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Fair comment. I stress the downsides of the Hi-Lift because I meet so many people who use them unsafely - including someone who gave a demonstration on Hi-Lift use at an Overland Expo (not invited back). With that said, as you mentioned, no product has yet challenged the Hi-Lift's strength...

How many tools are one broken part away from never being made again? Of course you're free to draw your own conclusions from watching the video. After using the product, I was convinced of its value, and even more convinced it adds to the safety of the Hi-Lift rather than detracting from it.

No problem. Interestingly, the inventor of the product approached Bloomfield, the maker of the Hi-lift, to see if they wanted to carry it, and they said no. I'm not surprised - to have said otherwise would have been to admit that the Hi-Lift is less than perfect, which they are reluctant to...

Sure: Try to use a Hi-Lift to raise one end of a vehicle on anything but perfectly level ground, and it will try to tip off, especially if you're jacking the rear where a set parking brake is no help and you have to rely solely on blocking the wheels. Agreed? Even on level ground, you know it...

Its usefulness - i.e. stability - actually increases when the ground isn't flat. A piece of plywood, or the red plastic bases, don't help at all in those situations.

So have you tried it? Seen one in person? I'm curious to hear from other first-hand users.

We recently had an opportunity to review an OCENS BGAN system for satellite communications (voice and data) during a New Year's trip to Mexico with a group of friends, some of whom many of you will recognize as past members here: Chris Marzonie, Pasquale Benedetto, Chuck Hathcock . . . It was a...

No. You needed a 17mm too.

Yes - except a restaurant reviewer who didn't actually taste any of the dishes, just inspected the kitchens. Drodio, your impressions from factory visits might have some value, but until you've used these campers I'm not sure you're justified in calling your article a buyer's guide. Call it a...

Hmm . . . I live in Arizona and have never had this problem with either my Barbour Bedale or Beaufort. The only thing they do when left in the sun is give off a very attractive waxed-cotton smell. Certainly no residue. If I'm heading out into really technical weather, like cross-country skiing...

You're thinking about this all wrong. My first Barbour is now 22 years old, and I'm just about to send it in for reproofing, after which it should be good for another decade. How much more economical can you get? I don't have a single Gore-Tex garment that lasted that long before losing its...

This story points out why I always urge those on a tight budget to buy a used Warn rather than a new knock-off Chinese product made to a price point. The biggest problem with the cheap winches is wildly varying quality control. I've heard guys claim their $350 Harbor Freight winches have...

Actually it works for the X-Jack-type bags as well. I'm about to have a go with Bogert's nose attachment for the Hi-Lift, which should allow lifting a wheel directly.

Clearly. However, I've been in many situations where a bottle jack simply would not work. In those cases I've used the Hi-Lift, then secured the vehicle once the tire was clear of the ground.

Actually, its utility would increase if the ground weren't level. It enhances the stability of the jack in any terrain. If you were in a situation where you couldn't position the Hi-Lift straight up, the triangulation would compensate to a significant degree.

No!

I just finished testing a new accessory for the Hi-Lift jack, which moves what we all know as a useful but troublesome tool to an entirely new level of stability and safety. It's called a Safe Jack: At first glance it seems complicated, but the system takes just seconds to set up, and it adds...

Welcome! First, I'd be surprised if that Skamper weighed only 900 pounds. Even so, securing it to the stock tie-downs is asking for trouble. Four Wheel Campers installs a special pair of thick steel brackets on the composite-bed Tacomas to secure their aluminum-framed campers, which are much...

That was my point in saying, "There are C-channel frames, and C-channel frames." You could easily make a fat C-channel frame that would be more rigid than a narrow-section boxed frame. But using the same amount/weight of material, a closed section will be stronger. I believe a round tube is the...

True - but there are C-channel frames, and there are C-channel frames. The twist apparent in a lot of older American pickups on any bit of cross-axle terrain is scary. Yeah, I know Chevy and Ford said, "We designed them that way," but I've lost count of how many of those trucks I've seen with...