Bendpak HD-9XW- Need extra height underneath

[Boundertom]

I have a Ford F-350 which I would like to park under my BendPak HD-9XW. The truck is about 80" high. The lift will go to 82" high, but on the highest lock it is only about 77 1/2" high. I am trying to figure out how I can create a higher lock level. So far, I have a few ideas:

1. Cut another hole in the lock rail. I don't think I could get it to a full 82", possibly 81", so it would be close on clearance. A little work to cut the 4 square holes, but no cost, and nothing to store.

2. Make a prop to go under each corner. A wood 4x4 is a pretty nice fit in the post. A little crude, but easy. But the prop would have to be handled and stored.

3. Drill two holes through each post to put a steel pin under the cross bar. Easy and inexpensive. Easy to store, and could get very close to the full 82" height. I don't really like drilling into the post (and I am sure BendPak wouldn't approve!).

I briefly thought about spacers under the posts, but the vehicle going on top is very low clearance, and I already have to use some boards under the ramps so it doesn't drag. The vehicle on top is about 3500 pounds.

I figured that maybe someone else may have dealt with this issue. I appreciate any ideas.

Thanks!

Tom

 

[bry@n]

Is there another lift you can buy that would allow you to sit on the locks from the manufacturer without rigging something?

I'd go that way personally.

 

[Chevy-SS]

...... my BendPak HD-9XW. The truck is about 80" high. The lift will go to 82" high, but on the highest lock it is only about 77 1/2" high.......

Umm, specs on that lift call for 82" rise, which means you should have that amount of clearance from floor. Something ain't jiving here. What's wrong? Maybe some issue with the lift itself not being properly set up??? You should have plenty of room for that truck.

I'd be calling Bendpak.

Good luck

 

[bry@n]

Umm, specs on that lift call for 82" rise, which means you should have that amount of clearance from floor. Something ain't jiving here. What's wrong? Maybe some issue with the lift itself not being properly set up??? You should have plenty of room for that truck.

I'd be calling Bendpak.

Good luck

Max rise is 82" but that is not locked. You're supposed to rest the lift on the locks for storage.

 

[workhurts]

Are your ladders tightened all the way up? Sometimes there's paint on the threads that prevent you from getting max height.

Just thinking out loud here. That top plate where the ladders screw into. Maybe you can add another 1-2" top plate so the ladders are elevated by that amount. That may or may not work depending on whether you have long enough cables. Wish Bendpak was more adjustable when it comes to cable length.

You don't want the lift locked in at the highest travel position. My locks like to disengage when I take the weight off of them, so I'm moving the car up 1-3" and then releasing the airlock.

I think I'd shim the lift before I'd cut any holes anywhere. Weld some metal shims to the bottom or do what some others have done and use whatever that stuff is that doesn't compress ... grout? There's a few threads about it.

 

[jcthorne]

I have a Bendpak HD-9XW. It does not drop 5" from full up down to first lock. I think your lock plate is not correctly adjusted to allow the latches to engage at full height. You likely need to LOWER them slightly to allow them to engage when the lift is at full height. Once mine was correctly adjusted, it drops less than an inch from full height to first lock.

 

[Boundertom]

Is there another lift you can buy that would allow you to sit on the locks from the manufacturer without rigging something?

I'd go that way personally.

I have found no other lift that meets my needs for size and capacity at a reasonable cost. Plus, I already have this lift and would like to make it work, since it WILL raise high enough.

Thanks!

 

[Boundertom]

Max rise is 82" but that is not locked. You're supposed to rest the lift on the locks for storage.

Bry@n, you are exactly correct!

 

[Boundertom]

Are your ladders tightened all the way up? Sometimes there's paint on the threads that prevent you from getting max height.

Just thinking out loud here. That top plate where the ladders screw into. Maybe you can add another 1-2" top plate so the ladders are elevated by that amount. That may or may not work depending on whether you have long enough cables. Wish Bendpak was more adjustable when it comes to cable length.

You don't want the lift locked in at the highest travel position. My locks like to disengage when I take the weight off of them, so I'm moving the car up 1-3" and then releasing the airlock.

I think I'd shim the lift before I'd cut any holes anywhere. Weld some metal shims to the bottom or do what some others have done and use whatever that stuff is that doesn't compress ... grout? There's a few threads about it.

The ladders are NOT as high as they will go, but they could only be raised about 1.75", which is not enough to solve my problem. I didn't want to shim the lift due to the afore-mentioned low clearance vehicle that goes on the lift. Also, I do occasionally move the lift with the casters and shimming at the base plate would make that a problem (not insurmountable, but a problem).

I may have to consider a combination approach though. Raise the ladders as much as possible, and shim the lift. Then I would need new longer ramps to load my low clearance vehicle.

Thanks for the ideas!

Tom

 

[Boundertom]

I have a Bendpak HD-9XW. It does not drop 5" from full up down to first lock. I think your lock plate is not correctly adjusted to allow the latches to engage at full height. You likely need to LOWER them slightly to allow them to engage when the lift is at full height. Once mine was correctly adjusted, it drops less than an inch from full height to first lock.

I really thought you were on to something here, but I just went and double-checked. It is already locking in the top holes. I sure would like to be where your lift is, dropping less than an inch to the first lock!

I guess I really should just call BendPak. Maybe they will be more helpful than the last time I called them.

Thanks!

Tom

 

[pmiranda]

I'm really interested to hear how this plays out for you since I'm also looking for a high 4-post lift.

 

[nuc1]

Per Bendpak's website the max height under the ramps should be 79.8 inches.
Found here:
http://www.bendpak.com/HD-9 Series Clearance Heights.pdf

I have the same lift and haven't adjusted the lock ladders down yet. Interested to see how this turns out.
I do know that my 11 Tundra w/ wider tires makes it on just barely. That 86 1/2 inch drive thru width is just enough.

Mike

 

[readhead]

Shorter tires on the truck?

 

[pmiranda]

Let the air out every night and air them back up every morning?
Drive the car more and the truck less?

Assuming you can solve the issue with a little help from Bendpak and maybe a few steel plates tacked on the feet to get the last 1/4", I'd still put marks on the four posts to spot if the platform is at the right position. No sense in risking the roof of your ride if you're tired and it looks "about right" or somebody does you a "favor" and pulls in the truck for you.

 

[Boundertom]

Per Bendpak's website the max height under the ramps should be 79.8 inches.
Found here:
http://www.bendpak.com/HD-9 Series Clearance Heights.pdf

I have the same lift and haven't adjusted the lock ladders down yet. Interested to see how this turns out.
I do know that my 11 Tundra w/ wider tires makes it on just barely. That 86 1/2 inch drive thru width is just enough.

Mike

That is interesting. I had not seen that chart before. If I adjust the ladders all the way up, I could get to about 79", so a bit short of the specs.

Thanks!

 

[Boundertom]

I just called BendPak. The "customer service" rep was zero help. When I explained my heights, he said that sounded about right. He said there is normally a 5-6" drop from max height to top lock. I questioned that, but he insisted that was correct. He could offer nothing to assist me.

Shorter tires on the truck is definitely not an option. Neither is letting the air out of the tires every time I park it. Shimming the lift higher is a very poor option, due to the low clearance vehicle that goes on the lift, and my desire to occasionally move the lift.

I am coming back to the 3 options in my original post. I need to carefully check how much I have to raise the lift in order to clear the locks. I am leaning toward cutting the extra holes in the ladders. Then there are no extra pieces to store, and no potential weakening of the lift by drilling holes in the posts. The lock holes are 4" apart. If I cut a new hole 4" higher than the highest existing hole, it would lock at 81.5", which would be great. I just have to make sure that it will lift high enough to clear the locks. I do still have approximately 1.75" that I could raise the ladders, and approximately 1.25" that I could lower the ladders. That gives me a good bit of adjustment to fine tune it.

Thanks to all for your suggestions!

Tom

 

[workhurts]

How often do you move the lift? That seems to be the limiting factor in shims. The issue with shims is that the lift likes to walk a little so shims either have to be welded, bolted through or have a lip or ... you watch them like a hawk.

I'm still thinking a 1" thick piece of steel at the top will shift everything up an inch. Bendpak may have not cut a square at the very top so they have more metal up there between the last lock hole and that single bolt holding your car up.

Low clearance vehicle can be tackled. Just cut some wooden ramps or staggered wood plates that get stored on the lift when the vehicle goes up. That's what I do.

Out of curiosity, does your garage floor have any slope to it? If you want to keep things level that'll impact your heights too.

 

[gsea]

Curious to know if you've found a solution yet. I'm having the same issue shopping for a lift and the bendpak hd-9xw seems to be the highest lock out of the box. I need to park a lifted F150 underneath if possible.

I do have a slope issue, so I'm already going to have to likely make "perma-shims" for the low side which may buy me a few precious inches of clearance. Thinking through how to make them work with casters.

 

[pmiranda]

If you aren't locked into Bendpak, Greg Smith makes a super tall model. Only 7000 pound capacity but as long as you don't need to lift a loaded truck it should be enough.

 

[gsea]

If you aren't locked into Bendpak, Greg Smith makes a super tall model. Only 7000 pound capacity but as long as you don't need to lift a loaded truck it should be enough.

Sounded promising! Just took a look, however and the column height is nearly 14' which is too tall for my 12' ceilings. The top lock sits sits at 11'10" of clearance. Can't believe there isn't anything on the market between 6'10" clearance and 11'10". That's quite a gap!

 

[pmiranda]

Yeah... we're planning a new building tall enough for that monster, but I'd rather have something in the middle with a higher weight rating.

 

[gsea]

Yeah... we're planning a new building tall enough for that monster, but I'd rather have something in the middle with a higher weight rating.

Agreed, seems like there would be a market for a 9k lift in the 7-8' rise range. I can't be the only one with a lifted truck or the desire to be able to have a normal ceiling height when working underneath it on other projects (I.e. Woodworking) in the garage???

I did find a Chinese copycat of the backyard buddy overweight that claimed an 84" final lock height. Rep said they just changed it to 82" in order to accommodate freight better somehow....

 

[sublimate]

You can cut a taller lift down to the height you want pretty easily.
A hack saw will do it fine.

 

[gsea]

Would rather not spend 2x the price only to cut it down to something 2-4" taller than the HD-9, but sure, you could do it

OP, what did you end up doing?

 

[volvo]

On the other hand, unable to rise the lift to your satisfaction, Lower the parked truck to your min clearance needed.

 

[gsea]

I'm thinking OP either gave up or figured out something he's happy with so he has t thought to come back and tell si what he did