Bendpak HD-9 Review and Question

[srpope80]

Good Afternoon all,

Brand new to the Garage Journal, I happened to find this awesome forum AFTER ordering and installing two Bendpak HD-9 lifts in my garage for car storage and work.

Searching through the forums, basically from consensus, I am happy so far with the 1 month I've owned them. They did come a bit scratched up but requesting some touch up paint from Bendpak to go over it. Everything installed as it should, no fit issues, and love the design of how they don't need to be bolted to the floor and moveable with casters, etc.

The one question I had and I couldn't find a RECENT post was about the Ramp Locks.

Does anyone know if the new Ramp Locks still cause the ramps to droop lower than the runways or has this been resolved?

Other than that very happy. I'm going to make myself very much at home here, this looks like an awesome forum for a gearhead/DIYer like myself.

 

[JSK]

For any four post lift to be ALI certified, they need to come equipped with approach ramps that flip down and act as automatic stops.

The standard reads like this…

Wheel chocks -
Lifts using runways must be equipped with manual wheel chocks as the primary means to restrain the vehicle from inadvertently rolling off either end of the lift.

Runway Stops -
Automatic stops must be fixed to the runways as a secondary means to restrain the vehicle from inadvertently rolling off either end of the runways when raised. The automatic stops must commence deployment when the lift runways have reached twelve inches from the ground.

That’s why certified four post lifts MUST come shipped with the standard approach ramps that swing down – and eventually in the way of the lower car.

Send email to BendPak. They have some adapters. [email protected] or you can search on this site. A few others have modded themselves.

Or consider the optional aluminum ramps that are removed and stowed when not in use. Remember though, drop-in aluminum ramps do not act as automatic wheel stops.

Welcome to Garage Journal!

 

[NitroShark]

This is a re-post of when I bought my 4-post a few years ago. You might consider this mod.


.

I originally bought the optional Bendpak ramp brackets. They worked well but did not raise the ramps to max lift. I tig welded some tabs to them and added some valve springs to hold them up to Max height.

Worked out great, so I thought I would share the idea.

Shawn




Photo shows the modified lift springs added on the right and stock brackets left.

 

[excavator]

Hi and welcome to this site. I have had my HD-9 for about 4 years now and love it. You will enjoy this site

 

[ripnesscobra]

I bought a set of ramp locks in July 2017 and they still cause the ramps to droop lower than the crosstubes (<- lower than runways) by a few inches when installed.

To address this issue, I placed wood of proper thickness between the crosstube and ramp locks to raise the ramps to the desired height. The weight of the ramps holds the wood in place really well. I plan to replace the wood with aluminum in the near future for a more robust solution.

 

[srpope80]

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions to my new friends.

Shawn, that is a nice clean way to adjust the tension, etc. do you remember what valve springs you used? I’m assuming you drilled and tapped the flat steel with that hex bolt running through?

Loving these lifts so far. Seem to be good quality and definitely will make life much easier and not spend as much time on the hard floor. My wife doesn’t know it yet but I already want the RJ45 bridge jack, that thing is cool.

Going to really enjoy myself here on this forum.

 

[NitroShark]

Shawn, that is a nice clean way to adjust the tension, etc. do you remember what valve springs you used? I’m assuming you drilled and tapped the flat steel with that hex bolt running through?

.

I used dual valve springs from a motorcycle cylinder head. Spec is about 135lbs tension at 1.1 inch installed height.

The hex bolt (cap screw pictured) is simply used to “pre-load” the spring for ramp up tension adjustment. I spun up some spring retainers on the lathe to “house” each spring similar to standard cylinder head arraignment on a gasoline engine.



.

 

[Matt M PA]

I love what NitroShark did...but we did something a bit different. I don't have a pic...but a friend made a pair of flat stock pieces are parallel and bolted to the center braces on my ramps. These touch the crossbars, keeping the ramps from drooping.

I bought the ramp locks sold buy. BendPak and as much as I like my HD9...these were completely worthless. We had to slightly modify then so that they didn't contact the air line tubes. Regardless, they allowed the ramps to drop so far that you couldn't pull a vehicle underneath. Of course, I'm stuck with 'em.

 

[srpope80]

I used dual valve springs from a motorcycle cylinder head. Spec is about 135lbs tension at 1.1 inch installed height.

The hex bolt (cap screw pictured) is simply used to “pre-load” the spring for ramp up tension adjustment. I spun up some spring retainers on the lathe to “house” each spring similar to standard cylinder head arraignment on a gasoline engine.



.

I noticed the retainers and thought it was either custom, etc. Great work. Looks beautiful, and you now have "adjustable tension. Very cool.