ARB hose preference

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GTTJ

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I just had my jeep regeared as well as f/r arb's installed. My rear has the traditional blue air hose that I've seen on other arb's. The rear has black hose that is slightly larger in diameter and a little stiffer.

Is there one or the other that has been found to be more reliable? I'd like to get both units to be the same so that I'm only carrying 1 spare type of hose. Any other issues with changing out fittings to make them common?
 
The standard duty ARB air hose is what you want to run. Even ARB's FAQ recommends their standard air hose over their heavy duty air hose. Why? Snag the standard air hose on the trail and it'll snap which is fixed in 5 minutes with their quick trail fix kit. Snag the heavy duty air hose and it won't snap, but it will pull out adjacent critical air fittings that aren't easily fixed on the trail.

I was also in an ARB briefing for dealers where their presenter said the same thing.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
The standard ARB air hose is what you want to run. Even ARB's FAQ recommends their standard air hose over their heavy duty air hose. Why? Snag the standard air hose on the trail and it'll snap which is fixed in 5 minutes with their quick trail fix kit. Snag the heavy duty air hose and it won't snap, but it will pull out adjacent critical air fittings that aren't easily fixed on the trail.
Click to expand...

I'm fine with their standard tubing and will likely get a couple push lock fittings for quick repairs. My issue is that the 2 units came with different tubing for each of them.
 
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You don't need ARB hose, you are just paying ARB tax. My local independent pluming store has all types of high pressure flex line like that including the special ARB blue stuff at a tiny fraction of the cost. At least try a good local plumbing store first, you might be surprised. Bring what you have in store. They buy in bulk and make money on kitchen remodels not small fittings like the big box stores so sometimes stuff like this is dirt cheap.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
The standard duty ARB air hose is what you want to run. Even ARB's FAQ recommends their standard air hose over their heavy duty air hose. Why? Snag the standard air hose on the trail and it'll snap which is fixed in 5 minutes with their quick trail fix kit. Snag the heavy duty air hose and it won't snap, but it will pull out adjacent critical air fittings that aren't easily fixed on the trail.

I was also in an ARB briefing for dealers where their presenter said the same thing.
Click to expand...

The original blue hose was 5mm. They have transitioned to 6mm black hose that is indeed stiff. I don't know the answer to which is better, but I'm guessing they spec'd it out like that for a reason. I have never had a problem with the blue line.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
The original blue hose was 5mm. They have transitioned to 6mm black hose that is indeed stiff. I don't know the answer to which is better, but I'm guessing they spec'd it out like that for a reason. I have never had a problem with the blue line.
Click to expand...

My guess is that one axle has an older ARB than the other even though they were installed together. Most likely the blue line one is NOS.

The newer 6mm line uses a completely different bulk head fitting.
 
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