This is the Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack, it’s a high lift-style jack that can perform all the same lifting and winching duties as a normal high lift, but this one is also designed to perform a multitude of other tasks if and when required.
Some of these additional tasks include spreading and ramming options used in vehicle accident extrication – similar to the “jaws of life” used by fire departments, but this jack requiring no electrical power or hydraulics to work.
Above Video: This short video shows the Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack in use, in a series of hypothetical emergency situations.
History Speedrun: The Hi-Lift® Jack
The Hi-Lift® Jack is also known as the farm jack, railroad jack, handyman jack, trail jack, or the kanga-jack. It’s widely considered to be one of the most important tools in a 4×4 owner’s arsenal, as it can both lift a bogged vehicle and be used as a hand-winch to physically pull the vehicle out of trouble – in either forward or reverse.
The Hi-Lift Jack first appeared in 1905, when Philip John Harrah (P.J. Harrah) of Bloomfield, Indiana, patented a tool he called the “Automatic Combination Tool.” He had founded the Bloomfield Manufacturing Company a decade earlier in 1895, producing hand tools and various multi-use implements.
His new invention was designed as a versatile lifting, pulling, and clamping device, simple in its design but highly adaptable. Farmers were among the first to adopt it, using the jack for everything from fencing and barn work to pulling stumps. It quickly gained the nickname the “Handyman Jack,” and in ranching communities it became commonly known as the “Sheepherder’s Jack.”
The design centered on a long steel bar with climbing pins and a ratcheting mechanism, making it capable of lifting heavy loads incrementally using the leverage provided by the long handle. Its solid design and simplicity meant it was strong and easily maintained in the field.
Unlike screw jacks or bottle jacks of the time, it wasn’t limited to vertical lifting – it could be used horizontally to clamp, spread, or winch. This flexibility explains why it spread well beyond agricultural use, eventually becoming indispensable to mechanics, construction crews, 4×4 owners, and military units.
The Hi-Lift First Responder Jack has a removable top clamp-clevis attachment designed for winching, clamping, or spreading up to 4660 lbs.
By the mid-20th century as four-wheel drive vehicles gained popularity with civilians after World War II, the jack found a new role. Off-road drivers discovered it could lift stuck trucks and Jeeps clear of ruts, or serve as a manual winch when no powered recovery gear was available.
The name “Hi-Lift Jack” was formally adopted as the tool became a staple of overlanding and off-road culture – today, despite over a century of production, the jack’s essential design remains unchanged.
The Bloomfield Manufacturing Company, still operated by the Harrah family, has continued producing the Hi-Lift in Indiana, marking over 100 years of continuous manufacturing. In 2005 the town of Bloomfield unveiled a 20 foot cast iron replica of the tool to celebrate its centennial, and it’s now a popular place to stop for pictures for tourists passing through town – particularly those in 4x4s.
The Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack
The Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack is a version of the classic design that was developed specifically for use by first responders, and by those who want some extra abilities in their Hi-Lift® should they happen to be the first on the scene of an accident.
Crashes, roll overs, and other incidents do happen in the 4×4 community, and they often happen in remote places where most official first responders can’t get to – well, not without a chopper and plenty of time.
The Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack can be used for the usual lifting and winching jobs, and well as for rolling vehicles from their roof or side back onto their wheels. It has a removable top clamp-clevis attachment designed for winching, clamping, or spreading up to 4660 lbs – making it ideal for bending bodywork after a bad accident to extricate the people inside.
The Hi-Lift® First Responder Jack is a version of the classic design that was developed specifically for use by first responders, and by those who want some extra abilities in their Hi-Lift® should they happen to be the first on the scene of an accident.
Each of these jacks is finished in a bright yellow and red power-coated finish with luminescent tape for use in IDLH and low light environments. The sizing ranges from 36″, 48″, 60″, with most users likely find that the 36″ and 48″ sizes are ideal.
If you’d like to read more about these jacks or get one yourself you can visit the official Hi-Lift® Amazon storefront here.
Images courtesy of Hi-Lift®
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.