Can a hi-lift ride on the outside of the truck all the time without one of the soft/hard cases in northern climates? Or is this just going to ruin it very quickly with salt and sand? Or is it okay so long as I clean and lightly grease it from time to time?

I've had mine a few months and it's come in very handy helping others out, even on road. So I want to have it on hand all the time. It's been living in the cargo area behind the second row seat backs, but I need to reclaim the interior space for some other gear.

Can a hi-lift ride on the outside of the truck all the time without one of the soft/hard cases in northern climates? Or is this just going to ruin it very quickly with salt and sand? Or is it okay so long as I clean and lightly grease it from time to time?

I've had mine a few months and it's come in very handy helping others out, even on road. So I want to have it on hand all the time. It's been living in the cargo area behind the second row seat backs, but I need to reclaim the interior space for some other gear.

Do you have an external tire carrier? If so, try this:

http://24.248.84.138/hummers/Hi-Lift...bolt_mount.htm

This is based off of an SMA type tire carrier.

Yes it's one of the options I'm considering (only my spare tire mount is not the SMA and doesn't have the A-frame, just a vertical pillar).

I'm primarily concerned with whether the hi-lift can go "nude" all year or if this will just rust it out very quickly.

Since I want to have it on hand all the time, if nude-external-carry will ruin it, I'll need to explore mounting solutions where I can use one of the hard cases like a Jack Guard which would make things trickier since I don't have a roof rack yet.

Spray it down every once in a while. Lube it and it will be fine.

Once it starts to show any serious rust, sand it and paint it with POR-15. I did that to my old one and repainted it Case Tractor Red. It faded down to what you see in the pictures today.

My old 48" jack has seen a ton of crap - over 15 years worth. I recently replaced it with a 60". Still have the old one - just in case I need 2!

Good deal. That definitely gives more mounting options.

A friend of mine keeps one outside on his truck all the time. He regularily goes to the beach. His trick... ? Get it powdercoated.

Mark

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by OrangeCrush:
... Get it powdercoated.
Mark </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Intriguing. I take it this means blast all the paint off and powdercoat. What would this really cost?

It sounds cool, but I think I'd rather drop $50 on a new one in a few years rather than pony up for a powdercoat.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ree:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by OrangeCrush:
... Get it powdercoated.
Mark </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Intriguing. I take it this means blast all the paint off and powdercoat. What would this really cost?

It sounds cool, but I think I'd rather drop $50 on a new one in a few years rather than pony up for a powdercoat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd say powdercoating would cost about 50-100 bucks depending on where you go.

Like you said, if a new one is only 50 bucks, you can afford to just keep replacing it every few years.

Mark