I should start up a company and mass produce these. With that kind of markup I'd be rich in no time.

 

That's not buying in bulk ether.

 

The Hi-Lift predecessor came out in 1905... It took more than 100 years and quite a few accidents, before someone thought of such a simple solution...

There's more R&D than meets the eye, even for a simple product like this one,
to simultaneously achieve --
# Minimal weight
# Cheapest possible production cost
# Simplest operation
# Safe load handling

At the overlandexpo.com site there's a closeup of the base plate -- notice that
to achieve structural strength, it's not just a folded plate.

However, the price is steep for what it is.

I, too, thought of making one myself.
As I'm not an engineer and can't calculate the forces involved,
I'd have to make it heavier, in order to make sure it doesn't fail.

Jonathan Hanson (http://www.overlandexpo.com/overland-tech-travel) offered a nice improvement -- replacing the bolts, which connect the cables to the base plate, with clevis pins and J-clips.

 

I'm with you, this is what I have.

 

Might only be $10.00 to $20.00 worth of material but there is a lot of labor there. CNC programming, cutting, bending, welding, powder coating. Small unit production as I doubt this will be a high volume item. Thats not a bad price if its domestic made.

 

That is bs I had a small company making bumpers, materials and fronts were costing about $100 in materials, it is a simple design, won't take off, build one your self save the $105, it's only $5 in materials

 

I'm am engineer, .25 aluminum plate, grade 5 fasteners, and .25" dia. cable, your welcome

 

Yeah, it's simple, but not that simple. Most steel welders don't have the needed experience to weld Aluminum. 90 deg' bending of .25" Aluminum without making micro slits or excessive stress is not obvious. This is a safety accessory.

This plate is going to be stuck anywhere, from wet & salty sea shore to acid mud, and it may take long before I can wash it. So, if I make one, I'd rather do it from stainless steel plate, cable and bolts, and forget about corrosion.

 

Really it isn't a necessary accessory. A HiLift shouldn't be used for changing tires and stationary situations. There are better jacks for that. A HiLift is useful for when you need a boost and want to drive off the jack or need to move over a bit or when you need to shove stuff under a tire or one of the many other uses that don't involve stability.

Oh and any decent welder should be able to MIG aluminum. TIG is a challenge but MIG is basic.

 

E-coat it or anodize it, aluminum welding something like this is cake, tig or mig and a spool gun will work, it's not rocket science.... But if it were I could still handle it