Realistically...how often do you use your hi-lift?

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
Use it all the time! Most dangerous tool I have on the rig...

Especially when you don't know how to use it safely as your photos suggest (unattended, with the handle in the down position)

A high lift is pretty much useless on its own without any attachments. There is a ton of stuff you can do with them for fire/rescue purposes the the average redneck doesn't bother to understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nakSPmLpWsI
 

zelatore

Explorer
Used mine twice last Satruday. Once on a buddy's truck that folded up a rear trailing arm and once to lift my LR3 when a failing ride height sensor freaked out the computer and put me on the bump-stops. Because of my Johnson Rods, when I'm on the bumps all my sensors are out of range so I couldn't reset the code until I lifted the truck back into normal ride range.
.
I'm sure it was totally dangerous and we all probably died. I'm most likely writing this from the beyond.
 

nga-fjc

New member
I'm in the spare tire camp. You don't need it often, but when you need it. You Need It! In this case, the 60 flopped and we used the FJ winch to keep it stable. My hiLift was used as a come along to bring it back onto all fours.
image.jpg
 

Mo4130

Adventurer
Like any piece of recovery gear, it is just another tool in the tool box if you happen on that one scenario when you need everything. However, that being said, I have never needed one, and I have been in some pretty precarious positions.
 

98OzarksRunner

Adventurer
Use it all the time! Most dangerous tool I have on the rig, but at the same time the most versatile.

View attachment 278321
Sometimes you get in a jam and need to slide vehicle.

Used one for this last Saturday. A friend got his Tacoma against a tree. Going forward would have damaged the bumper. Going back would have added to the quarter panel damage. We jacked it up and pushed it away from the tree.
 

Chris85xlt

Adventurer
I've used mine a few times on the old truck. Once to straighten my steering center link, crab walk the truck out from a rut (bent the body of the hi-lift), winching, clamping, and rebead a tire while truck suspension was flexed out. This is all I can think of right now but im sure there were more.

I dont carry one in the jeep but I should.
 

southpier

Expedition Leader
... A hi-lift is no more or less dangerous ....

is the hi-lift danger kick-back x the handle & tipping over? i learned to change a flat with a bumper jack, so awareness has been built in. sort of.

what other inherent problems?
 

teotwaki

Excelsior!
is the hi-lift danger kick-back x the handle & tipping over? i learned to change a flat with a bumper jack, so awareness has been built in. sort of.

what other inherent problems?

The fun example is when you have it set for lowering and you get kickback over and over as it rapidly lowers your vehicle kersplat onto the ground. You can tip over if the ground is hard and flat and the base of the jack just scoots over or if you forget to chock the wheels and the vehicle rolls forwards or backwards. Before you start lifting you need to check that you have a safe arrangement.
 

maxama10

Welcome to Nevadafornia
Especially when you don't know how to use it safely as your photos suggest (unattended, with the handle in the down position)

A high lift is pretty much useless on its own without any attachments. There is a ton of stuff you can do with them for fire/rescue purposes the the average redneck doesn't bother to understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nakSPmLpWsI

Seriously? Useless? Rednecks...?

Nice.

Maybe I'll make some unfair judgmental statements of my own. A hi-lift may be useless, on it's own, to a city slicking elitist but to a lot of folks they're an invaluable tool. When you need it, you need it.

I'm glad you watched a youtube video on one though, once.
 
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rustypayne

Active member
is the hi-lift danger kick-back x the handle & tipping over? i learned to change a flat with a bumper jack, so awareness has been built in. sort of.

what other inherent problems?

That's what I was wondering. Back in the day a bumper jack was what came with every car. I changed a lot of tires, mufflers, oil, and any other maintenance thing required of a 16 year old with a $200 car. The bumper jacks we used back then looked just like the hi-lift jacks now. Are the new ones more dangerous? Honestly don't know as I've never used one of the 'new' style.
 

teotwaki

Excelsior!
Seriously? Useless? Rednecks...?

Nice.

Maybe I'll make some unfair judgmental statements of my own. A hi-lift may be useless, on it's own, to a city slicking elitist but to a lot of folks they're an invaluable tool. When you need it, you need it.

I'm glad you watching a youtube video on one though, once.

And no one bashed him for being a Boston dwelling Land Rover lover, LOL :sombrero:

Love,
Redneck Jim
 

Hilldweller

SE Expedition Society
Seriously? Useless? Rednecks...?
....
I started about 6 snippy retorts to the "average redneck" reference. But got distracted by something shiny every time, had to go back and tend the still, and then my sister-wife came in and we chewed tabaccie all night while listening to banjo music.
 

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
Snippy retort away - doesn't change the fact that a Hi-Lift is both a serious and a dangerous tool that few rarely learn how to use properly. The evidence is in this thread - photo after photo of dangerous practices. It's the same as people who hang around next to a loaded winch line, or recover a vehicle from a trailer ball. Average redneck behavior.
 

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