There was some talk about getting the workings of the hi-lift full of dirt. I found that the jack portion comes of the shaft very easily. Remove the base, set the Up/Down selector to the down position and the whole mechanism will slide right off. So the only thing that will be getting dirty is the shaft. This can be easily wiped off right away and really hosed off later. here are some pics.
Correct, we've been down this path... I simply contend the time involved with disassembling a hi-lift, bolting together your anchor and then reversing that for stowing isn't worth the 7 lbs of potential weight savings. If space is a major issue I could understand.
A different idea, making the main beam of your anchor serve as a handle for your hi-lift. One pin quick removal and it could be longer than the standard hi-lift handle for better leverage (and more jaw busting destructive ability
). And if your hi-lift mounting is based on the mast like many are, you could likely leave it in place while simply pulling the handle out for your anchor device.