For those that have one or use one on a daily basis. I’m looking at getting a 10,000 lb Forward lift. The biggest truck I have that I’d lift is a 2006 Chevy 3500 dually with a utility body. With full tanks weighs 9200 lbs. I’ll only lift it once a year to wash salt out from under it, and maybe another time to service. Would you stick with the 10,000, or get the 12,000. There’s about a $5,000 increase for a 12,000.
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Two post lift
- Thread starter Mdjunior
- Start date
I’d get the 12k because I’d be nervous standing under something that’s at almost 95% of it’s capacity.
rampage
3/4 ton status
12k lift just to be safe .
Forward is a good brand . Its rotorys budget brand .
I worked with lifts almost 20 years in shop as a mechanic . I have a cheep china in my shop now ( there when i moved in ) and do NOT like the quality on a lot of points . Stay away from all these super cheep lifts .
Good video to watch on cheep lifts and why you should go bigger .
Looks just like my lift and i need to get a better one .
Forward is a good brand . Its rotorys budget brand .
I worked with lifts almost 20 years in shop as a mechanic . I have a cheep china in my shop now ( there when i moved in ) and do NOT like the quality on a lot of points . Stay away from all these super cheep lifts .
Good video to watch on cheep lifts and why you should go bigger .
Looks just like my lift and i need to get a better one .
At a plant that I worked at for 24 yrs. the original engineers had a standard rule that ANY equipment must be ordered/built with a minimum of a 20% reserve in capacity ( as in never take more than 80% of design load regardless of service factor built in ) with no exceptions.
This worked exceptionally well - until, eventually management changed and the bean counters became the final say in all matters and this rule was quietly discarded.
Equipment started failing and maintenance intervals and downtime increased immensely - and moral of the operators dropped because nobody trusted or had confidence like we used to.
My point is that ( just as the others up above have said ) never plan on using the very top end range of usage of anything - due to safety and/or reliability maintenance concerns.
Also, trusting in the manufacturer’s stated advertised ratings can be tricky - verify the “service-factor” rating for that exact piece of equipment.
Things don’t have that overbuild reserve like in days gone by - now they are designed with absolute minimum “waste” in materials and unfortunately that means the overbuild factor is just not there…
Peace of mind of going with the 12K lift ( even with the penalty of the added coin ) is well worth it and HIGHLY advised - besides things usually get heavier and we use them way more than we originally planned to. My vote is 12K !
This worked exceptionally well - until, eventually management changed and the bean counters became the final say in all matters and this rule was quietly discarded.
Equipment started failing and maintenance intervals and downtime increased immensely - and moral of the operators dropped because nobody trusted or had confidence like we used to.
My point is that ( just as the others up above have said ) never plan on using the very top end range of usage of anything - due to safety and/or reliability maintenance concerns.
Also, trusting in the manufacturer’s stated advertised ratings can be tricky - verify the “service-factor” rating for that exact piece of equipment.
Things don’t have that overbuild reserve like in days gone by - now they are designed with absolute minimum “waste” in materials and unfortunately that means the overbuild factor is just not there…
Peace of mind of going with the 12K lift ( even with the penalty of the added coin ) is well worth it and HIGHLY advised - besides things usually get heavier and we use them way more than we originally planned to. My vote is 12K !
I have gotten into the at home lift world the past month or so. I had lifts in my class as an auto tech teacher for 19 years though.
32 years ago as a teacher aid I spent Christmas week helping the then new auto tech teacher assemble and install a still in the boxes but 8 year old Rotary 8,000 pound 2 post lift the previous teacher had ordered but never installed. 2 of us could easily pick up and move each post tower to get things where we wanted them. I became the Ag teacher and then the welding teacher over the next 8 years. The auto tech class got a Hunter Engineering alignment lift and system somewhere in there as well. Then, I took over auto tech in 2003.
When I took over the class I learned to hate that 2 post Rotary. It just felt flimsy compared to the 4 post Hunter and even with little front wheel drive cars on it “solid” was never a term I associated with that lift. When another school in our district lost its auto tech teacher and decided not to fill the position I got their Hunter 4 post. The same thing happened a few years later with a John Bean 4 post lift. The rotary lift got sold as surplus to make room for the 4 post lifts.
The John Bean 4 post alignment lift had the same rated capacity as the Hunter 4 post lifts. But, it felt so flimsy compared to the Hunter units. The John Bean always seemed to have something breaking or just not working right as well. Plus the wheels free jacks on the John Bean were just inferior in every way compared to what the Hunters had. Then I retired in 2022.
I wanted a lift for home use and have really, really thought a 4 post was what I needed. Based on my experiences in my class. New lift prices and availability when some crazy sale was going on prevented me from getting one. Even used Hunter units which are too big for my space are outrageous in price or listed as pieces sitting in a field covered in vegetation and still too much money.
Last month while doing my daily marketplace search I found something I didn’t know existed. A 2 post lift with basically the runways of a 4 post lifts with all the alignment stuff. Hunter made the 16 foot long alignment runways and Forward made the 10,000 pound 2 post part. I bought it for more than scrap, but way less than a comparable 4 post. I knew nothing about Forward and figured I was buying the alignment runways with some extra stuff.
I have been educated. The Forward DP10S 10,000 pound 2 post part of the set up is extremely heavy duty and well built. Each tower probably weighs 1500-2000 pounds with the carriage. Using a friend with a loader to set them up was almost not enough. Those things are 12 feet tall and heavy! Once up right, but still tethered in case it tipped we couldn’t move them into position by ourselves. Now that it is working, I having nothing but praise for the Forward lift.
However, mine is old. It is red in color and says Forward Manufacturing. The Forward logo is an Indian war bonnet and lance so I’m guessing no newer than the 1990’s if not older. Obviously before Rotary bought them out.
It is old enough that to undo the locks I have to walk around and pull a lever on each tower. However, the locks automatically go to engaged when the lift is raised from any position.
My point of adding to the already great advice given in post above is before you buy. Go look at one assembled. Knock on it and see how it feels. Solid or flimsy? Watch how it goes up and down. Smooth or not coordinated? Do you have enough overhead? 12 foot towers are tall! How are you going to assemble it? An engine hoist wouldn’t pick up one end of one of my towers with any stability. I tried. I know nothing about the new Rotary owned Forward but is you are ok going used. Look for a red Forward and I think you will be impressed.
32 years ago as a teacher aid I spent Christmas week helping the then new auto tech teacher assemble and install a still in the boxes but 8 year old Rotary 8,000 pound 2 post lift the previous teacher had ordered but never installed. 2 of us could easily pick up and move each post tower to get things where we wanted them. I became the Ag teacher and then the welding teacher over the next 8 years. The auto tech class got a Hunter Engineering alignment lift and system somewhere in there as well. Then, I took over auto tech in 2003.
When I took over the class I learned to hate that 2 post Rotary. It just felt flimsy compared to the 4 post Hunter and even with little front wheel drive cars on it “solid” was never a term I associated with that lift. When another school in our district lost its auto tech teacher and decided not to fill the position I got their Hunter 4 post. The same thing happened a few years later with a John Bean 4 post lift. The rotary lift got sold as surplus to make room for the 4 post lifts.
The John Bean 4 post alignment lift had the same rated capacity as the Hunter 4 post lifts. But, it felt so flimsy compared to the Hunter units. The John Bean always seemed to have something breaking or just not working right as well. Plus the wheels free jacks on the John Bean were just inferior in every way compared to what the Hunters had. Then I retired in 2022.
I wanted a lift for home use and have really, really thought a 4 post was what I needed. Based on my experiences in my class. New lift prices and availability when some crazy sale was going on prevented me from getting one. Even used Hunter units which are too big for my space are outrageous in price or listed as pieces sitting in a field covered in vegetation and still too much money.
Last month while doing my daily marketplace search I found something I didn’t know existed. A 2 post lift with basically the runways of a 4 post lifts with all the alignment stuff. Hunter made the 16 foot long alignment runways and Forward made the 10,000 pound 2 post part. I bought it for more than scrap, but way less than a comparable 4 post. I knew nothing about Forward and figured I was buying the alignment runways with some extra stuff.
I have been educated. The Forward DP10S 10,000 pound 2 post part of the set up is extremely heavy duty and well built. Each tower probably weighs 1500-2000 pounds with the carriage. Using a friend with a loader to set them up was almost not enough. Those things are 12 feet tall and heavy! Once up right, but still tethered in case it tipped we couldn’t move them into position by ourselves. Now that it is working, I having nothing but praise for the Forward lift.
However, mine is old. It is red in color and says Forward Manufacturing. The Forward logo is an Indian war bonnet and lance so I’m guessing no newer than the 1990’s if not older. Obviously before Rotary bought them out.
It is old enough that to undo the locks I have to walk around and pull a lever on each tower. However, the locks automatically go to engaged when the lift is raised from any position.
My point of adding to the already great advice given in post above is before you buy. Go look at one assembled. Knock on it and see how it feels. Solid or flimsy? Watch how it goes up and down. Smooth or not coordinated? Do you have enough overhead? 12 foot towers are tall! How are you going to assemble it? An engine hoist wouldn’t pick up one end of one of my towers with any stability. I tried. I know nothing about the new Rotary owned Forward but is you are ok going used. Look for a red Forward and I think you will be impressed.
Last edited:
@Barrman yes thats a old original forward and they were TANKS . my buddy found a new old stock 2 years ago and lets just say DAM was it fun to move and setup .
if you need new decals hit up @mrk5 as i had him remake the forward stickers with the indian headdress on it and come out super close off internet pics .
if you need new decals hit up @mrk5 as i had him remake the forward stickers with the indian headdress on it and come out super close off internet pics .
Thanks for the information. If I go to put new stickers on it then I might get the idea I need to paint it. I still haven’t decided if I want it looking shiny or just old with a patina.
Do you have pics of it all set up in your space?
I do. I have also done a few videos about it. The first one will publish this Friday morning on my channel which is in my signature.
Here is the lift with a 220 volt “extension “ cord testing to see if it works and the alignment stabilizer legs getting tested out:
Here is the lift with a 220 volt “extension “ cord testing to see if it works and the alignment stabilizer legs getting tested out:
Update . I forgot to say my one truck is 8,400 lbs on local truck scale . And my cheep lift at 9k lb capacity will struggle to even lift it around 4ft max and thats it .
So like the video i posted make sure you go bigger and not run the raged edge .
So like the video i posted make sure you go bigger and not run the raged edge .
There is another big feature for me going bigger on the one I put in this past summer.
Look very close at all the specs besides weight rating.
I went with 12k in my shop mostly because it was quite a bit wider in-between the posts.
With the 12k I can back my flatbed trailer in beteeen the posts.
Very useful for getting big heavy things loaded, or unloaded.
I was able to easily lift a truck cab and blazer tub off their frames then just back a trailer under to set them down on.
The smaller lift wouldn't have allowed that.
Look very close at all the specs besides weight rating.
I went with 12k in my shop mostly because it was quite a bit wider in-between the posts.
With the 12k I can back my flatbed trailer in beteeen the posts.
Very useful for getting big heavy things loaded, or unloaded.
I was able to easily lift a truck cab and blazer tub off their frames then just back a trailer under to set them down on.
The smaller lift wouldn't have allowed that.
I have done it with my 9K lift. You just cannot back in when the arms are on the ground, arms need to be above the deck/fenders to get it to work.
