Recovery jacks...which one?

[Iain C]

I want to get a recovery jack, and have a few questions!

Firstly, is a 4' the biggest that will fit across the boot of a Disco?

Secondly, which one?  I have heard that really the only one worth having is a genuine Hi-Lift, although Jackall are also good but unbranded or T-Max should be avoided.

TBH it will not get used that much, it's more of a "just in case" item for changing a wheel or perhaps getting out of ruts or winching off a tree, what would people recommend?

What are essential accessories?  I'll need an adaptor to fit the lift points on my steering guard, do most people have a base plate or do people make their own?  Will a bungee do instead of the isolating rubber thingy?  And where do you keep yours?  I'm not keen on an external mount...I was thinking of bolting mounting plates to my boot floor...

[Skibum346]

My 4' Jackall sits nicely along the back of the rear seat. The base rests against one wheel arch and the top of the rack slips nicely down between the seat and the other arch.

I've been racking my brains to come up with a storage solution inside a disco that means it's also easily to hand without digging our everything else. Not found one yet!

I think that I'm gonno go down the spare mount route, using a couple of series tailgate flip locks and a padlock. But that's still at the "drawing board in my head" stage!

Course... roof rack is the other option!

Skibum

[Jas278]

Ian , I use A T-max , not had any problems....

[TDi90]

hi lift for me. original and best  8)

[Smego]

I have hi-lift and a Jackell, prefer the latter.

[Skibum346]

I have hi-lift and a Jackell, prefer the latter.

Smego... you know how I can get a clamp end for the Jackall... can't find them anywhere and I want to make sure I can winch with the thing!

Skibum

[Range Rover Blues]

Hi lift for me.  The Jackall if genuine is good but the accesories for the Hi-Lift make it a no-brainer.

Mine is the black 5' and because I keep it stripped down the standard will sit neatly in the very front of the rear footwell, so if I open either at the front it will slide out from behind the seat.

[Disco Matt]

Yes a 4ft is the longest that will fit in the boot - I bought one of Wizardbilts' spare wheel mounting kits for mine, works very well indeed and stops the jack ending up under piles of stuff. Also means you can carry your jack and six passengers should the need arise.

Mine's a Jackall, no complaints apart from the lack of a plug in the end of the handle. I fixed this by cutting a circular plug from some scrap wood with a hole saw, tapping it into the jack handle, then covering it in wood glue to seal it against water.

[Iain C]

Thanks for the tips guys...in fairness it looks like all of them will be OK!

[J.D.]

In my disco I bought a 4x4 lock rack and when I put chequerpalate on the inside of the rear door, it is bolted onto the reare door, but horizontally on the inside of the door. Out of the way and to hand.

[clbarclay]

One thing that I don't like about some ladder jacks is the small leaver for switching between lift and lower. Hi-lifts have a nice sticky out bit on the end of the leaver which makes them much more user friendly (and safer) than some with only have a slight bend in the leaver (its the little details that make the difference).


Whilst your at it make sure you have a couple of hefty ratchet straps as well. They do a very good job of converting a ladder jack into a winch, by far the easiest and/or lightest solution I've come across.

I have a 4' Hi-lift which lives in the rear footwell of the RRC. I've only ever had to winched with mine once and didn't appreciably need the extra foot length then so I cant see much need for having a 5' version.

[Range Rover Blues]

I have the rpoper hi-lift winching kit, it's why I bought the 5@ version.  Every time you need to re-rig the "winch" you'll realise why the 5' is better because you loose up to 8" re-rigging.

That said it's a pretty good winch, up to 2,000kg.  I also like the fact that the Hi-Lift comes apart much better than the Jackall, it's easier to clean and to carry, I remove the handle from mine before I flip the lowering lever too, nasty accident can be had with the handle if you're not careful.