As a Jack

A standard jack that comes with your vehicle is not suitable for use if you're bogged - you can't place a standard hydraulic jack underwater in a muddy bog with no firm base and expect it to raise the vehicle even an inch - how would you operate it anyway?

The hi-lift jack can be placed under the front or rear bumper bars or bull-bar.  With a clever attachment, it can also be placed beside a wheel and it uses the wheel hub to lift the vehicle.

Ask your retailer to demonstrate the use if a hi-lift jack.

To Move a Vehicle Sideways

You may need to "bounce" your vehicle out of a deep rut onto higher and firmer ground - a hi-lift jack is designed to allow that!

You place the jack at the end of the vehicle which you want moved, and raise the vehicle.  Then simply push the vehicle in the direction you want it to be moved.  The hi-lift jack will swing and drop as the vehicle falls in that direction.  To move the vehicle further, repeat the process.  By alternating from the front to the rear of the vehicle, after a few repetitions of this manoeuvre, the whole vehicle can be moved sideways out of a bogged condition.

As a Winch

Using a hi-lift jack as a winch is not easy work, but it works!  You'll need two lengths of chain - long enough of course to reach the vehicle and the anchor point, which is usually a tree.  The chains will have hooks at the each end.

Attach one chain to the anchor point and the other end of that chain to the hi-lift jack using a shackle.

Attach the second chain to the vehicle and the other end of that chain to the movable part of the fully-extended hi-lift jack using a shackle.

Make the chains lengths between the vehicle and jack, and anchor point and jack, as small as possible.

Now start jacking so that the jack retracts, which slowly tightens the chains.  Keep on jacking until the jack has fully retracted.

Now, using the hook of the vehicle's chain (or another shackle), join the two chains together.

Now release pressure on the hi-lift jack and the tension should be retained by the joined chains.  Fully extend the hi-lift jack again and connect the taught vehicle chain to the bottom of the jack again and repeat the process.  This time you will unshackle the vehicle chain from the anchor chain and move the hook further along the anchor chain before joining them together.  Now release pressure on the hi-lift jack and repeat the procedure.  Little by little, each time by the length of the hi-lift jack, you are winching in the vehicle towards the jack.

Ask your retailer to demonstrate the use if a hi-lift jack as a winch using chains.