HEAVY LIFTING

We test the new TacJack tactical jack

SOURCE

Redridge Industries

redridgeindustries.com

By Verne Simons editor@fourwheeler.com Photos: Verne Simons

Having a good off-road jack when you are out on the trail or on the side of the road is very important. There are many off-road jacks available, from the venerable and classic Hi-Lift to offerings from Pro Eagle, ARB, the Tauler Jack Kit from Brennan’s Garage, and more. A new jack that we recently got to spend a lot of time with is the 7-Ton TacJack Tall Jack from Redridge Industries.

The jack we tested was a prototype and that’s why it says 6 1⁄2-ton in some of the images, but we’ve been assured by Redridge that our prototype is the same as the production 7-ton jack. There is also a 7-Ton Short TacJack from Redridge, which is shorter than the 7-Ton Tall TacJack but is otherwise identical. Both jacks are very light in weight (the one we tested was 15 pounds), yet with a high weight capacity (7 tons is twice the weight capacity of the Hi-Lift Cast/Steel Jack, for reference) and remarkable travel, allowing these relatively short (when collapsed) bottle jacks to be used successfully on off-road vehicles. These jacks were built for the military and as a result are manufactured to a high standard. The only downside to this jack is its cost, which reflects the quality of construction and the fact that this jack is proudly made in the USA.

Both the Tall and Short 7-Ton and 10-Ton (yeah, there’s also a 10-ton) TacJacks feature a two-stage telescoping ram and integrated threaded extension for maximum lift. Both also have a two-speed pump for faster extension

3 4 1 2

when unloaded. These jacks are compact and lightweight, making maneuvering and using them easy. With the 7-Ton’s 14,000-pound weight capacity you can use the jack with confidence under most any 4x4. The jacks are constructed using hard-anodized aluminum and nickel-plated steel for maximum corrosion resistance. Both jacks come with a 25-inch jack handle and a premium jack saddle with retention pin that mounts to the threaded extension.

When we got the 7-Ton Tall TacJack, we knew the perfect way to do hard-core, real-life testing: the 2021 Ultimate Adventure. Prior to the event, we securely mounted the TacJack to the floor of the Ultimate Adventure Long Range Jeep (UALRJ) and stowed the handle and jack saddle for transport. Luckily for us we never had to use the jack on our own vehicle, but we did get good at pulling it out for others to use. It was used to help re-bead a tire on the trail, to hold a frame in place during welding, to push a tire bead off a wheel (when swapping tires on a beadlock), and more. The jack never flinched and was remarkably light and thus easy to position. It’s one of those things that you can’t believe is as light as it is until you’ve held it (that’s probably because you are used to how heavy other bottle jacks are). The base is very wide (5.5 x 8 inches), and the screw extension is easy to use with or without the saddle. It’s fast to get up and into position with the two-speed pump, and the dual stages make it great for moving things a long distance, which, as you know, is important when using a bottle jack on a lifted and modified 4x4. We flat-out love this jack and our only complaints are its cost (which is a bit hard to swallow at first) and the release valve that can be hard to get at in some situations.

1 Here you can see the screw extension, the 25-inch jack handle, and the jack saddle with a retention pin. The jack is built out of corrosion-resistant, hard-anodized aluminum and nickel-plated steel. The jack saddle is aluminum and can be used or removed from the screw extension depending on how you are using the jack. 2 The jack handle is solid, hard-anodized aluminum and it fits into the pumping mechanism nicely. Both are very light and look like pieces of aerospace equipment. 3 The two-stage telescoping ram can lift 7 tons of weight to a maximum height of 30.8 inches with the tall TacJack. That’s a lot more than almost any bottle jack you’ve likely met in real life. The 22.3-inch maximum height of the short TacJack is nothing to sneeze at either. The screw extensions are 3 1⁄4 inches and just over 4 inches for the short and tall jacks, respectively. No more fighting your bottle jack or digging a hole to get that flat 38- or 40-inch tire off the ground so you can fit the spare. 4 One of the first deployments of the TacJack on the 2021 Ultimate Adventure was to help replace a tire and wheel on the OnX Offroad JT Gladiator after one of the tires was cut on the first day of the trip. From there on out, everyone who was around to see it in action wanted to use it whenever a jack was needed.

5 6

7

5 On the last day of the 2021 Ultimate Adventure, we used the TacJack to pop an inner bead of a cut tire from a beadlock wheel on Travis Farmer’s Ice Cream Van. The jack did its job perfectly and the machined and hardened aluminum bottom edge was perfect for pushing on the inner bead. 6 Our only functional complaint about the jack is that we can envision a situation where it could be very difficult to get the jack’s handle into the release valve on the bottom of the jack. However, we think the situation could easily be solved by positioning the jack in such a way that access to the release valve is clear. 7 While at Escondido Draw Recreational Area during the 2021 Ultimate Adventure, we used the jack to push up on the frame of Jeff Ishmael’s rig to repair a small crack that appeared near the front shackle pivot. Here, the travel of the jack made it work much better than most bottle jacks would, and the removable saddle was nice for repositioning the jack during the grinding and welding of the crack. 8 Ultimate Adventure Crony Chris Durham used a battery-operated grinder, the Redridge TacJack, and his Premier Power Welder to weld up the crack that developed in Jeff’s frame. Wheeling big trucks hard takes a toll on even the best-built rigs. FW

8

Tall 7-Ton TacJack Specs

Minimum height (in): 11.4 Maximum height (in): 30.8 Stroke (in): 15.5 Weight (lb): 15 Capacity (lb): 14,000 Price: $2,199

Short 7-Ton TacJack Specs

Minimum height (in): 8.8 Maximum height (in): 22.3 Stroke (in): 10.3 Weight (in): 14 Capacity (lb): 14,000 Price: $1,999