I Know Its a Bad Idea - Farm Jacks

Aug 08, 2025 Last reply: 11 months ago 5 Replies

Farm Jack, Off Road Jack, Wagon Jack, (The Kleenex name is Hi-Lift Jack).



Lots of people make them with the most famous being Hi-Lift, the most common probably being Harbor Freight, and the crappiest probably being Reese. Most of us know what they are, and those of us who have one (or more) have probably used them for some pretty sketchy stuff.



I was using one yesterday to lift up a big heavy steel work bench to slide a furniture dolly under two of the legs, and I thought it would sure be handy if somebody welded a hook or a ring on the two cross pins to make it easier to pull out the pin that should click out on its own but doesn't because the jack is dirty, stained, and grungy from the last job and rarely gets maintained. On my last truck I used to keep a can of silicone dry lube in the tool box just to spray down the action of the jack when I needed it.



Now I am sure somebody would get pinched putting their finger near the mechanism, and some real genius would find away to pull the p[in out that's supporting the lad and kill somebody, but it sure would be handy if there was a hook of a ring welded to those two cross pins so I wouldn't have to stop mid job with me keeping the load from falling by pushing with my knee and go find some cleaner and some lube for the jack.



We called them HandyMan Jacks where I grew up . But then where I grew up it was "Yippee-I-O-Ki-Yay too so go figure .

Now I am sure somebody would get pinched putting their finger near the mechanism, and some real genius would find away to pull the p[in out that's supporting the lad and kill somebody, but it sure would be handy if there was a hook of a ring welded to those two cross pins so I wouldn't have to stop mid job with me keeping the load from falling by pushing with my knee and go find some cleaner and some lube for the jack.

Bob La Londe

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To attach to pull pins:

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We called them HandyMan Jacks where I grew up . But then where I grew up it was "Yippee-I-O-Ki-Yay too so go figure .

-- Snag

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The hardened rock drill rod I mentioned earlier became an adapter bushing to attach an HF jack spreader beam to another brand of low profile floor jack. The HF jacks use a special hex socket head plug bolt to attach the lift pad or spreader beam to their jacks. If you encounter this the thread is 24mm x

1.5mm, which I had to single-point on the lathe.

J.C.Hallman Manufacturing here inWaterloo County (Kitchener)Ontario built a highlift jack and sold it under the "JackAll" brand. I think Harrah Manufacturing in Bloomdield Ill had the original genuine "HandyMan"

I just know that every farmer out there where I grew up had one or more of them . They were great for stretching "bobwar" . And getting trucks and tractors out of the mudhole you just pulled a cow out of .

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