Best 4-Post Lifts for Heavy Usage?

[ClassicMuscle]

Hello--My company has 6 classic car dealerships across the country and each location has a 4 post lift on-site that gets used probably 5-10 times per day, maybe 300 days out of the year. So they get much, much more use than a typical "garage lift". We've had BendPak HD9-XW's in service since about 2012, but some of the HD9-XW's we installed as recently as 2015 are already having major service issues like frayed cables, hydraulic cylinders leaking, etc. and they keep breaking down. I like the HD9, and maybe for the usage we give them, this is normal. My questions:

Is a BendPak HD9-XW not "commercial" enough for this kind of use? If not, what brands of 4-post should we be looking at? Rotary? Or just keep buying new HD9's every 4-5 years?

 

[93Ramcharger]

Mohawk lifts are built to last, they're twice to three times the money up front but they are built to take a lot of use at maximum weight.

 

[charbar]

Bendpak HD9, to me, was always kind of a "in between" lift. Halfway consumer/ hobbyist and halfway professional shop duty.

I see more old Rotary and Mohawks than anything that have been used hard. That in itself says something in my opinion.

 

[finn]

Rotary and Mohawk seem to be the main two old school commercial brands that have survived.

From what I can tell, Forward is the sister brand to Rotary, and is aimed at the independent repair market as compared to the new car dealership customer. Challenger is the homeowner line, all from Dover, the mother umbrella company.

The Bendpac and other, mostly imported brands are more aimed to the homeowner and prosumer market.

You probably get what you pay for.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Agree w Mohawk
I considered before I went with rotary mobile columns.
Built to last and overbuilt vs comparable lifts in same size

 

[930dreamer]

What about Advantage, depends of what you consider "heavy use";

https://www.advantagelifts.com/page...g_Z-1NsR7NXfZ00MkOoEI6WrZsA8U14kaAr9KEALw_wcB

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I spent a bit of time chatting with the guys who installed my lift, and learned that they spend quite a bit of time traveling throughout New England and portions of New York installing and doing preventive maintenance/inspections at sites with multiple lifts My first reaction upon reading the original post was to wonder what type of PM is being performed on these lifts that the OP is less than happy with.

 

[racecougar]

Rotary and Mohawk seem to be the main two old school commercial brands that have survived.

From what I can tell, Forward is the sister brand to Rotary, and is aimed at the independent repair market as compared to the new car dealership customer. Challenger is the homeowner line, all from Dover, the mother umbrella company.

The Bendpac and other, mostly imported brands are more aimed to the homeowner and prosumer market.

You probably get what you pay for.

Forward lifts are also branded/sold under the Direct Lift name. My Forward EFP9000M came with all three (Forward, Direct Lift, and Rotary) brandings on it. Seems a little silly, but it is what it is.

 

[theegovernor]

Rotary and Mohawk seem to be the main two old school commercial brands that have survived.

From what I can tell, Forward is the sister brand to Rotary, and is aimed at the independent repair market as compared to the new car dealership customer. Challenger is the homeowner line, all from Dover, the mother umbrella company.

The Bendpac and other, mostly imported brands are more aimed to the homeowner and prosumer market.

You probably get what you pay for.

Challenger is owned by snap on, not dover. I would recommend a Challenger or Rotary 4 post.

 

[finn]

Challenger is owned by snap on, not dover. I would recommend a Challenger or Rotary 4 post.

You’re correct. Dover Corp owns Rotary, Forward, and Direct Lift, which is their hobbiest lift.

Snap on acquired Challenger in about 2014.