Offroad jacks... really?

[beef tits]

Is this really something people are doing? Seems like a whole new level of useless crap/dead weight for mall crawlers.

I know we are all gear dorks to some degree, but really? I've off-roaded a lot of places with a lot of 35" tires, had plenty of flats in precarious terrain... and I have never been in a situation where the factory bottle jack did not work. When I carried a hi-lift I could have my tire off and back on within 3-5 minutes.

To be clear, this is not a replacement for a hi-lift, and is not even comparable in terms of usefulness.

Are people really spending money and carrying capacity on these idiotic jacks?

 

[crazysccrmd]

They've been around for a long time. Definitely way easier to use than a bottle jack with stacks of wood underneath it to actually lift high enough but not worth it for me. I'll spend more time and hassle and save $300 doing so.

 

[Ozarker]

I never got a bottle jack as original equipment on any vehicle.

Obviously I've been buying the wrong vehicles.

I've never seen that "jack".

Scissor jacks off and on roads, bottle jacks at home and those farm (hi lift) jacks can kill you.

 

[ITTOG]

I never got a bottle jack as original equipment on any vehicle.

Obviously I've been buying the wrong vehicles.

I've never seen that "jack".

Scissor jacks off and on roads, bottle jacks at home and those farm (hi lift) jacks can kill you.

Neither have I.

I just use the scissor jack my vehicle came with and it has been great. I do put a couple of 2x12's under it given I roll on 35's.

 

[Mtpisgah]

I never got a bottle jack as original equipment on any vehicle.

Obviously I've been buying the wrong vehicles.

I've never seen that "jack".

Scissor jacks off and on roads, bottle jacks at home and those farm (hi lift) jacks can kill you.

Either my1987 4Runner 1993 Pathfinder came with a bottle jack, maybe both. Those were the days.

 

[Ozarker]

That's odd, I forgot, I had a red '93 Pathfinder, but I never had to use the jack. One of the best SUV's I ever had, in fact, wish I had it back.

 

[mog]

Is this really something people are doing? Seems like a whole new level of useless crap/dead weight for mall crawlers.

Are people really spending money and carrying capacity on these idiotic jacks?

Go to King of the Hammers and almost every racer has that style jack mounted on their rig, from ATV to Trophy Truck. Time and performance are essential there, so not 'idiotic' for them. So of course other 'off roaders' from Mall Cruisers, Rock Crawlers, Overlanders, etc are going to want to copy the 'racer style/equipment' like 63.75% of the other equipment on their rigs.

 

[rgallant]

They sink into soft ground just a well as anything else, I watch I guy in a Toyota dig a hole to put one in then watched it sink into the sand on a lake beach. Now to be fair it stopped sinking sooner than a hi-lift, Bottle jack or scissor jack would have, on a hard surface they are probably great but so is everything else.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I have been using the hi-Lift for years. Sure it can break your arm or jaw......but so can driving. To each their own.....and great for the guy/gal who is selling them. haha

* You can also just remove the wheels from a normal floor jack, and bolt it to a UHMW cutting board...

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I do not have one, but thought for off road one of those inflatable bladder jacks would work well. No experience with them mind you.

The ARB one is expensive of course. Not sure if there are any less expensive alternatives. I don't really need one so never looked.

Bushranger X-Jack with Compressor Adapter RJX01

Exhaust Jack

store.arbusa.com

 

[beef tits]

They sink into soft ground just a well as anything else, I watch I guy in a Toyota dig a hole to put one in then watched it sink into the sand on a lake beach. Now to be fair it stopped sinking sooner than a hi-lift, Bottle jack or scissor jack would have, on a hard surface they are probably great but so is everything else.

Yeah everything will sink into the ground. If you're in that kind of terrain though, it seems reasonable to just relocated the vehicle before pulling the flat tire off, or use a floormat, skid plate, rock... there are many ways to spread the load out that a rolling floor jack doesn't make up for.

I have been using the hi-Lift for years. Sure it can break your arm or jaw......but so can driving. To each their own.....and great for the guy/gal who is selling them. haha

* You can also just remove the wheels from a normal floor jack, and bolt it to a UHMW cutting board...

Hi Lifts are dangerous in the wrong hands for sure, but they are also usefull for a hell of a lot more than a floor jack.

With a Hi-Lift you can;
- Bury it and use it as a winch anchor
- Use as a very slow winch, in a pinch
- Jack your vehicle 48" in the air from your rock sliders or bumpers

 

[beef tits]

Go to King of the Hammers and almost every racer has that style jack mounted on their rig, from ATV to Trophy Truck. Time and performance are essential there, so not 'idiotic' for them. So of course other 'off roaders' from Mall Cruisers, Rock Crawlers, Overlanders, etc are going to want to copy the 'racer style/equipment' like 63.75% of the other equipment on their rigs.

True, there is actual use for this in a race where every second counts. That's a very small market, but one that would inspire a lot of folks to "look cool".

Call me crazy, but form follows function. I just don't see the function.

Sidenote, my buddy raced king of hammers in a Miata and apparently carried a floor jack.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Forgive my ignorance as I've never used a Hi-Lift. But what makes them so dangerous? To me they look like a taller version of the countless bumper jacks I've used that came in a number of 60's and 70's cars that I've owned.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Forgive my ignorance as I've never used a Hi-Lift. But what makes them so dangerous? To me they look like a taller version of the countless bumper jacks I've used that came in a number of 60's and 70's cars that I've owned.

View attachment 831933

Thank you. There was one of these in every Pinto, Comaro, Thunderbird, Impala, and Cordoba back in the '70's.

 

[Dave in AZ]

If you are leaning over the handle and let go or slips before next tooth, the handle will fly upwards with enough force to break a jaw and knock teeth out. While everyone here is an steely-eyed tool-use genius, there are many, many, many kids who have never used one of these, who WILL in fact lean over that handle while holding it with slippery muddy hands. I'm 100% sure that my wife and kids would all be at risk of a broken jaw, despite having been trained one day.

Having done a ton of safety training and equipment training in USAF for use during stressful situations, with smart top-notch users, I can attest--if a safety risk exists, you WILL get a 50 to 75% user risk/failure rate. Maybe not everyone will get hit in the face with these jacks, but I guarantee a large percentage of users will be at risk for it and get lucky.