Canadian Nissan Truck Club

I'm in need to know how you guys mount your Hi-Lifts to the roof rack?

Any ideas/suggestions?

HolidayNation built his own - see his Owner Rigs page. There are some cool clips you can purchase - rubber grommet-like things that wrap around the hi-lift. They bolt into the side of your rack. I wouldn't trust the rubber grommet in our weather with a jack that weighs so much, but I'll find a link for you.

BUT: My experience with leaving a hi-lift outside the truck is that it seizes up and stops working. Jeep guys used to weld a few bolts to their front bumper and mount the lift there. But after about a month the lift wouldn't work.

When I travel with the thing, I place it across the floor of the truck (back seats.) It's so heavy it doesn't move. Mind you, I use a 48" jack. If it was a 60" it wouldn't work. I suppose I could bolt it to the roof rack, but it's a long way up (even for me) and lugging it up and down would piss me off. Carri and Drew mount it to their swing arms.

The most important thing to remember is that hi-lifts can't live outside for very long without needing a rebuild. And how often do you use it? I might consider a spot in the cargo bay, even if you have to cut it back to 45" or so. Make life easy, and you don't have to worry about the jack seizing.


Scott

Geoffrey wrote:BUT: My experience with leaving a hi-lift outside the truck is that it seizes up and stops working. Jeep guys used to weld a few bolts to their front bumper and mount the lift there. But after about a month the lift wouldn't work.

Question tho...it seemed that it was the norm for people to have them mounted on their roof racks/baskets or on their rear bumpers/tire carriers, no?

Nd4SpdSe wrote:

Geoffrey wrote:BUT: My experience with leaving a hi-lift outside the truck is that it seizes up and stops working. Jeep guys used to weld a few bolts to their front bumper and mount the lift there. But after about a month the lift wouldn't work.

Question tho...it seemed that it was the norm for people to have them mounted on their roof racks/baskets or on their rear bumpers/tire carriers, no?

I always keep mine in / though will probably create an outside mount, when going out for a run. You can buy cases/neoprene covers etc. or make something to cover it up. As far as leaving it out on a daily driver, I wouldn't for the reasons mentioned above.

Mike: You're right. It was the norm.

And guess what happened.

The jacks all seized up.

It's OK for things like AW, or going to Moab. But as a permanent fixture, bad idea. Those guys you see with a hi-lift on the side of their roof rack as an everyday item are attaching it their cause they think it looks cool. The jack doesn't work anymore.

I had mine mounted to mine for a season and it rusted all to heck. I've got to grind it down and paint it. Looks cool as heck when it is up there but you pay the price. Mine still worked fine though. I used it over the winter to jack up the floor joists in the basement to sister in new ones.

Freshly installed and not rusted. http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo20 ... G_5522.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo20 ... G_5524.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Geoffrey wrote: Those guys you see with a hi-lift on the side of their roof rack as an everyday item are attaching it their cause they think it looks cool.

Indeed it would....indeed it would....

In my second gen X I put it under the back seats, and there it will stay most of the year from now on. Have you looked to see if it would work on a first gen X?

No room under the back seats in 1st Gen. I threw mine in the back cargo bay the other day, though, and a 48" does fit across. Problem is that if you also had a pile of gear in there you'd have to remove it all to get to the lift, which is why I never put it there and wasn't sure if it would fit - what with moldings and wheel wells.

On the other hand - it's a lot easier to get the thing into our trucks than into a Jeep. The 48" lift won't fit inside a Jeep.

I'm going to build a tire carrier mount for it for trips but normally I leave it at home unless I know I'm going wheeling. For now I just put it where Scott does. Never moves.

I have mine inside the truck, behind the rear seats, essentially just below where the privacy cover would go. I keep it inside the vehicle for the very same reasons Scotto mentioned. They get all jammed up when you leave it outside, unless you are constantly spraying it with Fluid film or something like that.

Mine was a 60" hi-lift though, that I cut down to an exact fit behind the seats. If I recall, I cut it down to 53". It sits perfectly behind the seats, and never moves. It's out of the way, and if I have a tons of crap in the back, and need to get it out of there, I simply fold down the seats and take it out from one of the rear passenger doors.

I have to carry my hi-lift with me wherever I go, because it's the only thing that can pick the truck up high enough to change a tire if needed.

First of all, I don't understand this belief people have that if they've lifted their trucks they can no longer use the factory jack to lift the truck and change a tire. The factory jack lifts the rear of the vehicle from a point below the axle which is the same height whether you've lifted the truck or not and unless you've added long travel suspension up front the fronts wheels will still lift off the ground using the factory jack as well. Am I missing something here are do you guys not know how the factory jack works?

Now back to the original question. You don't mention what make of roof basket you have. I have the Yakima LoadWarrior and they make a bracket (not cheap) specifically for carrying a Hi-Lift jack. I believe some other basket makers also have Hi-Lift jack brackets as well.

As for carrying a Hi-Lift jack outside the vehicle and it rusting and seizing up in use. I've never had that problem but I spray the entire jack with WD-40 and all the mechanical moving parts are sprayed with lithium white grease. You do need to spray it clean at least a couple of times a year and re-coat it otherwise dirt will accumulate in the grease and that could cause problems.

X-Treme wrote:First of all, I don't understand this belief people have that if they've lifted their trucks they can no longer use the factory jack to lift the truck and change a tire. The factory jack lifts the rear of the vehicle from a point below the axle which is the same height whether you've lifted the truck or not and unless you've added long travel suspension up front the fronts wheels will still lift off the ground using the factory jack as well. Am I missing something here are do you guys not know how the factory jack works?

My stock jack works fine for getting the truck off the ground in a normal situation, which is why I still carry it with me in the truck.

It's for all those other situations that the stock jack is not good for, that I have my hi-lift with me at all times. I still use the stock one from time to time, but it's usually in conjunction with the hi-lift for whatever reason.

There's no way Jen would be able to use the hi-lift to change a tire anyways, so...

In some cases the factory jack will not lift high enough once larger tires are installed. It has nothing to do with the lift(s) except for the fact that they are what allow for the larger tires.

Sorry Jay, I don't want you to think my comment was only directed to you. It's just that I'd heard that same sentiment from other people regarding the factory jack where they made a comment about having lifted their truck and now they couldn't use the factory jack anymore. I'm glad to know you still realize that it does still work and is still the safest and preferred way to change a tire in case of a flat. Now, of course, that's only true on a nice hard, flat road surface. On a trial the factory jack is usually useless and you have no choice but to turn to a Hi-Lift.

Simon wrote:In some cases the factory jack will not lift high enough once larger tires are installed. It has nothing to do with the lift(s) except for the fact that they are what allow for the larger tires.

That's true but the tire would have to be at least 3-4" larger before it would render the factory jack unusable I think. A tire that size would require major modifications to the truck to fit anyway. SASing comes to mind or if someone was willing to cut open their wheel wells.

X-Treme wrote:Sorry Jay, I don't want you to think my comment was only directed to you. It's just that I'd heard that same sentiment from other people regarding the factory jack where they made a comment about having lifted their truck and now they couldn't use the factory jack anymore. I'm glad to know you still realize that it does still work and is still the safest and preferred way to change a tire in case of a flat. Now, of course, that's only true on a nice hard, flat road surface. On a trial the factory jack is usually useless and you have no choice but to turn to a Hi-Lift.

No worries Gino, I posted it in my previous post and you made a good point that the stock one is still usable, even with a lift.

I haven't used my stock jack to change a tire since I got my hi-lift anyways (just easier to use the hi-lift), so I can't really say whether it would still work or not in my application!

And for the record, if you don't have sliders in replacement of your stock step-rails, a hi-lift is essentially useless for lifting the truck anyways. You need the sliders as a lift point.

Now, what was Mikey asking again?

Who's Mikey?

X-Treme wrote:

Simon wrote:In some cases the factory jack will not lift high enough once larger tires are installed. It has nothing to do with the lift(s) except for the fact that they are what allow for the larger tires.

That's true but the tire would have to be at least 3-4" larger before it would render the factory jack unusable I think. A tire that size would require major modifications to the truck to fit anyway. SASing comes to mind or if someone was willing to cut open their wheel wells.

What about if you have extream articulation.Would the stock jack still work?

the x kid wrote:What about if you have extream articulation.Would the stock jack still work?

I cover that in my original post.

unless you've added long travel suspension up front

Since the rear is lifted from underneath the axle it generally doesn't make a difference what you've done to the suspension. Of course crazy people I'm sure could come up with a modification that could render it useless in the rear as well.