Changing a flat on lifted trucks: tall bottle jack or hi-lift?

[workingonit71]

all-in-one tested at home; stable and easy to use

View attachment 386001 Not that I'll cease carrying any of my other jacks (at my age I'll take whatever help I can get!), but this jack looks perfect for my needs (including home use, projects, and all). It's a jack, jackstand, and load-spreading plate all-in-one. I'm ordering two, right now!

As I stated, I did go and buy a Unijack 6000 immediately. The store only had one. But I had an opportunity to test it at once, in a home repair scenario, not off-road as in the subject of the thread. I live in an old house, with questionable build quality. I'm having to replace drooping/ splintering rafters, one room at a time (my retirement project). by lifting and securing them in place from inside the house (the roof sheathing and shingles are fine, just the old rafters are of sub-standard material). Anyway, I had previously used combinations of all my other types of jacks to lift the new rafters and joists into place, but used the Hi-lift for the final push up (bringing the roof sheathing up to the needed slope). The Hi-lift had the power, but no stability, and I had to secure its' mast to to wall to use it. the room I'm fixing now is in an open area, and there's no wall to stabilize the Hi-lift. However, the Unilift 6000 has the stability built in, with the jackstand form and flat plate all welded together. Perfect for this use,and a lot more precise in its' operation. Yes, it's not the intended usage for this device, but we all use tools for jobs not foreseen by their designers, don't we? I don't know why nobody put this tool on the market before. I'm glad I found this thread, when I did. Now, I'm gonna order at least two more (for the trucks and trailers I have).

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

As I stated, I did go and buy a Unijack 6000 immediately. The store only had one. But I had an opportunity to test it at once, in a home repair scenario, not off-road as in the subject of the thread. I live in an old house, with questionable build quality. I'm having to replace drooping/ splintering rafters, one room at a time (my retirement project). by lifting and securing them in place from inside the house (the roof sheathing and shingles are fine, just the old rafters are of sub-standard material). Anyway, I had previously used combinations of all my other types of jacks to lift the new rafters and joists into place, but used the Hi-lift for the final push up (bringing the roof sheathing up to the needed slope). The Hi-lift had the power, but no stability, and I had to secure its' mast to to wall to use it. the room I'm fixing now is in an open area, and there's no wall to stabilize the Hi-lift. However, the Unilift 6000 has the stability built in, with the jackstand form and flat plate all welded together. Perfect for this use,and a lot more precise in its' operation. Yes, it's not the intended usage for this device, but we all use tools for jobs not foreseen by their designers, don't we? I don't know why nobody put this tool on the market before. I'm glad I found this thread, when I did. Now, I'm gonna order at least two more (for the trucks and trailers I have).

Looks too tall to fit under an axle with a flat tire

 

[workingonit71]

all-in-one jack may be too tall for some vehicles

Looks too tall to fit under an axle with a flat tire

I agree with you...on some vehicles like my HHR and Cobalt (or Chevelle), a shorter 2-ton version would be better (@8" minimum height vs the 11" minimum of the 3-ton version). A link to a thread on a Dodge Durango forum addresses this: http://www.dodgedurango.net/forums/durango-discussions-2014/15562-jack-stand-location-problem-solved.html

• 2-ton all-in-one in use on Durango

But, I have two sets of factory scissor jacks (each) for my two small cars, and didn't consider the all-in-one for them. I bought a second 3-ton version today, for use on my wife's '98 GMC 1500 Extended Cab (in conjunction with the OEM scissor jack). I'll us the OEM to lift high enough for the all-in-one to make a higher, more secure lift. And the first all-in-one will be for my 2500 HD Chevy, on which I can use my 2-ton trolley jack or my 2.5-ton bottle jack to make the initial lift, and the all-in-one again for the finishing lift. I've never used the OEM jack on this truck, thus I always carry the two others. Anyway, I have my current jacking requirements met, since I always have a Hi-Lift along when any of my three trailers is being towed, and have at least one extra 2x6 block as well. I may or may not get another all-in-one; I might not need it, if I get the Hi-Lift bumper attachment, for use on my trailers (only).

• using shorter jack with taller all-in-one scenario

 

[rlynch356]

The safe jack is a very slick kit, and I will be buying one exactly for this use and repairs while on the trail. No matter what I never feel safe with a high lift holding the truck up. And there is no way I'd climb underneath it supported with only a hi-lift... they have their uses..

 

[Patrollife]

My hi-lift has saved me countless times. I never leave without it.

 

[DGarman]

I've been using a two-stage 6 ton bottle jack for my last two trucks........'79 Bronco and '72 F250........ straight axles front and rear.
The two stage jacks go down to a low height, and will raise to a probably unsafe height!
I have one similar to this:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641736_200641736

That being said....... I bought my last set of 5 tires 3 years ago, and the spare has never been mounted on the Bronco!
I've gone through several plugs, but never had to put the spare on.

Also....... anytime you get a new jack, pull the valve cores out of a front and rear tire........ and make sure it works!
I made that mistake many years ago.......

 

[Happy Joe]

My hi-lift has saved me countless times. I never leave without it.

My high lift lives in the garage and never has been needed by me off road since I got it around 1988-9; other than for pulling fence posts and breaking tire beads loose..
Wasted fuel carrying it for many years until it almost hurt some friends (operator error) stuck it in the garage and never missed it, nor even thought about carrying it again...(if I don't have it along no one will want to borrow it).
...just an opinion and what works for me...
Enjoy!

 

[tgreening]

My high lift lives in the garage and never has been needed by me off road since I got it around 1988-9; other than for pulling fence posts and breaking tire beads loose..
Wasted fuel carrying it for many years until it almost hurt some friends (operator error) stuck it in the garage and never missed it, nor even thought about carrying it again...(if I don't have it along no one will want to borrow it).
...just an opinion and what works for me...
Enjoy!

Ditto. I bought a hi-lift new for $50 in 1983 when I was in California. I've wheeled with that thing from California to Maine since then and not once have I ever needed it let alone used it, and to be honest, after seeing a handful of people use one on the trail I'm not likely to. It's really just a glorified old style bumper jack and those went the way of the dodo for a reason.

 

[RockRanger]

I carry both a hilift and a bottle jack. Both have there place. I made an adapter to go on top of the bottle jack to get me a bit more height and safety.

20150907_162833 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

20150907_154711 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

For the hilift I made an adapter to grab my sliders to help with stability.

20151002_123825 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

20151002_124055 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Also added cutouts on my front bumper I am building to slide a hilift into.

20170205_101513 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

 

[LR Max]

Been using a bottle jack out a Land Rover Discovery 2. The stock jack for the RRCs, D1s, D2s, Defenders, and P38 range rovers are awesome. They are already curved to be placed under an axle. Good handle length.

I mention this because these jacks are typically readily available in parts vehicles. Pull it, check the hydraulic fluid level, and go. They are good for 33" tire , possibly even more. They are like, a 3 stage jack. Really nice jack.

 

[Happy Joe]

I carry both a hilift and a bottle jack. Both have there place. I made an adapter to go on top of the bottle jack to get me a bit more height and safety.

20150907_162833 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

..Like that bottle jack extender/cradle and may make something similar...
Thanks!

Enjoy!

 

[dentedvw]

Unfortunately, all the parts yards here take the jacks out. I checked in some LR's in Vegas area too, and found the same situation.

 

[IdaSHO]

While I like the looks of that bottle jack extension, I much prefer to just use a block UNDER the jack.

Seems a bit more logical, considering when you need to use it on the trail, you don't have a handy slab of flat concrete to park on.

A simple wood block will spread the load on uneven and soft soil, as well as give you the extra needed height.

Probably weigh less than that steel extension too.

 

[downhill]

One of my favorites is a hydraulic scissor jack like this one: https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/8347561/00694 I think mine is a Torin brand, and came in a pretty nice case. i like the wide lift range.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Or a HumVee scissor jack. In my Dodge, I carry the factory jack, a 60" Hi-Lift Extreme, a Bushranger X-Jack (with OBA), and a HumVee scissor jack. All acquired from The Department of Redundancy Department.