Anybody tried the ARB Hydraulic jack yet

[musthave]

Everyone buys a $800 phone with no questions, but a $800 Jack is suddenly expensive and yes it is. Do we as dealers would like it at a lower price point, yes, but we have no control over that.

Once you actually use it, you would see how nice it is. I don't think they target this to replace all the functions of a hi-lift, but honestly if I had the choice to jack the vehicle up using this vs. a hi-lift I would take this in a heart beat.

It does not work in a horizontal way, and yes it can not pull as a hi-lift can, but as a simple jack, it works really good. The control for letting down and also the easy of jacking the vehicle up is streets above a hi-lift. Yes probably a very limited market.

Yes Radflo made one, but not in the same class as this.

Well put, excellent point. Thanks for the perspective. I am considering it for my 100 series desert dune build. If I buy, I’ll call @sleeoffroad

 

[EvanD]

I've started carrying a harbor freight aluminum floor jack I got on sale awhile back and a few boards. I still carry a hi-lift but the floor jack is much more useful for normal breakdowns. I just keep it strapped behind the second seat. Since it's aluminum it's pretty light.

Interesting. Truly.

While my initial comment was perhaps half snarky I'd never considered carrying a floor jack. Mostly due to space. The 3 times I've had to use a hi-lift in offroad settings I can't recall a floor jack ever being a better option.

That said, your point of normal breakdown makes me ponder carrying one in the future. I carry jack stands and the high lift and it's served me well but now I'm pondering how nice it would be to have a floor jack for roadside issues.

 

[EvanD]

Everyone buys a $800 phone with no questions, but a $800 Jack is suddenly expensive and yes it is. Do we as dealers would like it at a lower price point, yes, but we have no control over that.

Once you actually use it, you would see how nice it is. I don't think they target this to replace all the functions of a hi-lift, but honestly if I had the choice to jack the vehicle up using this vs. a hi-lift I would take this in a heart beat.

It does not work in a horizontal way, and yes it can not pull as a hi-lift can, but as a simple jack, it works really good. The control for letting down and also the easy of jacking the vehicle up is streets above a hi-lift. Yes probably a very limited market.

Yes Radflo made one, but not in the same class as this.

Thanks for the perspective. I think anyone who has actually used a hi-lift in an offroad setting would appreciate, if nothing else, the safer ability to lower the vehicle.

I'm not sure the phone analogy is the best, though. Perhaps it's because I always get the cheapest phone I can and still miss my flip phone but we're talking about an item that gets used multiple times a day vs. and item that may get used multiple times in it's life.

 

[gnob]

His point was 800$ for something that is really a novelty compared to 800$ designed to save your skin.

 

[EvanD]

Oh I get that. Thing is, a hi-lift does a good enough job for the limited time it's used.

Shrug, I'm sure arb will sell enough of these. Everyone here is def guilty of spending some money on shiny things.

 

[gnob]

Ive really never found much use for a hilift. I carry a stock bottle jack and my winch. A hilift won't lift a wheel on something with drooping suspension.

 

[cruiserpilot]

You carry (and perhaps more importantly) use a floor jack when wheeling?

I knew a guy from Colorado who ran in sand all the time. He has a smaller floor jack with the wheels removed bolted to
a skateboard deck. Said it couldn't be beat in sand, easy to slide under and easy to add cross bracing if required. He had
tags welded into the rollcage where it lived. I saw it, as far as I'm concerned it was genius.

 

[lugueto]

Ive really never found much use for a hilift. I carry a stock bottle jack and my winch. A hilift won't lift a wheel on something with drooping suspension.

I agree, the Hilift by itself is a very specific tool. However, with a simple kit to compliment it it'll become a very, very versatile tool.

There's an attachment with rubber coated hooks to lift from the wheel. It's incredibly useful and solves the issue you state. Once you use that, you appreciate it for the recovery tool it is.

 

[EvanD]

I mean, I'd love to be able to use a floor jack instead of a high lift. I've just never needed a jack, offroad, where a floor jack would have worked very well (or possibly at all with the terrain). I can see the skateboard idea being great for sand though and am now considering carrying one for roadside repairs.