The Hi-Lift jack

[BlueJeeper]

Lately I have been seeing the purveyance of opinion that the Hi-Lift jack is better left at home, and that a bottle jack is a better option for a jack on the trail. For trail fixes, changing tires, general maintenance, etc., I don't disagree.

What troubles me is that in the four years I have had one of these jacks, I've used it for recovery more than anything else. The most essential and oft-used case for me, is when I am high-centered, with little to no available traction. I apply the jack to the bumper in the direction opposite of that which I wish to travel, just so much that the transfercase skid is off the ground, and enough weight is transferred to the opposite end so that there is available traction. Leaving the jack in place, I drive away from the jack. The jack follows the Jeep, and as the jack-end of the Jeep gets traction and loads the suspension, the jack simply falls away to the side. In all this takes me about half a minute to continue on my way--I don't have one of these complicated mounting systems anymore, I just bind it upright to the cage or to the bed with bungees.

I don't disagree that the jack is heavy, and I wish it were lighter. I also know there are plenty of folks out there that have them because everyone else does, but never use them. But I can't use a bottle jack in this situation. I'm sure it would tear up my carrier housing and cover pretty good, not to mention that any number of parts under the Jeep could smack it after (if) it does the same job as described above. And positioning a bottle jack to do this wouldn't always be practical either given what I always seem to get myself into.

I don't have to unspool and set up a winch cable, I don't have to drag along the trail. I've done this enough and it's been so useful, I wouldn't go jeeping without it, despite it's negatives. To me, it seems like the simplest and most jeep and trail friendly solution to a simple problem. I'm not looking for affirmation or confrontation, and I realize many folks might not use it like this for good reason. What I'm asking, is if there is a better way to accomplish this?