So my birthday is in a few days and I'm trying to put together just a few things to ask for: Tool box for the bed, tow hooks, and a high lift jack.

I'm questioning the high lift jack because i don't know exactly how useful it would be for me. My ram is completely stock in respect to mechanics / exterior (besides replacing plenum, radiator, fuel pump, etc.) and i go four wheeling in the mountains a few times a year.

I understand that it could be used as a wench which is a plus, but i'm having trouble justifying it further. since i have stock bumpers i don't have a good place to jack up my truck.

can someone sway me one way or another on whether or not to go for the jack?

 

Though I haven't tried it on a Ram bumper, there's a widget you can get for the High Lift to use it as a bumper jack. This can be handy when you get hung up in the boonies with no winch and no other vehicles around. If you know how to use it, a High Lift is one of the most useful tools there is for getting out of a stick by yourself. It's not fun using one as a winch, and if you've got more than a few feet to traverse it's even worse. Still, if you've no winch and no other vehicles around to help, it'll work. Get the Off Road Kit to go with the jack to make winching easier, and be careful of that handle that's just waiting to smack you silly.

A Loc Rac or a 4XRAC beats stowing the High Lift in the toolbox, where it will spend its time plotting the destruction of everything else in there with it. Just be sure to mount the rack, if you get one, so you can use a padlock (perhaps with a chain) to secure the jack to the vehicle.

Whether you get the High Lift or not, get a recovery kit to go with those tow hooks.

Happy Birthday!

 

When I use my high lift I just put it under either bumper and start jacking. I need a new back bumper anyways and I don't care about a little bend if it happens under my bumper from the jack.

 

or build a device to secure under the toolbox (in the space between it, and the bed) if you get a "rail rider" as my dad calls em. i have an ax under mine. i used to of them house gate hinges, bent them, drilled a hole in each and used S hooks to hold em shut. idk if you understand that, of it that would even work for a high lift jack. just my 2 cents.

 

I had to use a hi lift as a winch and it saved my butt, but it is a very slow process.

I have the bumper accessory and the wheel hook device (hooks in the slots or holes). I've yet to use them, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The thing about hi lifts is they can be as equally deadly as they are useful. I have a nice dent in my tailgate as proof.
If you don't regularly use your hi lift I would suggest storing it inside, and before taking it anywhere, lube it and test it to make sure it functions properly and you know how to use it safely. Nothing is worse and more dangerous than a sticking rusty mechanism, and having to perform trail maintenance before using it is time consuming.

 

I have one mounted under my toolbox and it's a VERY versatile tool. I hope I don't ever need it as a jack though, even though it's one of the few that has the height to get my lifted truck's wheels off the ground. I think of ALL the uses for one, actually jacking up a truck is the one it's worst at...

 

I agree with that one. It's a wobbly, foot/hand smashing, paint scratching, dent causing K.O. machine. That is if you're not on pavement anyway.

 

get the jack, off-road base , and the winching kit. maybe an extra chain too. you never know when you will need one!

 

Without tube bumpers, I would highly recommend against using a high lift jack with these trucks. There simply isn't a safe place to lift from.

 

I'd considered mounting the High Lift under the toolbox, but I don't like the idea of unloading the bed to get at the jack. For much the same reason, I went with the gull wing ("mid-lid") crossover toolbox to avoid unloading the bed to get at the toolbox.

I saw a guy just the other day unloading the bed of his truck to get at the spare tire he had mounted on a frame ahead of the fenderwell. I'll bet that when he put it on there he figured he'd never again have to go under the truck in the rain to get at the spare -- so there he was instead in 106 degree heat unloading the bed while his wife and kids sat in the air conditioned comfort of the cab slurping cold drinks and watching a movie. The poor dumb schmuck.