Fear of the highlift?

[tommudd]

It's funny to me to see a high lift bolted on a rigs rack. Then ya look at it and no where at all to use it, plus its rusted up and basically unusable anyways
Have one bought years and years ago, used it on the farm back in the 70s and still works great
BUT its proper equipment , just like the LED lightbar I saw bolted on a Camry's roof the other day...............................

 

[proper4wd]

Winch to what? There was nothing within range. And an early bronco doesn't have enough weight to pull out a full size.

High lift wins.

And where do you wheel in New England? The state is tiny and has more people than my entire country?

I get it... you love the hi lift because its probably the only off road tool you own. Just do me a favor, and use it safely (with the handle upright when holding the vehicle up).

 

[Slashbike]

I always carry a hi lift. I always carry a bottle jack. I'm a farmer and use both for many things, not to mention the winch on the truck.

 

[Kevin108]

I think the growth for concern is based on the growth of offroad sports.

 

[Airmapper]

Who is this "we all" that are afraid of high lifts.

I've seen it said many times to be careful with them which is warranted, but I'm not sure where this opening statement that "we all" are afraid of them originates. Did I miss a thread or article or something where someone was deathly afraid of a high lift?

There are things I'm much more scared of than a high lift, like clowns.

 

[BigSwede]

I have advocated here to be careful with a hi-lift, because I know someone who was badly injured when the vehicle fell off the jack (had to be airlifted to a hospital). I also had mine ********** me under the chin one time, could have been much worse.

But I still use mine, just more carefully.

 

[dumprat]

Sure seems the average off roader these days fears most of their tools. We hear all the nannies( a few in this very thread) who echo the Highlifts are so dangerous. I have trouble imagineing what they would say about a chainsaw or axe use on the trail.

Sad really. More fear mongering.

Learn to use the tools folks and quit spreading fear.

 

[krax]

It's funny to me to see a high lift bolted on a rigs rack. Then ya look at it and no where at all to use it, plus its rusted up and basically unusable anyways
Have one bought years and years ago, used it on the farm back in the 70s and still works great
BUT its proper equipment , just like the LED lightbar I saw bolted on a Camry's roof the other day...............................

What you may not see is a Hi-Lift Lift-Mate tucked away in the vehicle. The Lift-Mate works on vehicles with a lot of plastic.

 

[donaldcon]

I always carry one, don't use it a whole lot anymore but in still keep it with me.

I once used one to hold a Dana 35 axle in while driving the jeep down the highway dumping oil out the window.to keep the tire from catching fire.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[Christophe Noel]

I grew up spending summers on my uncle's farm using a Hi-Lift to yank out a million fence posts. Had several over the years on all manner of 4x4 vehicles and never used it - not once. Daily on the farm. Never on the trail.

And yes, if not used properly, you bet they're dangerous. I think there's a significant difference between fearing something and have a healthy respect for it's ugly potential.

 

[downhill]

My biggest objection to carrying a hi lift is the weight/benefit ratio. I can't carry every conceivable tool or part that I might need. I mostly rely on my ingenuity, and judgement to carry the day. Same goes for traction boards. What ever happened to sticking branches under your tires? I carry a good bit of possibles, but I try to avoid the large, heavy items with minimal return. I do have bumpers with jack ports, and a slider adapter for my jack. Those items do make the jack more manageable.

 

[proper4wd]

This guy is clearly a troll and not even very good at it.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Since when did we all turn into ninnies and be deathly afraid of the highlift jack? They are a staple in industry and off road and since the advent of the internet everybody is afraid of them.

Or is it just a sales pitch for all the goofy crap they sell to try and replace it? Blow up doll exhaust jacks and stuff?

I had one 17 years ago when I was young and bought a new wrangler tj with a lift. I'm lucky I didn't kill myself, they are crazy dangerous if you're ignorant to their proper use.

 

[dumprat]

I am not a troll at all. Just been doing single truck trips into ugly country for a couple of decades. The highlift jack and steel winch line has been around as long or longer than 4x4 vehicles and all of a sudden every expert on every forum is preaching how dangerous they are. Of course the deserve respect. So does an axe, winch, or chainsaw.

Why I asked this, I was looking for a winch bumper that will accept a highlift for my Toyota. I got super flamed by a bunch of experts who turned bumper shopping into a blast feet over how dangerous a jack was any why nobody should carry one ever. Bla, bla, bla.

 

[LocoCoyote]

Just speaking for myself, but I ditched my hi lift because it was heavy and bulky...I get good results using a air cushion type lifter and a small hydraulic jack.