Above 1200 Sq/FT The Lone Beech Garage (60x46x16)

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Continued...

Having dealt with the cable in the Power Post, the instructions now turned to some of the hydraulic lines. These instructions were particularly vague.

There are 4 lengths of Hydraulic Hose included in the parts package. Three of the hoses are the same diameter but different lengths. The one thicker hose appears to be the hose that brings hydraulic fluid from the pump. One has to skip ahead to Step 10 to see a drawing of these hoses. This drawing does not include the 3rd small hose. Some head scratching resulted until a note was found that indicated a "13 inch extension hose" must be added if configuring the lift in the "Wide" configuration. A brief explanation followed about the hardware required for this option (which was included in the parts box).






A hydraulic cylinder protrudes below the carriage. It has a plug that needs to be removed with a 10mm wrench.






This hydraulic line must be placed into the post so that its fitting will be able to be fastened to a fitting in the hydraulic cylinder. So this fitting will live at the very bottom of the post.






A hydraulic fitting is torqued into the Hydraulic Cylinder. Care must be taken to point the fitting in a direction that will allow it to mate with the hydraulic line pictured above. Once this fitting is fastened to the Hydraulic Cylinder, the Cylinder is rotated about 180 degrees so that the fitting is now close to the wall of the post - and pointing in the opposite direction.






The hydraulic lines are placed in little hose clips. The instructions note that "It may be necessary to tie hoses... ...using nylon tie straps or wire." I see no way to secure the hose to the hose clips using wire or straps. For the moment, I've used some duct tape.






A lesson learned was that the duct tape must be placed so that the plastic blocks that the carriage uses as "bearings" will not rub on them. Initially I was too generous with the tape and it was pulled up when the carriage's bearings rubbed over them.

Also, I assumed that the "hose clips" should line up so I skipped one when I was placing the hydraulic line. I assumed that one "odd" clip would be used for a wire bundle or such. Now I'm having second thoughts. I'll probably call BendPak and ask about that before setting the post upright.


Continued in next post...

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Continued...

The last item that was accomplished today was the addition of the "Extensions" that make my lift an XPR-10A-168. The 168 indicates that my lift is about 14 feet tall. This doesn't add any height to the height a vehicle is lifted but it does give more clearance overhead for a particularly tall vehicle. Think a Sprinter cargo van or such.





The Extension bolts on with four 12mm bolts that are in a separate plastic container from the rest of the hardware. The picture in the instructions that accompany this procedure show the bolt sliding into the post from the outside. Between the bolt head and the post, the picture shows a lock washer. Inside the post the bolt is shown to receive a flat washer and then the nut.






Again, I probably should call BendPak and ask a question but I don't think the above arrangement of bolt, lockwasher, flat washer & nut will work. I think I need to put a flat washer on the bolt, slide that home, followed by a flat washer, lock washer & nut.

I'm going to drop by the hardware store tomorrow and pick up a few 12mm flat washers.


That's as far as I got on this project today.


Scott

 

[shortykorte]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

That's funny but seriously sad. I'd probably post this picture on every car related website I could. It's sad that even though the lift isn't made here, Bendpak has no pride in what they are selling. Best wishes on install.

 

[jbmatth]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Good luck with the lift install, I'll be there in a few weeks myself. Unlike you I am not sure on how thick my concrete is so I'm crossing my fingers I don't have to but out any concrete.
JB

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

That's funny but seriously sad. I'd probably post this picture on every car related website I could. It's sad that even though the lift isn't made here, Bendpak has no pride in what they are selling. Best wishes on install.

Good luck with the lift install, I'll be there in a few weeks myself. Unlike you I am not sure on how thick my concrete is so I'm crossing my fingers I don't have to but out any concrete.
JB

Thanks guys!

I just posted a message in the General Garage Discussion area requesting lift installers in the Atlanta area.

I think I could do this project (eventually) but it is taking a lot of time for me to try and decipher the installation manual. I think I could do the "grunt work" lifting and mounting to the floor OK but it's the cables and hydraulics that are giving me pause. I need to get this thing installed and get on with it.

So I'm looking for reputable installers and I'll see what it would cost to get this project knocked out.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[jriltex]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Why the illiterate spelling of the fact it is made in China? Wonder if they think people too stupid to read that for what it is? Talk about slapping your clientele in the face! Another example of cheap foreign steel with questionable formulary being used.

 

[Caparris]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Strange that they would make that one section of text look like that. I mean.. all the other text is perfectly normal looking, so it had to of (I hope!) been on purpose at least.

Hopefully.

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Why the illiterate spelling of the fact it is made in China? Wonder if they think people too stupid to read that for what it is? Talk about slapping your clientele in the face! Another example of cheap foreign steel with questionable formulary being used.

Strange that they would make that one section of text look like that. I mean.. all the other text is perfectly normal looking, so it had to of (I hope!) been on purpose at least.
Hopefully.

While this sort of thing is certainly interesting to speculate on as to the how & why, what really bothers me is the installation manual. Example:






The way I read this diagram is that the bolt and a lock washer are inserted through the hole and a flat washer and nut are torqued down from the other side. If I'm missing something here, please be gentle in pointing it out.

The picture shows the bolt head and the hole the bolt slides into. The head practically falls through and the lock washer DOES fall through.


I'm using extra flat washers to remedy this issue.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[akiwinut]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Think they have their washers back to front, flat washer under the bolt and spring washer should go under the nut. That elongated hole looks way over size if that is a M12 bolt.

 

[jbmatth]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Wow, that doesn't instill much confidence now does it? Call Bendpak and see if they have a distributor in the area, which I'm sure they do, then ask the distributor if they install them or if they have a recommendation. I was quoted $550 to have mine delivered and installed, we will see if I made the wise decision on trying to do it myself or not soon enough.
JB

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

It would have been slick anyway but it is definitely slicker now. Legacy makes some great products and I would have loved to do more but I was on a budget. I do a fair amount of welding/grinding /cutting so it was a good compromise as I can easily recoat areas as I abuse them.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

Thanks Shady!!

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Think they have their washers back to front, flat washer under the bolt and spring washer should go under the nut. That elongated hole looks way over size if that is a M12 bolt.

akiwinut,

I agree that the depicted washer configuration was unusual. I have never seen a lock washer under the head of a bolt.

Anyway, I called BendPak today to ask about installers and I also discussed this page of the installation manual. The tech support guy indicated that the flat washer, not the lock washer, should be under the head of the bolt. I asked him if he could see any problem with also adding another flat washer, then the lock washer and nut on the opposite side of the weldment and the support fellow said that would be fine.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Wow, that doesn't instill much confidence now does it? Call Bendpak and see if they have a distributor in the area, which I'm sure they do, then ask the distributor if they install them or if they have a recommendation. I was quoted $550 to have mine delivered and installed, we will see if I made the wise decision on trying to do it myself or not soon enough.
JB

JB,

I had gone to BendPak's website and they have a Installer/Dealer locater page. Using a 50 mile max distance, the locater came up with 4 hits.

I went on line to find what information might be available on these 4 Installers. 3 of the 4 indicated they provided Automotive Lifts but BendPak wasn't mentioned. The 4th didn't even mention Automotive Lifts on their web page.

The closest Installer was about 25 miles away. Rather than just call, I decided to drive up and look them in the eye to try and get a feel for the operation. I did this and was pleased with what I saw. It looked like a squared away outfit. I got a quote and 3 references - which I called when I got home. I only got hold of one the references but he indicated he was pleased with his installation.

I called the sales rep and told him I'd like to have them do the install. I expect to get an install date & time tomorrow morning. The sales rep indicated it was possible it could be done this week or early next week. We'll see tomorrow how that holds up.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[akiwinut]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

akiwinut,

I agree that the depicted washer configuration was unusual. I have never seen a lock washer under the head of a bolt.

Anyway, I called BendPak today to ask about installers and I also discussed this page of the installation manual. The tech support guy indicated that the flat washer, not the lock washer, should be under the head of the bolt. I asked him if he could see any problem with also adding another flat washer, then the lock washer and nut on the opposite side of the weldment and the support fellow said that would be fine.

Best regards,

Scott

Putting a flat washer under a lock washer kind of defeats the purpose of the washer as they can still work loose. I would probably just use 2 flat washers and a lock nut, or 2 nuts if you don't have any lock nuts.

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Putting a flat washer under a lock washer kind of defeats the purpose of the washer as they can still work loose. I would probably just use 2 flat washers and a lock nut, or 2 nuts if you don't have any lock nuts.

akiwinut,

I'm not sure I communicated the situation properly.

I'm putting a flat washer on the 12 mm bolt and then sliding that through the holes of the two pieces to be joined together. Then I put a flat washer on the bolt followed by a lock washer and the nut.

See Post 1442 for a picture of this situation.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[AZpilot]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

A properly torqued nut with a lock washer and washer under the bolt head will be fine. The bolt is a smooth surface, so is the washer. Many of these applications around that spec a washer under the bolt with a lock washer. If in question, substitute a lock nut in for the lock washer.

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Wednesday - August 17, 2016


This morning was a bit of phone tag with the BendPak installation Company's work scheduler. Around noon it was established the crew that would install my Two-Post Lift would be arriving tomorrow morning around 8 am.

Cool!
Time to get out to the Lone Beech Garage and get things ready for their arrival. I moved a few things to the far end of the Drive-Through Bay to give the installers as much space as possible. However, the main thing I worked on was establishing where the posts would be located. The following pictures show why I wanted to do a little "advance work" for the installers.






Back in December, just before the slab was poured, I went out to the work site and put down some surveyor's flagging tape on top of where the conduit would be running under the slab. With the flagging down, I used a measuring tape and a camera to record key dimensions.






I found a picture taken shortly after the slab was poured to establish where the conduit came up just north of the center bay door.






With all the above information, I laid out where the north pad of the Two-Post Lift would be and then used an extension cord to establish that there won't be any interference between the bolt holes bored in the concrete and the conduit.

There are no known "landmines" around the south pad of the Two-Post Lift.

I'm pretty sure that I'm ready for the crew to show up tomorrow.


Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Thursday - August 18, 2016





True to their word, the BendPak installers arrived pretty close to 8 am this morning.
I gave them a briefing on where the various parts were located and the information on the conduit under the slab. I indicated where I wanted the lift located relative to the middle bay and then I turned them loose. They indicated that they mostly installed Rotary Lifts and, as they pondered the BendPak installation manual, I got the impression they weren't that familiar with BendPak lifts. Despite this, they indicated they might be done around noon.





The laid out the centerline of the approach and then the location line from the front wall.






The preparation of the cables and hydraulic lines commenced, followed by lifting the posts and getting them into the proper position.


Continued in next post...

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Continued...



3/4-inch holes were bored into the slab, the anchor bolts were driven in and the nuts were put onto the bolts.






The safety bar is shipped in the narrow configuration so prepping it for the wide configuration was the next task.






The safety bar was positioned on top of the posts.



Continued in next post...

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Continued...







A lot of work getting all the cables and hydraulic lines properly fitted in the safety bar and into the two posts.






The hydraulic pump was installed on the power post and hydraulic fluid poured into the reservoir.



Continued in next post...

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Continued...


It is now about 4:30 pm. Things have taken a bit longer than the crew expected.





To my surprise they tried to power the 240 volt hydraulic pump with a temporary line running from a 120 volt outlet. The pump hummed a bit but would not produce pressure to operate the lift.





The crew pressed on with installing the arms. At about 5:00 they started packing up. I asked about testing the system. They indicated they had tried with 120 volt setup. I indicted that I had 240 volt power available at several locations. Some foot shuffling as they explained they'd never had trouble testing a lift with the 120 volt cord they had brought along.

Unfortunately it is now 5 pm and raining cats and dogs. I could have gotten together some 10 gauge romex I had in the house and, using some wire nuts, set up a proper test situation but I didn't think I wanted to get soaking wet and do that. To be quite honest, these guys had put in a full day already.

I turned them loose and will attempt to test the lift with proper voltage tomorrow.






With the installation crew gone I took a couple of final pictures and left to get some supper myself.






As the sun went down I got a "twilight" shot of the lift through the open middle bay door.



Scott

 

[Bib Overalls]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

They make it look so easy. Are you going to bring your power up from below or down from the ceiling? Friend of mine has a ceiling mounted air hose reel just a couple of feet to the side of his lift. Gets a lot of use.

 

[AZpilot]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Test hydraulics without bleeding the system? They must have been tired. That lift got them, imagine you doing it. Two weeks and throwing tools!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Scott, your lift is looking fantastic.

Regards

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

They make it look so easy. Are you going to bring your power up from below or down from the ceiling? Friend of mine has a ceiling mounted air hose reel just a couple of feet to the side of his lift. Gets a lot of use.

Bib Overalls,

They were struggling to get those 14 foot posts upright!

Power comes from a prepositioned electrical box with 240 volt power above the post with the Hydraulic Pump mounted on it. I think I asked the electrician to mount an outlet box (120 volt) on the side of the lift post as well. We'll see if he remembers that.

I'll keep the air hose real idea in mind for when I get to that point. Thanks!

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Test hydraulics without bleeding the system? They must have been tired. That lift got them, imagine you doing it. Two weeks and throwing tools!

AZpilot,

I have to agree, at the end of the day I think they had had their belly full of the BendPak XPR-10A-168 two-post lift.

I called the installer's company today and asked the salesman about this installation's "loose ends" at the close of business yesterday.

He told me he would check with the installers' supervisor and get back with me. I suspect I will need to make a follow-up call on Monday.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, these guys didn't seem that familiar with the BendPak lift. I think the advantages they would have over me is:

1. There were 2 of them.
2. They have a working knowledge of installing lifts - this is huge!
3. They're getting paid to do this and can grind their way through the process. I would have "distractions" along the way.

One of the things I pointed out to them in my 8 am briefing was some of the odd things I had seen in the installation manual. The odd bolt specification - previously mentioned in this thread - regarding the 2 foot post extensions being one of them.

The detail conflict that really got their attention was a "floor plan" on page 11 that indicated the drive through clearance was 106 inches vs. the "Clearances" on page 13 that showed a drive through clearance of 103-1/8 inches.

This sort of **** in the manual was the main reason I hired somebody. I felt I was doing worse than flying blind - I was getting bad navigational signals while in the clouds and worried that these bad signals would cause me to fly into the side of a mountain all the while thinking everything was fine.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Scott, your lift is looking fantastic.

1/2 Cup,

Thanks - I agree it looks sweet.

Now if I can just lift a vehicle with it.

Ha!

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Friday - August 19, 2016

As mentioned in an earlier post today, I called the installer's company today and asked the salesman about this installation's "loose ends" at the close of business yesterday.

He told me he would check with the installers' supervisor and get back with me. I suspect I will need to make a follow-up call on Monday.

After making this phone call, I decided to take my largest vehicle, a 2000 Ford F150 Long Bed Pickup with a Super Cab, out to the Lone Beech Garage and see if it and the 2-Post Lift would be able to play well together.






I was pleased with what I found. The pickup has plenty of room fore and aft. Getting in and out of the truck was a non-event.






Late this afternoon I had some time to hook up a temporary electrical connection from a 240 Volt source to the 2-Post Lift's Hydraulic Pump. The electrical source will eventually be the power source for a stationary air compressor not yet in the building.

I tripped the appropriate circuit breaker and hooked some 10 gauge romex to the wires coming out of the wall as well as the 2-Post Lift. I reset the circuit breaker and returned to the lift.

Pushing the power button is supposed to cause the Lift Arms to start moving up. I pushed and held the button but, other than the sound of the pump running, nothing happened.

I consulted the BendPak Installation manual and found the "What to do if the lift doesn't lift" page. One of the solutions found there suggested running the pump with the down lever engaged for 15 seconds.

I did this and then attempted another lift...






The lift arms started moving up! They weren't going up smoothly though. They moved up a bit then hesitated just a heartbeat; then moved up a bit more. This process continued up through a couple of the safety locks and then I stopped the lift and let the arms settle onto their locks.

Cool.

Not happy about the "jerkiness" but glad to see movement. I now attempted to lower the arms. I raised the lift arms a bit to get them off their safety locks. Then I pushed the Safety Lock Release Handle and the Lowering Valve Handle. The arms came down a bit but then stopped - I think one of the safety locks wasn't releasing properly.

So that's where we are tonight. The Lift's arms are suspended between heaven and earth.

I'm hoping to hear from the company that installed the lift on Monday so that they can get a crew down to my place to properly adjust my lift.


Scott

 

[Bib Overalls]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Sounds like you might have a bit of air in your hydraulic lines. That said, I have no clue to fixing the problem.

 

[shortykorte]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Bleeding hydraulics and some grease on friction points will probably make a difference. Sounds like a phone call to Bendpak is in order.

 

[AZpilot]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

That jerkiness is probably air running through the pump. Is there a procedure for bleeding the system? Is it Chinese?

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Sounds like you might have a bit of air in your hydraulic lines. That said, I have no clue to fixing the problem.

Bleeding hydraulics and some grease on friction points will probably make a difference. Sounds like a phone call to Bendpak is in order.

That jerkiness is probably air running through the pump. Is there a procedure for bleeding the system? Is it Chinese?

Gentlemen:

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've just arrived in Indiana for a quick visit. I have an Aunt & Uncle that are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary tomorrow. I need to be at that! I'll return to Georgia tomorrow evening.

Monday I'll be in touch with the Lift Installation company again to see if I can get installers down to finish the installation of my lift.

There is a procedure for bleeding the hydraulics but I'd prefer for them to finish the job that I paid them to do rather than me doing it.


Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Monday - August 22, 2016

This morning I followed up on my call to the BendPak Lift Installation Company. I got hold of the salesman and told him that I had gotten 240 volt electricity to the lift's hydraulic pump and then I described what I documented in this thread on Friday. I asked him to send a crew out to finish the installation of my 2-post lift.

He sounded contrite and indicated he would talk to the installation scheduler.

At the end of the day I had not heard back from anyone at this company.


When the lift installation crew was here last Thursday, I mentioned that it was "raining cats and dogs" at one point and that that precipitation prevented me from installing a 240 Volt connection to the lift. What I didn't mention at that time was...






That rain allowed me to observe how the water was leaking around the garage doors. It appears that it is somehow getting into the weather seal at the bottom of each of the garage doors on the west side of the building. Then it pours out one end and the water winds up on the inside.






Today the garage door installers showed up to try to fix this very odd situation. They put some 3/4-inch backer rod into the inside of the weather seal on the bottom of the doors and also caulked in various places to attempt to keep the water outside.

Next rain we'll see if they were successful.


Scott

 

[jbmatth]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Hopefully that solves your door leaking issues, for a teething problem, there could be much worse. As for the lift installers, hopefully they get back to you soon and take care of everything. It is unfortunate you are having to deal with this even after doing your due diligence of calling references and all.
JB

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Hopefully that solves your door leaking issues, for a teething problem, there could be much worse. As for the lift installers, hopefully they get back to you soon and take care of everything. It is unfortunate you are having to deal with this even after doing your due diligence of calling references and all.
JB

JB,

I suppose I should have asked for references for BendPak installations exclusively. So my due diligence could have been better.

I believe you are planning on doing your own installation. If you have any questions let me know. I didn't observe - in detail - the installation of the overhead safety bar so I can't help much there but...

Let me know.

One thing - you may recall me using duct tape to secure the hydraulic lines and lamenting how I couldn't see how one could secure the lines with plastic ties or wire. Well, now I can. My Installers used a small hammer to bend those metal tabs down to "hold" the hydraulic lines. It never occurred to me to beat on the those tabs to "grab" the lines. Bending them away from the Hydraulic Line would allow a wire or plastic tie to wrapped around the hydraulic line to secure it.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Tuesday - August 23, 2016

The phone rang at 8:05 this morning. It was the BendPak Installation Company. They will be here tomorrow morning at 8 to finish the installation of my 2-post lift.

Much of today was spent engaged in chemical warfare with the army worms that are destroying the new grass around the Lone Beech Garage. A little over two weeks ago I put down some insecticide to deal with these eating machines.

I realized yesterday that they had taken that punch and had shaken it off. Their main tactic seems to be overwhelming numerical superiority. I must say, it is a pretty darn effective tactic.

Today I put down twice as much material as I did the first go-around. I was gratified to see many of the little b*stards writhing in their death agony shortly after I applied the material and watered it in.






I noticed this unfortunate situation with the middle bay garage door weather stripping today. It used to seal fine until they tried to fix it yesterday.

I'll look into this tomorrow.


Scott

 

[jbmatth]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

I will be trying to install my lift myself, but have decided to do some foundation work for it first. I'll get in touch if I come up with any questions, I don't know how much will carry over because mine is a Rotary Revolution rather than a BendPak, but I'm sure there are plenty of similarities. Thank you for the offer. I did read in the directions with my lift that I'm supposed to zip tie some lines on but by just the 2-D line drawing I had trouble visualizing it. Hopefully that will be more obvious when I get to that step.
JB

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

I will be trying to install my lift myself, but have decided to do some foundation work for it first. I'll get in touch if I come up with any questions, I don't know how much will carry over because mine is a Rotary Revolution rather than a BendPak, but I'm sure there are plenty of similarities. Thank you for the offer. I did read in the directions with my lift that I'm supposed to zip tie some lines on but by just the 2-D line drawing I had trouble visualizing it. Hopefully that will be more obvious when I get to that step.
JB

JB,

Ahhh... I was under the impression that you were getting a BendPak similar to mine. I could help with that by providing pictures of an installed component or such but my ability to assist with a different brand - probably not so much.

...also I'm about to go off the grid next week so if I don't respond to a query during that time, I just didn't hear you. I will be on a backpack in Glacier National Park, MT.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[sbosecker]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Wednesday - August 24, 2016

At 8 am this morning I was in the Lone Beech Garage waiting for the BendPak installer to arrive. At 9:30 am; still no installer. I called the salesman to find out what was going on.

The Salesman answered and then checked to see what the Installation Supervisor knew. When the Salesman returned on the line, he indicated that the Installer would be arriving after 10 am so as to have access to BendPak Tech Support on the west coast.

The Installer arrived at about 11:40 am.






The Installer got to work and soon had the BendPak moving smoothly. He had to adjust the safety locks, bleed the hydraulics, lubricate all the moving parts and add some hydraulic fluid to the reservoir. He also 'fessed up that this was his first BendPak installation.

This confession did not surprise me. Ha!

The Installer left after briefing me on the operation of my lift.






Well now we had to check out the lift with a car on it!
I selected our most expendable vehicle - a 2002 Toyota Corolla that my son uses to attend Georgia Tech.






The car was positioned and then carefully raised to the lift's full height.






The operation went off without a hitch! It's great to finally have my lift operational.



Scott

 

[KDXSR5]

Re: The Lone Beech Garage Build Thread (60x46)

Just finished reading through your thread. It took a couple of weeks off and on to make it through, but I must say it was worth it. Your detailed account of the shop build is much appreciated. The end product is looking great!

AZpilot,
My neighbor has a John Deere and I borrowed it one time when I was awiting for a part for my lawnmower. I have to say I prefer my Honda. The bad news is that Honda no longer make "lawn tractors". Mine is getting pretty long in the tooth (close to 20 years old) and, at some point, will have to be replaced.

Best regards,

Scott

When you start looking for a new tractor, if want to go a little bigger (bigger is better, right?), may I suggest looking at sub compact tractors. They are larger than your current honda, they take implements, yet most still have an under deck mower attachment.

My father in law has a john deere 2305 with the under deck mower, grass catcher, front end loader, forks, rear blade, backhoe, and post hole digger attachments. It is diesel and 4wd, yet small enough he can use it for 95% of the mowing duties around his landscaped 3.5 acre lot. It is a very versatile machine. The current model equivalent is the 1025R. Info here:

https://m.deere.com/en_US/products/..._sub_compact/1025r_sub_compact.page?#viewTabs

Said tractor would have made a multitude of the tasks you have tackled in your build thread both safer and easier. Yes, they cost more than a lawn tractor, but they are much, much more versatile.

Good luck with the rest of your build! This looks like an excellent foundation to build a really cool and veratile shop.