BendPak RBJ-4500

[chlayo]

Hi everyone,

First time posting but I have learned a lot from perusing the threads. I just had a Bendpak HD-7W installed and had ordered the BendPak rolling jack. When I discussed it with the installer I had specified RJ-45, not knowing there was an "updated" model.

What arrived was an RBJ-4500 and after getting the lift set up, the rolling jack on the channels, and my car on the platform, I found that the RBJ-4500 arms couldn't reach the lift points on my car. My lift points are 60" apart but the RBJ-4500 arms only reach 55" wide! I called BendPak last week but they haven't called me back and my installer is trying to engage them as well.

Anyone else run into this problem? Why would they make the reach shorter than the RJ-45? If this can't be fixed then I'll have to return it.

Thanks,
chlayo

 

[JSK]

The new RBJ series are soon-to-be ALI Certified rolling jacks. The ALI standard dictates a 300% safety factor. In order to accommodate a 13,500-pound design load, modifications to the existing RJ-45 had to be made.

• The extension arms thicker/stronger.
• The top extension tube is larger/stronger.
• Due to such a massive moment load, the arm reach had to be shortened.

If you study other “certified” rolling jacks on the market, you will notice even with our its shorter arm reach, the RBJ4500 still reaches farther than most.

Rolling jacks are not meant to lift vehicles at the OEM lift points - i.e. pinch welds. They are intended to raise vehicles at the axles/suspension points.

 

[gotmygarage]

"Rolling jacks are not meant to lift vehicles at the OEM lift points - i.e. pinch welds. They are intended to raise vehicles at the axles/suspension points."

I just had my lift installed, with RBJ-4500 4 days ago. I was also unpleasantly surprised by the rolling jack not expending out very far. Would have been nice to know this before I purchased. My car only weights 2300lb!

In fact, I just checked the Bendpak web site, and for the rolling jack it states:

"Reaching the factory approved jacking points has never been easier".

This contradicts what you say above JSK. Please comment.

 

[JSK]

Factory approved jacking points are not only at door-sill areas. Many times inner locations are also approved as optional jacking points as well as illustrated here.

Another side-effect of using rolling jacks to raise vehicles at pinch-weld jack points is the location of the rolling jack’s on the runway themselves. Picking up a 4500 pound vehicle with two jacks positioned just 55" apart (let's say) places an extreme weight on the center portion of the runways - runways that were designed for axle length loading.

 

[chlayo]

Thank you for the replies. This is very helpful and thank you to Jeff for clarifying the reasons for the changes.

I definitely appreciate the design goals of the RBJ-4500 and am open to using other jacking points. However, I did search for other “factory approved” jacking points and looked at my manual, but for my BMW M235, all I could find for alternative jacking points are centrally located. I don’t have access to service manuals which may specify additional points.

I should also clarify that I had ordered a second rolling jack before finding out about the shorter reach. So what I was envisioning was being able to lift the car on the two rolling jacks, which would probably not be ideal using central jacking points. It looks like I’ll have to drop the 2nd rolling jack and get some additional jackstands. And it looks like I will also have to get the Specialty Adapter Kit. Or maybe longer arms could be an option?

To gotmygarage, I tried to reply to your PM but it didn’t seem to work.

 

[PoorOwner]

why don't you insist on getting the RJ45 sent which is what you have ordered.
It says the RJ45 reaches 59.9"

this seems like edge to edge and may not be enough to safely get to the pinch rails if they are truly 60" apart.

 

[chlayo]

why don't you insist on getting the RJ45 sent which is what you have ordered.
It says the RJ45 reaches 59.9"

this seems like edge to edge and may not be enough to safely get to the pinch rails if they are truly 60" apart.

I will have to check to see if that is an option. I am still waiting to hear back from BendPak and my installer.

 

[Fahrer]

chlayo, what did you hear back from Bendpak?