4x4 PROFESSOR

A high-lift jack is an essential device that’s been used on farms and 4x4 routes for donkey’s years. Respect yours by maintaining it properly and correctly carrying it in your vehicle.

Despite the versatility of this multi-purpose piece of recovery equipment, a high-lift jack isn’t used as often as you would think. In fact it’s more often ornamental rather than a practical tool. That is until the day the owner needs it and then discovers the handle is stuck or the climbing pins won’t climb in and out of the holes in the standard bar.

Here’s how to service your high-lift jack to keep it safe and reliable:

• Wash it with clean water (no soap) after each trip where it was exposed to excessive dust or mud.

• Spray a light lubricant such as Q20 or WD-40 on the narrow edges of the standard bar, the small runner and the pitman pin. (Lubricate the areas marked in red in the illustration on the right.)

• Never lubricate the standard bar holes, the large runner, base plate nor the handle.

• A little bit of rust is no cause for concern, but if the two climbing pins and their coil springs inside the small runner are badly rusted, do consider replacing them with new ones.

• Pack the jack in a bag – long enough to cover the entire device is best, but a smaller bag that only protects the climbing mechanism is also fine.

Here’s how to load it...

Secure a high-lift jack inside your vehicle rather than on the outside. If you drive an SUV, we recommend that you bolt it down in the footwell behind the front seats (top right). Here it will stay clean, no one can steal it and the weight is carried low inside your vehicle.

If you’ll have passengers, your next option is the luggage space against the backrests on the floor. The downside to this is that you’ll have to unpack your luggage when you need to get the jack out.

If you drive a bakkie, the best place is inside against the rear cab wall behind the seats. Alternatively, inside a toolbox under the canopy is perfect, provided it fits. If your jack is too long to mount crosswise, you can bolt it lengthwise to the inside wall of the load bin above the wheel arch (middle right). Here the canopy will protect from the elements and prying eyes.

Of course, it’s not always possible to carry a high-lift jack inside a vehicle, especially if it’s one of those extra long ones. In this case, the next best spot is on your SUV’s back door next to the spare wheel. Sometimes there is even enough space between the spare wheel and the back door where it can be secured. If you’re involved in a crash – and the jack comes loose – it will simply fall and not wreak havoc inside a cockpit or be launched through the air like a guided missile.

A disadvantage of mounting a high-lift jack to the rear of a vehicle is that it is exposed to a lot of dust. You’ll need to cover it up or regularly service it. Two other suitable mounting points are across the rear steel bumper (bottom right) where it won’t obstruct the number plate or towbar, or the back of a roof rack – just make sure it lies flat.

...and how not to

From experience, we advise you not to bolt a high-lift jack to the side of a roof rack (bottom left). Not only is it difficult to retrieve it from here, but it will twist the roof rack over time until the jack starts rattling. As soon as this happens it will become increasingly less secure, and should you then be involved in a head-on collision, it will break loose, fly through the air and impale something... or someone.

If you absolutely have to load it onto your roof rack, it must be bolted down flat on top of the roof rack. You will need to physically climb onto the roof, undo the bolts and pass the jack down to a helper on the ground. It may sound like a schlep, but it’s for the best

The very last place on earth you should fit a highlift jack is on a bonnet or a front bumper. Please don’t. A bonnet’s sheet metal in certain vehicles is relatively thin and the jack brackets can rip out, turning your jack into a whirling weight of ruin.

On the bumper, it can cause an incorrect g-force reading, which will adversely affect airbag deployment. We once spotted someone who attached a high-lift jack to a bullbar with cable ties. It makes you shudder.

Lastly, we recommend you leave your high-lift jack in your garage during your daily commute. Yes, we know it looks flipping awesome on your rig, but it’s a recovery device and not for changing tyres. Do, however, take it along when overlanding or playing, because it’s a great tool if you show it proper respect.