Stupid Additions that you will never use effectively and/or also are dangerous.

[Wolf Island Diver]

They make an attachment to hook directly to your wheels so you aren’t having to overcome all the suspension travel first before you get the wheel of the ground.
Hi-Lift Jack LM-100 Lift-Mate https://a.co/d/cFIeyS0

That’s the attachment I made a joke about up in the thread. On my TJ, the long arm suspension would articulate at full jack extension so the other wheel still doesn’t come off the ground. Yes, you can use this to lift the axle tube up and stick something under it this way, and then take off that wheel. That’s a lot of work. If you’re going to do that, you can just cut out the dangerous middle man and use a bottle jack or the stock jack to lift up the axle and take the wheel off.

Back in 04’ it was actually Dave Harriton from AEV that told me that ironically, given how people immediately move to replace them with a Hi-lift, the stock jack was perfectly adequate, with a larger, taller aftermarket base and in his opinion, superior. AEV still gives you a stock jack base with their lift kit. I was actually surprised when they later started adding provisions for Hi-Lifts to their bumpers and carriers. I guess it’s a customer demand thing, since in Dave’s opinion they were more dangerous than useful and mostly silly wastes of money.

The two issues with the stock scissor jack or a hydraulic bottle jack are stability (though, not as much as Hi-Lift) and having to go under the truck. These are easily overcome with a base and handle extensions. I always carry coveralls with me off road in case I have to go under the truck anyway. grenading U-joints is pretty common. Racing trucks frequently use either air jacks or scissor jacks with provisions for using an impact wrench to actuate them.

I’ve never had any issues using either, they take up a lot less space and are faster to deploy and use. I never used my Hi-lift in the field. Again, I think there are uses for a Hi-lift like leveraging vehicles off of rocks. I just think the main thing they’re marketed for and that people carry them for, is the thing they’re actually worst at and for which there are far more convenient and safer alternatives.

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[dcmdon]

Fire extinguishers mounted inside a vehicle on a mount incapable of containing it when it experiences 200G of acceleration in an accident, at which point a 10 lb fire extinguisher will pull against its mount with 2000 lb of force. There is a reason that most racing organizations now ban interior mounted fire extinguishers.

 

[Gvsukids]

I always carry coveralls with me off road in case I have to go under the truck anyway.

I use a tarp for that purpose.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Great piece of history/nostalgia:

I contacted the Hi-Lift company asking if they knew anything about it, guess it wasn't one of theirs directly. Within 2 hours I got a nice response - mine was made by a company in Canada, they ceased production of jacks like mine a few years ago.
The speed of the response and their great information made me feel ok about their Hi-Lift line of products. Not all companies would bother responding about a product that wasn't theirs.

On phone mounts - there are times I wish mine would hold something much larger as sometimes the sun glaring off the hood of my JT or even my wife's Wrangler, is blinding. Might be nice to put a piece of acrylic with window tint in that phone holder to shield me from the glare of my own hood. It's bad enough I'm afraid I won't see some person walking in front of my Jeep.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That’s the attachment I made a joke about up in the thread. On my TJ, the long arm suspension would articulate at full jack extension so the other wheel still doesn’t come off the ground. Yes, you can use this to lift the axle tube up and stick something under it this way, and then take off that wheel. That’s a lot of work. If you’re going to do that, you can just cut out the dangerous middle man and use a bottle jack or the stock jack to lift up the axle and take the wheel off.

Back in 04’ it was actually Dave Harriton from AEV that told me that ironically, given how people immediately move to replace them with a Hi-lift, the stock jack was perfectly adequate, with a larger, taller aftermarket base and in his opinion, superior. AEV still gives you a stock jack base with their lift kit. I was actually surprised when they later started adding provisions for Hi-Lifts to their bumpers and carriers. I guess it’s a customer demand thing, since in Dave’s opinion they were more dangerous than useful and mostly silly wastes of money.

The two issues with the stock scissor jack or a hydraulic bottle jack are stability (though, not as much as Hi-Lift) and having to go under the truck. These are easily overcome with a base and handle extensions. I always carry coveralls with me off road in case I have to go under the truck anyway. grenading U-joints is pretty common. Racing trucks frequently use either air jacks or scissor jacks with provisions for using an impact wrench to actuate them.

I’ve never had any issues using either, they take up a lot less space and are faster to deploy and use. I never used my Hi-lift in the field. Again, I think there are uses for a Hi-lift like leveraging vehicles off of rocks. I just think the main thing they’re marketed for and that people carry them for, is the thing they’re actually worst at and for which there are far more convenient and safer alternatives.

Get 'em high enough and you have how many hundreds of pounds not necessarily evenly applied to the base of that jack. Seen 'em tilt and slide a vehicle over several inches when the operator didn't want them slide over. The fact I could slide the front of an F20 over with one, by myself, and how easily I could push it over once in the air, speaks to instability. It doesn't matter if you set the thing on a 4x8' sheet of steel -the base can still tip on it. And on soft ground, it will compress the ground on one side. I've used mine to move and maneuver and lift and slide so many things experience has shown me one thing I won't use it for - lifting a vehicle I don't want to move sideways. Bottle jack. If I am going to have to get under there and put something under the vehicle anyway once it's up, why not one and dun. Bottle jack, while under there pump the handle. Done. Less likely to tip or slide because there's far less mechanical advantage.
Physics wins every time according to Mr. Scott. Geometry, physics, laws even our congress can't change.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Fire extinguishers mounted inside a vehicle on a mount incapable of containing it when it experiences 200G of acceleration in an accident, at which point a 10 lb fire extinguisher will pull against its mount with 2000 lb of force. There is a reason that most racing organizations now ban interior mounted fire extinguishers.

I don’t understand the fire extinguisher or PowerTank roll bar thing, except on buggies. I don’t understand the AR-15 mounted to the roof either. That seems like a great way to get into a conversation with the fine folks of the Virginia State Police that I don’t want to have, legality aside. My wee little halon extinguisher is in a mount bolted to the rear front seat bolts under the back of the front seat. I don’t have one of those element extinguishers that all the cool kids have, yet. Those you could mount pretty much anywhere.

A bigger ABC extinguisher is mounted in the bed for campsite cooking fails so I don’t burn down the Jefferson National Forest making breakfast.

 

[BearFootSam]

I have added a LOT of really dumb stuff over the years (40 years of Jeepin") to make my Jeeps look cool or trail ready My .02 from an old Jeeper.

1) I cringe whenever I see anything related to high lift jacks. Hanging them on an aluminum hood or side panel or bed, NO. In the event of a collision or rollover they are an effective projectile. Stop IT! If you have ever used one in the field (doubtful) you know a stable and safe usage is sketchy at best unless you are packing a solid platform to support the foot. These jacks DO NOT replace a winch for recovery. They are dangerous in the hands of a novice.

2) Overhead consoles. I don't wear a crash helmet when I drive or four wheel, do you? Think about it. Noggins are pretty soft

3) Stacking so much crap across your dash. Phone mounts, Nav., etc.. It doesn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out these vehicles need as much as help as possible with a optimal field of view.

4)See above, think about anything that impedes the the function of an EXPLOSIVE air bag(s) and the shrapnel effect add-on "accessories" could have and seriously injure you or your passenger(s) have. You drive a Jeep not an aircraft.

5) If you exceed the original manufactures safety and functional designs the failure/injury/death is on you, not Jeep.

Nobody expects the worse, but stack the odds in your favor and save your hard earned dollars towards protecting you and those you share the road and trail with and not "trends".

In the early years of MRAPs there were quite a few roll-over accidents due to the inherent high COG of a v-hull and roads that would collapse under the weight. Essentially the trainer was a mockup hull mounted on a gigantic spindle such that the hull could be inverted.

The primary idea was to develop familiarity with how to safely remove the five-point harness and exit while burdened with heavy kit. The secondary purpose was to illustrate the hazard posed by unsecured objects in the form of foam ammo cans. Now imagine the consequences of a slew of 14lb rifles and 45lb ammo cans tumbling within an armored steel hull...

Anyhow, the point was made, I was and still am very conscientious about securing potential hazards, including in the bed. That plastic rear window is non-existent for something like a toolbox or unsecured jack.

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