Exactly what I want, will not get anything else! To bad it will be like 10 years down the road.
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.
Well..I pulled the trigger today...BendPak Lift
- Thread starter 73k5blazer
- Start date
Exactly what I want, will not get anything else! To bad it will be like 10 years down the road.
I talked to my friend that had that 11,000 lb alignment rack lift he sold,and he told me the moron who bought it for 100 bucks left it outside the past 5 years,and decided to SCRAP it !..."because it was rusty and he didn't feel like having to wire brush the whole thing down and paint it--and perhaps have to repair or replace a hydraulic cylinder on it"...
...I would have been glad to give him twice what he paid for it..I'm sure it brought less in scrap than he paid for it too...
My friends two post "Globe" life had one of the leaf chains bust while a car was being lifted a few weeks ago--had quite a hassle getting the car off the lift,AND trying to get the right part for it,it uses a metric chain thats not common (of course)--
Last fall he had a hard time getting a new equilizer cable for it too,the parts were not that expensive,just that they had to "guess" what model it was because they only put stickers on it instead of metal tags with stamped numbers,and it was worn away,so only a partial number could be found...the company that had parts for it in Illinois had to send two cables before he got one that worked...
His lift was "down" 2 weeks because of that each time...said it took him about 5 hours to install the leaf chain with the help of his co-worker--the cable job sucked too,he said...but at least they were able to fix it themselves--I'm sure a "service call" wouldn't have been cheap..
I like the runway lifts ,the one I missed out on had only 4 cylinders to do the lifting--no cables,chains,or other things to muck up on it..I know the runways can be a pain to work around if your doing a tranny swap or exhaust work,but I found it 100% better than lying on the ground trying to do one..one plus about the runways is you dont have to crawl under the vehicle to position the arms,and hope they pick up on the intended spot,and dont slip off...
My friends 2 post lift often requires wood blocks to be used between the lift arms and the car,so you wont crush step bars or rocker panels in on some vehicles,and more than once I've seen him struggling to install a tranny and I notice one of the 4 lift arms isn't even touching the car,or the pad is on a leaf spring eye,that it could slip off of easily...
..he is braver than I am,I dont trust things balancing like that ,especially when your shoving a heavy part into place!..
...I would have been glad to give him twice what he paid for it..I'm sure it brought less in scrap than he paid for it too...My friends two post "Globe" life had one of the leaf chains bust while a car was being lifted a few weeks ago--had quite a hassle getting the car off the lift,AND trying to get the right part for it,it uses a metric chain thats not common (of course)--
Last fall he had a hard time getting a new equilizer cable for it too,the parts were not that expensive,just that they had to "guess" what model it was because they only put stickers on it instead of metal tags with stamped numbers,and it was worn away,so only a partial number could be found...the company that had parts for it in Illinois had to send two cables before he got one that worked...
His lift was "down" 2 weeks because of that each time...said it took him about 5 hours to install the leaf chain with the help of his co-worker--the cable job sucked too,he said...but at least they were able to fix it themselves--I'm sure a "service call" wouldn't have been cheap..
I like the runway lifts ,the one I missed out on had only 4 cylinders to do the lifting--no cables,chains,or other things to muck up on it..I know the runways can be a pain to work around if your doing a tranny swap or exhaust work,but I found it 100% better than lying on the ground trying to do one..one plus about the runways is you dont have to crawl under the vehicle to position the arms,and hope they pick up on the intended spot,and dont slip off...
My friends 2 post lift often requires wood blocks to be used between the lift arms and the car,so you wont crush step bars or rocker panels in on some vehicles,and more than once I've seen him struggling to install a tranny and I notice one of the 4 lift arms isn't even touching the car,or the pad is on a leaf spring eye,that it could slip off of easily...
..he is braver than I am,I dont trust things balancing like that ,especially when your shoving a heavy part into place!..
A1971Blazer
1/2 ton status
When you get a heavy truck on the 9000# lift it needs the tall jack stands on both ends............makes it MUCH more stable. I bought two from HF that turned out to be fairly decent for the price.
I plan on ordering two more as soon as this 71 blazer gets moved into the shop!
I plan on ordering two more as soon as this 71 blazer gets moved into the shop!
and a HUGE reminder tag hanging on the down lever so you don't accidently drop it forgetting the stand or stands are under the truck . 
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Sure is tough to choose which would be right for me. 2 or 4. My instinct is 2. But maybe the 4 would be better. Who knows. I got a while yet before i need to start worrying about that.
I'm too ignorant of lifts to understand this. Where are you putting the jack stands?
A1971Blazer is right the stands make it much more stable. I have 2 of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-underhoist-safety-stand-60759-9924.html
Once you lift up the vehicle you put these under the axle or frame whatever and it makes the truck wobble a lot less. Also if the lift were to fail it keeps you from being crushed. I use these when I lift heavier stuff. You just spin them up and put a little pressure on the stands to keep the truck from rocking on the lift. I plan on buying 2 more they work great. They also work well to support axles when you are pulling them.
Edit: only need these for a 2 post lift
One thing I like about some 4 post ones is they dont have to be anchored ,so if you need to move,it can go with you easier--one garage near me has one they can roll outside and use in the parking lot, if they want the garage bay for a larger truck that wont fit on the lift...
Another place nearby has a scary looking thing thats like a forklift you can wheel up to a car and pick it up,...I wouldn't trust one of those things..even with a light FWD car,it looks too tippy and too easy to roll away with the car on it to me,even though it probably is "safe"...
Another place nearby has a scary looking thing thats like a forklift you can wheel up to a car and pick it up,...I wouldn't trust one of those things..even with a light FWD car,it looks too tippy and too easy to roll away with the car on it to me,even though it probably is "safe"...
This is probably crazy, but... I assume the 4-post ones allow the tracks to be adjusted in and out for different sized cars. Could you move them inboard of the wheels on a truck and then gin something up to catch the frame, to let the suspension droop? Assuming they could be moved in far enough, it seems like something safe could be fabricated to do that, though there might end up being a lot of stuff in the way by the time you got it how you wanted.
EDIT: Maybe the rolling jacks can do exactly what I'm saying? Move the runways in narrower than the jack width?
EDIT: Maybe the rolling jacks can do exactly what I'm saying? Move the runways in narrower than the jack width?
A1971Blazer
1/2 ton status
The 4 post one my friend had ,the ramps were "fixed" but wide enough so just about anything from a Geo to a 1 ton pickup fit on the ramps...some others do have ramps that slide in or out to adjust for various width wheelbases..and I assume the rolling air jacks had to have adjustable carriages to allow them to be used at whatever width the ramps were set at..
To do tire or brake work you use the rolling air jacks,on the lift I was refering to,they roll on rollers in a "U" channel on the inside of each ramp,and you roll them into position and hit the air button,and a sissors type lift operated by an air cylinder lifted the vehicle up off the ramps...they were arranged so as they lifted,they also locked into position so the vehicle cant roll while its supported by them..
By far the most useless lift I used was a one post "in ground' type,it was only good for oil changes and tire and brake work...it had a single huge piston about 10" in diameter that rose out of the ground about 8 feet high,with 4 arms on it..you had to position them just right too,or the car would want to take a sudden dive off to one side or either end,and I hated working under that thing..ones we had in trade school were similar,but had two pistons and you had to be skilled at raising them both equally with independent valves,we had more than one car slide off them when one end was allowed to go up too high compared to the other..
A local cranberry bog I used to deliver parts too has a "lift" they made outside--there is a sharp drop off behind a huge pole barn they repair their trucks and bog equipment in,and the guy used two huge steel "I" beams from a bridge he got at a scrapyard to use as ramps--he simply anchored them in concrete at the top of the hill behind the building,and put two more sections at the other end for "legs" anchored in concrete down in the gulley,they can drive semi's right out of the buildings back door onto the ramps and work under them easily...
At the Ocean Spray Cranberry factory in the next town over,they have a huge lift that a fully loaded 18 wheeler dump truck backs onto,and it raises the entire thing about 50 feet into the air at a 45 degree angle,to dump the berries out!..its an amazing thing to watch!..
To do tire or brake work you use the rolling air jacks,on the lift I was refering to,they roll on rollers in a "U" channel on the inside of each ramp,and you roll them into position and hit the air button,and a sissors type lift operated by an air cylinder lifted the vehicle up off the ramps...they were arranged so as they lifted,they also locked into position so the vehicle cant roll while its supported by them..
By far the most useless lift I used was a one post "in ground' type,it was only good for oil changes and tire and brake work...it had a single huge piston about 10" in diameter that rose out of the ground about 8 feet high,with 4 arms on it..you had to position them just right too,or the car would want to take a sudden dive off to one side or either end,and I hated working under that thing..ones we had in trade school were similar,but had two pistons and you had to be skilled at raising them both equally with independent valves,we had more than one car slide off them when one end was allowed to go up too high compared to the other..
A local cranberry bog I used to deliver parts too has a "lift" they made outside--there is a sharp drop off behind a huge pole barn they repair their trucks and bog equipment in,and the guy used two huge steel "I" beams from a bridge he got at a scrapyard to use as ramps--he simply anchored them in concrete at the top of the hill behind the building,and put two more sections at the other end for "legs" anchored in concrete down in the gulley,they can drive semi's right out of the buildings back door onto the ramps and work under them easily...
At the Ocean Spray Cranberry factory in the next town over,they have a huge lift that a fully loaded 18 wheeler dump truck backs onto,and it raises the entire thing about 50 feet into the air at a 45 degree angle,to dump the berries out!..its an amazing thing to watch!..
Although they are expensive, the total cats ass, best lift, never gets in the way, geo metros to crew cabs everything racks easy; the two post in ground lift is the best. I've worked a couple places that had them and they are awesome. When I buy a house, I'm prolly gonna go with a two post above ground. They are getting too cheap not to own one.
With the rolling jacks, if the runways can't get out of the way, I'd never get my tires in the air. At least the ones linked in this thread wouldn't even reach my frame before topping out. I think the max lift height was 22" or so.
They make exstentions to make the traveling jacks taller. You'd prolly have to make an even taller set for your application with such large tires. You gotta remember, these things are designed to work with stock cars and trucks.
My garage setup is basically and RV garage that is extended into a shop in the back. The results is that the tall part of the garage is in front, so if I got a lift, it would have to be up there. To get vehicles into the back they would have to either driver over or under the lift. How annoying do you think that would be?
2 post lift = drive right on threw it . 
Word of warning, actually check your slabs. I was convinced that the slab outside my shop was at least 4". The slab the shop sets on is over 6" thick, so I thought I was safe. I was ready to pull the trigger, but I wanted to make an out side mounting position for my receiver tooling, so decided to put it on the end of the slab where the lift would be. Hard to be exact with a concrete drill, but it was definitely under 4". And I wanted an asymmetric 10T to use with my crew cab, so I wasn't taking chances. Had to put the whole thing off till I get time and energy to cut 3' square holes 2'+ deep (or so goes my plan) and put in some reinforced footings in for the lift to mount on. I've got other areas that are thick enough, but they have too much slope and/or far to isolated from power and work bays. Always something...
Looking to add a lift to my shop. Hoping to add a Bendpac 12k 2 post.
FREE SHIPPING — BendPak Super-Duty Truck Lift — 2 Post, 12,000-Lb. Capacity, Model# XPR-12CL
FREE SHIPPING — BendPak Super-Duty Truck Lift — 2 Post, 12,000-Lb. Capacity, Model# XPR-12CL
if you dont pick HUGE stuff all the time a 10k will do just fine . i do crew cab diesels on my eagle china 10k 2post no problems.
I need one capable of lifting a crew cab capacity. I'll be working on anything square body to crew cab. 10 seems minimum so I will go with a 12k. 14k is more then I need. I can't get my truck in my shop with the camper on so I won't be lifting them together here. Not until I have my own building with a tall enough door opening.
