Using High Lift Jacks

Part one

by David Bowyer

The high lift jack is an extremely useful piece of equipment for the off-roader. In this first part David Bowyer explains how it works, what accessories to have and how to use it.

Let there be no doubt about it, everyone who takes a 4X4 off-road should not only carry a high lift jack, but also know how to use one.

The high lift jack has been around for many years now. In fact it is said that it appeared in it's simplest form about a hundred years ago first seen in the farmyard. The name originally given to it was the "Sheepherder's Jack". Fifty years later it was simply called the "Implement Jack".

During the last twenty years the high lift jack has many names the World over - "Hi-Lift", "Jackall", "Jack-all", "Railroad Jack", "Vaporjack", "Unijack", "Handy Man Jack" and no doubt a few more.

This equipment is manufactured by two different companies across the atlantic. In the U.K., both these models are available to us - the "Hi-Lift" made in the USA by The Bloomfield Manufacturing Company Inc., and the "Jackall" made in Canada by New-Form Manufacturing Co.Ltd.

Both are similar in construction utilizing a cold punched rolled steel beam, resembling a small section of railway line and is commonly known as the 'rack'. These 'racks' are either 48" or 60" in length giving the term either a 4' or 5' jack. Throughout the length of the 'rack' is a series of holes pierced at 20mm centres. These holes are in fact slightly wider than deep. To the bottom is attached, by a split pin, a simple base. The "Hi-Lift" has a cast base and the "Jackall" a pressed steel one.

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(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006