Lift recommendations?

[PetroleumJunkie412]

So, I'm starting to shop around for a lift (the kind to lift a vehicle to work on). Working on F350s/3500s on the shop floor has hit a point where it's becoming too much of a pain in the ass to continue doing with the volume of work that piles up.

I don't even know where to start. I know absolutely nothing about them other than the idea of a vehicle falling on me/someone scares the crap out of me.

What brands should I look at? What do I avoid? Where uh... where do I even start with this one?

Area where it is going has 6" of concrete under it, 14' ceilings, so good there.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Most shops that ive seen run ammco's

 

[Snoranger]

We use Rotary for our 2 post lifts (4 of them in my shop, 20 total across all 6 shops). They’re rated for 16K lbs each, IIRC.
Most of them are over 10 years old and never had any real issues.

If you’re looking for something a little bigger…

Stertil Koni make awesome lift towers:

We have 32 of these in my shop, 96 total in the county. You can use them anywhere between 1 and 24 of them all linked together. They lift 18.5K lbs each.
They’re the greatest tool we have in the shop.

 

[Roert42]

Rotary, Mohawk, Challenger, Coats, Bendpak are all name brands.

Personally I would find a company that installs and services them and see what they work with. Makes it easier to get support if you have someone local to deal with.



Surprisingly there are a lot of companies that make auto lifts in the USA, so should be easy enough to find a good one. They’re are also a lot of cheap Chinese brands

My Napa reps a lot of lift companies, so if you have a relationship with them may be able to get a deal.

 

[Roert42]

I prefer a 2 post myself, but a 4post with hydraulic jacks is popular for guys that do a lot of suspension work or body work.

 

[19Walt93]

We used Rotary and Challenger lifts with good results. Have your concrete hardness checked first to make sure the anchors will hold.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

We use Rotary for our 2 post lifts (4 of them in my shop, 20 total across all 6 shops). They’re rated for 16K lbs each, IIRC.
Most of them are over 10 years old and never had any real issues.
View attachment 93938

If you’re looking for something a little bigger…

Stertil Koni make awesome lift towers:

View attachment 93939

We have 32 of these in my shop, 96 total in the county. You can use them anywhere between 1 and 24 of them all linked together. They lift 18.5K lbs each.
They’re the greatest tool we have in the shop.

Interesting with the lift towers... never saw those before. I've been considering having a mechanics pit installed in one of the bays for the medium and heavy trucks, but they scare the crap out of me as well. I usually outsource the tire and brake work for the big guys as well to a local guy for liability reasons. But that would make the hydraulics stuff easier to work on.

16k is a good range, and close to what I would need. Damn trucks scale in at 9500+ with all the oilfield stuff on them. No issues with one slipping/dropping?

 

[stmitch]

For what it's worth, BendPak wants 6.5" of concrete under their lifts with 12k capacity and 8" of concrete under their heavier duty lifts:

Concrete Floor Requirements - 2-Post and 4-Post Lifts - BendPak

Minimum floor requirements for pre-existing concrete floors and new concrete slabs when installing BendPak two-post lift and four-post lift models.

www.bendpak.com

I'd also consider actual lifting height if you or any of the other techs are 6ft tall or more. Having to slouch the entire time you're under a lift isn't much better than working on the floor. With 14ft ceilings you can probably fit a lift with extra height to help out the taller techs

 

[Snoranger]

Interesting with the lift towers... never saw those before. I've been considering having a mechanics pit installed in one of the bays for the medium and heavy trucks, but they scare the crap out of me as well. I usually outsource the tire and brake work for the big guys as well to a local guy for liability reasons. But that would make the hydraulics stuff easier to work on.

16k is a good range, and close to what I would need. Damn trucks scale in at 9500+ with all the oilfield stuff on them. No issues with one slipping/dropping?

The column lifts are expensive, but worth it if you can afford them. We can lift loaded Tri-axle dump trucks or full tractor-trailers.

As far as the 2 post lifts go, we regularly lift f550s and c5500 mason dumps with plows and salt spreaders. The longest thing we’ve ever lifted was a F550 diesel crew cab mason dump with an I-pack (the tool box between the cab and dump body) and a swenson salt box hanging off the back and a western 9’ plow on the front. It’s a land yacht.

 

[sgtsandman]

If you go the pit route, install rails to help guide the vehicle away from falling into the pit. You could even set them up in sections with pins that go into the concrete. It's not fool proof but it would help for those times when one is lacking in sleep and gets distracted by something at an inopportune time.

Cost wise, a pit probably will end up being about the same as a post lift. The post lift offers many advantages over a pit but a pit doesn't require power to work.

 

[pjtoledo]

pits collect fumes.
check local regulations.