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emergency off-road wheel change discussion

4K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  nfmisso 
#1 ·
Hi all: Let's share ideas on this. My Colorado has a 5.5" lift, steel sidesteps and at this time, a regular front and rear end. The factory jack would probably work in my driveway (I haven't tried) but it would be useless off road. I have a big 12t bottle jack that I could get/make adapters for to lift that the chassis frame or I could get a HiLift but, where to attach a HiLift for lifting? The sidesteps are attached fairly well to the truck but I doubt they are rated as lift points and the front and back are useless except for maybe the rear hitch point. Using the HiLift wheel adapter works to lift the problem wheel but then the truck has to be supported by floor jacks or lots of big bits of wood to be able to remove the HiLift and swap wheels.

What do you guys do (intend to do) in the event of an emergency off-road wheel change? Any special toys or adapters?
 
#3 · (Edited)
I carry a Bushranger X-Jack, easy to carry and use, and can be placed most anywhere under the vehicle for lifting. I've used it for recovery with a long wheelbase truck that got hung up on a break-over obstacle, and lifted the truck to get some rocks stacked under the tires, then the guy was able to drive off. You can inflate with the exhaust, an on-board air compressor, or both at the same time.

Bushranger X-Jack Complete Kit (72X10)

Here it's on the back of my Canyon.
 
#4 ·
I have a Hi Lift as well, but no place to mount it permanently. Maybe in the future someone will make a decent mount for under the bed rails. So I usually carry a Hi Lift base, or a couple chunks of 4x4s to give a solid base for my OEM jack. Its not the best solution, but its the best I can come up with at the moment.

I do have the wheel lifting attachment for my Hi Lift, but because I don't carry the jack all the time, it's not useful yet.
 
#8 ·
Seriously.... If you off-road pretty often and have ideas of changing out your axles...... I'd ditch the 'side steps' and get some full blown rock sliders. Have them mounted properly to the frame so you can use them as a 'jacking point' (using HiLift).

Emergencies can/will happen in all sorts of different scenarios. The more options you have available to jack the truck up with (from front, rear & sides) the better. Pending the terrain - might limit the usage of front & rear jacking.

A Hi-lift type device is a great tool to have, not only for jacking...but you can use it as a winching device also. Mounting it should be simple on the truck - there are years and years worth of acccessories already on the market. Search google images and you'll find countless of photos and ideas of where to mount it on a truck.

Hi lifts aren't hard to use. You gotta keep them clean and lubricated so they function properly everytime you need it. Learn how to use it properly and to your advantage.
 
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