I think erveryone would suggest that you mount them with the scab plates properly.

Obviously test them out again after that. It's better to find these things out at home in your garage than out in the bundus on a trail and possible a rig falling down without a wheel, etc.

 

I emailed Richard on this, hopefully he will weigh in.

I personally think the scabs make the sliders more rigid. I have nothing to back this up on but the fact that mine barely flex at all.

As for the hi-lift, that thing terrifies me. I will only use it if necessary.

 

Lets be honest here, it was clearly wabbits adapter tha caused this. all part of his evil plan to take over the world!

Seriously though, i'm sure i would try the same thing. thanks for posting this.

 

Been there done that and I have the dent to prove it. First, you have to realize when you use a hilift and you lift a truck, the jack is going to lean in because it's just following the arc of motion of the truck. So, compensate for this when you start out. Also, garage floors are slick. A plastic base is just going to make it worse.

Second, I doubt the sliders bent. They're much stiffer than the sidewalls of the frame. I think the sidewalls of your frame bent. There's a reason for reinforcing the frame with plates.

 

My plan to take over the world.....MUHAHAHAHAHA!

Ouch! the sidewalls of the frame bent, yep, I recant my ealier remark and agree with Steve, you'd better get that checked out soon Christian.

 

I had a hi-lift incedent, no falling or anything, the verticle bar rubbed the door and left some paint on there.

Any ideas on what will remove the black paint off of my white door?
I have some turtle wax polishing compound and scratch remover I picked up for a few bucks, will this work?

 

Bent frame? Oh man, I don't like where this is heading. How do I have that checked?

 

I think it'd be a really good idea to get the whole story and all the details before going around and saying these sliders are crap.
On the same note we might as well just say that the Hi-Lift is a piece of crap too.

 

Just look at it. You should be able to see it if you look close. Compare it to the other side.

I don't think it's a big deal. Just pound it flat again and weld the plates on there.

 

So you were going to rotate your tires front to back on the same side? That really isn't the right way to rotate tires, but aside from that, it sounds like you were using the jack in a hazardous way. Was it your plan to jack up the truck and remove both tires from that side, then swap them? Most jacks are only meant to jack up one corner of the vehicle while changing a tire. To jack up the entire side of the vehicle, then swap both tires while it is supported on the hi-lift is not something I would want to do. No jack can take the place of jack stands as far as stability goes.

I have used jack stands to rotate all four tires. I believe the right way to rotate tires is front to back on the same side, then the back to opposide front. When I did this with jack stands, it was kind of wobbly when I had three tires off the ground for the back to front swaps.

I recently figured out a way to rotate four tires which is very stable. Just use the spare tire to temporarily replace the first tire you remove. Then set the vehicle down and jack up the corner that tire will go onto, etc, until you have rotated all four tires. You will need to raise and lower 5 times, but it it is the most stable way to rotate four tires that I know of.

If I have misunderstood what your intent was, my mistake.

 

Yikes, sounds kind of scary. I've done the same thing- lifted the vehicle one side at a time to swap sets of tires/rims. I've put hockey stick tape on my slider adapter as well as the base to avoid things sliding around, and it has helped quite a bit.

 

Frame damage is enough for anyone to think about.
"I told you so" or "you did this wrong" posts are pretty redundant and aren't going to help this situation any more than another whack in the door.

Can anyone confirm Steve's suggestion to hammer the frame flat? I would be a bit hesitant and am curious to know more.

 

I think before everyone gets their stuff in a twist, let CHristian inspect and see what the actual cause of damage is; what needs to be fixed, etc... identify the exact problem

 

Anyone willing to share the best way to use the hi-lift on concrete (other than not using it). I'm getting ready to do a 1 inch RB body lift and was going to use the jack to do it. Now, I'm reconsidering

 

Christian, I don't think the highlift jack was to blame as much as the epoxy floor was. Can I suggest getting a thick piece of rubber mat like this to put under the jack first to prevent it from sliding (also be sure to at least sweep the floor clean as well, preferably wipe the area clean quickly with a wet shop towel). That will create a relatively slip free surface on which to use the highlift. Also be careful that if you get the truck at too much of an angle it may slide sideways and cause a similar situation (again sweeping first should alieveate the situation greatly). Those epoxy floors are very slick unless you put some heavy grit down during the application.

 

Yes, I was (and I did). That seems to be up for debate. Maybe another thread though. Ideally, I like to cross-rotate, but I decided to do what Discount Tire does, cross-rotate.


I agree. I was going to get it up in the air, then put jack stands under the vehicle on that side. I never mess around "under" the vehicle without having a couple safety mechanisms in place; I just didn't get that far.

I ended up using my 3/4 ton jack and jack stands to complete the F/R "rotation."

 

Good point(s) Jamie. I am going to look into those ideas. Thanks.

 

I will check it out this afternoon and post the findings. I took a quick look at it last night, and it does look like some very small and shallow "dimples" formed the frame just above where the sliders are welded. I could only tell by feel. Everything looked pretty normal in minimal lighting conditions.

 

Christian,
Man I am sorry to hear about this, and I most certainly will help take care of it. A few things happend during this event to make the out come what it now is. The slider itself most definately did not deform- it was the frame "web" with out a doubt. It should not be a problem to fix correctly, and I will pay the costs of getting this all fixed.
To fix this both sliders will have to come off, and will have to be reinstalled using "scab" plates which I will send to you. As long as the dimpling is minimal it wont be a problem. The scab plate will spread that load over a larger area of the web, and the problem will be solved.
Something to note. The sliders were designed to flex slightly during load for the specific reason of not overloading the web of the frame. You would have experienced some flex regardless however you got to the elastic limit of the frame first. The only way to bend the sliders easily is to use improper gusseting between the web & slider which creates a stress riser along the support bar tube effectively shortening the "built in" ability to flex!
No worries I will do my best to make sure you are covered on any costs, and will help in any other way that is needed.
I'll be talking with you soon,
Richard

Oh make sure to email me so we can start to get rolling on this!

Another Oh- The high lift would most likely have slipped out regardless as it sounds like the other factors were more at play. Usually they buck out due to not having them setup square or slipping on the slider or floor/ground. I actually saw a guy get knocked out cold by a high lift while jacking up a Chevy truck. I love HL's but they do scare me when I use them.

 

Man I love this forum!! Keep us poasted Christian.