Forum:
Do any of you use a "High lift Jack" (Farm Jack) on ther Fourtraks, I havent got a jack and thought about using one, but dont know how you would fit it to lift the 4x4, could you use the tow bar (ball & Pin type) at the back and the recovery points at the front, by connecting with a short "strop" to the foot of the Jack?
If you just want a jack for
If you just want a jack for normal stuff, get a bottle jack or a trolly jack. The High lift is a very usfull peice of equipment for of road use, but is VERY unstable. I would not recomend using one on a car you want to keep looking good. The car only has to move a little and the top of the jack goes through a window, or scratches hell out of the paintwork. As for using the tow point as a jack point. Du to the instability of the hi lft it will almost certainly fall of the jack once both wheels leave the ground. In fact that is what you do with the Hi lift when trying to get out of deep ruts, to put the car sidways.
Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.
Jacks!
Thanks for the replies and advice, and I can see what you mean, the thing is I have a new 3 ton Trolly jack for using at home and have looked at Bottle jacks but can only find ones with a std round top approx 1†in diameter, and don’t think it would be very stable/safe especially if not on level ground, so can you still get the ones with a “plate†on the top that fits around the chassis member? (like a wide u shape) to make it safer.
I could just lift one wheel at a time with a high lift, with three on the ground it should be relatively stable, wont it??
One wheel at a time would be
One wheel at a time would be better. However the bottle jack with the small top is still (at least) as stable, and less likely to couse damage if the car does fall off it. It is also more stable, as with a bottle jack you are lifting the axle. With a Hilift you are lifting the chassis. This means you have to lift the chassis, body, etc a lot higher in order to get the wheel off the ground. Again inherantly more unstable, at the centre of gravity is highr.
Any veiws expresed in this thread by me are purely from my own experience, and (sometimes) falible memory. Hope my comments help, but please don't take them as gospel.
Hi Lifts
Couldn't agree more a trolly or a good heavy duty bottle jack is best. I wouldn't personally lift by the tow ball prefering beneath the spring shackles. Of course the high lift is great off road to get you out of trouble as long as you are very careful. Used to use them on Land Rovers which are high up anyway but with additional supports beneath the axles. Any spindley jack even bottles can fall over if the car is moved too much. My preference is a good trolly with a large lifting cup, not one of these £12 things that I use on Mini's as a good heavy jack won't go under the front or rear.
OLDMINIMAN
If you just want somthing for emergencies either a bottle or one of those small trolly jacks that can lift the weight provided you get the height on the lift. I use the titchy ones dnd place a bit of 3x3 or 3x2 beween it and the flat schakle area at the rear. Some of the dearer trolly tacks are very compact and lift more tha their bigger brothers. Some come cased up so they don't naff up the back of the car.
The bottle provided beneath the front seat is good for the enmergency as well.
M J Young