A traditional offroad jack has been, farmers, campers, 4WDers best friend for decades. Being avid 4WDers we are positive, many people have their offroad Jack mounted like a fashion accessories to their 4WD without knowing all the tips and tricks you can do with one of these classic bits of kits!

Firstly, we’ll go over the typical design and how it works; a 4×4 Jack uses clever spring-loaded pins and massive amounts of leverage to ratchet over 1 tonne worth of force over 1m high. It can also ratchet in the opposite direction allowing you to lower your vehicle back down to the ground in full control.

A 4WDing jack can be used for dozens of purposes, the most obvious is for lifting very heavy things. We’ve seen some creative applications for the staggering 1050kg force this clever piece of machinery puts out.

With a little ingenuity it can be used to straighten bent steering tie rods, against chassis crossmembers or even the vehicles diff.

To operate an Offroad jack its as simple as placing your Jack base on the ground underneath your vehicles jacking point – Once the jack is in place, slide the jacking head into one of the locating positions along the jacking frame and then lock the jack into ‘lift mode’, by lifting the operating latch until it clicks completely into place.

You are now ready to jack your vehicle up!

To jack your vehicle up, simply place one hand on the jacking frame and the other on the jack handle and slowly cycle the jack handle through its full range of movement until there is a little bit of tension being taken up on the jack. You can now use both hands on the jacking handle for extra safety.

NB: It is a good idea to be cautious of the jacking handle whilst jacking up and down as when the handle is not latched vertically, the mechanism has a lot of force on itself and could cause injury.

When you have the vehicle jacked as high as you need it to be you can easily latch the jacking handle up in the vertical position. When you are ready to lower the jack, simply reverse the operating latch to the down position until it locks itself into place.

Carefully grab the jacking handle with both hands and unlatch it, cycle the lever up and down to ratchet the mechanism down, again be cautious of the load on the handle as if it slips there is a possibility of injury.

Once the jacking head has no load it will automatically release and drop to the bottom of the vertical rail – congratulations you now know how to jack with your high lift jack.

By using the total lifting power of an offroad 4wd jack offers and a little bit of rigging knowledge an offroad jack’s massive pulling force can be used to inch a stuck 4WD out of trouble as a primitive hand winching technique.

Our favorite method is to use our tree trunk protector and a shackle, to attach the jaw at the end of the jack to an anchor, the next item you need from your Hercules Recovery Kit is your winch extension strap – being attached to your recovery point.

Whilst you won’t have as much pull, as a Domin8r X 12,000lb Winch or be able to drag your 4WD 26m, You will have the ability to pull your 4WD around a meter in any direction helping you to get your tyres back into firmer ground!

Other benefits of an Offroad jack are the ability to use this same technique to straighten a 4wd’s panels, bar work in case of unexpected strikes or impacts, you can also utilize the top jaw on your offroad 4WD jack to clamp parts like a vice this means anything you need to be squeezed clamped or pulled easily with over 1000kg of force.

This is great for dented rims replacing universal joints or other offroad repairs. A 4WD offroad jack, is perfect for picking your 4WD out of tricky situations when you are on the track, this is it’s intended purpose.

For an example if your 4WD drops a wheel or gets itself stuck in soft sand, and you are fighting for traction. A high lift 4WD jack combined with an offroad jacking base will let you pick your vehicle up and out of the trouble, so you can pack underneath your tyres, allowing you to drive straight out of trouble with little to no sweat.

If you have ever needed to break a tyre bead on the track a High lift jack is the perfect tool, by using the weight of your vehicle you can put pressure on the side wall of your tyre, breaking the bead with ease and when coupled with a compressor and a Tyre repair kit you have the perfect all-purpose repair kit for any tyre dilemma!

It’s nigh on impossible to list everything you can do with a high lift offroad jack, its simple operation means you are only limited by your imagination and the materials on hand. So get out there and see more and hit the tracks with confidence that you can get further with your offroad jack!