Hi-Lift Jack - how useful?

[FLHRSI]

Has anyone considered carrying a hi-lift jack when camping/off-roading? How useful are they as a primary tool for getting your OB unstuck?

http://www.hi-lift.com/hi-lift-jacks/index.html

I'm an offloading noob, but with this accessory kit, it looks like a cheap alternative to a winch:

http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/off-road-kit.html

Here is a video of it in action:

You Tube

You Tube

I found this Yakima accessory to mount the jack to the cargo box which looks like a good way to carry it:

http://www.yakima.com/shop/cargo/gea...t-jack-bracket

http://assets.yakima.com/resource/pr...e/instructions

Thoughts on jacks for Outbacks, and the mount?

[John E Davies]

A Hi Lift is !@#$% useless for lifting an Outback or any car or most stock SUVs, except possibly at the back if you have a stout receiver. Other than that, there is no where to stick the lifting jaw without the high probability of wrecking the cladding, plastic trim or sheet metal. These are intended for real off road trucks and jeeps that have massive steel bumpers and frame mounted steel rock sliders.

They work great in those situations, but the jacks are _really_ heavy and difficult to store securely. I don't know where you would put one in an Outback ... ;( The jack on my LX450 rides on a Slee Offroad bumper with tire and jack carrier - the two parts weigh about 110 pounds, less the spare tire and jack:



You could certainly carry one on a _stout_ roof basket, but it is going to make your Outback very tippy. I don't think you will be pleased with what it does to your handling. You still wouldn't be able to use it for lifting, but you could help out a stuck Wrangler

OTH you can use the Hi Lift as a poor man's winch like in that video, but it will be realllllly slow and lots of work. By the time your OB is out of that mud hole, you will be practically dead.

A nylon snatch strap with a shackle to fit your front recovery eyelet or receiver, and another big one to go in the rescue vehicle's recovery point, makes a lot more sense and it's much easy to carry.

Tow Straps | Recovery Straps | Snatch Straps

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

[John E Davies]

Ooops, sorry for the duplicate post... fixed

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

[subiesailor]

Nice LC John. I have a cherry soccer mom 93 with 140K on it. So far the only thing I've done is replace the worn out shocks and put proper BFG's on it. That and the pesky heater hose - ABS harness and the Valve cover gasket. Old car stuff. Bought it from the original owner with 100K on it - lady had a file 5 inches thick all dealer maint records. Paid $8000 for it! That was in late 2004. Great truck! Every time I drive it I know why American Auto got its ASS kicked ha ha. Freaking thing works just as good as it did in 1993 when it rolled off the lot.

[ZsSubie]

Get an exhuast jack! Much easier and safer to use. Lighter and easier to stow/pack.

I carry one whenever I go off into the desert. Best thing ever if you drive on sand! Works in just about any terrain. I use this to lift my 05 2500HD 4x4 Crew with ZERO problems! One will go in the back of the Outback when we get it!

Chris

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

[jeramifrost]

While the exhaust bag is great, if you cant get anything under your frame you are screwed with the bag. Another problem would be if you are in a situation where you can't leave the motor running you will be sol. My motto is have as many options as you can if you intend to be alone off road. I personally have tow straps, recovery straps and a Hi Lift Jack. I grabbed the wheel grabber accessory that lets you lift from any wheel which i will always be able to get too. I do not travel alone anymore though and probably won't unless i set up a winch. I have not noticed ANY tippiness while driving my car up to 80 mph either. Its only 30 lbs or so. That's not nearly enough weight to start rolling my car over. People put far heavier items on their roof with no problems. So if you are serious about playing offroad it might be worth the slightly extra cash to have both options available. Ultimately its up to you, but if you go to remote places where there is little to no cell service and only one vehicle, getting stuck and being unable to recover SUCKS.

['05 Outback 2.5i]

A high end come along would be more useful for pulling detail, and if you are traveling alone (never a good idea mind you) a good ground anchor can be helpful as well (though they are pricey and difficult to store as well)

Like John mentioned, Hi Lifts are pretty useless for jacking cars (though you might be able to use a wheel lift adapter), and a B**** to store, even in serious off-road trucks..

[ZsSubie]

I've had a friends Grand Cherokee buried to the frame (he's and idiot) took out the shovel, dug enough access to get the bag in there, not a lot of work since the bag is flat, popped the rear then the front - off we went; slapped the friend in the back of the head for sinking it when it could of been an easy snatch.

I never go out by myself, rule #1, and always use the other vehicle to blow the bag.

I have a high-lift in the 2500HD, but always use the bag. Much easier to use and safer.

If I had to choose just one, definitely the bag.

Chris

[John E Davies]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

Nice LC John. I have a cherry soccer mom 93 with 140K on it. So far the only thing I've done is replace the worn out shocks and put proper BFG's on it. That and the pesky heater hose - ABS harness and the Valve cover gasket. Old car stuff. Bought it from the original owner with 100K on it - lady had a file 5 inches thick all dealer maint records. Paid $8000 for it! That was in late 2004. Great truck! Every time I drive it I know why American Auto got its ASS kicked ha ha. Freaking thing works just as good as it did in 1993 when it rolled off the lot.

They are truly wonderful trucks, over-built to survive the Apocolypse, but they are seriously underpowered and have a ridiculously narrow powerband for a 24 valve motor, especially when you add armor, big tires and lots of camping gear... every time I drive the steeeeeeep back roads of Idaho I swear and curse and smack the steering wheel, sometimes I drop to 4 Low just to get some engine response. My wife just rolls her eyes and tells me to cool it.

I bought several Mazda "ZoomZoom" stickers and made up a special one for the back that says "Zoooom Zooooooom" to reflect the actual acceleration (or lack thereof) of the truck.

You can add a TRD supercharger, but there are cooling and durability issues. A turbo kit with intercooler costs as much as an engine swap.

The ultimate fix is a GM transplant - the 4200 Vortec (Atlas) straight six and tranny from a late model TrailBlazer. It increases usable torque across a huge rev band (1800 to 6500 rpm with variable valve timing), is FAR more refined in terms of NVH, and it gets 50% better mpg. It also drops 400 pounds from the drive train. Then if you want, you can add forced induction and get an easy, reliable 350+ bhp. I am saving my pennies for that mod, but it's going to cost more than you paid for your truck. The shop that does the swaps is in Boise, ID.

New Build: GM 4.2L Atlas into '91 FJ80

Check out my LX450 tech pages on the link below. There are also lots of truck pics scattered around in my Family pics from vacations.

Sorry for the thread hijack....

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

[subiesailor]

The strait 6 has never been a massive power house - was viewed as simple and very durable. The LC was designed as a people mover for extreme conditions and the US version got the strait 6 while the rest of the world got a very good Diesel that puts the gasser to shame.

Did you swap out the rear end for a different gear set when you went to bigger tires? Thats a biggie. We'll run this thing into the ground and at the current rate of miles - we'll run out of oil before that happens. I have no idea what I would replace it with all the 7 passenger rides are either massive 23ft long parking nightmares or bling happy useless wagons with huge V8's in them. The only thing close would be the Lexus GX based on the 4runner platform but its just a hair smaller than the 80 series. The 100 series is way too GM for me and the price doesn't reflect it - the older Sequoia is a better value for the same running gear.