Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

I have the lift mate and I still have some GX steelies down the back.. I'll check sometime over the next few days. I can't see why it wouldn't, it'll go on pretty much anything that has spokes & tyres

I'd go for the lift mate over the bumper one. Firstly, lifting the wheels is most likely what you want in a recovery situation, by lifting the bumper you need to lift the suspension travel before the wheels will move. Bumper attachment would be great if you're bellied out but chances are you're not going to get it to fit your bull bar as well and I'd hesitate using a hi-lift on alloy.
I carry mine (Jackall brand) in the back when I'm on trips at the moment as I have nowhere else for it. It lives in the camper normally.

They're very versatile but need to be used with care and knowledge. It's my no.1 recovery tool, even before bringing out the shovel, others tell horror stories but I've never actually seen anyone killed by one (& doubt it's happened more than once or twice). A winching situation going wrong is a far more lethal possibility.
Get along to a pradopoint day out and someone will give you a demo i'm sure.

[dereki Member Find all posts View Profile Close dereki]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Thanks for the replies. Its so hard hearing so many strong opinions for and against (mostly against). I like the idea of the versatility. I also like the idea of a hand winch.... so confusing. I might just have to get both :twisted: Any opinion of using the hi lift as a winch?

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

It's funny there are so many bad stories around - I think those against them make it their main aim in life to get their point across. Go to most 4WD trips out and 80% will have hi-lifts. If they were that bad they'd be banned long ago.

re winching with hi-lift: I've never done it, from what I hear it is a lengthy process and you can only move the length of the hi-lift before setting everything again - fine for some things but not hanging off the side of a hill. I'd buy both. If you're winching out of mud or sand, you should be lifting the car first (putting something under wheels to put less stress on your vehicle. In practice it's not always this simple but the option to do that is good.

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

I have a high-lift which I used when I had my 60 series as I could lift the car from any corner. With the Prado its not so easy.

I have an exhaust jack which I think would be better suited, but if i had a wheel strap, then the high lift could be OK, except trying to find somewhere to store it safely....

You do need to be careful with high lifts, you need to be 150% sure that the base & your selected mount point are secure & that lifting will not effect them.
I admit that experience does help here as some effects are not immediately evident until your stuck on a track.

Also taking it slowly, & watching whats happening.

I have use a high lift as a winch, there was no alternative. If your using a cable then you can winch virtually the whole length of the high lift arm. Using a snatch strap would possibly result in no effective winching at all.

Cheers

[Hawk Thor Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hawk Thor]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Did i read that right? 38" diameter tyres??

Yes, its the normal tire for Prados and similar sized trucks that are used for off-road travelling here. Some are on 44" tires and I´ve seen one Prado 95 series on 49" tires, but that looks silly and was overkill, 44" should be plenty for such a light vehicle.

I have used my hi-lift numerous times when simply lifting my Prado to put it on jackstands. I have old 2" straps that I use to limit the suspension droop while jacking from the bumper, strapping the axle or IFS arms to the frame.

I have also used it to winch a Mitsubishi Outlander out of a rocky trail which was covered in slurry ice and snow. I would hook it up with a strap, tension it by creeping the Prado forwards and then winching the Mitsubishi until it was unstuck, wait for it to get stuck again and repeat. If it were a real 4x4 I would have just put the strap from the Prado to the stuck 4x4 and pulled it out and kept it strapped so I could immediatly pull when it bogged down. But i was to afraid of destroying the Outlander like that.

[BushMaster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close BushMaster]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Hi Guys, just got my new vehicle. an 07 4.0 Prado.
My old vehicle was a 96 pajero. To date, best vehicle I have ever owned. But toyoda is toyoda
I scavanged all the extras off it before saying good bye.

The hilift jack was carried on the back door, with the spare. Are the prados hinges strong enough to do this?

The Pajero had jack points front and back, but they didnt work to well. The wheels just articulate and the body had to be jacked very high to get under a wheel. This was unstable and dangerous. I bought a strap that attaches to the jack and has hooks that will hook onto the wheel that needs lifting. Works like a charm for recovery. But a flat is a bit more work. Either use the hydaulic jack, or jack it up, put support under the axle, remove the jack and wheel, put the fresh wheel. replace the jack and jack it up, remove the support. To much sweat.

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Welcome to Toyota!

Rule 1 - don't get a flat & need to use a high lift at the same time :shock:

The doors if anything like the 90 series will bend at the hinges over time....my door for example will close without lifting but you can see it lift a little as it closes....200,000km & 99% highway (1% Fraser/High Country however)

My previous 4WD a HJ60 had a step bar at the back & a bullbar at the front so you could use a highlift on any corner as it was required, the Prado doesn't exactly have those locations....

Cheers

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Edit: Rule 1...high lifts are never to be used for jacking for the purpose of changing a tyre. They are simply a recovery device, not stable or safe enough for working under or for changing tyres.

[FlyNdrive Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyNdrive]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

Edit: Rule 1...high lifts are never to be used for jacking for the purpose of changing a tyre. They are simply a recovery device, not stable or safe enough for working under or for changing tyres.

Of course this is what the lawyers determined should be the use of the Hi-Lift and would lessen the chance of a failure on the road and reduces the liability by half. It also takes into account the fact that the Hi-Lift directions state someone is to keep in contact with the Jack at all times. It takes time to change a Tyre and that increases the likelihood of an incident due to the time the vehicle is lifted. If you lift a vehicle 2-3 inches, add larger tyres it completely makes the OEM bottle Jack useless.

If you know how to use a Hi-Lift Jack they are completely safe for on the trail and to change a tyre. If you want to use it in conjunction with a Jack stand it's safer, but it's more weight and takes up more space.

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Who Carries A Hi-Lift?

I've never read the hi-lift manual etc, in fact mine is a Jackall which at the time gave quite a bit extra length to the jack (15 yrs ago). I agree the OEM jack is useless with a bit of lift etc but there are aftermarket bottle jacks suitable. A hi-lift is jacking from such a high point on the vehicle, chances of it tipping are much higher. It happened to me with a lighter vehicle when someone on the other side of the vehicle lent on it, didn't tip completely but gave me a scare, that was being used safely on flat concrete. Each to his own but I'd avoid using it for tyre changes myself, unless as you mention, that wheel is stuck over a rut or something on a track and there's no other way, even then I'd be putting a lump of wood under the axle.