The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Thanks Ken! Crossing the rugged Panamint mountains that late in the afternoon was a hoot! I forgot to mention the hilarity that my kids enjoyed when they discovered all of the Burro droppings in Butte Valley. My god, I thought they never stop laughing or joking about seeing it everywhere! lol

Thanks for the compliment on the photography. I've been trying to improve. Next year I'll spring for a mirror-less interchangeable lens system with larger sensor, etc. I've been really wanting to step up, I just need to start saving for it.

Really good advice from @Dalandser , @HB Taco for exploring while en route. @ETAV8R 's choice for Saline Valley this time of year should be nice.

Agree if you find yourself on US-395, then Death Valley would be ideal. The place is vast, so I always caution to watch the mileage and gas for a trip through the park.

I would not have thought of visiting Yosemite in winter, even though I've done it before. I took my wife there for our Honeymoon, and it was awesome! The weather can wreak havoc in the Sierra's, especially winter, so it's always dicey whether things are accessible or not. We came from the south. CA-41. The mountain passes are closed in winter, so if your on one side or the other, there is no route through, except for a pass near Tahoe, I think, I've never driven it though.

For launching an adventure from Indio, CA, my advice would be to visit Joshua Tree since it's mere minutes away. I'd enter through Berdoo Canyon, a fun off-road trail, always a chance to see Bighorn in the canyon. There are some neat hikes in the park to do.

Anza-Borrego would be a good choice since it's only 1 hour away. If going there I'd recommend a hike into Borrego Palm Canyon, the walls of the canyon rise 3,000' above you. I'ts surreal. And good chance you'll see bighorn sheep. You can also off-road back into Rock House, or Butler Canyon, or Sheep Canyon like 15 minutes away, also Font's point. Etc.

We have time to recreate pre/post xmas, but no decisions have been made yet. I might use the time to rebuild the front end of the truck.

 

Did some maintenance / work on the truck this weekend. (71,116 miles)

• Got an alignment, results here. Toe was out again, both sides, after Death Valley, everything else held.
• I paid $29 for shop to do a rear brake clean and adjust. I usually do all my own maintenance, but every now and then it's nice to have someone else do the heavy lifting and nasty jobs. lol
• Bolted down 1' more cargo track in the bed.
• I cleaned and lubed all the hinges, struts and locks.
• Maintenance my Hi-Lift, cleaned and lubricated everything. Looks great again!
• Tested the bumper hi-lift cutout for lifting the truck.
• Measured shocks at full droop.

Never mind the kid kissing pavement in this photo. Kid is laying down on creeper, reading books. lol

The bumper had zero deflection; the cutouts work great. In practice, I like lifting from the slider. However if I ever have to use this lifting point for the truck, I'll probably need to strap the axle. In the photo, I used 100% of the 48" beam to lift the tire 1" off the ground.

 

I thought you had just painted your exhaust black?

 

I did. It was experimental. The zero-surface-prep procedure I used, in combination with my paint choice (engine enamel), plus whatever happened off-road, all combined, to make the paint come off like it was just some random black dust. Kind of weird!

If I can manage it, I'll try again with different paint and I'll do some metal prep.

 

Right on....I painted my turndown tip and its holding up pretty well. But it was clean metal with no rust to start....plus the most brutal terrain my truck will see is a mall curb anyways.

That rear bumper is solid as could be.

 

I love visiting the Mojave Road this time of year. The weather is between perfect and blustery. And so solitary. Beautiful, just beautiful.

 

That's impressive droop. That looks mighty sketchy. I had the base slip out on me the first time I tried the HL jack on my sliders. I think because it was in the garage and the concrete is very smooth gouged my door bad. I know now to have the door open in case. Just make sure it has good grip on the ground cause if it slips out it F&*ks shit up. I also roughed up the bottom too and haven't had an issue since.

 

It does look that way in the photo. Felt solid, and looked good while working.

For what it's worth the 48" hi-lift maintains it's full maximum rated load of 4,660 lbs. all the way to the top of the 48" beam. If you have the 60" one, then there is a reduction beyond that height IIRC.

I very much agree with you that, proper footing is crucial for safe lifting. I think roughing up the foot is probably a good idea, as well as avoiding slippery surfaces. At times, I've contemplated buying an aftermarket foot, but I've always made due with the stock one. For safety you can always loop a strap around the base of the hi-lift beam and make a pass through your slider. Its good practice to do.

As it happens, I too have experienced hi-lift foot slippage. Mine was self inflicted. Several years ago, I had used a piece of wood with a laminated covering under the hi-lift foot while jacking (stupid idea). I had positioned the base of the jack too far away from the truck, and began jacking. Once the jack got to a certain height, the wood violently de-laminated from the covering and the foot slipped out! I had my door open, and the triangular-spreader-clamp attachment thing made a mean dent in the door sill. Jack stands were under the truck, so truck only moved 1" It was a sober reminder of what can go wrong.

The dent is my companion, and serves as a constant reminder about hi-lift safety.

 

You should've said that she was doing pushups and was working her way up to 70 and you didn't want to disturb her.

I used a scrap piece of my MT tire to do this:






Got those pictures as well as the idea from @geekhouse23 . Gives the base more grip on smooth surfaces (concrete, asphalt, etc.). Feels really solid on my sloped driveway. I cut mine a little closer to the jack base because I felt the extra material wasn't doing anything. I have yet to use it in dirt, but I'd imagine it isn't any worse than the stock steel base of the jack. After all, your truck sits on 4 tires while offroad and doesn't really slip too much. If you need one of these let me know. I might have some tire left to cut one out.

 

Have you used the tire-base off pavement yet?

 

The fact that I hear multiple stories from people I consider skilled, intelligent and safety conscious all of whom have had body damage or near fatal experiences from Hi-Lift jacks eventually made me get rid of mine.

The Hi-Lift is the Oakland Ghostship of recovery gear. It looks cool and has great street cred but the slightest problem and it is revealed as a death trap.

Very few people in the expo community are likely to agree with me but I can think of no situation in which a Hi-Lift does anything other than make a bad situation far more dangerous than it would be with the correct tool or just waiting for more help. If people nearly kill themselves in their driveway just imagine what a true recovery situation combined with get-home-itis will get you. Actually you don't have to imagine as Google will give you plenty of examples.

Anyway - my unconventional $0.02.

 

Now google searches will direct people to a warehouse fire rather than my profile here.

 

Great build! Great thread! Great trip reports!

I love the detail, the photos, the memories. Most of all makes me miss the California deserts.

I spent the past couple of weeks reading this from page one on. I feel spent.

 

I can respect that. I carried a floor jack for a few years before purchasing hi-lift. There is/was a product on the market called Safe Jack which is like a bottle jack on steroids for lifted trucks. Great for changing a tire! Probably wont help much for vehicle recovery.

I think it's fair to say that no doubt, Hi-lifts are inherently dangerous. Just like a firearm--there is a lot of stored potential.

However, if used properly the risk can be mitigated. Lots of safety videos on how to do it right. And I think it's worth pointing out that the main purpose of Hi-lift is a vehicle recovery tool, it's not a substitute for bottle jacks, floor jacks, and jack stands. It does have secondary uses as well, which make it an attractive tool for off road use.

In my uses, I've used it for:

• Lifting the truck,
• Cycling my suspension,
• breaking beads on tires,
• off-road tire repair

There are probably a dozen other uses. Winching, clamping, spreading, post popping, breaching a door (lol), etc. It's a very versatile tool!

One other thing to note, is that when lifting from slider, I always use my slider attachment. It *helps* takes the sketch out of lifting from the side (for me, at least).





Here is a nice 6-page thread in this forum, of forum members using their hi-lift jacks in a safe and resonsbile manner

Post Pics or stories of having to use your Hi Lift Jack

I think that the bottom line is that, each overlander has to decide what's best for themselves and come up with a system that they trust. I've used my hi-lift 100+ times now and I do trust it.

 

Thanks!
Well done! I can recommend some other build thread for you after you recover. Welcome to the forum!

 

I suggest you get some rest.

Then find some cash and some time.

You'll be all set.

 

That's actually a pretty good idea.

 

haha that's funny!

I would be grateful to receive a piece of your old MT tire, same size as the foot base please, any size really I can cut it to fit if it saves you time. lol

As far as grip goes, I think it's a great idea. Thanks for the pics.

Honestly, the vulcanized rubber seems to make the most sense. On any surface I can think of, sans ice, it should perform the best, I would think. I want to try it now.

x2!

In the past I had considered

• Relentless High Floatation Steel Hi-Lift Base
• Alien Base for Hi-Lift Jack by Hard Core Trail Gear
  
• Reese Towpower 7048400 Farm Jack Foot Plate
• adanfon 's base
• And a few others I can't remember the name for

If I need flotation, I have a 10" x 10" piece of 3/4" pressure treated plywood with a hole in it that I pass a carriage bolt through and a wing nut for the hi-lift foot. I think next time I'm out in the sand, I'll try it and see how it holds up.

 

If you have one more piece of the tire I'm 2nd in line. That's a great idea. I have the OR base for dirt haven't needed it yet but its the right tool for soft surfaces.