TJ - Hi-Lift/FarmJack Mounting "How-To"

TJ - Hi-Lift/FarmJack Mounting "How-To"

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Tech Breakdown


• Tools required:
  Basic Socket Set
  
  
• Total Cost Analysis:
  < $10.00
• Installation Time:
  <>

I found this on a jeep forum, but I really don’t know who to give the credit to. I would imagine it has been improved with every application. Thanks to fellow jeepers more of us can enjoy getting out and getting dirty but fixing things with a clean jack. (Whether it be a "Farm Jack" or a "Hi-Lift").

This is a simple but different way of inexpensively mounting your Hi-Lift/Farm Jack out of the weather and out of the way. Using 2 fencing clips "Tension Bands", 2 lag bolts, a few washers, nylon lock nuts, I was able to easily mount my Jack in 15 minutes.

The technical term for the fencing clips is a "tension band" used in chain link fence construction to secure the actual chain link to the poles. It looks like this and comes in different sizes. I found mine at Lowe’s in the fence department, but you can order one below:

http://www.discountfence.com/chainlink2/fittings.htm

To determine the size of your tension band, measure your roll bars with the padding compressed to get the proper diameter. The size of bolt will be also be determined by the diameter of the bolt hole in your tension band, I used a 2 ½" long lag bolt because I didn’t want to have to much of the bolt sticking out once the jack was in place.

I placed the "Tension Bands" around the rear roll bars and used the lag bolt, I was able to secure the band to the roll bar with the first lock nut. I also threaded another lock nut half way down the bolt and placed a large washer on the bolt over that nut. I used lock nuts because I didn’t want the nuts to back off the bolt with all the vibrations a Jeep tends to have. I completed the other side and placed the jack through the protruding bolts against the washers. I added the extra lock nut and washer as I found that when you tighten the nuts to secure the jack, it tended to pull the tension band around the roll bar and bend the bolt if you tighten it to much. The extra lock nut and washer half way down the bolt stopped this from happening.

Once the jack was in place I simply added another washer and lock nut to the bolts and tightened. Be careful to mount the jack low enough down your roll bars to keep the jack out of the way for anyone that rides in the back (with the jack lower on the roll bars there is no chance of anybody bumping their heads or if the Jeep was ever rear ended).

After the jack was mounted, I cut a piece of foam insulation, that is used to wrap copper piping, and wrapped the shaft of the jack so the handle wouldn’t rattle against it. You can use a piece of a Velcro strap or wire to secure the handle to the jack. The base of the jack is stored in the back or under the rear seat, clean and secure.

You can use many different locking techniques for your jack, from cable locks to bike locks and so on. Find what works best for you. The lock nuts aren’t a security feature but they will help keep passer bys from stealing your jack without a wrench. I also come across bolts with a hole drilled through the end of them to fasten a small lock or cotter pin, but these bolts were easily broken as the hole tends to weaken the end of the bolt itself.

There are many variations and ways to mount your jack but I found this to be the easiest and cheapest way to keep a clean and secure jack.

Submitted By: Big "Canuck" Mike