Hi Lift Use - A Coutionary Tale

Good afternoon,

At first I wasn't going to post this due to my bruised ego but I thought it might serve some other first time users out there.

So this past weekend I decided to rotate my tires using my welded sliders and my hi lift jack. I was also going to banging out the front fenders for a little more tire clearance.

So I chock the driver side wheels and use two jack stands while I hammer away and switched the passenger side tires. Everything went well and then it was time to switch sides and lower the hi lift.

This was the first time the jack has ever had a heavy load on it and it would not lower. After almost 45 mins of lubricating and researching the very simple lowering process I could not figure out why it would not lower.

Long story short I had to push down on the handle hard to activate the ratcheting mechanism of the jack. As I was not prepared for this specific action/reaction the jack caught me off gaurd and the handle slipped out of my hands.

This left just open air between the handle of the jack and my head. Wack into the side of the head. 2 days later and a visit to the doctors I'm suffering from a mild concussion. Happen so fast that there was not even a moment that I could have reacted after my hands slipped.

I watched several video's and read the instructions before using it and from what I can gather; is that a newly coated hi lift jack can cause the pins to stick and in general do not funtion as well as a broken in jack.

I'm not pointing the finger at anybody but me in this case as I usually seem to find the hardest way to learn something.

My advice to any other first time users out there is when lowering the jack pull from underneath the handle so that if it does slip out of your hands, you are not in the way.

 

Glad you're ok, lesson learned!!

 

glad to hear you are ok; is the truck ok too?

 

Good advice, have not had to use mine yet but sounds like something I would do for sure!

 

Shite! I don't trust myself beyond a flat tire replacement.

 

Having to work from home for a couple of days in spurts. Truck is just fine. The jack ratcheted down one notch and stopped. It really could have been a lot worse so I am in no way complaining.

After screaming many explatives, I did finish lowering the jack and completed the other side of the truck


If your not familar with using a hi lift, the handled is completely loose when lowering until it ratchet's. Then the full force is transfered into the handle with a violent upward stroke that needs to be controlled.

 

There's a reason they're called Farmer Killers.

Good to hear you're doing okay. Can I suggest investing in a hi-lift handle keeper?

http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/handle-keeper.html

That way when you go to switch it from lift to lower, you can be worry free about it slipping and taking your noggin off.

Other than that, every time I use mine, I am very conscientious about keeping all body parts out of the line of fire in case something happens.

 

Bill Burke has a good video about prepping Hi-lift jacks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ7f...DvjVQa1PpcFM2WjbFXL95UEk2yHDNEa-RKCaV1UP13h8=

Also, for any Hi-lift jack owner, in case you didn't know, it's a good idea to practice using it before you actually need to use it (I just took my truck to a parking lot and practiced jacking from various points).

 

I do that all the time just practice using it any time you need it. I still need to try out the come along method using it to winch my truck. Have you tried that yet

 

Hi-Lifts are awesome, but definitely something that should be practiced with on a lower-weight target to get used to the concept before going after big game as it were. At least you've still got all your teeth!

 

+1

I often refer to myslef as a "wrench retard"....

 

I think that was actually my biggest issues. They Jack behaved differently with a heavy load on it and "stuck" more then I previously experienced with lighter loads.

Thanks for posting Burke's video. If I had seen that before my attempt I believe the end result would have been a more positive experience for me.

 

the widow maker strikes again.

 

I haven't tried that yet. What do you need to do it? I forget if they just sell it all in a kit

 

It is well known that the jack does that. Countless people have been injured and rigs with dented doors. I sold mine in favor of a traditional jack with mounted skidplate.

I tried to use the jack once to test...under load i ran into the same problem. Too dangerous imo. Didnt want to screw up and have truck fall or get wacked.

 

Seems like its a good idea to wear a helmet while working with hilift. I have a friend who wears ski boots when he mows his lawn, says he is paranoid about blades breaking off or some other crap flying out from underneath the mower.

 

They sell the attachment it's pretty cool how it works I have it its just I havent used it yet might just do that today

 

Awesome, I'll look into that.
Lemme know how it goes!

 

I dropped my truck onto slick concrete using one. Not good for rotors or dust guards when they go from 2' to slab in less then a second

lol - I remember when one almost got intimate with your skull at BC.