Jacking Options?

[Quixote]

We are going on a fifteen month expedition through North and South America. We're not planning on doing any hard-core 4x4 trails but we don't want to in a position of not being able to see a historic site or some ancient ruins just because the road is bad.

I was considering three options:

1) ARB Bushranger. My main concern here is that it seems to be a bit untested and the bag might get punctured on rocks or vehicle components.

2) Hi-Lift Jack with rock rails. The downside of this solution is that I have no experience using a hi-lift and the rock rails would add extra weight

3) Stock bottle jack. Cheap, low-weight and simple.

Right now I'm leaning towards #3 but I wanted to get some feedback from the amazing amount of experience on this board.

 

[kcowyo]

#1 & #2.

Leave #3 at home and save the weight and storage space.

Get a copy of Bill Burke's "Getting Unstuck" DVD and learn to use the Hi lift. You don't need sliders to use them, get a Hi lift Mate.

For fifteen months on the road I wouldn't leave without a Hi lift, too many uses. I would carry the ARB Bushranger as a back up jack. Seems lightweight and easy to use -

 

[ntsqd]

Hi-Lifts have their uses in getting unstuck, but really can suck for simply changing a flat. My first Sub had no jack at all when I bought it and I built a skidplate for HF's smaller 2T hyd floor jack. It's not any heavier than the Hi-Lift and it takes less space. Removed the wheels and installed the plate. Now it slides easily in the dirt & doesn't sink into the soft stuff.
All I have to do is figure out where to latch it down on the new Sub as I don't like my previous hurried mount.

 

[Desertdude]

I always like to travel with the High lift as well as the stock bottle jack - sometimes you need to get under the axle and get a few more inches of lift.

Also having a tarp to lay on in the mud makes any under vehicle repairs much nicer.

Allowing some home time to practice with using the high lift (and keeping it lubricated) makes all the difference when you have to use it. This is very recommended for both traveling partners

 

[paulj]

For changing a tire on a backroad, a wide base is a great addition to the stock jack. I carry a couple of 9" square wood boards, and have had occasion to use them twice. HiLift also sells a plastic base for their jacks. It turns out that that base is just the right size to work with my stock jack.

paulj

 

[calamaridog]

I would get some bolt on rock rails for the FJ if they are strong enough to jack off of (pretty sure they are but a quick call to Demello Off Road would answer that). Then get a slider adaptor from the Wabbit to use with your high lift jack. The sliders could prove useful for pulling sideways too.

 

[ntsqd]

On the Hi-Lift lubrication thing, I've tried a couple various dry lubes on mine without much good results. I've recently started using aerosol motorcycle chain wax from Maxima on similar things & suspect that a Hi-Lift would be a great place to use it. If mine did much more than sit at home these days I could report back on how well it works.

Also, I took my all cast Hi-Lift apart and gave it an "action job" (to use firearms terminology). Makes a difference in how smoothly it works. Basically I tuned up any flat surface that something else slides across with a Mill file. Didn't change any angles or remove excessive material, just made them smooth and flat.

 

[adventureduo]

I always carry both #2 and #3 and i'm working on #1. I always try and use a bottle jack before i use a hi-lift. I just hate hi-lifts, they scare the heck out of me.

 

[Quixote]

Okay, so now I have a shopping list:

1) Hi-Lift Xtreme Jack, 60"
2) Hi-Lift Jack mate (to raise the wheel)
3) Wider Base for the high lift
4) Hi-Lift Off-Road kit (To use Hi-Lift as a manual winch)
5) 2 FourTreks mounts (@$89 a piece )
6) Bill Burke CD

Take stock bottle jack for simple changes. Scrap Bushranger - Hi-Lift will do what it does.

And, of course, practice, practice to use the Hi-Lift. Am I missing anything?

 

[Desertdude]

Am I missing anything?

High lift lubricant :shakin:


wouldn't leave home without it:sombrero:




::::

 

[ntsqd]

Those 'bag' jacks can be handy, particularly when it's a light vehicle you want to reposition in the trail. Here I have a point of rock stuck thru the LR sidewall.

 

[Quixote]

High lift lubricant :shakin:


::::

I was planning on spritzing the jack with WD-40 every so often. I will also be carrying lithium based chassis lube. Would that be sufficient? Or is there some special formulation?

 

[Quixote]

Those 'bag' jacks can be handy, particularly when it's a light vehicle you want to reposition in the trail. Here I have a point of rock stuck thru the LR sidewall.

I love the idea but i think I'll save up for other things. That doesn't look like the Orange Bushrangers I have been looking at. Is it more reasonably priced? The cheapest price I could find for the Bushranger was $199.

 

[Desertdude]

I was planning on spritzing the jack with WD-40 every so often. I will also be carrying lithium based chassis lube. Would that be sufficient? Or is there some special formulation?

Since I carry my high lift outside uncovered seems I always have to lube it up a bit. This is one of the benefits of keeping a jack inside.


I have not tried Thom's lubrication option below yet;

On the Hi-Lift lubrication thing, I've tried a couple various dry lubes on mine without much good results. I've recently started using aerosol motorcycle chain wax from Maxima on similar things & suspect that a Hi-Lift would be a great place to use it

 

[ntsqd]

When I was in college I worked part time as a 'smith and counter help in a gun shop. Was at least a monthly occurence (and usually more frequent) that we'd get a gun in for cleaning that had been long term lubed with WD-40. Years ago they promoted that product as a firearms cleaner-lubricant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over even a short span of time WD-40 builds up a varnish that is gummy and not very lubricative. Classically these guns would be so full of grunge that they wouldn't function at all. The saving grace is that Hoppe's No. 9 is an effective solvent of the WD-40 grunge.

Short term (right now!) WD works great. Over the long haul it's not so good as a lube though it may be wonderful for preventing rust. The only use I've had for it since those days is as a starting fluid for diesel engines and for cleaning bonded & riveted aluminum race car monocoques.

If you feel that your situation/use requires a wet lubricant I would suggest Tri-Flow, Break-Free, or similar types of products.

Those who own or have owned a 70's-90's GM truck probably know about the door latch issue. Perfect alignment or not, when they get a little worn you start having to slam the door to get it to latch all the way shut. The chain wax has cured that.