Scissor jack and always carry 1or 2 2x4 short blocks (4-6in) and it'll work fine, Trail carry a 1x12 short piece for underneath in dirt or mud and you're good to go. Thats alot cheaper than a highlift and takes up less room. It just doesn't look as purty mounted out side your jeep

 

When I was first getting into Jeeps I would see them with a hi-lift mounted and think "I want one of those when I get a Jeep" and had no idea why. But it was cool looking

 

hehehe,

Well it's like this....

You get stuck hull down in a hole.

You're alone or in tight in spot with no way to get towed or winched.

You get out your trusty Hi-Lift and take you're holed wheel as far up as you can.
Then you push it over to one side or the other, maybe the side you put some filler in, and you you wheel on out.

This situation has happened to me in dry rock but I also saw it in creek bed.
BOTH times it was avoidable if we had NOT taken off our sway bars.
When the sway bars are disconnected a wheel (usually a front) will be able to "fall" into a hole they then can't get out of. For real. If the sway bar is left connected the wheel would remain up in the air and go OVER the hole.

I rarely disconnect my sway bars anymore except on medium to light trails as it makes it a LOT more fun. But in the ruffer stuff I leave 'em on now. And if its SO ruff I would actually need them disconnected and low air and all that... I aint gona go....

I added D-Shakles at all 4 corners of my stock bumpers just for the Hi-Lift. Also added Nerf bars for it and other protective reasons (going around trees on cliff sides, it's really nice to have a side bumper).

Anyway whatever floats your boat! It's all good.

I chose to have the more basic human powered "recovery gear" 1st.
My shovel isn't a fold out piece of crap. It's a narrow beefy usefull shorty.
My pry bar is only 4 feet long but it can lift the Jeep let alone rocks and tree trunks.
My axe is sharp and so is the my pick and hachet.
My tire care kit is extensive and includes a good enough air compressor.
Cost-Co sells one for about $45 dollars that will do the trick nicely which makes me mad as I paid $180 for one that isn't any faster or better.
I use a Hi-Lift and don't even bother with the original jack.
I always take lots of water and an extensive medical emergency kit including for sure a snake bite kit and turnaquit (sp?) and a good splint kit.
Due to I often go out with others and kids etc. my kit is a FULL kit and I keep it all in an orange back pack that has a camle back in it and 2 canteens as well as other emergency measures incase we do ever have to walk out or maybe spend a night ( surprise surprise! ) in the tooleys.
I also carry an actual knife and a machete.
I recommend a gun of some sort as well.

Funny how much thought and effort and money goes into what you hope to never need or use eh?
It's way better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it...
Like that flash light...I have two. A battery L.E.D. one and also a wind up one for when the batteries are dead.
A simple flash light could save somebodies life.
Oh and DRY matches!

All that stuff that is most basic to support and protect you and your family and friends from unforseen and unwanted circumstances.

THINK!

I carry two kinds of gloves, One very think leather for working the winch cable (I will one day convert to the synth rope but its SO expensive...) , and the other pair is good for working the tools.

Soon to come will be the power inverter and a small electric chain saw.

My winch is portable and can plug into front or rear recievers which has proven a wise choice as twice now I had to winch up a friend that got stuck behind me on crap that wasn't suitable for towing him out. It seems less wear and tear using a D-Link (pulley) and the winch than towing, especially as both times we only needed to bring him uphill about 3 feet 'till had was "out".

Anyway like they say , have fun out there.
But remember it's about making it back home...

 

There are plenty of times when offroad that a high lift would be useful.

Recently I was riding in what could be described as a swamp with another jeep that got hung up on a stump. His winch failed and I could not pull him off. What do you do now? We used his high lift to lift the front up and I was then able to pull him in reverse off the stump. We had no other way to get out of there. No high lift meant spending the night with about 1 million mosquitoes.

 

A) theres the easy way... having all the right tools for the right job.
B) then theres the hard way... having the wrong tools for the wrong job & making them work.

if i had tons of cash, i'd be type A. BUT, i'm type B. yes, i'd love to have a high lift jack "just in case." As much as i believe in them, i dont go on trails where i'd NEED them or walk home. i'm the 10" long 2x8 and 10" long 4x4 and my shovel and sissor jack kinda guy myself.

right or wrong tool it gets the job done 90-99% of the time. but i still think the stock jack would max out its usefulness at a 35" tire... thats why i run 33's and done worry about it.

 

ok to clear up all the confusion in this thread ill give it a shot.

The highlift is a RECOVERY toll.
-You can use it to pull you out with staps
-It can pick up part of your jeep if you are highcentered or something of the sort

Here are the problems with the Highlift
-its not stable, I wouldnt dare change a tire with just the highlift. It can kick out at any time unless you are on perfectly flat, hard ground, but then you could use the stock jack.
-you jack the Jeep up normally from metal bumpers or side rails. Well guess what, your suspension is designed to flex. So when if you want to use it to lift the tire you either have to strap the axle to the frame or jack the body so high that your wheel finally lifts but that would be so unstable....

Now, I dont believe people carry them "just because". Hell i dont even carry mine unless its an offroad trip. Truth is, they are really just for recovery. If you blow a tire on a trail i suggest atleast coming down off the rock you are on and more flat ground and attempt to use the stock jack. If blowing a tire offroad is a huge concern i suggest an aftermarket bottle jack maybe.


O yeah, just to add... you are jacking up to change a tire from the axle.... so you have a 35" tire... this means you need a jack that goes about 17.5" to get to axle and then atleast another inch or so the get a deflated tire on and off. Carry around something like a piece of 2x4 and you should be good.

 

if i had a place to mount mine I would keep it on all the time AND i have not once used the lift... yet. But you never know when that time will come. Hell i just used my winch for the first time to pull myself out of mud during thanksgiving and I have had it for months... that doesnt make it "just for looks" because i dont use it all the time does it?

 

you can get an attachment that hooks onto your rims and onto the hi-jack as there are no lift points on a stock jk.

 

trust me honkey, not jumping all over ya on this and one...

You might be surprised though how many folks do know how to use them (maybe not 100% correct way) but thats why they have them. I am not denying your claim some have them for looks, Im sure some do.

As long as you know how to properly use it to avoid injury and you educate others so they dont kill themselves when the Jeep falls on them then its all the matters. Let the "show" jeeps have their fun in the parkinglot at Target

 

I have one on the CJ but probably won't carry it on the JK. I've only used it a couple of times (helping out others who didn't have ANY jack). Its primary function on a fully loaded trip is to lock in the 2 Jerry cans on my tire carrier. It mounts on threaded studs with flange nuts that fit my tire iron and sits on top of the cans. Keeps everything snug and quiet plus, unless you swing out the carrier to get to the nuts, nothing can walk away. A great tool but large and heavy!