FJ Cruisers of Northern California

What Hi-lift jack should I buy ?

I am looking for a Hi-lift jack and there are a bunch of them. Wanted to know what everyone would recommend ? Thanks for the help.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by PRS TiFJ on July 7, 2011 at 5:02pm

Tis why I made my own lock. :)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by opg4759 on July 7, 2011 at 9:16pm

You are one of the rare smart one's.

I've seen so many Hi-Lift X-treme's beging to be stolen and not just FJC's. I've left notes before just to add to my karma points.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DWH on July 7, 2011 at 9:20pm

I have a 48" X-treme Highlift, I had a gift card at 4 Wheel Parts and decided to go for the extreme. If I did not have a discount I would have gone for the standard cast version.

The 48's are heavy enough, the 60's are that much heavier. Lift them both when you in a store. I also wanted to be able to put it inside the cab easily. I have a Lift-Mate as well. For the moderate wheeling I do, I believe it to be sufficient.

I have only had to use it once off road, but numerous time around my property (lifting trailers, pulling T-post, etc).

It comes down to personal preference and how you think you will use it. Personally they scare the crap out of me and I will only use it when there is no safer alternative.

My $0.02.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on July 8, 2011 at 7:00am

Ditto to the above...go with the 48 Inch and if you dont have the aforementioned armor then get a lift mate with it (you can do that with the money you save buying the normal vs the extreme :-) ). Seriously the extreme looks pretty cool, but other then that i don't see a whole lot of needed functionality.

You don't need a 60 inch - more weight and it won't easily fit inside the FJ ( have the demello mount points for the roof rack but i rarely put the hi-lift up their now for two reasons:
1. Its a pain in the ass to get down (and put up) when you actually need it
2. It make my vehicle stand at over 7 feet...and that means i won't fit into my garage or many other parking structures.

Even after you get the rockrails and bumpers hang on to your lift mate....you'll find that 90% of the time you are not getting yourself unstuck...your helping someone else get unstuck and that other person may not have the benefit of being as prepared as you are.
%

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MoabFJ on July 8, 2011 at 9:18am

I have found that the 60" is insurance. We have had to change a tire in the rocks, and my 48" was at the top of the bar.

The flex on the bar was scary, so we rolled a few rock under the frame just in case. It never let go, but that was the point I decided to go 60". A 48" is perfect for driveway maintenance, outside the range of a much safer floor jack.

For wheeling, I like the extra range range to make up for irregular terrain.

Since I don't think anyone has mentioned it, a no-slip base is worth buying or making.

Never forget, your high-lift if the only tool you haul around that will regularly try to kill you.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on July 8, 2011 at 9:56am

Excellent point on the non-slip base and that it is the only tool that is regularly trying to kill you!

Another tip: if your jacking anywhere near your doors....open the doors before you start jacking! I have a nice dent on the driver side door from the jack adjusting (aka trying to kill me) as it got more weight on it. If i would of had the doors open to begin with...it wouldn't have been an issue!