Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Most owners on an Ozzie forum are anti high lift jacks for tyre/wheel changes and prefer a bottle jack for safety reasons. If the bottle jack doesn't reach, they make a plan like putting wood under the jack, etc. It makes sense, however should a high lift jack then only be used as a last resort and recovery tool?

I prefer to use my hi-lift jack when changing tyres. Cant always as I dont have decent jacking points on both sides(front/back) of the vehicle. My 4.2 bakkie only got jacking points on rear bumper & 4.5 only got on front replacement bumper - still want to install jacking points on the towbar's bracket.

But yes, it is probably due to safety reasons.

Personally i would not change a tyre with a High-Lift jack if I had a bottle jack at hand as I think it is a safety issue.
I have seen on recoveries how unstable a High-Lift jack can be and even at the one recovery I used it, I was very nervous.

Just makes no sense to lift the whole car up and eventually get the wheel in the air to change a wheel, the bottle jack takes very little effort and is way safer as you just lift the axle alone.

I concur with Michael,

If you are just changing a wheel on a Patrol or any other solid axle vehicle its much easier and safer to use a bottle jack. However using a bottle jack on a vehicle with independent suspension + raised ride high is slightly different. There you might need a high lift jack as it offers more travel.

To me it is less effort to use the hilift. Just make sure vehicle is on level ground. With bottle jack you have to get on your knees to operate the thing.
(But then my bottle jack's handle is missing, so have to use a screwdriver... )

Call me old school, but I much prefer the standard dome jack that comes in the vehicle (or trolley jack if you have one) placed under the diff and jacked onto trestles.
I only use a hi-lift for recovery purposes.
I narrowly escaped a hi-lift jack going over with me in the way years back helping recovering a vehicle.

I prefer a solid base, with a lower pivot point when doing work on the vehicle.
Less distance between top of jack to floor.

Hi Lift Jacks are scary items as well as being dangerous if not used correctly !!!!!

I have one standard issue grey bottle jack, which comes standard with the Patrol. As I have only had 1 puncture in all the years I have owned the Iron Maiden, I feel that I am not practiced enough to use a hi lift jack safely, and I would probably have forgotten to service the ratchety thing as they usually sit outside the vehicle, exposed to all the elements.

Changing a tyre is a piece of cake with the std Nissan bottle jack , and I could probably change the tyre just as quick, if not quicker than with a hi lift jack. I have 33" tyres and a 2 " lift and don't have a problem at all.

In my opinion a hi lift jack is a piece of ones "Recovery Equipment". Should you get a puncture on a rough section of a trail and are on very rough uneven ground, and it is totally impossible to get the vehicle a few meters forward or backwards to more level ground or to ground that will allow one to position a bottle jack safely, then..... and only then would i use a hi lift jack to change a tyre.

If one uses a hi lift jack in places like Botswana mud or if you are bellied out and need the hi lift jack to do a recovery... well that is a whole different ball game.

I don't own a hi lift jack so like I said earlier, I would have to trust that if I had to use or let someone use a hi lift jack on my Patrol, I hope that it is a well maintained piece of equipment that they leave exposed to the elements.

Touch wood.... in all the years of my 4x4 career I have never had to make use of one.

A hi-lift jack should not be used for anything other than as specialized piece of recovery equipment. It works precisely because it is unstable.

It should not be used to change wheels if it is at all possible to prevent that.

And if there is no other choise than a hi-lift jack for changing tires, it should ONLY be used under a rock-slider.

NEVER get any part of yourself under a vehicle that is lifted with a hi-lift jack under a bumper.

I would never recommend anyone use a hi lift jack... but I use them all the time. It is dangerous and you need to understand how they work, know your own and avoid using someone else's. I have winched, jacked, recovered with them and the one time I did not have one I ended up getting so bogged my jeep flooded. But I used the high lift when I got home to lift the front so the water ran out.

Things that are a must have. Hi lift jack points and the adapter. Rock sliders work well too.

Someone mentioned rusty exposed to the elements mechanisms.... I am amazed some people's still work, but frequently see a rusty highlift proudly displaced on a vehicle with no jacking pionts

I keep the mechanism in my recovery box and only the bar is on the roof rack. Mechanism is 10 years old and still looks new. Bar is due for a respray.

Chuck also has a HiLift jack mounted on the side of the roof rack, but it's only there for the looks

I much prefer to use the bottle jack that came with the Patrol - much safer and lots quicker...