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Using the Hi-Lift Jack
by Bill Burke
Note:
Click
here to read about the Jackmate,
the Hi-Lift Jack accessory, a tool that I highly recommend!
Go to Expedition
Exchange to purchase
your Hi-Lift Jack and your JackMate!
 When meeting my students or clients the day of a class or the
first day of training, I start the session at a local 4-wheel drive store. I take people on a short tour of the facility. There
are many aftermarket accessories displayed effectively for me to make several points about
the various types of suspensions, tires, bumpers, lights, axles, and the other components
that make up a 4WD vehicle, and also to accessorize it. There are axle shafts,
freewheeling hubs, differentials and drive shafts, all there for me to show what each
looks like and talk a little about the pros and cons of each. In my talk about these
aftermarket items, there are three things that I always try to emphasize. If you’ve
read any of my other articles, you know that I strongly recommend you always
take along: 1) tow hooks, 2) recovery strap, and 3) Hi-Lift jack. This article is
dedicated to the Hi-Lift Jack.
I’ve been using a Hi-Lift since I was a kid in
the Everglades. We used them to lower the swamp buggies and airboats off the trailers and
to pull them back on. We used them to lift the big swamp buggy tires onto the rigs and for
a great many other tasks. I have been using the jack for 4WD recovery ever since. Earlier
this year, I was lucky enough to meet the great people at the Bloomfield Manufacturing
Company in Indiana. They gave Rachel and me a warm welcome and a fun, educational tour of
the factory, and reinforced my strong feelings about this well-made and invaluable
product.
The Hi-Lift Jack is the only one of its type that
meets ANSI standards and is made in the USA with USA steel and parts! As many years as I
have been using the Hi-Lift Jack I learned something new--the direction lever ( up and
down) should always be in the "up" position when the jack is stored. The pins
could sustain damage from trail and supermarket impact if in the down position.
There are two types of manufactured jacks: 1) the
cast and steel, and 2) the all cast. It has been shown the all cast seems to last a bit
longer under harder use, although the cast and steel type lasts for many years. I had an
old cast and steel 48" jack I bought at a flea market for $15 bucks that was old to
begin with, and I still got about 15 years use out of it! Then I passed it on to a friend
who still has it hanging on his Bronco today. The all cast jack costs a little bit more.
The difference is that on the cast and steel the top clamp clevis, the foot piece (base),
handle socket, reversing latch and pitman are stamped steel. All parts of both jacks are
made on site and meet all the demanding tests. Each jack is fully tested at the factory.
Both jacks have a 7000 pound capacity and will lift, push, pull, hoist and clamp equally!
Even with a winch I have had to use the Hi-Lift
jack. Sometimes I have been hung up on a stump or rock and winching will tear my transfer
case out. I’ll lift the rig up, then winch carefully off the obstacle.
 Recently, I was
in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and one of the deep pockets of quicksand was not letting
go of my rig. My Superwinch S9000 was pulling two vehicles to me, and my D-90 was still
not moving out of the hole. I had to use the Hi-Lift jack to lift the front of the vehicle
up to break the suction, then winch out of the stuck situation. I have always used the
60" jack because it gives me an extra foot of lift or when using it as a hand winch
extra distance to pull before I re-rig it. The 48" jack works for those rigs with
standard tires and suspensions. With long travel suspensions and taller tires, the
60" really works best. There are a few
Hi-Lift accessories that make life easier. The bumper adapter is great for holding onto
those metal edges of bumpers and can be adapted to fit other types of bumpers. The lock
rack and bumper mount kit are great to secure the jack on the outside of the rig. There is
also a "fix-it-kit" that is handy to have just in case. I haven’t had to
use mine yet in all these years, but you know Murphy, so I carry one anyway!
I have used the jack to hold my axle to the frame
with a log as a spacer when I broke a leaf spring once. You can imagine the looks I got on
the highway on the ride home with the top of the jack sticking out of the engine
compartment and a log in my wheel well! I was able to drive home and fix the problem in my
garage and not on the muddy trail (even if I could find a spring in the woods).
A basic list of equipment to carry with the Hi-Lift
jack when using it as a recovery and lifting tool while on the trail would be: two short
slings or tree protector straps (8' x 3"), 3 D-shackles 3/4" pin diameter min.,
25 feet of 3/8" chain with holding hooks--high grade tensile strength--work gloves, a
board approx. 18" square or diameter with a bolt in the middle that fits the hole in
the jack base, and for extreme cases, 25' or 50' of 5/16" cable (wire rope).
The board is so you don’t drive the base of the
jack into the mud. The bolt is when the board gets off kilter, the jack does not slide off
the board. This is for the lifting procedure. The wire rope is to extend your reach when
using the jack as a hand winch. I have used a Pull-Pal
portable
anchor successfully many times with the jack.
You get stuck! Ascertain why and on what you are
stuck. Sometimes it’s best to pull the vehicle out backwards! To rig the Hi-Lift jack
for hand winching, you simply connect an end of one of the straps to the tow hook or in
your receiver.  The other end
of the strap is connected with a D shackle to the top clamp clevis of the jack. The top
clamp clevis should be in straight alignment with the jack, not in its clamping position.
The base of the jack is facing away from the vehicle. Place the other strap around a
suitable tree or anchor, taking care not to chafe the tree bark. If using a
Pull-Pal, you do not need to use this other strap. Use a D shackle to connect the strap
around the tree, or place the D shackle in the end of the Pull-Pal and run the chain
through the D shackle enough to connect the hook to a link. Do not put the point of the
hook in the link hole. The hook should be made so that the link fits in the hook jaw and
will hold the entire load to tensile strength.
 Run the other
end of the chain to the jack. Again, the wire rope is to extend the reach of the assembly.
Always use the chain first at the jack tongue, then extend the reach with the wire rope
between the chain and the anchor.
DO NOT USE a recovery strap with this operation as it will stretch too much.
With the chain, you can tighten the rigging by "choking"
the chain (shortening it) and connecting the hook to an appropriate link. The chain is
looped around the tongue of the jack. Now get the rigging as tight as possible and begin
to jack using the handle. Use work gloves and watch your fingers.
 The vehicle will begin to move as you jack. Be careful it
doesn’t roll over you and watch closely the tires and steering, keeping it aligned to
where you want to go. It may take a full jack length to set the Pull-Pal. Once the jack is
all the way to the top, secure the vehicle from rolling back in the hole. Move the jack
reversing lever down. Loosen the chain. Choke the chain tight and begin again. I have
found it sometimes takes 2 or 3 jack lengths to get a vehicle out.
I have also found that, on occasion, there are no
good anchor points and no Pull-Pal available. I have then had to lift each corner and
build an elevated road bed. This procedure takes time, but you are stuck and going nowhere
fast anyway, right? This usually happens in boggy areas where there are deep ruts and the
vehicle is high-centered.
Take the time to gather large rocks or log pieces
not stones or brushwood. Lift each corner up as high as needed, bringing the tire into the
air. Build 2 or 3 feet of road (or longer) at each tire extending in the direction you
want to go. Sometimes it only takes that much of a start to get the vehicle going again.
Once out, go back and repair the trail damage,
replace the rocks and log pieces off the trail (kinda’ like replacing your divot in
golf) and carry on!
There was a time when the trail was off-camber and
my lockers walked me off the edge to a precarious situation. The winch started out okay,
but then the rig began to slide like a pendulum. I got out the Hi-Lift and anchored the
rear of the vehicle using the hand winch method and brought the back end back a little. I
got in and started winching again. As the vehicle started to "stretch," I spun
the tires a little and the vehicle slipped sideways back onto the road off the edge. Whew!
That was one day I was glad I had all my recovery equipment with me!
When using these methods of recovery take care with
lights, body panels, and fingers, and do not overstress the equipment.
The hardware you use should exceed the capacity
of the jack so the jack is the weak link.
There is a shear pin on the jack that will break
(another reason to carry the fix-it kit) if the capacity is exceeded. Of all the vehicles
I’ve extracted, including Hummers, I have never sheared the pin.
 Use
the jack carefully. Give it regular maintenance, and it will give you many
years of great service. Mine hangs out on the front bumper up high so it is easy to
access. I spray some WD on it once in a while. When using it in the bush I sometimes just
pour water or mud "juice" on it to help "lubricate" it. Hose it off
when you get home. Spray some white lithium grease on it and it’s good to go!
..."the hi-lift jack...is becoming
my most valuable asset on the trail." (Frank
Gregg, 4/01, NJ)
Copyright
© Bill Burke's 4-Wheeling
America
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Burke's 4-Wheeling America LLC
