What are you jacking off with on the trail?

Every stock jack I have tried to use is somewhere in the woods near where they were used .... pretzeled beyond recogniton.
Still just can't beat a hi-lift Or the TCS tractor jack.
I still use mine even though I bear the scars of what can go wrong.
 
Last edited:
I mean if were gonna make it complicated.
Screenshot_20260128-124845.png
 
It appears that a 48 inch hilift is 31 lbs, a 15” travel trailer jack is 15 plus 5 ish for the telescoping thing. Would still be safer, but not more useful than the hilift
 
Shreddinlettuce said:
It appears that a 48 inch hilift is 31 lbs, a 15” travel trailer jack is 15 plus 5 ish for the telescoping thing. Would still be safer, but not more useful than the hilift
Click to expand...
I think you might be surprised with that last statement. Brennan had a post around this topic, and there wasnt really anything it couldnt be made to do.
 
Leaning towards Tauler and bottle jack combo, but the dedicated welded on lift points and accompanying jack or pair of jacks is interesting as well.

For reference I have a 36 inch hi lift that barely lifts the rears from the bumper, but will not lift the fronts from the bumper due to longer front shocks, so I need at least 40” travel or the bottle jack
 
I bring a bottle jack and a 16" piece of a 2 x 12 board. A couple 4 x 4 blocks about 1' long if there is room in the rig.
 
I try really hard to avoid using a hi-lift to actually lift a vehicle, especially offroad. The last time I used my hi-lift was to repurpose the handle as a punch for ejecting @CasterTroy ’s shaft from his own rear end 👀 Beyond that, I use it primarily for breaking tire beads in the shop.

The tauler seems like an interesting concept. I didn’t watch any videos or read any reviews…but at first glance it doesn’t seem like it would be much more stable than a hi-lift. I could see how the crank arm 🤣 would make the lifting operation smoother than a hi-lift. But I just can’t envision it being significantly less sketchy than a hi-lift on the whole.

TBH, I cant remember the last time I used a jack on the trail for anything other than a tire or axle-related repair. A bottle jack would suffice for that. If you needed to partially unload the suspension for some reason, a bottle jack with some extensions and/or a well placed trail rock or trail log underneath would probably get you close enough. If you need to fully unload the suspension, a winch rope over a tree limb works great. If a repair requires more than that, it’s probably better to drag that jalopy off the trail and fix it back at camp.
 
Shreddinlettuce said:
Leaning towards Tauler and bottle jack combo, but the dedicated welded on lift points and accompanying jack or pair of jacks is interesting as well.

For reference I have a 36 inch hi lift that barely lifts the rears from the bumper, but will not lift the fronts from the bumper due to longer front shocks, so I need at least 40” travel or the bottle jack
Click to expand...
You need to strap the axle to the frame when you lift it. Then you don't need the travel. If using a bumper jack.
 
I’ve got a tauler with the fancy upgraded foot strapped along the side rail in the back of my jeep. It works pretty well and takes up way less space than the hi-lift did. Hi-lift lives in the toolbox in my truck bed now.
 
Kickdeez said:
TBH, I cant remember the last time I used a jack on the trail for anything other than a tire or axle-related repair.
Click to expand...
I do…. Windrock to put Tim’s front driveshaft back together. Y’all borrowed my Hi-Lift off my buggy. And I’ll add that if I can package one on my buggy, nobody has an excuse not to have one on their full body rig. I also vote for a Hi-Lift because of all of the other things it can also do.
 
BigSouth said:
I do…. Windrock to put Tim’s front driveshaft back together. Y’all borrowed my Hi-Lift off my buggy. And I’ll add that if I can package one on my buggy, nobody has an excuse not to have one on their full body rig. I also vote for a Hi-Lift because of all of the other things it can also do.
Click to expand...
You’re right. We did use your hi-lift there. I’m fairly certain it was because the front half of the driveshaft was bound up. We needed to get the tires off the ground to allow the pinion to rotate freely. Your hi-lift was the only jack available. Had a bottle jack been available, that would have been my first choice. But the hi-lift did save the day. And it packages nicely in your buggy.
 
BigSouth said:
I do…. Windrock to put Tim’s front driveshaft back together. Y’all borrowed my Hi-Lift off my buggy. And I’ll add that if I can package one on my buggy, nobody has an excuse not to have one on their full body rig. I also vote for a Hi-Lift because of all of the other things it can also do.
Click to expand...
We used one on a hot springs trip earlier this year to pull a broken 3rd out of a diff on an xj on an obstacle because it was locked up. It's one of those tools I won't hit the trail without.

I also used it to fix my bent frame on my Tacoma at harlan so I could drive home, but one probably could have done the same with tauler jack.
 
gslander said:
We used one on a hot springs trip earlier this year to pull a broken 3rd out of a diff on an xj on an obstacle because it was locked up. It's one of those tools I won't hit the trail without.

I also used it to fix my bent frame on my Tacoma at harlan so I could drive home, but one probably could have done the same with tauler jack.
Click to expand...
I’ve had mine used to spread the front tires of a Jeep while they beat a tie rod back straight with a hammer. Also used it myself as the poor man’s winch after my old Ramsey winch gave up the ghost at the most inconvenient time.
 
Last time I used my high lift was as a come along. I was stuck so bad that I was pulling my buddy to me who was in a one ton and parked sideways. Used the high lift and inch wormed my way out. Took forever but it worked. My bottle jack blew a seal and failed on me once. Only time I’ve ever seen that. It was a kobalt if I remember correctly. I prefer to not break or get stuck.
 
Don't remember the last time I used mine on the trail, but have used it around the property loads...
And *EVERY FAWKING TIME* felt like a death wise! I've said it before, so for posterity: "The most dangerous thing you'll ever do offroad is operate a Hi-Lift!"... Have seen a host of injuries and a near beheading (20 years ago, big mudhole near Art Lily... dude was in the lowering motion when his hand slipped off the handle... fawker was going up/down all by itself, rapidly)
Not to mention at 48" (or longer) and 31# makes it a total PITA to mount/access (sorry duckheads... it ain't going on the hood 🥸 )

Was 95% going to build a Tauler, have been following them since released, but have reached my limit
 
Caver Dave said:
Don't remember the last time I used mine on the trail, but have used it around the property loads...
And *EVERY FAWKING TIME* felt like a death wise! I've said it before, so for posterity: "The most dangerous thing you'll ever do offroad is operate a Hi-Lift!"... Have seen a host of injuries and a near beheading (20 years ago, big mudhole near Art Lily... dude was in the lowering motion when his hand slipped off the handle... fawker was going up/down all by itself, rapidly)
Not to mention at 48" (or longer) and 31# makes it a total PITA to mount/access (sorry duckheads... it ain't going on the hood 🥸 )

Was 95% going to build a Tauler, have been following them since released, but have reached my limit
Click to expand...
That is a great way to end up in the hospital, lol.

The safest thing you can do, is immediately take the cotter pin from the handle so it comes out. In that case, it most likely, would sling itself out. But, might not.

Me, I never leave the handle in it after it's in position. That wouldn't necessarily help in the case above.
 
justjeepin86 said:
That is a great way to end up in the hospital, lol.

The safest thing you can do, is immediately take the cotter pin from the handle so it comes out. In that case, it most likely, would sling itself out. But, might not.

Me, I never leave the handle in it after it's in position. That wouldn't necessarily help in the case above.
Click to expand...
It’s initiating the down that causes this, unavoidable if your hand slips off the handle. You can be out of its path by standing to the side, but this is the main reason I want a Tayler, safety when shtf
 
I've also used a Hi-Lift more around my childhood farm than off-road but I do carry one with me.

Count me in with the crowd that's seen some nastiness with one when used without care. In my own garage me and a buddy were installing a 1" body lift on his JK and using the Hi-Lift to lift up the body one side at a time. I told my buddy that me and only me works the jack and to stay away from it. Long story short he decided to mess with it while I was getting a socket or something and ended up with 4 missing teeth, stitches in both lips, and a fractured jaw. One of those situations where you know you believe the stories but until you experience it right in front of you ....
 
Things I’ve used a hi lift for:
Making an XJ trac bar in cripple creek
Making a one ton tie rod in Lower Damnation
Being scared of its designed uses

Things would lift a vehicle with on the trail:
A winch rope and if needed snatch block tied to a nearby rig or tree to the rig to get the tire/axle/etc off the ground. The last two times I’ve inverted the shackles on the YJ I just throw the rope into the tree, remove the pressure and flip the shackle back around.
 
White tail crawl at harlan can kiss my ass. Flopped on it, then tried it again and did this:
IMG_20211023_180212688.jpg

Hi lift to the rescue:
IMG_20211023_194622638.jpg

IMG_20211024_073048710.jpg

No idea why that last pic is sideways. I drove it back home and for a while after that lol.

I'm sure a tauler could do the same, but still.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top