Every once in a while, a great idea comes along that actually solves problems you have, and some you didn’t realize you had. This is one of them.
by the HuntDaily staff
A couple of years ago I dropped an exceptionally large whitetail doe with my bow. I usually am able to drag my deer to the house or load them on my ATV. Not this time. Long story short…I tore a tendon in my elbow trying to haul that deer into the back of my truck. It was a month before my arm quit hurting.
That’s when it hit me hard—I’m not twenty-something anymore!
The good news is that earlier this fall I came across a product called Rack-Jack that is saving my back and arms from a lot of pain when it’s time to load deer, generators, timber, and other large and heavy items into my pickup. The Rack-Jack is made by a company called Viking Solutions, and it is one of several innovative products that solves challenges sportsmen face when managing large game animals or heavy equipment.
The Rack-Jack is a rugged yet simple device that mounts to any two-inch receiver hitch. It consists of three primary components: a receiver tube assembly, mast, and winch boom, and it all fits in the back of your cab or cargo box.
Out-of-the-box assembly of the Rack-Jack took me 10-15 minutes using a pair of pliers and a couple of wrenches. Simple stuff. Setting it up on the truck for actual use takes seconds: slip the receiver tube assembly into the receiver, slip the mast over the mast pivot, then slip the winch boom onto the mast. The hand-operated winch is easy to use as well.
Several aspects of the Rack-Jack make this the ideal loading solution for hunters:
- Portability – The Rack-Jack breaks down into three primary components that stows in your truck.
- Capability – Heavy-duty steel with robust welds combine with an easy-to-use hand winch that allows the system to lift items weighing up to 300 pounds.
- Maneuverability – The mast and boom assembly rotates as a unit on the receiver tube’s mast pivot, allowing a full 360 degrees of boom rotation. This lets you lift your game animal or equipment and swing it over onto the cargo box.
- Compatability – The receiver assembly tube is designed to work with your truck’s tailgate in the open position.
I first used the Rack-Jack this past weekend to load a “grocery deer” into my truck (see the video above). It worked perfectly, and I had the deer in the cargo box and the Rack-Jack disassembled in three or four minutes. Sure, I could’ve muscled this one into the truck unassisted, but after the torn tendon episode a couple of years ago, I’ve decided that the “he-man” approach is no longer worth the potential pain or the bodily injury.
As you can see, the Rack-Jack is not a hunting season-only investment. My buddy used it to load up a generator, and this winter I’ll be using it to load 6-foot timbers that I’ll bring home to cut up for firewood. I also have some cylinder heads and an engine block in the garage that are destined for the machine shop.
We mentioned earlier that the Rack-Jack is only one of many products made by Viking Solutions that offer…well…solutions to problems you may have never even considered for both hunting and outdoor applications, as well as general use around the home or shop. We encourage you to visit their website and check them out.
Does the Rack-Jack have as many uses as duct tape? Maybe not, but it sure is running a close second!
Source
Article copyright 2015 by HuntDaily.com; promoted by Viking Solutions, LLC
Leave a Reply