High Lift Jacks - Useful or Gimmick?

What are your thoughts on high lift jacks? Are they useful? Is there something that does the job well enough or perhaps better?

I have seen a tall one on sale nearby and have been trying to legitimize in my mind if its a useful purchase or if it will just collect dust.

I'm not an off-road Jeep driver so I wouldn't need it for that kind of use but I could see a few instances where a jack might of been helpful. I however know that it has its limitations such as needed level ground to be braced against.

Please reply with your thoughts!

Besides use as a car jack ….which is questionable the way cars are built now, I have use them to pull fence posts, fence stretcher, jacking up decks for repair, etc.

I have never used one set up for pulling or one to lift a car or truck.  But I use them probably 2 times a week.

Some of the ways I used them:
 Lifting tractors to change tires.
 Lifting tractors to block them up to remove axles.
 Lifting buildings and decks to move them/level them or take them down.
 Removing posts in the ground.
 Setting large beams into place.
 Lifting implements with broken hydraulics.
 Lifting farm implements to connect them to a tractor.
 Pushing things apart sideways.
 Holding something at the correct height while I bolt or weld or block it up.
 Leveling and blocking my sawmill.
 Pulling trees.
 Straightening bent metal.
 Bending metal
 Taking weight of a tire to slow down a leak while it isn't in use.
 Rolling logs.
 Removing heavy things from basement by going up stairs.
 Removing broken cement slab
 

The higher the item is you are jacking up the better it needs to held in place to prevent it from slipping sideways and the jack wanting to fall out. (When the jack falls out it can be very violent) I have had to jack up things on hillsides before and I chain the item to a up hill tree to prevent it from sliding and kicking out the jack.  When jacking up a tractor or machine  make sure all the other tires are tightly chocked in front and in back so it cant roll and kick out the jack.

When it comes to pulling, a highlift jack will do it but a come-a-long jack will usually do the job much better.

If I was to put together a tool kit for moving heavy items by hand it would be a highlift jack, a lowboy hydraulic jack, a come-a-long jack, some chain and a 4 foot pry bar.    If you have a machine to do the pulling I would add 3 snatch block, a sling strap, some clevises and a synthetic cable.  With those tools and some blocking and wedges  you can move almost anything.



 

John F Dean wrote:jacking up decks for repair

Oh wow, I've been struggling with exceptionally primitive methods for lifting a sagging deck so I can replace bottom-rotting posts and sunken footers of concrete blocks. Why didn't I think of using a jack?!

Farmers and ranchers call them "widow makers".  There is a reason for that.  You have to be careful using them and think about what could happen.  How ever we all have one because sometimes they are the right tool or the only tool that can do the job at hand.

I have owned one for years, it does collect dust but, when you need one you are glad to have it.
Mine was used when I bought it, but an old trick is to remove the head and turn the beam 180 so the locking pins have a "new" hole.
If the price is right I would pick one up, a very handy tool.

thomas rubino wrote:I have owned one for years, it does collect dust but, when you need one you are glad to have it.

Just adding on to this as well.  They are generically considered 'farm jacks' around here and, with some caution, have great flexibility in lifting structures and equipment.  They make a nice clamp as well if you use the flag-piece at the top swung out to provide one jaw of the clamp with the jacking foot at the other end serving as the opposing jaw.

There  was a few things on the list that I would say "maybe not"  as the speed in lifting is fairly slow. but that being said, it is one of those purchases that truely last a lifetime.

I have one bought in the early 70's and a second one in the early 80's  and can do as much today as they did when bought.

I would say though- that they absolutely need to be oiled in the dogs (pins)  Think of these, as two dogs working together, going up, as you push down, one pin slides into a beam  hole (thus the oil helps) and the other pin pops out ready for the next lift. They always work together, one holding, one getting ready.

coming down works the same way.  This is where some get hurt, (actually both ways)  if the pin sticks, and your start tapping, jerking or fighting it, and it releases down to a next hole, the energy has to go somewhere (  your handle )  and if your hands are not on it, things happen fast.

If the main lift bar gets bowed, make sure it is straightened --  Just not safe with it bowed and having the weight shift.

Disclaimer- Use it right, it will be your friend, Use it wrong, it will be your foe!

I carry one because it can do so many things, using it as,a come-a-long to winch me out of a hole or pull a piece of equipment onto a trailer. Pulling bushes out. Just keep your chin out of reach.

Well now, I'm sold!

I just ordered a 60" model, I need it for replacing/reinforcing a mudroom foundation that is showing its age.

I appreciate the warnings especially, I have looked up some examples and I can see how disaster can strike if you don't respect the tool and its capabilities.

I have been known to use a cheater bar on the handle …not for leverage, but to give me a couple of extra feet for safety.

I think the best part about a high lift jack is that it is lightweight and portable. If you have off road vehicles or farm equipment, you can keep it on hand and not have to run back and forth to find something more substantial to get unstuck. That portability also helps with fencing, pulling bushes, and other stuff you would be doing out in a field. It can also be used on buildings, but I have a preferred method I use with lumber as it can be made a bit more safe. Sadly every video I have seen on YouTube about this seems to do things in a way I would consider less safe and/or more difficult. I've been seeing it a lot lately, so I might have to make one and take pictures.

In any event, the high lift is a really useful tool, but gets more dangerous the higher you go. If you can build up from stable ground with something substantial enough to support the weight then you can minimize the height you have to lift to and increase safety. It's also nice to have large strong blocks to toss under things as you lift them, so if they do fall they don't have far to go which can help save you and whatever you are working on. I've even scraped the ground for gravel to pile up under wheels or tossed spare tires under vehicles as a way to minimize danger. I saved a bunch of LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) cut-offs from when I framed houses and they stay flat and are much stronger than a similar sized hunk of 2" x 12". I have made jack and jackstand bases with them, so you could also make one for a high lift jack if you need something to spread the load on soft ground. LVL is pound-for-pound stronger than steel and the cut-offs usually get thrown away, so you can generally get them from construction sites for free if you ask.

Our Outback Fire Dept. carries them or the rescue version of the high-lift. I haven't ever seen them use it, but they carry them.

I use one all the time, similar stuff like others said. Works great for pulling t-posts with a small clever metal bracket.

It truly is a farm jack. The welded on tounge jack of my equipment trailer broke so I've been using it for taking that on and off a truck a lot.

I use it for breaking the bead on tires I'm changing - Set the tire/wheel on ground under the hitch or a solid metal part of the car or truck and get the jack in there just right, tight up against the wheel and it usually works good.

I have found this video to be incredibly helpful with little prior knowledge of how to utilize a Hi-Lift jack. I'm still getting comfortable with my new tool.

Now I have a new question.

Part of utilizing the jack requires a chain. I'm planning on getting a 3/8 chain with hooks rated just shy of the jacks lifting capacity. While I don't plan on using the jack anywhere near the load rating of the chain it brings up a new question.

Is it better to have a chain that is rated HIGHER than the High Lift Jack so if it is overwhelmed the shear pin goes in it or have the chain fail? I'm thinking shear pin.... maybe I am overthinking the risk?

Great question, but I feel you are overthinking.  I stay away from the limits for any equipment. When equipment fails, things can get exciting.  I would do my best to match the chain with the jack … then I would avoid testing the limits.

The possible exception would be if the chain was to have other uses. Then I would get the highest rated chain that would work with the jack.

Timothy Norton wrote:Now I have a new question.

Part of utilizing the jack requires a chain. I'm planning on getting a 3/8 chain with hooks rated just shy of the jacks lifting capacity. While I don't plan on using the jack anywhere near the load rating of the chain it brings up a new question.

Is it better to have a chain that is rated HIGHER than the High Lift Jack so if it is overwhelmed the shear pin goes in it or have the chain fail? I'm thinking shear pin.... maybe I am overthinking the risk?

I have used these "handy man jacks" for 50+ years,  and haven't had a chain used yet for any lifting.

 So you might be thinking using a chain as in the video for fine tuning bracing or come along?  For brace pulling, if you need to pull a brace that hard, something else is wrong,  if your going to use as a come along? again, what are you tugging that requires this much pull?  Just asking.

So if in moderation that your going to be needing a chain, the difference from a high test 1/4" chain vs a standard 3/8" chain in weight is tremendous. Again just saying.