possibly can, you never know when that one little sentence you read on the web one day will help you out of a Bad situation!