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On the trail jacking

anwat

anwat

1/2 ton status
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With the purchase of my new blazer, I have a lot more suspension travel, 3/4 of which is droop. I realized on my last outing that my hi-lift on the bumper isn't going to be the safest way to change a 37" tire, especially on an uneven trail. I never knew how much more a 37" tire weighs than a 35" tire I've asked a few people and everyone is recommending either a big bottle jack or a high-lift floor jack. Even though it's expensive, I like the idea behind the Pro Eagle jacks, but it's going to take up a lot of room. Bottle jacks seem kind of unsafe also, and you usually end up under the truck while you're jacking. Wanted to ask what others have found to be the safest and easiest way to get a truck off the ground to change a tire on an uneven, rocky surface or in the mud or sand.
 
Bottle jack and a block of wood is the safest way I've done it. I also have an attachment that goes on the end of the jack to cradle the axle tube so it's less likely to fall too.
 
Since I have a huge truck I have room to carry a floor jack with a skid plate.

The other jack I like is from a Ford Super Duty. It will go pretty high.

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rampage said:
You can still use your hi-lift if you use a strap or chain from the frame to axle.
Click to expand...
Yep, that's where I'm at now...I have a chain with hooks for that specific purpose and I use one of those rope shackles to hook the hi-lift onto the bumper. There's just a lot of room for movement when I start yanking on the tire.
 
I like that airbag idea...I've seen the FD use a similar item often to shore up vehicles and make sure they don't move while they are doing rescues. Only question is does it hurt your engine at all to have a bunch of backpressure on the exhaust system? And obviously, you have to be wary of sharp rocks and edges on the vehicle. But way cheaper than the floor jack I was looking at.

The swag is also a good idea...maybe the airbag and bottle jack with the swag as a backup...I'd still be saving money over the floor jack on wheels I was looking at.

OK, I looked into the airbags..didn't get very good reviews..even the more expensive ones with three smaller bags. Plus you're only looking at about a 16" lift, so it would have to go under the axle. And the exhaust air tubes seem to melt quite often. I'm going to see if I can find a better quality one, but I don't have a lot of faith in the ones I saw on amazon. It does seem like a good idea, though. Anyone have any first hand experience with one?
 
anwat said:
I like that airbag idea...I've seen the FD use a similar item often to shore up vehicles and make sure they don't move while they are doing rescues. Only question is does it hurt your engine at all to have a bunch of backpressure on the exhaust system? And obviously, you have to be wary of sharp rocks and edges on the vehicle. But way cheaper than the floor jack I was looking at.

The swag is also a good idea...maybe the airbag and bottle jack with the swag as a backup...I'd still be saving money over the floor jack on wheels I was looking at.

OK, I looked into the airbags..didn't get very good reviews..even the more expensive ones with three smaller bags. Plus you're only looking at about a 16" lift, so it would have to go under the axle. And the exhaust air tubes seem to melt quite often. I'm going to see if I can find a better quality one, but I don't have a lot of faith in the ones I saw on amazon. It does seem like a good idea, though. Anyone have any first hand experience with one?
Click to expand...

The one I saw being used was yellow, so not sure of the brand. Was under a jk axle CD to swap a 40" on a D60. He had a rubber mat top and bottom just in case. Exhaust keakes would be the biggest issue.

I wonder if it would work with a compressor. Says they need under 1inch psi to pump up.

We used to pump up tires by pulling a spark plug and running a hose from that cylinder. I don't think the engine will care about the back pressure.
 
I saw a couple of videos on these airbag jacks where they were being used with a compressor. Takes a long time, but it worked. Kind of like filling an air mattress with one...you need volume, not pressure. Most of the issues people were having was with the hose from the exhaust melting as it was filling the bag. Probably pretty easy to figure out something to use that will resist the heat a little better.

Did that jeep look pretty stable with the airbag under the axle? Didn't look like it would slide off to one side or anything?
 
A whole lot more stable than a highlift. The back slightly conformed to the axle. The jeep would have to roll for it to come off. At that point, any jack would fail.
 
This has been brought up in my off road driving classes that I ran through my employer many times, as it's considered part of the standard/required equipment load on our service trucks, and the guys ask about them. They are often surprised to hear that I haven't carried a Hi-lift jack on any of my 4x4s for off road duty for well over a decade now, and have not missed it once. I use it occasionally for other job related tasks, but never for anything involving lifting the truck itself. I have found there are always better, and safer, ways to do what the hi-lift did. For tire changing, the bottle jack or even a scissor jack has always been a better choice. Remember, the axle only needs to be raised enough to get the tire a tiny bit off the ground...I carry both a bottle and scissor jack. Scissor is great for squeezing under a high centered truck and raising it a bit to get cribbing or a bottle jack under it.

If there's concern about the truck shifting when raised, then you haven't properly secured the truck before lifting it. Move it to flat ground before jacking, even if it means driving a bit on a flat tire. Realistically, moving it a bit at slow speed isn't going to hurt the tire, and if it does, that tire was trash already. Regardless, what's better - replacing a tire or having a truck come down on you? If for some reason it can't be moved, set the parking brake, chock the wheels and/or chain/strap it to a big tree/boulder/ground anchor/another truck/whatever to secure it before jacking.

If you're concerned about being under it, carry a length of pipe/tube that fits the handle socket, and is long enough to get you out from under the truck. A bottle jack under the truck is still magnitudes of order safer than a hi-lift, especially considering very few people maintain those things or store them properly. Good example of the results from a poorly maintained jack that was also being used improperly -
But even a well maintained jack can easily get away from you if divert attention for even a second.

If you're dealing with a need to get unstuck, say from a high center situation or needing to rock stack, then slowly raise the truck from the frame or axles, and crib it up as you go along. This way if it does shift and drop, it's only doing so by an inch or two not a few feet.
 
you bring up many of the points that I saw in a fairly comprehensive video by some guy from Australia which compared the bottle, hi-lift and airbags. While there are pros and cons to each, it seemed the hi-lift was the least effective for actually jacking the vehicle for a tire change. Depending on the terrain, the airbag or bottle seemed to be the best choices. From what I've learned here, and what I've seen first hand, the limitation to the bottle jack comes from trying to use it on an uneven surface and/or the range of lift (as in it may be difficult to get under the vehicle in some circumstances. It's small size is offset by the need to carry a base of some sort. The airbag is good for recovery as well as certain jacking situations such as mud and sand, but can be limited by puncture risk and by the exhaust setup on some vehicles with two pipes. The floor jack on skidplate is also limited on getting under the vehicle in some situations and could be unstable in the rocks.
What I was trying to do was save some space, but it seems that is not going to happen. I think now I'm realizing that I should probably carry at least two of these options, or someone in the group should. The ARB airbag is the only quality one I've been able to find, and it's not cheap. But it will fit in otherwise useless space because it's only 4" tall, so that or a similar bag is going on the list. From there, either a bottle jack or floor jack is going, and price wise, it looks like the HF with the skid and mount is going to be the cheapest option. The pro eagle doesn't really make sense, since the height of the jack is too high to get under the vehicle in many situations. In the garage or on a dirt road it would be great, but for versatility, it's too tall. Since every jeep in California has a high lift strapped to it in some way, I figure I will leave mine at home. I might be able to show one of the Jeep guys how to use it if he's able to get it unlocked and off his rig. I'm resigned to the fact that a full size spare and a good jack are essential, so it looks like I'm just going to have to pack accordingly. I'm thinking I can probably pack the airbag in the center of the spare tire rim. Thanks for the input everyone, and post up if you're aware of a good quality exhaust airbag type jack other than the ARB.
I looked into the Swag axle thing, it's already ordered....once I saw it will fit the link arms, it was a done deal. I can jack it up from there or the axle, making it even more useful.
 
I always stand well back from a high lift jack when I'm using it. I don't want to be knocked out or have my jaw broken.
 
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