Replacing Factory Jack with something better

Yep. Factory screw jack one with the two different sizes. It's the narrower one and yes you need to remove the cap. It's not listed on their site you have to call or email them.

I'll try and remember to post pics tomorrow. I'm at work right now. On nights

 

got some pictures
the noco usually sits on top of all of it when its under the seat.
Pics are too big to post all so link to my drive with them

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6ePox4_O3vUbWl4WEQ2M05NdjA

 

The other option for using SafeJack stuff is to swap your OEM jack for the screw jack from a 3rd gen 4runner. That jack's ram is 1.25" once you remove the top cap and so the SafeJack stuff fits without an adapter. Jack has very slightly more capacity than the Tacoma jack and pretty much the same working height and size. You can get them off of E-bay and then sell your Tacoma jack on E-bay for the same price. I went that route simply because I wanted to have two jacks that were compatible with the SafeJack stuff without having to have two adapters so I bought two 4Runner jacks.

4Runner jack part number is 09111-35150 and working load is 1500 kg.

I also made a cross shaped base out of square tubing that bolts to the jack when in use but when taken apart is just two square tubes that fit under the seat along with the jack.

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Very nice Dvexile. Seeing as how I have little or none of your fabrication skills, I'm waiting on this one to come back in stock, then figure out where exactly to mount it:
https://proeagle-products.com/products/jack-and-mount-combo-00000

 

dude there is minimal fab skill you need for that.

square tubing can be bought in like 6 foot lengths, cut in half, drill holes. doesn't take much.
taking the cap off the top of the jack is as simple as just putting a chisel or flat driver to the edge and tapping it with a hammer (jack in a vise helps)

Seriously my nephew who's 6 could do it. I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

had I known that I probably would've gone that route

Good idea on the tubing though. Definitely would add more stability but what about floatation on like sand and loose dirt etc?
Wouldn't the tubes just sink in?

 

I sure appreciate the photos. The suggestion of a hint of a dimple on the stock jack meant to engage the axle - scary looking.

 

are you referring to the factory jack how its just got a round top with a little groove in it?

 

Yes, cross shaped dents. I ordered the safejacks.com starter kit, haven't got it yet. Emailed Mr Bogert and he suggested looking for a hydraulic bottle jack with the right size shaft. Bottle screw jacks I've had before have had u shaped bars on the caps, at least an inch or two for contact.

 

I haven't had to use it on sand or mud yet, but I don't expect it to sink into the surfaces I'm usually on (deserts). It is 1.25" square tubing and each tube is 24" long. So that's about 58 sq in of contact area - round down to 50 for easier math. Lifting one wheel on a loaded Tacoma is going to be around 1500 lbs at most so the soil/sand would only be loaded by about 1500 lbs / 50 sq in of pressure or 30 PSI. That's pretty much the same pressure as the tire itself on the ground (or put another way the contact patch of the wheel you are lifting is also around 50 sq in). So as long as your wheels aren't sinking into the surface the cross shouldn't either.

Now that's a bit of a over simplification since as a wheel "sinks" what actually happens is that its contact area is growing and eventually an equilibrium is reached where the surface can support the pressure from the partially "sunk" wheel. The cross support doesn't have any such effect. So I could imagine it might "sink" in really soft mud or packed snow or something like that even if the vehicle itself is supported by the surface. In that case you'd want to supplement it with some sort of larger square base.

SafeJack makes their base plate 8" x 18" which is 144 sq in - so about 2.5 times as much area as my cross bars which means it would be better on really soft surfaces. As far as stability goes though their base minimum dimension is 8" while mine is 17". Their base is really cool - especially the new ones that can be used both with a bottle jack or a hi-lift - but heck if you thought the adapters were expensive the base is something else...

Really any base will help - but I'd strongly recommend that any homemade base like mine be designed so the jack can bolt to it. If you don't bolt it then the base will help for floatation but won't do anything to prevent tipping over!

 

Little under 2" front and right at 2" at the back

 

Re a base for a jack for sand & wet: what's the recommendation for a base under a Jackmate on a HiLift? Just the regular HiLift foot? But at times the Jackmate could be better suited to sticking to a board... or will it work okay with the plastic base that HiLift et al offer?

 

I'm at 2 1/2-3" so I'm guessing that jack is not for me.

 

Hey Joe - which adapter did you get that fits the factory Toyota Tacoma Jack? Is it the "12 Ton Bottle Jack Ram Adapter"? What's the inner diameter of that adapter?

 

OK, Thanks for the ideas.
Here are some thoughts from a lifetime of living and working in the boondocks:
- A Hi-lift is generally useless without after-market bumpers, except for pulling or inserting into receiver hitch to shift vehicle out of ruts.
- It is a good idea to have a piece of steel conduit cheater to extend lug wrench in case of over tight lugnuts.
- I generally carry a square piece of 5/8 or 3/4 ply to put under a jack on dirt. You could also have some bolts and nuts to fasten a jack base to pre-drilled holes. 2 x framing lumber blocks tend to split with age and drying. They can be be too thick at times when getting under axle with flat tire. However blocks can be cross stacked like cribbing, if space is available
- It is always good to carry a real shovel with handle cut shorter to improve/deepen a base for a jack or many other uses, including a cat hole.
- Looking at the Harbor Freight Aluminum floor jack: Why not cut a piece of rectangular 3/4 ply to form a base under the jack frame with holes cut out for the wheels. It could be strapped to jack with an NRS type strap when needed, leaving wheels available to use on hard surfaces. Floor jacks have a low start height for flats. Pretty cheap also.

 

Lucky me,,,, i am happy with ARE

 

Aren't you suppose to have your door open so that if the jack does slip out, it doesn't destroy your door? Think I've seen that happen before

 

Did this, with minor adaptations:
1. I'm using the SafeJack Universal Combination Stabilizer and adapted the Bottle Jack insert to accept the 3rd Gen 4Runner OEM jack (P/N 09111-35150.)
2. Made a multi-layer plywood base that I can add/subtract to adjust height, if needed.

I like the fact that I don't have to worry about bottle jack hydraulic fluid leaks and that these double as jack stands. A second 4Runner jack has been ordered.

Thanks Ken for the idea and the detail in your descriptions.

 

For the second 4Runner jack, I set it up to bolt onto a captured tee-nut in one of my multi-layered plywood bases.



To the right of pic is SafeJack's HiLift Stabilizer kit. This past weekend, I used it together with a JeepsNeeds DLA shackle adapter to lift the front of the truck on uneven terrain to do a field tire bead reseat. Winch line and rear wheel chocks are keeping the truck from falling off the mountain.

 

I did a detailed write-up here.