Rotary 4 post questions

[Beefbuzz]

Long time lurker, first time...blah blah blah, you know the drill

Lift:
http://boise.craigslist.org/tls/3548015587.html

Description:
Used Rotary SM123-L four-post heavy-duty automotive lift rated at 12,000 pounds capacity.
The lift will accept vehicle wheelbases up to 182" and the total length of the lift is 21'. Overall width is 11'.

Equipment with the lift includes 2 rolling jacks for lifting the front, rear or all wheels off the runways.
Also included is a column-mounted air/electric utility box with filter/lubricator/regulator.

The lift is in very good condition and is used in a home shop, not a commercial shop. This lift is bolted to the
floor and is not a portable style of lift. It is a dealership quality lift that can withstand years of heavy use and not
have problems. This unit was purchased new through Automotive Service Equipment in Boise in 2003.

Questions:
1. I am having trouble finding much information on this model, is there another model that this is similar to?
2. Is this a good price? I have time to wait as my house will not be under construction until spring and I would have to store it.
3. Is there anything I should pay closely inspect while looking at a used lift like this one?
4. Was this unit built in the USA?
5. Anything I have not asked that I should have?

 

[volaredon]

seems a bit high to me for "used" even if it is in a home garage

 

[RMR&C]

There is one here locally for sale, except it is an open front, for $2750....
I considered buying it, but it was just too big for my shop. Unless you are working on large 4x4's etc, you probably don't need one that big.
That price sounds kinda high, even though I'm sure it is a good lift. I bought a new 9k bendpak for around $3k.....

 

[Beefbuzz]

I think the rolling lift jacks are part of the reason, I found varying information but they seem to go for 1k-2K each?!!??

 

[trbomax]

The jacks are around 1200 ea. There is one of those lifts for sale here,I personally know the guy,it has 4 jacks and I can buy it for $3000 delivered.I should buy it but then I'd either have 2 lifts or one 2 post for sale!

 

[c39er]

I think the rolling lift jacks are part of the reason, I found varying information but they seem to go for 1k-2K each?!!??

I have almost the same lift but it's a SMO123EL- 12,000lb open front with the air jack plumbing option. I paid a little over $5800.00 for it in 2005. The Rotary 6K jacks were $2900.00 each! I bailed on those. It is a nice high quality lift. BP and others don't come close in quality.

 

[Beefbuzz]

So the two jacks cost more than the lift? Wow, I looked on ebay and found a rotary 6000 jack for $2.5k as well. Does that make this lift seem like a deal then?

I looked at BendPak with two jacks and that comes to a little more than $5k, but it would be new, and I would probably only get one jack anyway.

I need to put some more thought into this I guess.

 

[c39er]

All the pulleys on the BP are about 5" in diameter. The pulleys on the Rotary are about 10-12" which means much less wear and tear on the cables. The BP is a good lift for most situations. The "Real" Rotary is just the cream of the crop as is a Mohawk lift. I have both my Rotary and a 14,000 BP lift. My 14,000 BP has much smaller 5" Diameter pulleys on it! The 12,000 Rotary has 10-12" pulleys. The Rotary runways are formed as one piece. The BP's runways are welded up. You will pay more for higher quality tools even when used.
That lift does look as new. You need to buy what you feel comfortable purchasing.

 

[trbomax]

The air jacks are $2500 ea. There is one of those lifts for sale here,I personally know the guy,it has 4 jacks and I can buy it for $3000 delivered. The lift is older,maybe a 2000 model, but the jacks he just bought 2 yrs ago.I should buy it but then I'd either have 2 lifts or one 2 post for sale!

 

[Boomer343]

Had one of these plus an alignment hoist both Rotary units. Correct pricing on the rolling jacks. In the ten years they were in my care all I ever had to do was routine maintenance on the hoist or rolling jacks. One thing to consider is the residual value 10 years from now on a Rotary vs other lifts.

If I needed a lift I'd certainly negotiate with the owner but wouldn't have a second thought about writing the check.

 

[roryueale]

I have 5 rotary 2 posters at my shop and replaced our outdated 4 poster with a brand new Rotary 4 poster about 7 months ago. Regarding the Rotary brand, top of the line in my experience (used and abused many a hoists), so the ability to have one of these at your home is a no brainer. Price wise, mine was around $12,000 installed, with warranties. Mines rated at 14,000lbs, it has slip plates front and rear (for alignments), 2 jacks, and its extended for large wheelbase vehicles and has an open front. Based on this, I think $5500 (which im sure is negotiable) for what looks like a hardly used hoist is a deal.

Just watch your head on the front beam, it gets old, quickly

FYI: a professional hoist installer can have it dismantled and reassembled in a day, 2 max, done properly and safely leaving you with no headaches. Worth the money to me.

 

[66dave]

Beefbuzz-rotary's are American made, and others have stated that the bridge jacks can cost as much as the lift. I think that is a good price for an American made lift. With that I bought a Bendpack new for about the same price. Bendpack is designed in America, but built overseas.

Look at the cables for wear, you can buy new ones from garage equipment supply gesusa.com or there is a place on overland road near Costco in Boise.

If you need help setting this one or another one up I am open to help, I live in Meridian. PM me if you want help, or want to chek out my lift to compare to this one.

 

[Beefbuzz]

Thanks for all the replies and the kind offer of help Dave. I might take you up on it if I can figure out how to swing it. Currently I am looking at my building plans and checking if I can make it fit. It turns out that this thing is kind of a behemoth when I draw it in the garage!

 

[JSK]

All the pulleys on the BP are about 5" in diameter. The pulleys on the Rotary are about 10-12" which means much less wear and tear on the cables. The BP is a good lift for most situations. The "Real" Rotary is just the cream of the crop as is a Mohawk lift. I have both my Rotary and a 14,000 BP lift. My 14,000 BP has much smaller 5" Diameter pulleys on it! The 12,000 Rotary has 10-12" pulleys. The Rotary runways are formed as one piece. The BP's runways are welded up. You will pay more for higher quality tools even when used.
That lift does look as new. You need to buy what you feel comfortable purchasing.

CORRECTION:
BendPak no longer makes 12K four-post lifts. BendPak 14K models all feature 10" diameter machined steel sheaves with 2" diameter steel shafts with lubrication ports and Zirk fittings all around.

 

[c39er]

CORRECTION:
BendPak no longer makes 12K four-post lifts. BendPak 14K models all feature 10" diameter machined steel sheaves with 2" diameter steel shafts with lubrication ports and Zirk fittings all around.

Now you got me nervous about my HD14. Thats odd that the 14,000 lb BP lifts all have 10" pulleys with zerks. The one I bought doesn't! It has the same small pulleys as on the HD9 series. There are no zerks either. Maybe my lift is not a 14,000lb lift after all ?
Was it made wrong. Now I wonder is it safe to lift full loads?

 

[R6 Racer]

Sure looks to be in good shape. I don't think the price is all that out of line considering what it comes with. Go have a look at it, you can always try negotiating. If it were in my part of the world I would be seriously looking at it.

Steve

 

[JSK]

Now you got me nervous about my HD14. Thats odd that the 14,000 lb BP lifts all have 10" pulleys with zerks. The one I bought doesn't! It has the same small pulleys as on the HD9 series. There are no zerks either. Maybe my lift is not a 14,000lb lift after all ?
Was it made wrong. Now I wonder is it safe to lift full loads?

No, the lift was not made wrong, just an older model. We sold thousands of those ETL approved HD-14 series.

We are continually improving and redesigning our products; many times around newly adopted standards - ETL, CE, UL, CSA, etc. Sheaves and axles were addressed with our latest HDS series. Although the price increased slightly along with the overall height of the runway, we feel a better product.

 

[SX CUSTOMZ]

hey guys what going on,?
i recently purchased the rotary ar122 after doing extensive research and found it to be in my opinion the best for the price that i got it for, $1000. Well the owner dismantled it before i could get there so now i dont know how it goes together. i know how the lift goes together its the little stuff i dont have a clue about. is there a manual someone can email me or website i can download it off of. if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great

 

[usa#1]

hey guys what going on,?
i recently purchased the rotary ar122 after doing extensive research and found it to be in my opinion the best for the price that i got it for, $1000. Well the owner dismantled it before i could get there so now i dont know how it goes together. i know how the lift goes together its the little stuff i dont have a clue about. is there a manual someone can email me or website i can download it off of. if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great

Call Rotary and tell them the model number. They can email you the manual.