Hilift and or Handyman jacks

CIW · #1 05/17/12, 09:23 AM

How many of the folks here have at least 1 Hilift or Handyman style jack? And do you have daily or common uses for it?

braggscowboy · #2 05/17/12, 10:36 AM

Have one, hardly use it, but could. Frontend loader, other jacks, etc. Watch, don't let them kick out. If stuck good to use.

Sawmill Jim · #3 05/17/12, 10:46 AM

Got one wish you had it

Most times i use the forklift or front loader

catalekid · #4 05/17/12, 10:48 AM

Have a 60" Hi Lift, don't use it often but fantastic to have when I need it.By the way, if you are considering one, buy the name brand Hi Lift, costs more but worth it We have had three of the off brand fail while four wheeling, one time dropping a 4X4 on a friend's leg.

whiterock · #5 05/17/12, 12:42 PM

got one, mostly used now to pull posts.

springvalley · #6 05/17/12, 01:02 PM

I never use to have one, but had an older neighbor that moved to town brought me over one, he said he didn`t need it anymore and thought I could use it. I use it more than I thought I would, use it to change tires all the time and many other things. > Thanks Marc

andyd2023 · #7 05/17/12, 02:00 PM

I have a 60" Hi-Lift jack. I don't use it a lot but when you need, there is no substitute.
I have used mine to free stuck trucks, level sheds, push beams, align deck boards, and sometimes even to change tires. Covered in mud or full of dirt it always works.
Andrew

rancher1913 · #8 05/17/12, 04:13 PM

got about 10 or so and use them when they fit the bill. grandfather always called them "widow maker" jacks because they will hurt you if not used just right.

ErinP · #9 05/17/12, 04:48 PM

Quote:

grandfather always called them "widow maker" jacks because they will hurt you if not used just right.

We have a couple of Handymans. Frankly, I don't know of anyone who DOESN'T have an I-almost-died story about their Handyman jack.

Ours:
DH was trying to get a wheel off a planter. When he was going to let it off, the handle jammed, then slipped (because they never work quite right) and cracked him in the side of the head.
Split his left ear horizontally. It was only hanging on by a smidge on either side of the lobe and hung over, like a hound dog's. I was so thankful it didn't split his skull!

When the ER doc was asking what happened, DH just looked at him and said, "Handyman jack."

"Probably half my business comes from those things" lol

arabian knight · #10 05/17/12, 05:14 PM

I have one and use it all the time.
I have even jacked the backend of a car up and OUT of a hole, not once but several times it has gotten me unstuck.
Lift the bugger high enough to clear the hole you are in and then gently PUSH the car sideways and on top of the ground.
Mine is also a fence stretcher.~! Have used it a few times as that also.
I think it is well ver 60 years old, my Grandfather used it to "level" his water well drilling machine.~!
I have eve "rebuilt" it.
Meaning putting in new springs and pins~!
In fact just a week ago I used it to jack up my horse trailer to change a tire. Works great and one of the most used items I inherited from my Grandparents~!

One time my landlord broke down out in front of my driveway with his manure spreader. The hitch broke. I was able to get under the tongue with the great thing called a Hi-lift Handyman Jack.

brosil · #11 05/17/12, 06:36 PM

Got one I use all the time.

HermitJohn · #12 05/17/12, 07:27 PM

Keep good hold on that long pipe handle. It flies up, can do effective job giving you a concussion. But if you are careful they are very useful tool. Also when the mechanism gets worn you have to manually make sure the pins are fully engaged in the notches. Hi Lift used to sell repair kit for them, maybe they still do.

I have three hi lift brand jacks, but one of them is different, guess they used to make a cheaper version. I always carried it in back of pickup in case somebody decided they needed a jack more than I did. Figured they took it without knowing its little foibles, they would probably hurt themselves and karma would even out.

I have used one of the Chinese clones that friend owned and seemed about equal in quality, didnt like that handle was permanently attached. If it had been mine I would have remedied that little oversight.

BobbyB · #13 05/17/12, 08:09 PM

I have carried one since High School. Trouble is, newer bumpers do not lend themselves to using one for flat changing.

But in he past I used one to;

1) stretch fence

2) as a come along to pull a truck out of a mudhole

3) A buddy once slid sideways off a steep gravel hill. We used a pair of them to jack the rear end as high as we could and the pushed the truck over towards the road. After about 5 rounds, the truck was back in the road and could be driven off.

4) Another buddy buried his 4 x 4 to the floor boards. I could only get to him with mine at a 90 degree angle. We jacked his up clear of the ground and boarded under it so I could slide him around and pull him out backwards

5) I used to have a 6 x 8 foot storage shed I built . I moved it 4 times.I would jack up each side with a pair until I could get my trailer under it then come along it the rest of the on board.

The uses are limited only by your ability to come up with new ones

FarmboyBill · #14 05/17/12, 08:29 PM

I had, till it broke, what I called a rail jack as it goes up and down on an I beam rail with holes in it.

Its opened my head up once, and smashed my thumb another time. Im going to need to get another one.

FarmboyBill · #15 05/17/12, 08:30 PM

Ive got 2 OLD Simplex jacks that weight a ton, or at least the cast body and iron jack shaft does. The aluminum one with an aluminum body weighs a short ton LOL

CIW · #16 05/18/12, 12:54 PM

Now I'll disclose my reasons for asking these questions.
I am in the process of trademarking an attachment for these type of jacks. And was listening to the types of uses that you had for them.
Thanks
And would like to hear any more uses that you may have.

arabian knight · #17 05/18/12, 01:08 PM

I know there is a attachment that makes it possible to lift the newer cars. It has a flexible cable or chain with a hook, that will allow the user to jack up many newer cars from the bumper.
I don't have one but they are sold through many catalogs and such.

farminghandyman · #18 05/18/12, 01:30 PM

they seem to be a necessary evil, I think there dangerous and heavy and awkward to use, but when you need one it seems to be about the only tool to do the job,

Micahn · #19 05/18/12, 02:13 PM

I have always called them Bloomfield jacks as they are made in my home town of Bloomfield Indiana.