Vehicle Lifts: 2-post, 4-post, etc

[LDowney]

I need….NEED a bush hog. It’s not really brush or tall grasses but wild blueberry..I don’t want to spend a fortune for one so used works …the land cruiser would get upset if I spent too much.

The old 8N could really do a job out there
@fantic that looks like a great cabinet in front of of the right lift post

If you find a used brush hog mower, many of the older ones were not equipped with an over running clutch. If you encounter that, an over running clutch can be purchased as a PTO attachment for your 8N.

[on the chance you are not familiar, without an over running clutch, the rotational energy in the mower can continue to drive the tractor forward even with the tractor clutch engaged via the PTO connection with the rear axle differential. The over running clutch helps avoid an accident]

 

[ace10]

Bent tail wheel: reason 1,677 why a flail mower is a better option.

 

[LDowney]

My son thinks he might of bent the crazy wheel on the back of the bush hog. I went ahead and put it on the lift to fix the wheel and sharpen blades.

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A couple of years back, the Allis needed some work on the front axle spindle and the lift was very handy for the work required. They have ag applications too.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Bent tail wheel: reason 1,677 why a flail mower is a better option.

A flail mower is great if you don't have any brush larger than an 1"+/- to cut. It also generally takes more HP to operate. An old 8N probably has less than 20 HP at the PTO. My 6' bush hog will cut down and mulch anything under 4" but it is a heavy duty model. Don't get me wrong, I like flail mowers but they aren't the end all be all, and neither is a bush hog.

 

[fantic]

If you find a used brush hog mower, many of the older ones were not equipped with an over running clutch. If you encounter that, an over running clutch can be purchased as a PTO attachment for your 8N.

[on the chance you are not familiar, without an over running clutch, the rotational energy in the mower can continue to drive the tractor forward even with the tractor clutch engaged via the PTO connection with the rear axle differential. The over running clutch helps avoid an accident]

My first tractor was a Ferguson 30. I learned the hard way about a live PTO. The inertia from the mower pushed me into the ditch. After that I bought a clutch from the local farm store and placed it on the PTO shaft.

 

[knuckle47]

If you find a used brush hog mower, many of the older ones were not equipped with an over running clutch. If you encounter that, an over running clutch can be purchased as a PTO attachment for your 8N.

[on the chance you are not familiar, without an over running clutch, the rotational energy in the mower can continue to drive the tractor forward even with the tractor clutch engaged via the PTO connection with the rear axle differential. The over running clutch helps avoid an accident]

Thanks….the second thing i purchased for that 8N 3 yrs ago was an over-run clutch…. I’ve heard several stories about the torque pushing the 8N into a precarious position. Changed hydraulic fluid yesterday… those 2” drain plugs are some free flowing ports

 

[WarDamnEagle]

My Rotary lift is equipped with the Trio arms and the flip up adapters. That makes for a very versatile combination as the flip ups are two lengths, rotate 360, and can either face in or out. Lift also came with taller truck adapters which slip over the taller flip ups. The one downside to the flip ups vs pads is just that, pads. The flip ups are not padded so now that I have a newly powder coated FJ55 frame I started looking for a way to pad bearing surfaces. Well, turns out, Rotary makes them in two different heights. The only downside is the cost; they are pricey. Well for the second time in one week ebay turned out to have a deal. Got these, NIB for less than half price. They come as a kit with 4 pads and two hangers that attach to the lift posts. Very happy with these.

 

[Malleus]

Rotary SPOA10 with Trio Arms and Flip-Up Adaptors. That's an asymmetric, 10k lb capacity lift. Rotary accommodates the controls on either post and I had them install mine on the driver's side as that is the "wall" side of the lift. Seemed more natural to me but most shops install the controls on the passenger side. I was very grateful to see that my shop (that I didn't build) has over 6" of concrete in the slab. The lift came with taller Truck Adaptors. These photos show me using them but lately I have just been using the tall side of the flip-ups without the extensions.

I've been very pleased with the lift. Operates very smoothly with no sense of unstableness. Of course I'm pretty careful about the lift points.

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Very nice. Any idea how the Rotary compares with the (half of the Rotary price) Bendpak GP 10C?

 

[Malleus]

There's a lot of good lift info here but it seems to be scattered in various workshop threads. Would be nice if lift info was a little more consolidated so here goes. Post up your lift pics, info, questions, etc here and maybe this can become a good general resource for lift info. Bought import Atlas 10K probably 20+ yrs ago at Greg Smith Equipment in Atlanta, GA but never got installed in my old shop due to floor thickness issues. Finally installed at new place a couple of years ago. Did the installation myself, it wasn't that hard.

Would have preferred American made but easier said than done. May try to upgrade someday. Would also like a 4-post but not sure if that'll ever happen.

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And you can use your lift for other things like lifting lawn mowers to change blades, lifting a motor into the back of a truck, etc. I made these hooks to take the place of the lift pads and use frequently.

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Purely to satisfy my curiosity, what size is the beam on your A–Frame?

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Very nice. Any idea how the Rotary compares with the (half of the Rotary price) Bendpak GP 10C?

No I don’t. Sorry.

 

[Malleus]

No I don’t. Sorry.

Can you share what led you to pick the model you did, over whatever else was available on the market? I'm in the process of expanding my shop and I was initially looking at a short lift, simple because I didn't see the benefit of getting a 4, 5 or 6 ton truck ( I work exclusively on Land Cruisers) off the ground.

Since I don't have a height limitation (yet) I'm open to having my mind changed.

 

[Waorani]

Purely to satisfy my curiosity, what size is the beam on your A–Frame?

Are you talking about this thing? If so, its a 20ft long 6" I-beam pulled from my old shop. Used to hang from center roof beams but new shop is a lot wider and thinner steel so made a pivoting crane. Also added some center reinforcement. I'll throw up more pics if interested. If not, what do you mean by A-frame?

 

[Skreddy]

Can you share what led you to pick the model you did, over whatever else was available on the market? I'm in the process of expanding my shop and I was initially looking at a short lift, simple because I didn't see the benefit of getting a 4, 5 or 6 ton truck ( I work exclusively on Land Cruisers) off the ground.

Since I don't have a height limitation (yet) I'm open to having my mind changed.

Like a safe, get the biggest one you can fit/afford because you never know what’s down the road…..

 

[Malleus]

That's the one.

I did some back of the napkin calculations for a design I wanted to fit just outside my overhead door frame. The napkin said it flexed too much for my taste.

 

[Malleus]

Like a safe, get the biggest one you can fit/afford because you never know what’s down the road…..

I hear you

 

[Waorani]

I don't know what weight the beam is but its fairly heavy. I've tested to 1000lb but never lift that much. 180deg swing covers both doors on that part of shop. Probably could have hung fixed end from shop structure but set another post to carry the weight and make vertical surface for hinges. Electric hoist is nice and I use it a lot.

 

[Malleus]

That's a well supported jib crane! Very well done!

Even if that's the lightest W6 section, you'll have trouble deflecting it, with a 1000# point load at the center (worst case), with that short a span. I'd guess you could go many times that, given the bracing at the top (I just noticed that).

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Can you share what led you to pick the model you did, over whatever else was available on the market? I'm in the process of expanding my shop and I was initially looking at a short lift, simple because I didn't see the benefit of getting a 4, 5 or 6 ton truck ( I work exclusively on Land Cruisers) off the ground.

Since I don't have a height limitation (yet) I'm open to having my mind changed.

10k seemed like the right size for me as I couldn't imagine needing anything larger. Anything smaller than 10k didn't really save anything on footprint so I didn't see any reason to go smaller. I struggled between symmetric and asymmetric but finally decided the asymmetric would allow me to push the lift further back by a couple of feet. That's an advantage if you are storing cars in the rest of the shop.

After researching any data I could find on quality, reliability, etc. I concluded that Mohawk and Rotary were top of the line lifts. This conclusion is admittedly subjective to some degree and also doesn't take cost into consideration at all. And to be honest, cost was way down on my list given that I was going to be standing under this lift.

Lastly I looked into every automotive shop I could from mom and pop to large dealerships and I would say that I only ever saw Rotary or Challenger. That was not an exhaustive survey but I looked into at least a dozen shops. So the overlap of the two data sets was Rotary.

FWIW, when I called the Rotary guy to get pricing and installation information, he tried to sell me a cheaper lift. He said I didn't need the quality of the Rotary lift for home use. That only reaffirmed that I had made the right decision. IIRC, the cheaper lift (can't remember the brand name) would have saved me about $2500 at the time. Installation was the same price for both.

Hope that helps and good luck with your shop expansion.

Edit: Rotary sells two cheaper brands: Forward and Direct. I think he was trying to sell me a Forward lift.

 

[Malleus]

That's all good to know info. The reason I asked specifically about the Bendpak is that it's not 10-20% cheaper than the Rotary (both new prices), it's 50% cheaper. Yes, I know you get what you pay for.

I would like to believe the difference in price is mainly performance and longevity, particularly of the hydraulic system (I used to design hydraulic systems once upon a time, and I know just how cheap you can make them and still claim they work). I have no experience or opinion of electric lifts (I'd guess they are linear actuators or ballscrews, but those would have to be pretty beefy for a 10k load); I'm not sure I've even considered them. Maybe I'm just being delusional, but that's my gut feeling.

As far as life safety is concerned, I'd be surprised (although I admit I haven't looked) if any lift of any value has a very different lockout mechanism design. Maybe one is made of heavier material than another, but I'd think that lifts failing under load would be a "stop the presses" event. I can't remember ever hearing of one. I have heard, and seen, morons who had their loads fall of of a lift, but that wasn't the lift's fault.

 

[PIP]

If you're looking to save money buy a used lift. I recommend Mohawk or Rotary. Mohawk is hands down the best there is.

The biggest differentiator from hobby 2 post to pro grade is how the guides work.

Cheap lifts have plastic carriage guides. Pro grade use roller bearings like a Forklift mast.