American Made 2 Post Lift?

[robertwhite]

Did a search with and came up pretty empty.

I am looking for an American made (NOT American assembled) 2 post lift. Why? Because I love to support American products as much as humanly and financially possible.

The lift must be an asymetric, wide spread, clear floor, 10K capacity (minimum) unit. Ceiling height is at 12' 3 1/2" minimum (angles up to more than 14') and I can fit the posts in between rafters which are 16" OC if need be.

Lift will be used on stuff from 7K lb pick ups to farm equipment, so it needs to be both quality built and reliable. I can only do limited work (due to injuries) and need to know my late teens son or farm help is safe when under it.

Mohawk is out of the question as the price is way out of line unless purchased used.

I was looking at the Bend Pack XPR 10ACX (obviously overseas made) and got to thinking that there must be something at least as good or better in the same ball park money wise that is USA made and assembled, no?

 

[3x9RT/SE]

I've been thru this lately,my criteria alittle different than yours,but the Bendpak is probably going to be the one I go with,or a Dannmar(sister company of Bendpak) which is basically the same thing,diff color.They both have American made power units on them I know for sure,was told the cylinders were also American made also,but can't verify that.
Since you're looking for asymetric ,check out their Bendpak vs. Rotary comparison,gives you a great anatomy of both lifts disassembled.IMO,as far as the best lift to possibly purchase that IS not full American,and made overseas,I beleive the Bendpak probably has the most stern of quality control,as they will be trying to keep their name on top of the auto lift game.NTM,good pricing to me.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

Check this one out......


http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/two-post-lifts/XPR-10ACX.aspx

 

[Lt CHEG]

I was looking at the Bend Pack XPR 10ACX (obviously overseas made) and got to thinking that there must be something at least as good or better in the same ball park money wise that is USA made and assembled, no?

From what I've seen the answer is no. I'm going to be building a new house and shop to go with it in about a year or so so I've been researching everything to do with construction and also how I want to set up my shop. I am totally going to put a lift in my new place when I start too, so I've looked at lifts as well. It seems like the reason why Mohawk is so much more than the rest of the lifts is because it's totally US made and the quality is top notch. People in the US are simply not willing to work for wages that are even 5 times what most overseas workers are being paid so anything made in the US is going to cost a lot more.

As for me, I'm hoping that I can get a bit better pricing on Mohawk when I'm ready because they're about 45 miles from the land I bought to build on. Based upon my research, they really are the best. Their build seems to be so much heavier duty that it looks like they could handle way more than they are rated for. To me, it's not so much about US made vs. overseas made, but about difference in quality and to me the extra $2500 or so for a Mohawk isn't such a huge difference when I'm going to be building new from the ground up anyway. I think I should be able to get a good deal though, as I see way more Mohawk lifts around here than anything else in the shops that I go to, heck I even learned on a Mohawk lift back in high school.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Have you looked at Challenger Lifts? There are a LOT of companies in this area that have them, they are ALI certified and the last time I checked, they were built in Kentucky and have a "Made In The USA" sticker on them. They would fit in your garage easily as they are designed for 12' ceilings.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

From what I've seen the answer is no. I'm going to be building a new house and shop to go with it in about a year or so so I've been researching everything to do with construction and also how I want to set up my shop. I am totally going to put a lift in my new place when I start too, so I've looked at lifts as well. It seems like the reason why Mohawk is so much more than the rest of the lifts is because it's totally US made and the quality is top notch. People in the US are simply not willing to work for wages that are even 5 times what most overseas workers are being paid so anything made in the US is going to cost a lot more.

As for me, I'm hoping that I can get a bit better pricing on Mohawk when I'm ready because they're about 45 miles from the land I bought to build on. Based upon my research, they really are the best. Their build seems to be so much heavier duty that it looks like they could handle way more than they are rated for. To me, it's not so much about US made vs. overseas made, but about difference in quality and to me the extra $2500 or so for a Mohawk isn't such a huge difference when I'm going to be building new from the ground up anyway. I think I should be able to get a good deal though, as I see way more Mohawk lifts around here than anything else in the shops that I go to, heck I even learned on a Mohawk lift back in high school.

For a backyard garage/hobbiest,Mohawk is overkill IMO.Is it the best,probably.The A-7 falls between $6,000.00 -$6,600.00,the System 1 $8,000 ish.Worth,Whip,Gemini, $2,750.00-$3,500.00 and is still American made.
If I owned a shop that had a lift needing to go up and down 10 times a day,absolutely,especially in a business application,part of the investment.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

Have you looked at Challenger Lifts? There are a LOT of companies in this area that have them, they are ALI certified and the last time I checked, they were built in Kentucky and have a "Made In The USA" sticker on them. They would fit in your garage easily as they are designed for 12' ceilings.

You got that right, "WERE" made in Kentucky,Chinese lift now to!!!!

 

[oilslick]

I will say it again challenger is china , I work fulltime under a whip and have few complaints other than running boards on a e150 van can slow me down!! I will buy a whip for my personel garage when time comes. I hope they are still around and made in texas when I pull the trigger!!!! My dad has a bendpak rated for 9000lbs and felt scarrry with a e350 12pass diesel on it, I mean it changed my opinion of the lift now I would never recommend one!! I saw a AAMCO that looked HD but not sure where they are made.

 

[rburke65]

Are not Rotary lifts made in the USA? I thought they were.

 

[Lt CHEG]

For a backyard garage/hobbiest,Mohawk is overkill IMO.Is it the best,probably.The A-7 falls between $6,000.00 -$6,600.00,the System 1 $8,000 ish.Worth,Whip,Gemini, $2,750.00-$3,500.00 and is still American made.
If I owned a shop that had a lift needing to go up and down 10 times a day,absolutely,especially in a business application,part of the investment.

I can totally understand your point of view. For me $4000 to $4500 difference in cost will not make that much of a difference when I'm building the house. Frankly I would also feel better having something that's more substantial considering that the vehicle that will most often be going up on the lift will likely be my F250 diesel which weighs around 8,000 pounds as I drive it around. In the end, I'm still hoping to manage some sort of deal based on the fact that Mohawk is practically in my backyard. Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic but I'm hoping to be able to knock $500 to $750 or so off of the above mentioned prices.

 

[robertwhite]

After spending $25K on my barn/shop rebuild, there is no way I can spend another $6-8K on a lift. Even spending the $2700 the Bend Pack costs is pushing it about as far as I can.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

After spending $25K on my barn/shop rebuild, there is no way I can spend another $6-8K on a lift. Even spending the $2700 the Bend Pack costs is pushing it about as far as I can.

Then look at the Dannmar,as they pretty much are the same thing and are around $2,100.00 delivered.As I said ,I know they come with an American made power unit,and compared to the other chinese lifts,the Benpaks,and Dannmars have more of a square(larger column)hence the 132'' overall width with only having 102'' between.I tyink the columns were 11''x11'' or so.Plus the baseplate ws 20''x19''.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

I can totally understand your point of view. For me $4000 to $4500 difference in cost will not make that much of a difference when I'm building the house. Frankly I would also feel better having something that's more substantial considering that the vehicle that will most often be going up on the lift will likely be my F250 diesel which weighs around 8,000 pounds as I drive it around. In the end, I'm still hoping to manage some sort of deal based on the fact that Mohawk is practically in my backyard. Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic but I'm hoping to be able to knock $500 to $750 or so off of the above mentioned prices.

Sure,makes sense.On your F250 deisel weighing in at 8,000 lbs.,I have siad it like this before,wether it's an American lift or a Chinese,if I were picking up something 7-8k lbs.,I would'nt be getting a 9K lb. lift,I'd be getting a 12k lb.Why would you ever want to go right next to the capacity of a piece of equipment????
For me,the heaviest cars I own are all less than 4K lbs.,so a 9K lb. lift will do the trick.Everyones application is different as to why they're buying a lift,so don't jump into impulsly buying one,do your homework,because once it's there,it should be there for a long time,IMO.

 

[slice]

I have done all the serching you have done and settled on a Forward 10 k lift. 2 post.. I lift a 1 ton ford on it and my Dodge 2500 Diesel. all with NO PROBLEMS. IT has the ALI sticker on it as most lits today have, I spent right at 3100 installed, Its more lift than i will ever need, and i could not justify spending another 3 grand for something Made in the USA... to each his own

 

[Bruce4310TX]

this place is located in Texas not sure of quality http://www.geminilift.com/index.html

 

[3x9RT/SE]

this place is located in Texas not sure of quality http://www.geminilift.com/index.html

I called and got info on the baseplate two post, $3,050.00 + $750.00 shipping,so $3,800.00 all done.

 

[robertwhite]

I called and got info on the baseplate two post, $3,050.00 + $750.00 shipping,so $3,800.00 all done.

$750 for shipping? Ouch. I can ship a car from Florida to New York for that price.

 

[edl]

Are not Rotary lifts made in the USA? I thought they were.

Yes

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

You got that right, "WERE" made in Kentucky,Chinese lift now to!!!!

I will say it again challenger is china , I work fulltime under a whip and have few complaints other than running boards on a e150 van can slow me down!! I will buy a whip for my personel garage when time comes. I hope they are still around and made in texas when I pull the trigger!!!! My dad has a bendpak rated for 9000lbs and felt scarrry with a e350 12pass diesel on it, I mean it changed my opinion of the lift now I would never recommend one!! I saw a AAMCO that looked HD but not sure where they are made.

OK guys, I emailed them last night and wanted to know which lifts were made here (and I said MADE here not ASSEMBLED here and was very pointed in that comment). Hopefully, this will quiet some of you down about their lifts. Here is my email and their response:

I am in the market for a new two post but prefer an American made lift instead of an import. I would like to know if your lifts are made here in the USA (note, not “assembled here from foreign components” but built from scratch here). If you have an import line and a domestic line, could you let me know which of your models are made here? I have several garage owners in this area that use your lifts and they seem to be one of the better units out there but I will be buying an American made if at all possible.


Hi David!

Thank you for contacting Challenger Lifts. It is interesting that you ask about which of our lifts are made in the USA versus products imported from other countries. Challenger does have both. Our CL series in light duty and heavy duty two post are manufactured here in Louisville as well as four post general service and alignment lifts. We also offer an exclusive inground lift design that uses air and water..no oil and no electricity! We do offer import products as well, but those products are built to our design and engineered to meet safety and industry requirements. You will see the marking “ALI/ETL” which is the industry standard for safety and construction of automotive lifts. Our products are marketed world-wide and we have an excellent network of authorized service providers to insure that your lift is installed correctly.

If you would like more information, price quote, or references of others who own Challenger, let us know, we will have our Region Sales Manager personally contact you.

Again, thank you. We like to say that we stand under our products, not behind them!





Deborah C. Thompson

Vice-President Sales & Marketing

Challenger Lifts, Inc.



Edit: I will be buying one of their lifts when the garage goes in. I know a bunch of guys that have them and none have had any problems to speak of with them.

 

[milner351]

I have a WHIP - Greg Smith used to carry them - I'm glad to know they are still in business in Texas building lifts - mine has lifted up to a dually 4x4 diesel crew cab without hesitation and has never given me any trouble.

 

[3x9RT/SE]

Hmmmmmm,awful familiar looking, they photo shopped the lift a diff color,and the mustang!!!!! Note the lift pad right on the rocker panel!!!!


http://www.qualitylifts.com/About-Us




Read.......

 

[rburke65]

$750 for shipping? Ouch. I can ship a car from Florida to New York for that price.

Amen. That is more than 25% to ship it.

 

[robertwhite]

Amen. That is more than 25% to ship it.

It's not even the cost vs ship percentage that gets me, its the fact that the package weighs around 1500lbs. That price is just ridiculous as a freight weight shipment.

 

[robertwhite]

Our CL series in light duty and heavy duty two post are manufactured here in Louisville

Guess I will have to check into Challenger.

 

[oilslick]

I think challenger is full of it, I know for a fact the crates holding our rollig jacks and pump unit said made in china, and the welds on the runways and brackets are sad as well as one missing completely!!! This was a 15k 4 post I believe it cost about 14000 total.

 

[oilslick]

ooops I forgot they were talking about 2post my bad.

 

[Total Tool]

All Challengers except the E-10 are still made in Louisville, KY. Challenger's sister Co, Quality Lifts are all mostly made off shore, but some parts and assy are completed in USA.

Just to clarify

 

[robertwhite]

All Challengers except the E-10 are still made in Louisville, KY. Challenger's sister Co, Quality Lifts are all mostly made off shore, but some parts and assy are completed in USA.

Just to clarify

I sent an email to Challenger via their website and got no reply. Kind of hard to give someone business if they don't respond to emails.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

I sent an email to Challenger via their website and got no reply. Kind of hard to give someone business if they don't respond to emails.

I emailed them twice in the last two weeks and got a return reply both times. I sent the first on Wednesday night and had an answer on Thursday morning. The next one I sent Friday night and it was answered Monday morning. I don't know what happened to yours but I will PM you the contact info that I have.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

When I bought my 1997 Challenger model 39000 several weeks ago, I emailed Challenger (via the "contact us" web page) the next day asking for a copy of the manual. The following day I received a CC from Jeff Snyder (SE regional manager) to Tom Clark (technical support) asking Tom to send me a copy of the manual. The second email was from Tom and contained the PDF file of the complete manual for my lift.

Challenger is one of the top tier lift companies. You will find lots of their lifts in shops and dealerships. The market is loaded with different brands of lifts, compile a list and consider all of them, note which are US made and which are not, and go from there.

Second thing to consider is a used lift. Lots of good ones, a few worn out ones. Lift installers can point you in the right direction for some good deals. I found a 2 year old tall Challenger 12,000 lb lift in Charlotte, NC on Craigs List by a lift installer for a reasonable price ($3100 if I recall) but it was more lift or money than I wanted to spend. Just look around the deals are out there.

Charles

 

[bill9860]

Agree - Mohawk is overkill - but I did want American made. Just a hair short of $5,400 installed in July 2010.

 

[PhantomPark]

Hi Robert. American Custom Lifts offers American-made two post lifts and four post lifts at a good price. They also offer top quality import lifts that were designed in the US and manufactured to US standards. They are ALI/ETL certified and come with a labor warranty that nobody else offers. www.aclifts.com

 

[PhantomPark]

I realize this post is beyond a late reply, but I just came across this blog.

Challenger offers high quality lifts, American made and imported. Their imported lifts are their design and manufactured to their high standards and are also ALI/ETL certified and they use American made motors. Their American made lifts are manufactured at their plant in KY.

American Custom Lifts www.aclifts.com also offers their own American made lifts and at a very reasonable price. They also offer the Challenger Lifts and the Challenger imported lifts.

 

[jdsac]

Sorry, a little late to this, but in our area all the COSTCO tire install bays have Challenger lifts.
Cars up & down all day long. Must be something to them as COSTCO is
very safety oriented.

 

[CNGsaves]

Resurrected thread . . . I know . . . . . but hope a GJer got this bargain on a lift on Public Surplus:

CHALLENGER 2700 - - - 2 post lift . . $505 + 10% buyer's prem $55 = $560
https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=1989683&trackId=294

It closed on 12/3/17 and I just noticed it today . . . 12/5/17.

 

[rburke65]

Only two days late!

 

[V10nacuda]

Nussbaum, German company but everything is built in Gastonia North Carolina quality looks to be pretty good