I've been kicking around the idea of replacing my High-Lift Jack with a Bottle Jack for years. The problem is when running 40's, it's tough to find a bottle jack that will lift high enough to get a tire off the ground.
Now to be clear, I am a high-lift fan. It's safe if you are smarter than the jack, use it correctly, and maintain it. But the downside is the weight (mine weighs 29 pounds), and it's actually tough to lift the rig high enough to change a tire if you have a droopy suspension (I've used ratchet straps to hold up the axle - but that's a pain). I've also only ever used the high-lift to change a tire, and never for any other type of recovery work.
I do have a couple of bottle jacks that I carry in the truck, and on the trailer. They are telescoping 12-ton versions, and do lift 24" - but crazy big and heavy at 25 pounds.
I came across something called Safe Jacks ( https://safejacks.com/ ), and their stuff is pretty cool - and gave me some ideas for a version of my own.
So off we go...
I like the idea of a telescoping bottle jack. You get twice the lift height from the same size jack. But I wanted the smallest and lightest version I could find that would still do the job. So I picked up a few versions of bottle jacks to compare.
From left to right, a 4-Ton telescopic, a 6-ton standard, and 8-ton telescopic, and one of my beast-mode 12-ton telescopics. All are Torin jacks.
The smaller jacks have the same total lift height - at 16.5". The 4 and 8-ton telescopic jacks both provide 7.5" of lift, compared to the 6-ton's 5.5" of lift. You can tell by the pic that the bodies of the telescopic jacks are both shorter than the standard.
The 4-ton weights 6.9 pounds, the 6-ton is 7.5 pounds, and the 8-ton is right at 9.75 pounds. And for comparison, as I said the 12-ton weighs 25 pounds.
Since it is the lightest and smallest package - I wanted to use the 4-ton. The lift cylinder and the extension screw are a bit smaller and spindly compared to the larger jacks. But the biggest problem is that I threw it under the rig to test its power - and despite its 4-ton rating it was a real struggle to lift the back half of the rig at the diff.
The 8-ton lifted the rig much easier. So even though it is a little heavier, I selected the 8-ton jack as the basis for the build.
Now to be clear, I am a high-lift fan. It's safe if you are smarter than the jack, use it correctly, and maintain it. But the downside is the weight (mine weighs 29 pounds), and it's actually tough to lift the rig high enough to change a tire if you have a droopy suspension (I've used ratchet straps to hold up the axle - but that's a pain). I've also only ever used the high-lift to change a tire, and never for any other type of recovery work.
I do have a couple of bottle jacks that I carry in the truck, and on the trailer. They are telescoping 12-ton versions, and do lift 24" - but crazy big and heavy at 25 pounds.
I came across something called Safe Jacks ( https://safejacks.com/ ), and their stuff is pretty cool - and gave me some ideas for a version of my own.
So off we go...
I like the idea of a telescoping bottle jack. You get twice the lift height from the same size jack. But I wanted the smallest and lightest version I could find that would still do the job. So I picked up a few versions of bottle jacks to compare.
From left to right, a 4-Ton telescopic, a 6-ton standard, and 8-ton telescopic, and one of my beast-mode 12-ton telescopics. All are Torin jacks.
The smaller jacks have the same total lift height - at 16.5". The 4 and 8-ton telescopic jacks both provide 7.5" of lift, compared to the 6-ton's 5.5" of lift. You can tell by the pic that the bodies of the telescopic jacks are both shorter than the standard.
The 4-ton weights 6.9 pounds, the 6-ton is 7.5 pounds, and the 8-ton is right at 9.75 pounds. And for comparison, as I said the 12-ton weighs 25 pounds.
Since it is the lightest and smallest package - I wanted to use the 4-ton. The lift cylinder and the extension screw are a bit smaller and spindly compared to the larger jacks. But the biggest problem is that I threw it under the rig to test its power - and despite its 4-ton rating it was a real struggle to lift the back half of the rig at the diff.
The 8-ton lifted the rig much easier. So even though it is a little heavier, I selected the 8-ton jack as the basis for the build.