10K lift failure test video

[swharris]

Make your own conclusions, but this is very telling about some off brands. I just wish we knew who the lift was from.

<edit>
I have no affiliation with any lift company. Obviously there could be some implied bias by the video producer in the test. The lift is asymetrical.

 

[browntown]

jeebus, that makes me never want to get under a car again.

 

[blue dog]

Do we know what brand of lift that was?, stuff like this scares me, i only work on big dodge 4x4 diesels, 8000 lbs 6 feet in the air.

 

[rockchucker]

That is definitely an Eye opener there. No BUENO!!! The Welds alone were cracking and stressing. Bad Juju.

 

[cooliorz]

In no way do I support buy generic, cheap lifts.
However, I do have a couple of problems with this video. The video was filmed by a lift distributor who is bashing a competitors product Of course they're going to sound a little biased. Secondly, they loaded 15,000 lbs on a 10,000 lb lift and wondered why it collapsed? I only have experience with Greg Smith's motorcycle lifts. They're ok, but they're definitely not nearly as awesome as they say they are. Either way, that looks like a very dangerous scenario!

 

[tdkkart]

Secondly, they loaded 15,000 lbs on a 10,000 lb lift and wondered why it collapsed?

Testing to 150% load is an accepted standard, and the lift should be expected to survive the test.

2 post lifts scare the hell out of me...........

 

[Kilo70]

I think it said that there was only 10K on it,but it SHOULD have supported the 15K for at least a while.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

It's all marketing ****....both the mfr of lift being tested and the company doing the test.....
Should the lift be able to handle the 150% of rating load? YES!
BUT, the mfr obviuosly put a power unit on it only capable of around 7K cause they know they are selling an "economy" product to hobbyists working on thier own stuff. They rate it at 10k to make sound better to sell 'em, but know full well it would never lift that off the ground, so they don't worry about the lift failing at 15k.

 

[Art From De Leon]

Let us see, the original pump would NOT pick up the 10K load, so a more powerful pump was supplied, which led to the failure.

Then after the NON OEM pump had raised the 'rated' load after the frame had already started to twist, the 'test' was repeated with 15K pounds, and it failed.

You will also note that the load was NOT picked up from the floor, but instead the load was placed on the lift when it was about 3 feet above the floor, so if the load had been placed on the lift while it was on the floor, we already know that the original pump would not have been able to pick it up.

Shoddy advertising by the lift manufacturer, but either by design, or false advertising, the lift would NEVER have been able to lift a 10K load, much less a 15K load, without going to an outside source to modify it.

I also liked the part about "the photographer working up the courage" to approach the lift, as long as he stood back far enough to ensure that the column would not fall and strike him, there was nothing to fear, but it sensationalizes the whole procedure.

I'd like to see the yuppie pussies at Consumers Report write up something like this.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Take a look at the loading itself. The load induced by the plates is not equal front to rear and the legs are asymetrical with the longer legs (the ones that failed) at the rear with the most extension and the majority of the load.

 

[Zeke]

I will never succumb to negative selling tactics. And, that video is over a year old and tiresome.

 

[mrholeshot]

I used BendPak ifts in my shop 15K and a 12K along with 2 10K Rotary lifts and a 4 post Hunter used for alignments. I use a ammco 10K in my home garage. It's a relabled Rotary. I would NEVER buy a cheap lift. In my 40+ years inside of shops (actually 50+ including when I worked for my father) Ive witnessed 3 lift failures. Most were overloaded. One of the lifts was a Auto-Lifers 7K lift that had a 71 Caddilac on it. The car actually weighed about 5K. It came down much like the one in the Video.

My thought is this. Is your life worth the extra grand it would take to buy a good lift over one that very well may kill you?

 

[revlover]

I will never succumb to negative selling tactics. And, that video is over a year old and tiresome.

Totally agree...

 

[larry_g]

How can you people defend a failed piece of equipment that your life may depend on? If I were to buy a 10k lift I dam well would expect it to lift 10k. I also know that design safety at 1.5x is very minimum. Some equipment that I have worked on is near 4x safety rating. As for unequal loading, very few people using this kind of equipment take the time to verify the CG of what they are lifting. Virtually all loads lifted by these machines are not balanced. What if Art decides to lift one of his tractors, it sure isn’t going to be balanced.
Both sides of this video leave something to be desired, Smith for sensationalizing, and the mfg of the lift for overstating the capabilities. As a buyer one should demand the testing methods and specs used by the mfg of the lift, and then test it yourself if the specs are being met.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I will never succumb to negative selling tactics. And, that video is over a year old and tiresome.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing -- good Mfr's focus on what's good about thier own product to make it sell...not finger pointing at the other guys faults just to keep you from buying it.

 

[southernfriedcj]

The lift arms had 1.5" of deflection at only 3,800 pounds of load. Scary.

 

[e-tek]

HEY - My buddy "Tai Kwon Lee" BUILT that lift !!!!

 

[RTcat]

Interesting. Does anyone have any experience with Rotary brand lifts? Can anyone recommend them? Designing a shop at the moment and wondering if I want to put one in.

http://www.rotarylift.com/light_2post_lifts.aspx?id=330

 

[Jazz]

Honestly it's totally false advertising. If its rated to 10,000 it should work for 10,000. If it's rated for 10,000 it should be DESIGNED to handle no less than 15,000 or even 20,000 because the assumption is that a person could be KILLED if it failed. Most of us are aware that every engineer designs with factor of safety in mind. In the case where failure is a safety concern 1.4 or greater is almost always required. We're not talking about your pressure washer only producing 3200psi when rated for 3500, we're talking about life and injury. Totally different.

I know this an economy product but it's dishonest. It would be no different if they called it the T10,000 and then somewhere deep in the manual it warned that it was only rated for 4,000 lbs.

I can almost garantee that if the lift fails and someone is injured you'd have a hell of a lawsuit but good luck getting any money from the Chinese manufacturer.

 

[t100]

the video is retard, look at 2:50, notice they put pad on the short arms(further from camera), short arm end of the plates was higher and the whole stack was tilted, so most of the weight was on the long arms.

I don't know who trained those morons in the video. I learned when I had my lift training:
#1. most vehicles are front heavy because of the engine, that's why the front arms are short.
#2. there are different adapter sets come with the lift, use them to lift the vehicle close to level not ****'n tilted, rule of thumb is all 4 tires off the ground at the same time.

the guy in the video would be fired on the spot at most shops.

 

[tdkkart]

I don't know who trained those morons in the video. I learned when I had my lift training:
#1. most vehicles are front heavy because of the engine, that's why the front arms are short.
#2. there are different adapter sets come with the lift, use them to lift the vehicle close to level not ****'n tilted, rule of thumb is all 4 tires off the ground at the same time. the guy in the video would be fired on the spot at most shops.

The load on the lift tilted because the rear lift arms bent LONG before they should have, with a minimal amount of weight on them. You cannot lift straight up if the hoist is twisting. Simple fact is that the lift should have supported FAR more than it did, at least 50% more.

Also notice that the final failure mode was not the arms themselves bending, or their attachment points breaking, but rather the lift carraige that the arms attach to completely folded allowing the arms to bend inward.

Yes, there may be an issue with how the load was on the arms, but who's to say where the arms will be adjusted in a shop?? There's WAY too much adjustment in those arms IMO. There's no guarantee how they will be loaded in the real world, so they'd damn well better be built to handle most anything that will fit between the posts, no matter how it's positioned.

Again, 2 post hoists scare the **** out of me. They go against all sensibilities of safety IMO.

 

[t100]

Yes, there may be an issue with how the load was on the arms, but who's to say where the arms will be adjusted in a shop?? There's WAY too much adjustment in those arms IMO. QUOTE]

 

[tdkkart]

Yes, there may be an issue with how the load was on the arms, but who's to say where the arms will be adjusted in a shop?? There's WAY too much adjustment in those arms IMO. QUOTE]

I didn't say a thing about the truck adapters, and if you watch the video the use of, or lack of use of the truck adapters had nothing to do with the failure, the load was tilted because the damn lift was a POS and the arms were BENDING, not because it was loaded wrong. Had the truck adapters been used the arms would have bent even more.

Have you ever heard the phrase "misery loves alot of adjustments"??
I'm saying the arms have too much adjustment, and way too many possible variations of location considering the potential idiots that will be using them
helter-skelter in shops.

Again, 2 post lifts scare the hell out of me, mainly due to the huge possibility of human error in their operation. There's just too many ways for something to go to ****.

 

[nehog]

Interesting. Does anyone have any experience with Rotary brand lifts? Can anyone recommend them? Designing a shop at the moment and wondering if I want to put one in.

Absolutely happy with my 10K 2-post Rotary lift. There's an 8K lb Hummer H1 on it right now as I type, and I'm very comfortable with working under it. Minimal movement or anything.

BTW, the Rotary pump works without sweat at full load. I only wish it had about 12" more head room as the light bars and roof racks don't let me lift some larger vehicles as high as I'd like. (Yea, I know, I can get an extension kit to raise it up...)

 

[revlover]

Interesting. Does anyone have any experience with Rotary brand lifts? Can anyone recommend them? Designing a shop at the moment and wondering if I want to put one in.

http://www.astudyinliftdesign.com/two-post-lift-comparison.html

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Do we know what brand of lift that was?, stuff like this scares me, i only work on big dodge 4x4 diesels, 8000 lbs 6 feet in the air.

That lift failed at 15,000 pounds, not at 10,000 pounds.

 

[sdb3023]

We test competitors products all the time. It keeps them honest and they do the same with us. Industry says 150% load, then it better hold 150 % load. Arms were setup to worst possible loading setup with highest load. The lift should have held.

 

[srmofo]

Interesting. Does anyone have any experience with Rotary brand lifts? Can anyone recommend them? Designing a shop at the moment and wondering if I want to put one in.

http://www.rotarylift.com/light_2post_lifts.aspx?id=330

Thats all I have worked on in several years. Both 2post inground and 4 post lifts above ground. They get the job done and we have very few issues with them that wasnt caused by a few years neglect before I was employeed. I still cant even begin to understand why people will not take care of equipment that they depend on for their livelyhood and their safety.

 

[LWW]

Interesting. Does anyone have any experience with Rotary brand lifts? Can anyone recommend them? Designing a shop at the moment and wondering if I want to put one in.

http://www.rotarylift.com/light_2post_lifts.aspx?id=330

We've got 4 of them in our shop. When properly maintained, they're excellent lifts. I put them a step above the Bend-Pak/Direct Lift but a step below the Mohawk.

Enjoy the new shop and get us pics to document your build progress!

 

[biker]

I think that's bull S--t. That fork lift can't even pick up all that material at one time. I bet them people put way more load that 15,000 lbs on that lift. I think they meant for this lift to fail. Maybe I shouldn't posted anything here. I don't like two post lifts anyway.