New shop lift.

[Bulldog]

Hey guys,
I've been thinking about buying a 2 post lift for my home shop and was wondering if any of you guys have them and is there any particular brand you would recommend or suggest that I stay away from. I need a lift in the 10,000 to 12,000 lb range. The wife and I both drive Dodge 3500's with the Cummins so both trucks are heavy. So any input will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bulldog

[BUDDY]

I have two Mohawks lifts in my shop. We use them to lift freightliner sprinter vans and Isuzu trucks. Never had a problem with them yet.

[HMW]

I have a Bend-pac,10,000lb twin post in my shop at home that I bought from northern tool. 2 friends also have the same lift and have had no problem. Here is 2 web sites you can check out. I put our Ford super duty on ours all the time and a diesel excursion. Not sure what the dodges weigh or what you keep in them, but they may not be as heavy as you think. Of course never hurts to go one size up on something like a lift. Pictured is the lift I have, its the extended model since all we have is SUVs or trucks


http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...9507_200329507

http://www.bendpak.com/products.php?cat_id=46

[garybdavis]

I purchased a Hanmecson 12k lift. Hanmecson just got bought out by Rotary. They sell them branded Direct Lift or Atlas. I got mine from Greg Smith Equipment and it came out of Atlanta. I think I paid around $2600 including shipping.

These lifts are made in China, but the factory is an American owned ISO9001 factory and the quality is as good as the USA made ones. I checked out the lift at the Atlanta wharehouse before I purchased it. It looks like parts availability won't be a problem and the manual is pretty good. I didn't like buying a non-American lift, but that is the reality of today's lift market. In the end, I'm pleased with the quality.

The reason I went with this lift is it has 109 inches of drive through clearance and is about 14' to the cutoff cable. The whole thing is almost 16' tall. This gives me the ability to put trailers on it (max legal width is 102"). For example, I put my cattle trailer on it and it made cutting out and replacing the crossmembers a snap. I probably use the lift to weld on things as much as I work on cars. Changing lawn mower and shreader blades is much more fun this way.

[Bulldog]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replys. I'm still in the research mode yet so I'll look at all the suggestions so far.
Thanks again,
Bulldog

[Bulldog]

Hey guys,
I've been doin alot of reading and every lift manufacturer says (of course) their lifts are the best. Mohawk has a great looking lift and seem to have one of the better lifts on the market. They also have one of the more expensive lift as well. (just about twice the price as the others) Mohawk raves about how their bearings last alot longer then the other guys plastic slides. Now I'm very familiar with the UMHW material that the slides are made from and I'm also comfortable using a lift with slides. My question is am I missing something? I can see why a guy that uses his lift everyday would like a lift with bearings over a lift with slides but is a guy like me that has a lift in my home shop going to notice the difference? I mean I probably will only put a truck on it once a month or so if that. Now don't get me wrong if the Mohawk is stronger and safer then the extra money is worth it, but if it comes down to bearings lasting longer then the slides then I'll save my money. Anyway any input is welcome.
Thanks,
Bulldog

[FusionKing]

Bulldog..my wife sold a few Forward brand lifts and they seemed pretty good at the time but it's been a few years. I had to get involved with re-poing one for her. (we used to own and now she manages an auto-parts store)
My advice would be stopping and checking out independent guys like yourself with garages and find out what is common and gets the best service in your area. I know some lifts give a bunch of trouble. I also have seen a few used ones go pretty cheap too. They are out there increasingly more and as much real estate as you cover you just may find some real bargains in penny saver type publications too.

[shorerider16]

I'd lean towards saying that the UHMW would be fine for home use, that stuff is pretty tough. I think the bearings would be more beneficial to a lift used in a shop where it may very well see hundreds of cylces in a week.

Of course, if they go to the point of using bearins instead of slides like most other brands, it is very likely that the rest of the lift is of higher quality as well. Just remember, you life depends on it while you are working underneath it.

$.02

[54stude]

I have a Manitowoc cff-70 series lift, and I am really impressed with it.

I lucked into it used for $600, and had to take it down myself from a condemmed shop, and in my opinion it is equivalent to a mohawk. You can look it up on the internet and it is really beefy. The model you would consider is a cff-10000.

From the same shop my friend bought a rotary 7klb lift for $600 also, and it is literally half as beefy as the manitowoc, and has plastic sliders instead of bearings.

Consider the american made manitowoc if you are shopping around. I have no interest in selling lifts, just wanted to add my opinion.

[90blackcrx]

I was going threw this dilema for my shop, we finally found a used ammco that was close by for 1,100, with extensions.

I'll break down what I believe to be true. The top brands out there are rotary, bend pac and mohawk.

Rotary is about 3,500 for a 9k lift
Bend pac is about 2,500 for a 9k lift
mohawk, they are pricey, never really looked

I myself wanted a rotary but could not spend the money on a new lift, and have it installed, finally bill would of been around 5k. You can find great deals on used ones, like I did. Ammco is also a good brand I'm learning, napa sells them.

Thats my little experience, ask me anything else if you have any questions. Been researching for awhile so I might be able to help you.