Choosing The Right Jack
Being prepared for anything is a core truth in off-roading. As the saying goes with equipment, you’d rather “have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” Any off-road enthusiast worth his salt will tell you that recovery equipment is a must for the trails, and one item often recommended is an off-road jack . We’ll go over these jacks and what distinguishes them from the standard jack you find as part of a vehicle’s factory equipment.
From the factory, vehicles come with either a bottle jack (left) and scissor jack (right) to facilitate changing tires or dislodging debris.
Off-road jacks are different from the typical scissor or bottle jack you find in a given car. Scissor and bottle jacks are great for fixes on the side of the road, where you have access to flat, solid ground and can easily reach a jacking point on the vehicle. Once you’ve located the jacking point, all you have to do is situate the jack properly and raise it using the supplied crank or handle. The jack raises the vehicle and lets you work underneath it, whether that be dislodging debris or changing a tire. However, we all know that off-road terrain can be challenging to work with.
When you’re out in the wilderness, you might be facing snow, sand, or mud. Additionally, the vehicle may get high-centered or articulated at such a height as to be inaccessible by a scissor or bottle jack. For these situations, you’ll want an off-road jack. We’ll highlight two major offerings in the marketplace that cater to this need, those being Pro Eagle and Hi-Lift .
Pro Eagle jacks made a big impact in the off-road racing scene. They came about as a need arose for the form factor of a floor jack, but with heavy-duty capabilities. Pro Eagle answered the call in 2014, rolling out jacks with large, oversized wheels capable of working in harsh environments.
Pro Eagle’s jacks use large, durable wheels that roll easily over difficult terrain.
The company offers these jacks in 1.5, 2, and 3-ton versions to cater to different needs, while also offering 8- and 15-inch extensions to greatly increase the overall height. We recommend these jacks for customers who usually drive through sand and snow, as their large surface area displaces weight better than a standard jack, thus making it easier to lift the vehicle. They’re also ideal for race vehicles and prerunners.
Hi-Lift jacks are another option for customers. These jacks have been around for decades and have proven themselves time and again. Their noteworthy length extends up to 5 feet, making them ideal for situations demanding extreme length, like tall rock obstacles.
Hi-Lift jacks work great with vehicles using larger tires, and are made even more effective when paired with the optional off-road base.
Their versatile nature has also been used to recover vehicles using heavy-duty chains, acting like a makeshift winch. We recommend these jacks for rock-crawling customers with larger tires, since these jacks can extend to great lengths to accommodate recovery. Customers can bolster the Hi-Lift’s capability with the optional off-road base, which gives the jack greater surface area to work with.
Now that we’ve gone over the options for off-road jacks, we invite you to watch the video below where we go over these jacks in detail and explore accessories that make them even more useful. Of course, we’d also like you to come check them out in person at any of our locations. We’re always happy to guide customers toward the best purchase for their particular situation and needs.
