Will a hi-lift jack be sufficient to change a wheel?

[steve.lorimer]

Hi folks

Will a hi-lift jack be sufficient to change a wheel on a Unimog, or do I need to get a different jack too?

Thanks
Steve

[Martyn]

Steve

The high-lift is rated at 4,660 lbs (2113.74 kg) maximum capacity. How much does your Mog weigh?

The other issue I see is that the higher you get with a Hi-lift the less stable it becomes.

[steve.lorimer]

Hi Martyn

Weight wise it should be fine. We're sitting at +/- 6 tonnes, so when lifting a single wheel should be looking at a little more than 1/4 of that.

I guess it's the height that I'm concerned about more too!

Thanks
Steve

[Martyn]

Hi-Lift does sell an "Off Road Base" that might help a little http://www.hi-lift.com/accessories/off-road-base.html

[Guinness44]

Sounds scary. NO.
But whatever jack you use, get a heavy duty jackstand and back it up. Your mog weighing 6 tons, would that be 12000 lbs. Get something MORE stable, and highlifts have been BENT under a H1 (probably weighing 8 or 9K pounds).
There is a scissorjack under development (being tested right now on fully armored HMMWVs), PM me if you need info, need to find it again.

[crawler#976]

I consider a Hi-lift a recovery tool, not a tire changing jack. Even with the base they are unsafe at height.

There are plenty of high capacity bottle jacks available that would be suitable for changing a tire on a Mog. Or, has I used to do when I owned a full sized truck, carry a standard floor jack and a 2' x 3' chunk of 3/4" plywood to act as a base.

Mark

[ntsqd]

If the Mog's portals offer a purchase I'd use a simple bottle jack. A mechanical one if possible to find one suitable.

[mountainpete]

I have never lifted a Mog so take this as a conversational topic instead of fact:

For a hi-lift my first concern isn't weight capacity (although Hi-lifts have a pin that will break at 8k pounds) but simply is it tall enough to even lift a tire. Depending on the Mog, the lift point could be 30+ inches off the ground, not leaving much room on the jack. And there is abosultely no way it would work without eliminating the suspension travel first and that concerns me on something as big as Mog.

I would echo the other suggestions with a jack under the axle.

Pete

[Chas Stricker]

I've thought about building an attachment that slides into the wheel hub(round surface about 6inches in diameter) and has a lip that can bolt under one wheel lug. That will be attached to the Hi-Lift. Once it's jacked up place a jack-stand under the axle and change the wheel. I also carry a 20ton bottle jack with wood. I made an attachment for my receiver hitch that bolts to the High-Lift. Being directly coupled to the jack makes it very stable. Just my thoughts,
Chas

[mountainpete]

I've thought about building an attachment that slides into the wheel hub(round surface about 6inches in diameter) and has a lip that can bolt under one wheel lug. That will be attached to the Hi-Lift. Once it's jacked up place a jack-stand under the axle and change the wheel. I also carry a 20ton bottle jack with wood. I made an attachment for my receiver hitch that bolts to the High-Lift. Being directly coupled to the jack makes it very stable. Just my thoughts,
Chas

Good thinking Chas... lift the wheel and then block it under the axle. Could work well, but not sure about the load on the jack.

Pete

[97 zj steve]

they have a 60" lift also and an extreme version but idk how much more that would lift weight wise tho you said thats not ur concern

[mountainpete]

All Hi-lift brand jacks have the same sheer pin - and I was wrong, it's designed to break at 7000 lbs and not 8000.

http://www.hi-lift.com/hi-lift-jacks/index.html

[762X39]

I have experimented with using a Hi Lift type jack (mine is a Jack-All made in Canada but it is no less sturdy than a High Lift)) and I didn't feel very good about using it to lift my relatively light (7900 lb) Unimog 404. To change tires I resort to a factory supplied Bilstein screw jack, 2 pieces of 1 1/2 inch thick plywood about a foot square and a 6 ton axle stand.
I found the Jack-All started to bow a bit as it took up the weight.

[Guinness44]

Bilstein jack? Interesting. Could you possibly post a pix, please.
Also found the scissorjack info, its made by reprisecorp

[Westy]

When lifting long travel 4x4 vehicles with a Hi lift, I've found it is a good idea to chain the axle to the frame so it eliminates the need to jack the vehicle higher than necessary.

Find a suitable bottle jack and a good support base to put under the jack in soft terrain.

[762X39]

Bilstein jack? Interesting. Could you possibly post a pix, please.
I am in the process of replacing a portal hub seal so I am taking lots of pictures.As soon as the forum picture upload feature gets fixed , I'll post a couple of shots of the jack.I think it is standard issue on 404 Unimogs.