HIGH-LIFT JACK

THE ol’ high-lift jack (‘Hi-lift’ being a brand as well as now a style of jack) was the second most common jack mentioned and used by my fellow four wheelers in my survey. A couple of people reckoned that’s all they carried, but most people who had a high-lift also carried a bottle jack of some sort, or maybe two or three. Certainly, my preferred jacking equipment has, for a long time, consisted of a screw-type bottle jack, at least one hydraulic bottle jack and a high-lift jack. The high-lift jack is a pretty flexible piece of gear – for not only jacking but winching and spreading – but it demands a lot of respect, as any careless misuse can result in somebody getting hurt … or worse. As well, modern vehicles don’t lend themselves to being jacked up with a high-lift jack. At the very least you’ll need side rails, aftermarket rear steps and a bullbar – all with provision to take the tongue of the jack – to make full use of its lifting potential. High-lift jacks are pretty unstable and need a bit of muscle power, especially when jacking a fully loaded vehicle. Pro-quip has a stabiliser system and base plate that makes the high-lift jack safer to use when jacking, while ARB (www.arb.com.au) has a range of custom accessories to make the jack safer and more usable in a number of roles. They are worth checking out if the highlift jack is your preferred piece of jacking equipment. One thing I noticed when researching for this article is the wide disparity of pricing when it comes to high-lift jacks, with prices ranging from $90 to well over $300, for something that looks very similar. Something used for jacking a vehicle up, itself fraught with danger, demands equipment that is made to the highest standard, which by its very nature would exclude the cheapest brands on the market.