Jack lift questions

Funny how many posts you got with almost zero answers.

Hi lift jack with a wide base plate works. Or a floor jack with a block of wood.

Arb makes an exhaust jack that has always looked cool to try.

 

I have the Daytona 3 ton jack ( 18-1/4 in max lift ht and is a harbor freight snap on copy) and that doesn’t actually lift the tire off the ground when using the frame as a lift point (at least in the front) so I am still some what confused….

Do I need an extension like below?
Would a 4x4 piece of lumber be enough and is it safe?
Can I use the control arm safely to jack from?

(Of course if I were anywhere even remotely under the vehicle I would use jack stands)

I know a dentist that liked classic cars and also wrenching on them …..and though I don’t know all the specifics he had a car fall on him and was paralyzed neck down from that ….so I take this seriously….. and not to be all preachy I think you should too.

 

My post had a totally valid answer (use a hi-lift base plate with bottle jack) and others mentioned using wood blocks.

 

Plenty of people do it. And you can, too, if you need to. Personally, I feel way less stable jacking from the A Arm because of its shape. But the nice thing is that it keeps the suspension compressed so you don’t have to jack as much. For a quick tire swap I think it would be ok since you won’t be under the truck.

 

You will find people that tell you blocks of wood are perfectly safe. Then you have people like your dentist that still got hurt doing it (probably) the right way.

The only real safe way is to lift from the frame with a jack that has rated metal supports and then using plenty of jack stands with redundancy.

I think a jack extension like you posted is fine IF you then use jack stands. Another really safe option is the SafeJack system. But it’s pricey. It’s still just a bottle jack and extensions though.

personally, I wouldn’t trust wood.

 

Thank you for all the advices. I still can’t figure what’s the safest way to change tire on the road. At home I usually place jacklift on the cross member then put the jack stand on side frame.

 

They use wood for cribbing under houses that are being moved and in ship dry docks. Wood doesn’t compress that much.

 

2 different jacking situations, tire replacement on the road, off road extraction. On road replacement, jack the truck up safely, make sure the truck is level, and jack up the offending wheel, using the supplied bottle jack, using the jack placement picture from the manual shown earlier. Off road, never the same, imagination and caution rule, never get in front of the high lift jack that is almost required off road, never get under the truck while it's jacked up, shovel under it yes, get under it no.

 

Absolute safest way is SafeJack.

 

Hi,

I'm searching for an easier way to level my Taco at a campsite when overlanding. Piling up rocks is always a crapshoot as to whether you can find enough of the right shapes. Has anyone tried this combo of bottle-jack and jack stand?

 

Have you looked at Lynx Levelers? I used them with my camper when I had it.

 

Right, that's a possibility I'm still weighing but the blocks are only 1" high and I find that 8-10 inches is often needed. That means you'd have to carry say 15-20 blocks which eats up a lot of space. Still more blocks are required to build up a ramp rather than try to get up on 8" stack all at once.

 

I'm assuming that folks say to carry a hi-lift for off-roading only for use as a come along or to move something? I looked and couldn't find a "safe" place to use a hi-lift on my truck and I even have sliders. The moment I try to use the slider I just know the jack will slip and the top will gouge through the door...
Also looked at that "safety bottle jack" thing and it seems that the base is way too small to be useful on anything other than dry tarmac or cement. Off-roading brings special requirements and not sure there is a really good solution. I keep a floor jack in the back plus still have the rather useless factory twist jack and so far haven't had to use either.

 

I would not, unless it is professionally welded to the jack.

You can jack the LCA, but it is limiting what you can do under there. I would only do that for a tire change.

After my suspension change, the old jack didn't lift my Taco enough to rotate tires. The solution was go get the Daytona Long Reach version. My old jack was good for 19.5in. The Daytona LR is good for close to 25in.



This wasn't even the max height:

 

I carry a few pieces of wood with my jack. One of them is a piece of 4x4 post approximately 2-3”. I use it with the grain running vertical, which is the strength of the wood. The jack usually creates an initial indent which helps me with future placement. I haven’t used my factory jack because I am just not a fan of scissor jacks or bottles. I can’t number the times I’ve helped someone on the side of the road in a fail situation.

EDIT: I also NEVER go under the vehicle while on a jack. I’ll go under while just on the ground, in park, and e-brake on. If jacked, must be firmly on a jack stand. I will drop the jack to just off load, but leave in place as a secondary safety and keeps me from having to fully rejack when I am done.

 

OP, wondering after these two pages you decided on where to jack from? I am in the same boat. I did buy the safejack $220 start kit package and I carry 2 10" pieces of 8x10" pieces of wood in case I need more height. I also keep the factory jack available if I need to get a little bit of prelift in order to fit the safejack underneath. I haev a 1.5" lift and 32" tires.

• Rear points on the axle points I am comfortable with
• Front? Agree the manual is trash on the specific location. I figured out where it was, sorry I don't have pictures, to me it doesn't look like the greatest spot. If others have used the LCAs in a pinch just for a tire change I will consider that depending on the situation.

Edit: the safejack kit comes with this flat base. It gives you a 4" by 4" platform for better stability on a frame point. For the rear axles it includes the second picture which seems significantly more stable than just the top of a bottle jack.