Hi Lift 48 or 60?

[Alaska-HWY JK]

How tall of fence posts are you jacking out?

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[syreeves]

How tall of fence posts are you jacking out?

Well said sir...

 

[Whitarmy]

Been thinking about carrying a hi-lift. I'm running the Mopar 2 inch lift and have 35s. I have good mounting places (ARB Bondi Deluxe up front and Rock Hard 4x4 sliders). I know a 60 inch gives me that extra margin of usefulness but a 48inch version is lighter and more storage friendly. What do you think and why?

I feel like you need a hilift for some situations and the stock jack for others. For basic tire changes and such that you need to lift the axle, a block or something similar to the arb block for a factory jack is both useful and space saving. 99% of your use will be with this block. Every now and then a hi lift is useful to help over obstacles or get more lift but you are jacking the wheel to get the axle higher or the body with the axle going nowhere. I carry the Mopar version of the ARB block in my gladiator and recently put a hi lift back on in the bed since I bought a farm and there are more uses on a farm than off-roading with a hilift. Hope my 2 cents helps

 

[syreeves]

I feel like you need a hilift for some situations and the stock jack for others. For basic tire changes and such that you need to lift the axle, a block or something similar to the arb block for a factory jack is both useful and space saving. 99% of your use will be with this block. Every now and then a hi lift is useful to help over obstacles or get more lift but you are jacking the wheel to get the axle higher or the body with the axle going nowhere. I carry the Mopar version of the ARB block in my gladiator and recently put a hi lift back on in the bed since I bought a farm and there are more uses on a farm than off-roading with a hilift. Hope my 2 cents helps

Good point and thank you for the tips. I should probably get a jacking block but I usually have a couple of pieces of 2x6 or 2x8 for that purpose. Yes I'm cheap sometimes ?

 

[jonsheritahe04]

I went with the 48 mostly because I don't see needing the 60 and the 48 was a perfect length to mount on my RC Cab Side Molly panel

 

[Free2roam]

Went with the 48" extreme. Fit perfectly and then made a lock out of a hitch pin.

 

[syreeves]

Went with the 48" extreme. Fit perfectly and then made a lock out of a hitch pin.

This is the kind of innovative advice I was seeking thank you!

 

[Free2roam]

This is the kind of innovative advice I was seeking thank you!

And they are or can be dangerous if not used properly. I was stuck in a spot with no winch. Had my Hi Lift jack and 30' of Rhino strap plus two soft shackles. Pulled myself out no problem. So if someone tells you. You're never going to use it. There will or could be a place and time.

 

[Eventyr_JT]

I’ve been stuck for 3 hours with my son because no one had a hilift. First thing I bought before going out on the trail again.

A 48” with the bed side mounting bracket on unistrut works great and is easy to access.

 

[dawghauler]

if you got a lift and larger tires you'll need the 60. also make a larger base plate to increase stability. and yes its tricky when changing tires but a blessing when you cant get a jack under the axles.

 

[syreeves]

if you got a lift and larger tires you'll need the 60. also make a larger base plate to increase stability. and yes its tricky when changing tires but a blessing when you cant get a jack under the axles.

That was part of my original thinking. I got the ARB bumper because, among other things, it has jacking points. My sliders are from Rock Hard and although they don't recommend it they did explain that their sliders should be able to be used to jack up the entire vehicle. I'd think carefully about spreading the pressure around though... no real good jacking points at the rear yet. Can't use the shackle in the tow hitch as the hitch simply isn't rated for that kind of load.

 

[Kindafearless]

The Hi Lift was pretty scary for me at first, but then I took a class on how to use it. Damn, if you regularly do off-roading, it’s a must in your bag of tricks. I do recommend doing a class though. There were a bunch of cool tricks and scary gotchas I wasn’t aware of.

You can get away with a 48 (thats what I have right now), but after learning more I've found that you want a 60 as others have mentioned due to longer wheelbase, larger wheels, and a lift. Your call, if you aren't going bigger than 35s you can probably do just fine with the 48 :P I started there... have been running 37s this season and I'm planning for 40s after I destroy these.

Also, forget the plastic base if you have traction boards, you can just put the jack on those.

PS, I do have a radflo hydra jack on order. Not sure yet how useful that is going to be in comparison with the hi lift, but it will be fun to try.

Another mounting option

 

[MrKnowitall]

My old Landrover Discovery 2 ('03) came with a bottle jack. The storage location was under the hood, right behind the passenger side headlight. Odd location but good packaging... and it was almost always easy to get to! No need to unload anything...

Land Rover guys always make sure they can get under the hood easily.

 

[wchevron]

I just took an off-road class. The guy running it recommended a 60". He said you're not supposed to use the top 12" of it? So a 60 maxes out at 48". He demonstrated on a Hilux in a couple of situations and he ran out of jack space pretty quickly, especially if there is a lift on the truck.

 

[Hipbilly]

I had gone with the 60 extreme, because I had room for it (cause you know, FJ stuff)... I've used it for countless odds and ends at work, but only once or twice to change a tire, and once to winch with.
Being the extreme, it has that chain plate thing, which I've always kept on the end as a smooth/round termination for the I-beam. Spoiler alert, when I took it off the FJ and tossed it in the Jeep's bed to go to work, its so long it has to ride diagonally, wrecking bed space for everything else. Even removing the chain plate just brought it down to a "Barely" fit, due to the foot.
I vote 60" and chop it to an application specific length, for wherever you mount it.
You'll like the extra stroke if you do ever wind up winching with it.
Just a thought, if you want it in the bed where one would expect it to ride.

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