38 replies to this topic

[huckfinn]

Our first FWC trip to the eastern sierra.  

 

Changing a flat tire with the stock jack seems sketchy off-road with the weight of a FWC: a Hi-lift jack seems like the right tool but where on my stock Tacoma can it be used?  

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[The Next Adventures]

well you will probably get a lot of conflicting answers here. In my opinion using a hi-lift anytime to change a tire would be super sketchy. The bottle jack your Tacoma came with will do just fine. The hi-lift does have its place as a piece of valuable equipment for winching or getting a vehicle off of a high centered situation like being stuck on a tree stump or rock. To use it effectively for any of these situations on your Tacoma you would want to install some rock slider bars on the sides. Your bumper covers could get fairly beat up as well from the Hi-lift so steel bumpers would do well.

[Stalking Light]

AFAIK you can't on a stock rig. You can get an adapter to use it on rock rails (I had one for my FJ) and my ARB front bumper has slots for a Hi-Lift, but in the rear about the only good lift point is the trailer hitch, and that's going to lift both tires. A heavy duty bottle jack will lift the truck and camper but you need pretty level ground for that. I carry a Hi-Lift but also carry an ARB tire patch kit and a compressor and hope that's all I'll ever need.

[llavaseur]

safe jack

 

http://safejacks.com...ack-accessories

Edited by llavaseur, 20 June 2015 - 05:36 PM.

[huckfinn]

Hi TNA, thank you.  It sounds like you've used the stock jack to fix a flat offroad with a FWC.  Was it front or back?  What were the road conditions?  Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Thank you SL.  It seems to me being prepared for a flat tire on any wheel and on the usual marginal road conditions (occasionally uneven and steep forest or desert roads) would be a fairly basic kind of preparation.  To be frank, I'd worry about lifting both back wheels off the ground at once, but maybe that's just my ignorance.

 

In the truck we've often been 20-30 miles from help.  Does anyone have rock sliders or both front and back bumpers, so as to enable the comprehensive use of a hi-lift jack?  Or will a bottle jack answer sufficiently in most all conditions?

[Stalking Light]

I have an ARB front bumper and Aluminess rear. I just added CBI rock sliders. I asked Aluminess about using their rear bumper as a jack point and it was they who suggested the hitch. I doubt I'd ever try it that way, that's one reason I carry the patch kit. I have changed tires using a Hi-Lift and you do have to be real careful. My Hi-Lift was my wife's when we got married and is at least 40 years old. If it comes down to it I'd use the rock sliders as jack points long before I'd try the hitch. Now I just need to find my WabFab rock slider adapter, which is in my garage somewhere. ;-)

[huckfinn]

Thanks, SL.  It sounds like you've got it together.  I have wondered about the use of a hi lift on sliders—the Wab Fab adapter makes sense.  My plan has been to get sliders and a hi-lift—even before replacing the front bumper.

 

That said, TNA, I am open to the minimalist idea that a stock bottle jack is sufficient, less is more, and much cheaper, but I really don't want to get stuck either. 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I carry a small 2 ton floor jack in the jack compartment of the Tundra AC,and keep the bottle jack in the left rear

tie-down access area.Also carry a 12v air compressor and a can of tire stuff.Also a 6"x6"x4" wood block to use between the jack and axle.

 

Also make sure before a trip the spare is aired up and good. Mine was all cracked and the valve stem split.It was good I checked this before the last trip.

Had a new stem replaced than the first day out stopped at a Les Schwab for a good used tire of the right size.

Frank

[Stalking Light]

Depending on the front bumper you get I recommend the Fourtreks modular Hi-Lift adapter for carrying your jack. I have mine mounted horizontally on the top tube of my front bumper. They come in sizes to fit almost any tube diameter.

Edited by Stalking Light, 20 June 2015 - 06:32 PM.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I just used the truck Jack for the one flat I've had with the FWC on. Nothing like changing a tire when it's well into the 90's.