Yup.. another help me choose a 4 post lift thread.

[ixlr8]

Hi,
My shop is finally about done and it is time to order a 4 post lift. I want a certified lift, preferably made in USA, but not mandatory, in the 7000-9000lb lifting range. Due to space constraints, I also need to be able to move the lift with a car on it. I went to Greg Smith's and looked at the Direct Lift.. just didn't get a good feel about the lift, or Greg Smith's. Lift posts were crooked and it just looked flimsy and the folks I talked with there were clueless and were of no help. I was leaning towards a Bend-Pak, but after reading comments on various forums about them using thinner metals, the column pads being made smaller, issues with folks having trouble moving the lift on the new, cheaper, castors, issues with the air jacks not fitting the tracks correctly... they are no longer at the top of my list. I have seen posts suggesting the American Custom Lifts, but I have not read where anybody actually has one. I considered the Rotary, but their lightest duty lift is 14,000 lbs and I don't need anything that heavy duty, or expensive. Same deal with the Mohawk lifts. At one time looked at the Backyard Buddy, but they are not certified and way too expensive now. Any info on ACLifts, or recommendations for other lifts is appreciated.

TIA

 

[akdiesel]

I think if you compile the results of satisfied BendPak customers versus not so you will have a better result.
I can not answer for newer models but my 9000 hdxw works great. It is difficult to move my 7400# truck but with two people it can be done.
Contact JSK on this site for any questions about their products.

 

[ixlr8]

I think if you compile the results of satisfied BendPak customers versus not so you will have a better result.
I can not answer for newer models but my 9000 hdxw works great. It is difficult to move my 7400# truck but with two people it can be done.
Contact JSK on this site for any questions about their products.

I have been in contact with Jeff, and it is the newer units that are having the issues. They seem to be cutting corners to hold costs down and making the units less desirable. I wish I had bought a Bend-Pak 6 years ago when I first started thinking about it.

 

[ghnl]

I bought a Direct Lift Pro Park 9000. I am very happy with it. I had one issue - a hydraulic hose failed (leaked). I emailed Direct Lift, they replied quickly and sent me a new hose. I remained a happy customer.

 

[lightn95]

subscribing to this. im in exactly the same boat as the OP

 

[my58]

I know you said Certified and US made, I felt the same way and owned American made lifts in the past. My most recent Lift is not. It is a Dannmar and I will tell you I love it as much if not more than my previous US made ones and paid a fraction of what my US ones cost.

I think Dannmar has a quality product at a more than fair price. Take a look at what they have to offer.

Best of luck on your search for the lift you desire. I look forward to hearing what you eventually decide on.

 

[darkk]

We have the Bend Pak HD9XW 4 post. No problems in the two years we've had it. It does get used much more than we had thought originally. You will not beat Bend Paks customer service anywhere.

 

[wef]

I have the Atlas 9000 lb. 4 post and am quite happy with it. The Atlas appears to be identical to the Direct Lift except for the certification. My insurance company didn't care as long as it was for personal use. The lift seems very sturdy and handles my K2500HD extended cab with ease.

 

[torquepower85]

I know you said Certified and US made, I felt the same way and owned American made lifts in the past. My most recent Lift is not. It is a Dannmar and I will tell you I love it as much if not more than my previous US made ones and paid a fraction of what my US ones cost.

I think Dannmar has a quality product at a more than fair price. Take a look at what they have to offer.

Speaking of Dannmar 200$ off garagejournal-only deal for their 7000-lb 4-post was not too long ago, you should try to call GES see if they can honor that. If not I know they have a coupon on the home page www.gesusa.com

 

[Aahz]

To the best of my knowledge, there are no US Manufactured "home" quality lifts that are ALI/ETL Certified. Dover Corporation (owns Direct Lift, Forward Lift, Revolution Lift, Rotary Lift, Chief E-Z Liner, etc.) is making all of the storage lifts in Asia, so is Challenger Lift, BendPak, etc.

I can really only speak to the Dover brands in quality comparisons..Direct Lift is the best selling home use lift out these brands. They are the low end products in quality vs. all of the other brands Rotary sells. The Revolution is the higher end quality product, but there is only one version of the lift. It's built like a brick *hithouse, if you know what I mean. With the higher quality comes a higher price, similar to BendPak's.

I've spoken before (and I probably will again) about the issues we have with many of the Asian products, from a professional installer's point of view. If you are doing your own install, it won't concern you as much as it does my company, but our biggest complaint is that many times these lifts are missing parts when they arrive. If we go to install a lift, we want to go once, finish the install and have a happy customer. We lose money if we need to go back 3 or 4 times due to missing or broken parts. If you do the install, you can afford to wait for the manufacturer to "make it right" and while you may lose time, you don't lose money. That being said, some companies (like Dover or BendPak) keep inventory pretty much on hand, so parts can be shipped out pretty quickly if they are needed. Other companies will take quite a bit longer...
Full disclosure, I sell Rotary Lift & Revolution Lift, so I'm a bit biased. I hope I didn't let it show too much...

 

[JSK]

BendPak’s “cost cutting” comes primarily in manufacturing efficiencies; not material cutting or shortcut-taking. We did redesign our 9K four-post baseplate a few years ago solely for the benefit of “ganging” lifts back-to-back; side-to-side. Property owners of multi-unit installations prefer the columns to be adjoined to save valuable floor space. I (and many others) can testify that if you were to compare a BendPak lift from just six short years ago you would notice many quality improvements – both structural and design.

The problem with caster units; (not just BendPak, but all brands)

• they can be stubborn to move when the lift is loaded
• they can be more stubborn when the lift is loaded with heavy vehicle
• they can be stubborn when transitioning from one direction to another – think caster.

We are working on an interesting solution to correct this inherent quirk with the casters but have not finalized yet. I will keep all posted as soon as things develop.

Rotary lifts (all their divisions) are great products and would serve your needs well. Of course BendPak will proudly go head-to-head with them all day long. In the "who's king of customer service” foot race however, BendPak comes out in front - all day long.

P.S. - One important thing to consider when purchasing any lift is future costs of consumable replacement parts – if ever necessary. Not that it is always required, but it may be prudent to investigate when asking the lift dealer about shipping times, terms of payment etc. How much is Brand-X going to charge you for a cylinder, sheaves, power unit, cables etc? Some of you will shudder to find out what some lift companies charge for these critical parts.

JSK / BendPak

 

[gygeneral]

JSK, I hope you figure it out, I just ordered an HD9 but did not order the casters because of this issue. Please make a seperate post when you guys have an answer so we see it.

 

[JSK]

Here's an update on a couple of these HD-9 issues...

THE “HARD-TO-ROLL” CASTER PROBLEM - About a year ago, in the timeframe of about six months, we received swivel casters that were treaded with a softer polyurethane. They didn't cost any less so saving money was not the strategy. Although still polyurethane, the rubber would collapse and flatten out under load making it harder to roll. We call out for hardness: 95(±5) Durometer Shore A scale. The soft wheels came in about hardness 75 Shore A.

CROSS TUBE DIMENSION – JACKS NOT FITTING – That was almost two years ago. Our bridge jacks at that time were sliding type (as opposed to now rolling type). The new rolling/wheeled/roller design is working very well. The wheels are now grooved and ride on TOP of the rail (rather than inside) so they track better; also, the jacks collapse lower so less chance of dragging on the underside of vehicles. When we converted the jacks to the new roller design (from the sliding type) we overlooked that the wheels were 3/8” wider than the sliders - sorry. If the runways were at the narrow position, the jacks would not fit, even if fully collapsed. Obviously that problem is well behind us now. We simply moved the cross tube/runway bolt holes over to position the runways 1/2" wider.


Jeff

 

[ixlr8]

Jeff,
Thank you for your input, this helps in the decision process.

 

[stingry]

I think you may have been a little hasty in dismissing Bendpak as an option. I just installed a bendpak HD9 and could not be more pleased. I previously had an old Eagle 4 post and a Bendpak midrise. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the midrise so when my barn/shop was destroyed by fire, I replaced the lifts with a HD9 and another midrise. I had it delivered to my local lumberyard so we could unload it with a forklift. I then placed it on my 16' cartrailer. I assembled it myself on the cement approach to my shop using a tractor and loader and an engine hoist. Once assembled, I put it up on the casters and towed it into the shop with a riding lawnmower. Assembly was relatively easy and except for leveling adjustments, worked perfectly the first time. IMHO, the quality is excellent and I am very pleased with the lift. The midrise is exactly like the one it replaced, no lessening of quality that I could tell.

Likes and dislikes:
Likes: the air lock disengagement and the sliding jack tray
Dislikes: The ramps have grit embedded in the paint, I think I prefer the treadplate on my old Eagle


Cheers
Steve

 

[ixlr8]

I think you may have been a little hasty in dismissing Bendpak as an option. I just installed a bendpak HD9 and could not be more pleased.

Cheers
Steve

Glad to hear you are happy with your HD9, that is the one I am looking at. Thank you, and others, for your inputs. I hadn't dismissed B-P, just had some questions on some issues based on past posts that are important to me. Jeff from B-P has also contacted me offline, another example of their attention to customer service. I was looking for other options as well, but the majority here keep pointing me back to B-P. Final decision will be made sometime in the next 30 days.

 

[BMW Rider]

I think you may have been a little hasty in dismissing Bendpak as an option. I just installed a bendpak HD9 and could not be more pleased.

+1

Main reason for choosing the BendPak aside from the quality was the width between the columns. My wife parks under it daily and was nervous about the narrower lift I had originally planned to get. The BendPak is as wide as the door at 9' so no problem for her getting parked under it.

 

[Dadstoy]

I bought the Direct Lift 9000+ from Greg Smith. I went to their show room in Indy and operated several of their lifts. The sales people there answered all my questions. I went back the next weekend with my car trailer and they loaded the lift, drip pans, oil change canister and sliding hyd jack. Had it about 4 years now. Still works great. Never any problems. Very pleased with it.

 

[ixlr8]

I bought the Direct Lift 9000+ from Greg Smith. I went to their show room in Indy and operated several of their lifts. The sales people there answered all my questions. I went back the next weekend with my car trailer and they loaded the lift, drip pans, oil change canister and sliding hyd jack. Had it about 4 years now. Still works great. Never any problems. Very pleased with it.

Glad to hear you had a good experience with Greg Smith. I went to the Greg Smith showroom in New Hampshire and my experience was VERY different. The lifts were non-operational, one of the lifts was mid-way up and one of it's support columns was canted off at an angle. Being polite, the salesperson could best be described as useless/clueless. That experience eliminated Greg Smith and Direct Lift from my list.

 

[Dadstoy]

You should contact management at Greg Smith and tell them your experience with them. My 9000+ really is a very good lift.

 

[Perryk]

You should contact management at Greg Smith and tell them your experience with them. My 9000+ really is a very good lift.

The Management IS the problem. I called there a couple years ago on a Saturday afternoon, which with time change was after hours and was treated like a nuisance by a guy who claimed owned the company. Before placing the call I had overlooked the time difference. Apparently he was still in the office and by chance answered the phone...

I am kinda happy he was a **** cause I bought an American made lift for a few hundred bucks instead and couldnt be happier!

 

[Bgcj5]

I went over to Gregg Smith here in NH, I was mainly looking at the Atlas 8k 4 post. The salesman was very helpfull and walks me through the entire shop showing me all the lift operations. They were extremely helpfull. In the next few months I am going to be purchasing the Atlas lift based on that experience.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

I've had my BYB for 15+ years, no problems and made in the U.S.A.

 

[Vetteman]

Challenger Lifts are made in Louisville, KY
http://www.challengerlifts.com/about.shtml

 

[ixlr8]

Challenger Lifts are made in Louisville, KY
http://www.challengerlifts.com/about.shtml

Thanks, I will check them out.