Hi-Lift Jack as come-along

[ft. churchill]

Get the original real deal one and you cant go wrong. This is a must have item for bacckcountry travel in Nevada. They'll get you out of hi-center stuck so quick you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. Also carry a 1 foot square of heavy plywood with it for deep mud/ soft sand so the foot of the jack will not sink so deep or slip in the mud. As a winch you turn the handle/ jack mechanizm around "backwards on the shaft and pull away. You'll need a strap and clevises as well as a 4' lenght of chain with hooks on it to make it all work as a winch. I use mine as a fence strecher in this configuration.

 

[brokenbudget]

I had one on the farm for 30 years, never been that impressed, need to be cautious when using one. On good solid level ground they'll work, but I've them fall sideways,tilt forward, etc. I'd have to be at a last resort to use them for a come a long. If not used properly they can be dangerous as hell.

when you're in a tight trail with a load on the trailer behind a tractor thats stuck the best way to get unstuck is to get that jack-all up as high as you can, then push it over to the side. it gets the wheels out of the ruts you made digging yourself in. i have not seen one winch (let alone a "cheap" comealong). move a fordson super major pulling a 20' fully loaded trailer. there is not one bottle jack, bumper jack or floor jack that will lift this kind of weight. a jack-all or hi-lift is one of the best tools you can have on board while working out in the bushes.
dangerous? yup, but so is any other lifting device. and no more dangerous than a misused winch.

 

[flashhole]

ft churchill - you described the Off Road Kit that is sold as an accessory with the extra needed pieces for winching. Doesn't look too complicated to me to build a kit instead of spending $75 for one. Consumer reviews on the kit were all over the map. Those who complained were mostly griping about quality and fit. The bag the kit comes in is pretty cool. :smile2:

 

[indiansprings]

when you're in a tight trail with a load on the trailer behind a tractor thats stuck the best way to get unstuck is to get that jack-all up as high as you can, then push it over to the side. it gets the wheels out of the ruts you made digging yourself in. i have not seen one winch (let alone a "cheap" comealong). move a fordson super major pulling a 20' fully loaded trailer. there is not one bottle jack, bumper jack or floor jack that will lift this kind of weight. a jack-all or hi-lift is one of the best tools you can have on board while working out in the bushes.
dangerous? yup, but so is any other lifting device. and no more dangerous than a misused winch.

In that situation I'll just hook the trailerup to a 140hp 4wd Deere, pick up the Fordson Major with the front loader and carry it out and I can always put someone in a 125 hp 4wd Deere to push from behind if thats not enough. I think the capacity on mine is 7k, it's okay out in the field, but I still wouldn't recommend it for a come along.

 

[dave_dj1]

Growing up the hi-lift jacks were always called handyman jacks, I wouldn't go on the trail without one. They can be used to push, pull or lift with. Like mentioned above, you have to be smarter than the tool.

 

[flashhole]

Nice mount. It looks like it would be pretty easy to put an extender on the base of the jack if you wanted a bigger footprint. The plastic one from Hi-Lift is selling for $36!

 

[ft. churchill]

To mundane to just buy the kit. Ya got to scrounge the parts up bit by bit. 'sides I aint goin' pay 36 bucks for a plastic base when and ol' chunk of wood will do.

 

[brokenbudget]

In that situation I'll just hook the trailerup to a 140hp 4wd Deere, pick up the Fordson Major with the front loader and carry it out and I can always put someone in a 125 hp 4wd Deere to push from behind if thats not enough. I think the capacity on mine is 7k, it's okay out in the field, but I still wouldn't recommend it for a come along.

you wouldn't get that tractor down one of my trails even with all the wheels off. let alone in the winter that tractor would be about 8 feet deep in mud after it broke through the ice. it's barley wide enough for the ford. i guess some people don't have enough enginuity to use a jack-all safely for what they need.
is it the ideal tool? no, however it sure is nice when you need it to be ideal. too many moving parts on a comealong, plus the cable to break, bind or cut. you're not going to break the jack-all. you might bend one slightly but it will always still do what you want it to do.
besides, you have to remember most people don't have a variety of tractors to choose from when they get stuck, need something lifted or moved over. the jack-all will always get the job done when you need it.

 

[Big_Al]

In that situation I'll just hook the trailerup to a 140hp 4wd Deere, pick up the Fordson Major with the front loader and carry it out and I can always put someone in a 125 hp 4wd Deere to push from behind if thats not enough. I think the capacity on mine is 7k, it's okay out in the field, but I still wouldn't recommend it for a come along.

That's all fine if your on your property but if you're really stuck out in the boondocks you would be happy to have a winch or hilift to use as comealong.

 

[kugss]

Some years back i bought one for my brother for a xmas gift but i have to give to him early. His truck popped out of park rolled down a hill and hit a pole bending the frame. I was helping him fix it when he said "if we had a hi-lift jack we should be able to get the frame straight". It made that job a lot easier.

 

[brokenbudget]

click ka click! click ka click! click ka click! ah the sound of a jack-all getting it done
i've had pretty much every brand of electric winch out there. none of them lasted more than a few hours when i needed them to. seems they don't like water. don't like mud much either. i sure haven't seen a good hand operated come alone worth the money, let alone a cheapy last for more then a minute when you really start to put it to actual work. oh there good for pulling on solid and mostly flat surfaces. but try to use one when you have a wheel (or wheels) burried past the axle and you ain't going nowhere.

 

[flashhole]

Loved the sound effects. :msp_biggrin:

Anyone know the thickness and width of the main mast? I think the holes are 1/2" but not sure. I'm already looking for supplementary hardware to hook to the bar but don't know the exact dimensions needed.

 

[ft. churchill]

The top piece is the "eye" to hook your clevis to and yes I believe the bolt is 1/2''. The other "eye" is an opening under the part that engages your bumper or just around the whole bumper hook itself with the chain or strap. You can also use this jack as a clamp, by taking the top and moving it down to where you need it along the shaft and then jacking up to clamp the piece.

 

[flashhole]

The "eye" at the top is rated at 650 pounds. The X-treme version has the attachment that is rated at 6000 pounds. The after market JackMate made by Maasdan is also rated high load. I liked the JackMate design better than what comes on the X-treme so I bought the standard jack instead of the X-treme and will pick up a JackMate.

I'm trying to figure out what can be used as a substitute part used at the bottom of the jack when it's used as a winch. There has to be a clevis of some kind that will fit nicely onto the jack. No big deal to make the chain attachment with a grab hook. The Hi-Jack video even tells you how many chain links you need. The bigger question with the off road kit is the piece that mounts over the lift bar on the jack. Haven't seen any off-the-shelf parts for that other than what you buy from Hi-Lift.

 

[stumpy75]

Growing up the hi-lift jacks were always called handyman jacks,

That's what I always knew them as handyman jacks too. Used to have one that said that on the side too, but I now have a Hi-Lift.

 

[Patrick62]

A few more mentionables

It was first discussed to use it to replace a non functioning floor jack.
Really, really bad idea there. These jacks are unstable enough out in the sticks where you can stick a block under it. Lift a truck on concrete? crash. The base is gonna slide. Get a half decent floor jack, and always keep a few of those bottle jacks around.

Now, all these comments and nobody mentioned the other undocumented feature of these jacks. When lowering the jack... keep your body parts out from between the handle and the post. You slip and that handle becomes a "louisville" slugger and you are the slug. If you have one of the older jacks with the removable handle, I think NASA has a few of them tracked as "space junk":msp_rolleyes:

absolutely you can lift the entire end of a rig and push it over to get it unstuck. You want safe?? Stay home. In bed. Good book. I take that back, you could get a paper cut. It lifts my Massy just as good as it does that Fordson.

I always wanted a 5 foot, but truthfully I would rarely ever need that much lift and the room for murphy multiplies greatly beyond the normal size :msp_scared: