Hi-Lift

JeepJunky33 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:09 pm

I'm looking to get a high lift (My stock jack wont lift my lifted KJ up high enough, It's actually kinda funny) So I was wondering where I can get the best price on a hi-lift and if anyonw has ever mounted it to the stock renegade roof rack inner rails.

vxla · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:32 pm

I'd worry about where to lift your jeep from, first.

do you have rock rails that stick out? using the default rails will not allow you to use it.

get a bottle jack and a 4x4 piece of wood. works like a charm, and it's a hell of a lot safer than a hi-lift.

Gramps · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:53 pm

I have a Hi-Lift mounted on the Garvin roof-rack, but to pick up the Libby for a tire change, I use the stock jack on the big plastic base that Hi-Lift makes for using thier jack on sand/soft surfaces. Works fine!

benmar2000 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:59 pm

Ok.. I am glad I am not the only one that thinks a Hi Lift is unsafe.. I do what you do vxla.. The first time I saw a Hi Lift.. I thought to myself.. That looks like the jack that came in my buddy's old Monte Carlo.. He used it one time and the thing disengaged and the car fell... From that point on. He carried a bottle jack in his trunk... I have a nice 20ton bottle jack in my YJ.. I need to get one for my KJ when I lift it next year...

Ben

vxla · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:04 pm

hilifts obviously have their place: out on the trails. but if we're talking just to carry around each day, then bottle jacks work well.

not to mention this: if you're disconnected, there's no way you're going to lift your jeep high enough to get a wheel off the ground to change a tire. you'll still need to boost up your diff.

krazz1e · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:48 pm

hilifts work great with rock rails.

I use a Torin farm brand one. It's rated 7k lbs and it works well for this purpose depsite what people say.

JeepJunky33 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:07 pm

I have rock rails I am just waiting for a nice day to install them.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:16 pm

I fit my high lift under my back seat. I also carry a bottle jack and a piece of 2X6.

camper · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:59 pm

I carry the factory scissor jack under the back seat and I also carry a 4 ton bottle jack and a couple of 4x6 sections....I installed a coil lift but a solid 4 inch board under a jack compensates for any of the lift kits we can choose from....

I have the "boulderbars" brand rock rails and I also have a hitch in the rear and in the front....this LOSTKJ thing has been my introduction to jeeps and "must have" products....everyone lists a HI-LIFT jack as a priority so I bought one....also the orange plastic sand base, and the wheel hook attachment for lifting from the mounted wheel....I took a hacksaw and cut about 5 inches off the end of the jack so that it lays flat in the back of my jeep....

took it home and tried it out in my driveway so I would know how to use it.....first, it requires a considerable effort to use the jack and it's a dangerous toy.....yes, you can put it under the boulderbars and lift the jeep....the mounting design for those bars is strong enough to support the weight of the jeep....but because of the suspension flexibility, lifting from this position does not lift the front or rear tire off the ground until you get the jack up pretty high....and you have to take some care not to dent your doors....the guys in moab used this method to work on some KJs in the campground so I know it works....this location might be useful when you want the suspension to flex to repair a coil spring that has jumped off its perch or something like that....

using the wheel hook attachment works okay for getting a tire up....I can see using it when I want to stack some rocks under a tire to relieve a hi-center stuck.....but it's not much use if you're trying to change a tire....

I tried the hi-lift in the center receiver of my front hitch.....bear in mind I'm in my driveway where conditions are ideal....there is NO stability lifting from the center of the hitch....both tires come off the ground only after bringing the jack up very high.....the jeep will very easily fall left or right.....I would never consider using the hi-lift jack from this location.....a solid mounted steel bumper that allows the jack to be placed on a corner of the jeep would be better.....still, it's a much different problem than a lighter wrangler with solid bumpers....my rookie impression is that there are only limited uses for a hi-lift jack with the KJ model jeep....

on the other hand, a bottle jack under the rear axle near a wheel lifts everything on that corner while keeping the other three corners stabilized....a bottle jack under the front control arm near the lower ball joint lifts the tire and the jeep at that corner.....so far, I've not had to use any jack while on trail rides.....I've not had any flat tires either....I have a conventional floor jack in my garage to use for rotating tires, locker projects, etc....so the above comments are just my opinions and I may learn something new in the future....

libby · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:22 pm

Back to the subject of this thread.. I just bought a 48" HiLift from Tractor Supply for $43 + tax. In the store the price tag says $48 but their catalog on the counter says $43.

LostRenegade · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:14 pm

I have a 60" high lift. So it's a bit long to keep inside the vehicle. I mount mine on the factory Renegade basket. I have a 2003 Liberty Renegade. I changed the inner rails of the Renegade basket so they cross side to side rather than front to back. I picked up a couple of U bolts from the hardware store with hand twist knobs.

It holds good, but the plastic Renegade basket rattles a bit with the Hi Lift up there.

I used my hilift once to rotate my tires. I jacked up once side of the Jeep from the boulder bars and did a front to back rotation. This was a bit scarey and I would probably not try it again. It worked, but would have been rough if the jack fell.

I now carry a bottle chack for the tire changes. I broke my stock scissor jack on the trail trying to lift the vehicle off of a sand berm after getting stuck. Yes, I forgot the hi lift and boy was I mad at myself for that!

x3rdxStrikex · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2006 10:36 pm

I bought a 48" Hi-lift, brand new, in the box for $29.99 and no tax!!!! Fits under the seat along w/ a portable compressor and fix a flat kit. I dunno if they're still running a sale or not, but I got it from Homier (Harbor Frieghts Competitor).

SethX9 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:08 am

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the fact that a bottle jack can't be used as a come-along.

crdawg · **Joined:** Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:55 pm **Posts:** 98

Top Secret trail trick for high lift jack.carry a small length of chain, like the size of dog chain.have a snap fastener on it and when you put the high lift under something,you loop the chain around the high lift and the part of the vehicle that you lifting on.keep the high lift from disappearing out from under the object that you are lifting.work when lifting on uneven surfaces,or any timeyou are lifting.

x3rdxStrikex · **Posted:** Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:20 am

SethX9 wrote:

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the fact that a bottle jack can't be used as a come-along.

I thought that was a given!

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:55 am

x3rdxStrikex wrote:

SethX9 wrote:

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the fact that a bottle jack can't be used as a come-along.

I thought that was a given!

I dont want to sound stupid, but how do you do that. It may not be a given.

JeepJunky33 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 3:54 pm

Quote:

I have a 60" high lift. So it's a bit long to keep inside the vehicle. I mount mine on the factory Renegade basket. I have a 2003 Liberty Renegade. I changed the inner rails of the Renegade basket so they cross side to side rather than front to back. I picked up a couple of U bolts from the hardware store with hand twist knobs.

Can you take a picture of that so I can see what it looks like? I would love to do something like that. I understand what everyone is saying about the instability of a hi-lift. But unless you bring some bricks with you I can't use any other lifts on my KJ (due to the lift) Bottle jacks are great but clunky. Plus I dont want to sound form over function or anything, but Hi-lifts mounted outside of a KJ would look Bad A** and you can't disagree with that.
I saw a wrnagler the other day and the hi-lift was mounted on the hood and it looked amazing.

Hi-Lift

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