ARB Jack First Review, Leaky Christmas

Low_Sky

Member
Radflo makes one that is serviceable. I don't have any experience with them but am currently considering one of these or a Safe Jack Kit. Might be worth a look.

Radflo: https://www.radflo.com/p-39-hydra-jac.html

Safejack: https://safejacks.com/

Only a 2200 lbs load capacity on the Radflo unit. It only makes 1/4” per pump. Tools are required to change the height of the lifting foot.

I think I’ll keep the Hi Lift.


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(none)

Adventurer
A few months ago I had words with ARB about these jacks, I never got any direct answers and all I got was what they wanted to talk about, I also had an Issue with a fridge, They kept me farting around doing tests for over 10 days then they wanted me to drive 400 miles to take the fridge back to the dealer so they could run the same tests that I had done, I went to ARB with a problem and they sent me a PDF of the user manual ?? In the end I worked out what the issue was, Although their fridges can work at an angle of 30* "JUST DON'T DO IT WITH IT TURNED OFF" because all the Gas/Fluid drains back towards the Compressor, And you should never do this with "ANY" Brand of Fridge, this was all because the delivery driver tipped it up to get it through a 3 foot 6 doorway,

Bottom line is I sent minute by minute details to ARB taking photos with times and temperatures along with doing their stupid tests and they did not have a clue what was wrong, I would return that Jack and buy a Hi-Lift, Yes they must be used with caution and respect but they are a cheap fix and easy to repair if you carry the kit with you for the cost of about 20 or 30 bucks, The ARB Jack is a One Trick Pony, The Hi-Lift has about 5 or 6 other uses.

Hope you get this resolved soon.

Did you read that owners manual? My Dometic stated in the owners manual to let the fridge sit for a few hours before starting if it's been sitting anything but horizontal. That's a common thing with fridges, all fridges.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Did you read that owners manual? My Dometic stated in the owners manual to let the fridge sit for a few hours before starting if it's been sitting anything but horizontal. That's a common thing with fridges, all fridges.
Yeah it is recommended that how ever long a fridge has been sitting at an Odd angle then it needs to be left to rest upright for an equal amount of time, In extreme cases as long as 24 to 48 hours,
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Sorry to read this. Customer service is super important....it's a small community.

Well it is something you need to be aware of, I like ARB's product line and I thought that they actually cared about their customers but I am still waiting to see evidence of that and the one time I needed them I got stuck with a 50LB Paper weight.

In the past couple of years I have spent a fortune on ARB Products, Having bought 2 of everything that I have bought from them It really annoys me when I have an Issue that they jerk me around with one excuse after another and there is just no need for it, and at leased 4 of those Items are High Dollar Items I must of bought 20 ARB products in the past 4 months alone maybe more, And I still have a list of gear to buy that is well in to 5 figures and beyond yet to come, And 90% of the rest of the gear on my list are all ARB's High Dollar Items, If they don't want my money just let me know because there are plenty of other Companies that Do, So they have got one last shot and then their ****** is Grass because I work hard for my money and I am not about to give it away without a care.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Only a 2200 lbs load capacity on the Radflo unit. It only makes 1/4” per pump. Tools are required to change the height of the lifting foot.

I think I’ll keep the Hi Lift.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Me too, The Hi-Lift is a basic design but it works, and this new jack is a problem waiting to happen, do you remember when a Cell phone was a Phone and how well it worked now people can run their lives from a smart phone and all the issues of Hacking and Data theft etc Hi tech gear in the right place is a good thing but out in the bush it is stupidity to rely on such things,
 

MartinDWhite

New member
The hi-lift is super dangerous because the force can be sent back to the handle and it can bounce up and down beating you in the head repeatedly.
The hi-lift will rust up and require maintenance to keep working.
The hi-lift jack weights 30 lbs. vs the 13 for the Radflo.
The Radflo only has 18" of travel vs. 36"+ for the Hi-lift. That 18" of the radflo is at any starting height so that is not much of a limitation.
The hi-lift (with proper accessories) can pinch stuff or be used as a winch.
The "hi tech" of this jack is the same as the tech in the shocks on your vehicle. It is long stand old technology that is well know and well sorted. "Hi tech" would be using a servo motor powered from the battery of your vehicle.
The hi-lift has a 4660 lb load capacity, but that requires over 150 lbs of force at the end of the handle to achieve. I suspect the Radflo unit doesn't take nearly that much force to move, making it safer and easier to use.

There are benifits to both and draw backs to both.
The Radflo is pricey at $450, but it has a lot of benefits.
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
I have a Hi-lift ($100) and had not heard of the Rad-flo ($450) but had seen the Hydra-Jac ($750). Prices being what they are for an (in my opinion) untested unit, I will keep the one I have.
I will continue to use caution when using the lift. I would prefer a hydraulic jack but so many require me to be under the vehicle to use them that it becomes a problem.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
My Hi-Lift Extreme has about 55"+ of lift and is Rated at 5000Lbs, I always found the 4 foot ones a little restricting so I went with the 60" version and I like the extra features the Extreme has, In 41 years of using Hi-Lift type Jacks I have never had One near miss, Stay focused on the Job and the Hi-Lift will work 100% of the time,

Hi-Lift does not Guarantee the Intelligence of the User, Stupid is as Stupid Does.
 

Romer

Adventurer
I just bought one of these Jacks.

The manual says Recommend (Not required) to be stored vertically and ARBs own press release that states "JACK has an approved working capacity of 2000kg and while short and compact, allowing storage in your 4WD drawer, " They designed it to fit in the ARB Storage drawers it would seem by their press release

Mine is installed strapped to the top of my drawers
img_0776-jpg.2023230


Checking for leaks to avoid the OPs issue is a good thing.

I didnt want to detract from this thread, but others have pointed this thread to me saying It is REQUIRED to be stored vertically. Maybe it's a gray area, but I thought I should add the additional information from ARB
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
As I have said many times, I love ARB Gear and I always try to buy their products over other brands but Out in the Bush KISS is a word to live by,

I hate modern 4x4's Not because I am a Techno-Phobe but ever since they added computers and sensors to vehicles they break down a lot more and then you need to take it to NASA to get it fixed, and for use in such remote areas things need to be able to be fixed by the owner and these Jacks are the same and even if you could repair it out in the bush means you need to carry another container of oil, which is just more junk to carry.

I spoke to ARB about these jacks and they are in total denial about any issues what so ever, The Hi-Lift might weigh 30/40Lbs but at leased it can be fixed at the side of the road and parts are off the shelf items,

Back around 2001+/- I paid about $70/80 bucks for my 48" All Cast Hi-Lift and for some strange reason In 2016 I only paid around $85.00 USD or £67.00 for my new 60"Hi-Lift Extreme. In Australia the list price for the ARB Jack is $995.00 AUD which over here works out to be £665.04 including tax which Is 10 X more than what I paid for the 60" Hi-Lift Extreme, To charge such a price for something that is totally unproven is ridiculous,

ARB needs to get over their Ego, Not every thing they make is world Class, Their Fridge's are one of the Top 3 Brands and their Compressor are the Class leaders and their Air Lockers are the Class leaders And their Tyre Gauges are as good as any but that's just about covers all their winning products

This jack is a one trick pony that is grossly over priced and not very well made and when compared to the American Hi-Lift it is not fit for purpose, And paying any more than $35.00 including freight for it is a total Rip Off, the Hi-Lift has 5 or 6 uses where the ARB has one If it works yet it's 10x the price, That alone tells me that some thing is wrong and that ARB are trying to be the Gucci of the 4x4 world where their products become fashionable throw away items made in overseas sweat shops by Kids and sold to us for the cost of a Lung Transplant.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
I just found the UK price for the ARB Jack and I can't believe how much they are charging for them here, But for the same money I can buy 10/11 60" Hi-Lift Extreme jacks for the same money or the ARB 63L Fridge, I only paid 50 bucks more for the ARB 78L / 82Qt fridge,

Charging that much for something that has very limited use and is Totally Unproven that has a few issues ARB should be ashamed of them selves to stand there with a straight face and knowingly rip people off, Even Jesse James had the decency and covered his face when he ripped people off, sadly the same can't be said for ARB.
 

gatorgrizz27

Well-known member
Bad deal, hopefully it was just a fluke and a seal that got nicked during assembly. To those commenting about repairing a Hi Lift in the bush, yes that’s possible, but the real advantage of them is that they aren’t likely to break just from being stored, unless it’s from rusting up. It is scary to think about a hydraulic jack working fine, but then you pull it out of the storage bag when you actually need it to find it’s leaked all of its oil out.
 

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
This jack is a one trick pony that is grossly over priced and not very well made and when compared to the American Hi-Lift it is not fit for purpose, And paying any more than $35.00 including freight for it is a total Rip Off, the Hi-Lift has 5 or 6 uses where the ARB has one If it works yet it's 10x the price, That alone tells me that some thing is wrong and that ARB are trying to be the Gucci of the 4x4 world where their products become fashionable throw away items made in overseas sweat shops by Kids and sold to us for the cost of a Lung Transplant.

Other than being able to 'pull' with the hi-lift, what other uses are you envisioning for the hi-lift vs ARB?

Personally, I find both designs limiting since you can really only lift from the perimeter of the vehicle. I find myself needing to lift from under the vehicle a lot more. With the hi-lift I have always found myself having to lift MUCH higher to accomplish anything under the vehicle or even change a tire. I also have a heck of a time stashing a 48-60" hi-lift somewhere on the vehicle that doesn't leave it exposed or cumbersome.
 

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Other than being able to 'pull' with the hi-lift, what other uses are you envisioning for the hi-lift vs ARB?

Personally, I find both designs limiting since you can really only lift from the perimeter of the vehicle. I find myself needing to lift from under the vehicle a lot more. With the hi-lift I have always found myself having to lift MUCH higher to accomplish anything under the vehicle or even change a tire. I also have a heck of a time stashing a 48-60" hi-lift somewhere on the vehicle that doesn't leave it exposed or cumbersome.
Apart from normal lifting I have used mine for clamping and spreading and winching, Pulling posts out of the ground and for pushing things,

I can load my Hi-Lift on the roof rack or inside the vehicle, The Hi-Lift is not just a Jack it is a problem solver, It always makes me laugh when So called macho guys complain about the weight of things, It does not matter whether it is Rifles, Metal Detectors or jacks, Kind of makes a mockery of the image they portray,
 

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