The wife and I took the whole week off and we returned from vacation on Thursday, so I thought I'd make the most of the day after my morning coffee. My son has offered to help, but I know he doesn't like being away from his family so I thought I would get as much done by myself as possible. I may have overdone it a bit. The wife was NOT happy with me Friday night.
I mowed the lawns Friday morning and then commenced the teardown of my Ammco 10k pound lift. I started on the lift about noon and was walking in the house by 6:00 so I was pleased with the progress for a one man job. The scissor lift I rented from my neighbor was a Godsend as the last two times we've installed this lift and one disassembly we did it from ladders. Seeing as what my son has gone through the first half of the year with his injury, I sure as hell didn't want to be the reason he was laid up again, and I wasn't going to pay $1600 to have it installed, which is what I was quoted. And while I thought it was a fair price, I just wasn't going to pay it for something I could do and probably do a better job. This also didn't make the wife happy so maybe it was better I was outside and not in the house.
What a long *** day and by the time I went in the house Friday evening for a shower and dinner I was completely spent. Not to mention I felt it Saturday when I got up. This getting old thing is for the birds, but I guess it's better than the alternative.
The last picture of our Ammco 10k pound 2-post lift in my shop. It's been a great lift and hasn't given me a single issue in the past 14+ years I've owned it. It spent 6+ years in the old shop and 8 years here in the new shop. When we sold the old house, the buyer wanted me to leave the lift. I told the wife I would like to step up to a 12k pound capacity if the opportunity ever arose, but when I threw out a very reasonable number to the buyer, he declined. I think he wanted me to just throw it in. I told him $3k and he freaked. I told him he couldn't buy one for that, let alone have it installed and the shop was move in ready. So we disassembled it and took it with us. No skin off my nose, other than a little sweat labor to remove it.
I posted up a video and about a dozen pictures of it Friday night on FB Marketplace, even showing that I had all of the original paperwork, right down to the packing list.
Arms removed.
Size comparison between the arms on the 10k vs. the much beefier arms of the 12k pound lift.
The innermost arm on the new lift is the same size as the outer tube of the old one.
Making progress.
Parts stacking up as they are being removed.
At the point of needing to move the columns, I figured I would wait until my son could help me on Saturday morning. But then I am not a patient man, nor one to stand around and wait. I thought I could bear hug the columns and walk them off the anchors, but that almost ended in disaster, so I blocked one side up at a time, reached under with a cutoff disc and cut each stud off one by one. Then I was able to walk them off the small amount they were sticking up above the concrete and move them out of the way.
After grinding down the studs and tapping them down a little bit, I mixed up some epoxy and filled the holes so the epoxy could cure overnight.
I posted pictures and video Friday night and almost immediately had a guy message me asking about it. I answered a couple of his questions and he said, and I quote "have the cash and I can get it tomorrow" after making me an offer. I countered back knowing I would probably have to drop it a little and he agreed. Almost immediately he asked if I could delivery it? WTF? Are you shitting me? I responded saying no delivery nor help in transportation, this has already been broken down and just needs to be picked up. By this time I was getting other interested parties inquiring and I responded stating it was possibly sold. I responded to the guy stating if he couldn't pick it up Saturday I needed to know because I had other interested parties messaging me. He responded @ 7:36pm stating he would arrange transportation and that was the last I heard from him.
By Saturday morning I had multiple messages about it. One that jumped out at me stated he was in a nearby town and could pick it up right now and he has the cash in hand. So, I messaged the guy from the night before asking if he was going to come and get it or not? I saw that the message was delivered AND read, but no response. That was @ 8:30am Saturday. I sent him another message @ 9am asking if he was still planning on getting it and I would give him until 10am to respond before I go to the next person. Again, the message showed that it was delivered AND read, but no response. The messages continued and I engaged in messaging the one that was nearby letting him know that if the other guy flaked out he was up next.
At 10:01 am I messaged him to see if he wanted it and he said he'd hook up to his trailer and be to my place within the hour. I like people who say what they mean and do what they say. He arrived a little before 11am and after introductions and realizing he owned a small auto repair shop that I know of he backed into the shop and we laid the columns right onto his trailer.
They laid down about as easy as I remembered but I also know the new columns are of thicker material, almost 2' taller and the carriages were double the height, so I knew they were going to be heavy as hell. I looked at the guy who just bought my Ammco and asked him if he had a few minutes and I'd kick back a few bucks. He eagerly agreed so I maneuvered the columns roughly into position and the three of us dead lifted them right up. Yeah, they were heavy as hell alright and there is no way my son and I would have been able to lift them by ourselves. The columns were standing in less than 10-minutes and the guy was on his way with our old lift.
Thanks for looking.
oohh E-Rodz..... I need a metal sign made. the quote is..... 
