Those of you that have a Hi-Lift and have not yet found a good secure spot to store it for daily driving or even for off road trips, here is a pretty easy mod.
Secure your jack to the factory rear seat hinges. This will keep the jack out of the way, secured tightly to the vehicle, and safely out of the elements:
Mounting Hardware - About $20
Qty 2 = 1/2" x 3" full thread flange studs w/size 13 threads
Qty 2 = 1/2" nylon lock nuts
Qty 2 = 1/2" wing nuts
Qty 2 = 1/2" lock washers
Qty 8 = 1/2" fender washers
Mounting Location
Far right hinge on passenger side seat
Middle hinge on passenger side seat
I chose to do both hinge location points on the same "wide" rear seat so I can still fold down one seat and leave the driver side rear seat to allow for my kids' carseat to maintain in use position; otherwise you will be required to fold down both seats
Mounting Instruction - About 30 Minutes
I used a 1/2" metal drill bit and with the seat bottoms folded down, drilled through the center of metal hinge and out through the plastic covers. I decided to leave the plastic covers on to maintain the factory look across the entire rear seating area.
Next, was to put one fender washer on the bolt and slide through the hole, then a second fender washer followed by a nylon lock nut and tighten down. The outside passenger hinge is very easy to secure as there is ample access to hold the bolt straight while tightening. The middle passenger hinge however is quite another story. Since the drilled hole is only about 3/16" and the bolt is 3", once the nylon lock engages it will be extremely difficult to keep the bolt from wanting to twist out of alignment, also with little to no room to maneuver a ratchet it is very hard to get enough leverage to turn it straight. Take your time on this one otherwise it will get 'frozen' half way and you'll get stuck **ask me how I know**.
Once both bolts are tightly secured to the hinges, fold the seat bottoms back up. Although not required, I sheared down the remaining 4 fender washers so they had two flat or square sides so the entire washer fit into the grooves of the Hi-Lift I-beam. Slide on one fender washer, which will go against the back of the nylon lock nut on each stud, the fit your Hi-Lift onto the studs in the desired center holes (play around with your wanted positioning). Once you have the Hi-Lift in the holes you want, put on the last two fender washers, then a lock washer on each side followed by the wing nuts and tighten them down.
Your Hi-Lift should now be tightly stowed away out of the elements and keep you from being harmed.
:cheers:
