On the trail JACK

[FORD*DIEHARD]

So this weekend is the first time in 25 years of wheel'n that I punctured a tire on the trail.

I share this story so I can learn something and maybe someone else may be able to benefit.

I know hi lift Jack's have been around forever , yesterday was the first time my buddy and I had to use one. I am not here to say anything negative about the hi lift jack as I know a lot of people use them and I'm sure as anything else if you use or (practice) with it you will get comfortable using them but at least for us using for the first time on a trail was not easy. The hi lift jack kept shifting and at one point it woukd not (lower).

We LUCKILY were able to get the spare mounted without anyone getting hurt or damage to MY GURL.

So when we safely returned, I have been researching (offroad trail jacks) and found a couple options. So I thought I would ask on the forum to see what others are using and see if either of these are being used on the trail. If you could post what you are using/have used (both positive and negative) ease of use/safety so I and others can learn something.

Thank you in advance for your time/help,

Sonny

 

[1969]

https://www.harborfreight.com/15-ton-off-road-jack-70887.html

While the big wheel jacks are not the most space friendly, I like them a lot. You can use them at home and on the trail. Lots of companies make different mounts for them as well so you can attach them to a swing out, cage, floor or wherever.

 

[Yeller]

I use a factory bottle jack for a later model f350 bottle jack and really like it. And it works on the garage as well.

 

[phred]

I keep a6 ton bottle Jack and some homemade extension adapters in an ammo can in my 78. The hi lift has been used a couple times but I really only carry it now as a last option.

 

[Yeller]

anything with a good cage, gets winched over to change a tire, even pulled to a tree or rock. I get some weird looks when I say way do we need a jack? we have a winch LOL. I carry a high lift and have used it twice, both times it was the right tool but like @phred stated it is far from the first option.

 

[Jdgephar]

I have one of those all in one bottle jack with integrated jack stands. I use them quite a bit for general maintenance stuff, and the one time I had to replace a rear wheel bearing while on the road. I haven't use one off road (yet). I imagine in the sand, it will still need something under it to keep from sinking in the sand, even though it has a flat base on it. It might be good enough, but I should try it to see.

 

[Lawndart]

Land Rover bottle jack from late 90s-early 2000s, made by Coram.

 

[Broncobowsher]

My problem was running out of jack before running out of suspension travel. Drooped out, jack can't go any higher, tire still not high enough.

 

[joebronco73]

Hard to beat the space-saving feature of a bottle jack, but like mentioned above: make sure you have some kind of wide base for stability/weight distribution on rock and sand. Larger ones are nice for open spaces, if you have that luxury wherever you wheel.

https://www.harborfreight.com/15-ton-off-road-jack-70887.html

While the big wheel jacks are not the most space friendly, I like them a lot. You can use them at home and on the trail. Lots of companies make different mounts for them as well so you can attach them to a swing out, cage, floor or wherever.

I believe Harbor Freight is currently doing some daily deals and sales - I wouldn't be surprised if these showed up in the sales.

 

[Yeller]

My problem was running out of jack before running out of suspension travel. Drooped out, jack can't go any higher, tire still not high enough.

Need a ratchet strap. Put it in place, then jack up the vehicle. Way more stable.

 

[bigmuddy]

Hard to beat the space-saving feature of a bottle jack, but like mentioned above: make sure you have some kind of wide base for stability/weight distribution on rock and sand. Larger ones are nice for open spaces, if you have that luxury wherever you wheel.


I believe Harbor Freight is currently doing some daily deals and sales - I wouldn't be surprised if these showed up in the sales.

Somewhere I saw one like this with a flat plate on the bottom to both support it and be able to slide it under the truck in loose soil.

 

[joebronco73]

Somewhere I saw one like this with a flat plate on the bottom to both support it and be able to slide it under the truck in loose soil.

Found this guy's video, where he makes one from a 1.5T HF jack:

DIY Jack on skid

 

[ntsqd]

Found this guy's video, where he makes one from a 1.5T HF jack:

DIY Jack on skid

Off-road racers have been doing that for at least a 1/4 Century. Mine from 2001, skid is a Core-10 rem cut off the end of a gravel dump-bed re-lining job:

20 years later:

I recently pulled it apart and gave it a new jack and new paint. I was given a whole Safe-Jack set of spacers and I've slowly been working in attaching them to the jack and the skid-plate.

 

[joebronco73]

Off-road racers have been doing that for at least a 1/4 Century. Mine from 2001, skid is a Core-10 rem cut off the end of a gravel dump-bed re-lining job:

20 years later:

I recently pulled it apart and gave it a new jack and new paint. I was given a whole Safe-Jack set of spacers and I've slowly been working in attaching them to the jack and the skid-plate.

I knew someone would have it! That's a slick setup too.

 

[ntsqd]

Thanks! Built it originally to go to Baja for the 1000 and liked it so much that it's moved from one vehicle to the next ever since.

For the bottle jack solution I prefer a mechanical jack. Toyota trucks and some Ford trucks come with them stock. Can use them in any orientation where a hyd. bottle jack is pretty limited. Most of the time that orientation limit won't matter, but I have used my mechanical jack laid sideways to push a leaf spring back into position.

If you're determined to use a hyd. bottle jack someone above mentioned those from a certain age range of Land Rovers. I have one of them, it is a two stage ram so it extends to not quite 3 times as tall instead of not quite 2 times. I don't carry it anywhere because it being Brit it leaks oil.

 

[Lawndart]

If you're determined to use a hyd. bottle jack someone above mentioned those from a certain age range of Land Rovers. I have one of them, it is a two stage ram so it extends to not quite 3 times as tall instead of not quite 2 times. I don't carry it anywhere because it being Brit it leaks oil.

The jack was made in Italy - so same same on the leakage
They do require to be stored in upright orientation. My ole Disco had a neat little box under the hood that the jack fit into.

 

[bigmuddy]

Off-road racers have been doing that for at least a 1/4 Century. Mine from 2001, skid is a Core-10 rem cut off the end of a gravel dump-bed re-lining job:

20 years later:

I recently pulled it apart and gave it a new jack and new paint. I was given a whole Safe-Jack set of spacers and I've slowly been working in attaching them to the jack and the skid-plate.

This was the one I was thinking of.

 

[ntsqd]

At one time I looked into producing a kit. Buy my plate and a specific p/n jack, discard some of the bits on the jack, and then bolt them together. Problem was one of scale. Lacking deep pockets I couldn't fund a large enough initial order to get the cost down to where it was a reasonable retail price.
There are some such kits out there now, every one of them that I've seen uses 1/8" aluminum for the plate. Makes it nice and light for a desert racer, but isn't robust enough for me.

 

[Nothing Special]

I love the Hi-Lift jack, but never for changing a tire or working under a rig. I have used them for recovery and mostly they end up being a quicker way to lift a trailer tongue or something (also VERY useful when cutting up downed trees).

But for changing tires I also use a bottle jack. I don't do much sand or mud so I haven't worried about a bigger base. I figure I can usually creep it to a better surface (flatter and more solid) to do the work.

 

[ntsqd]

I quit carrying the Hi-Lift about 20 years ago. I used it once in all of the time that I carried it and the jack that I built above would have been a far better choice. That incident is why I built the above jack.