I was debating a hoist, wondered what everyone liked. I want something fairly heavy, up to 1 ton trucks. 12,000# or so.

 

I see a Bend-Pak 18,000 for 5200, I wonder how much the Mowkawks are, I see a 20000 that would do nicely and they are built a lot better it seems. Probably 8 or 9 G for that.

 

Check with some of your local garage equipment suppliers. They often can make a great deal and even install the unit.

 

If 10,000 lbs is enough then look at the DP10A at http://mfautomotiveequipment.com/forward.htm
We've got a couple of them in our shop and I think they are great.
We've also got a Forward 12,000 and it's ok but not as easy to set up.
The DP10A's will lift an unloaded F350 dually Crewcab with no problem.
We've also got a Mohawk TP15 15,000 ( http://www.mohawklifts.com/consumer/lmf12.php ) and it's slow and the arm adapters are very heavy which makes it kinda hard to set up. The arms are also pretty big for fitting under small cars, if that makes any difference to you. They also get in the way of some running boards. It's also very loud. It will lift a lot though. It's good for small motorhomes and 1 ton service trucks if they aren't too overloaded.
There is a good video to watch on Mohawk's site too.
The hoists I've mentioned above are all 2 posts. I don't like 4 post drive on hoists because you have to crouch under them all the time, the ramps are in the way, you need seperate jacks if you're going to lift the wheels off the hoist.

 

Eric, that is a good idea, my county garage is building a new building, I should go down and see whats happening. Maybe they are getting new. The Mowhawk claims 5 1/2 inches of room is all thats needed even on their big ones. I bet the price really jumps over the 15,000 class. My heaviest truck is about 20k but those are not bad to work on the ground and they need very little work. These pickups, plow trucks are continious in this area. You wouldnt offhand remember how much the tp15 was? Speed and noise are not really a problem, we are not ramming them in and out like a busy service shop would. I have a lot of headroom, depending where I located it 18 or 20 ft.

 

Equipment dealers often have used trade-ins or they have units that have been pulled out of closed businesses or repo's etc. They also have used tire equipment, compressors, etc.

 

get a decent 2 post lift. I recomend one with straight legs because the ones with angled legs are hard to set and you usualy not going to easily get a truck on one. i work in a small 3 bay shop after school and we have 3 9K cap. 2 posts 2 with straight legs and 1 with angled legs and the one with angled legs sucks the only thing you can easily rack on it is a jeep wrangler, cars suck because you have to get under the cradle in the front and the pinch welds in the back and its too tight to get trucks on. on the other hand the the straight posts are quick to set but can take some faness to get out of the vehicle usualy i pull through past the doors the leave it in neutral and push it back.you should be ok in the 9K to 10K lifting range. I serviced the other day an F-450 SD PSD dump truck / plow truck (we take the plows off before servicing) with a salt box in the bed and our 9K lift took it all the way up no sweat

 

Oh ok it's a lift your after then. Ive actually been looking for a good used one for quite a while. Ebay has had quite a few nice ones that lift the amount of weight your looking for but no seller has been willing to ship a used one. I found plenty in the NYS, NJ area but that doesent help me out any.

http://www.completehydraulic.com/

This place sells new ones at very reasonable prices. I talked to the owner about getting one a little while back. It was a 7k lift and I had the cash ready but he said the 7k wont lift some trucks, SUVs and large vans which turned me off although they do sell 10K ones as well.

Asymetric lifts (30/70) are fine. I would rather have one for working on trucks since the frames are not straight. A symetric (50/50) will work fine too and they save quite a bit more space since they are posistioned to lift in the middle not closer to the front.

 

wow!! complete hydraulic has some good prices on their lifts. i don't know if i prefer the cable system over the leaf chain but i'm sure they are safe. i will have to keep that in mind when i get ready to purchase....

 

Bringing this back up as I am getting closer to buying one of these.

Every time I look, I see more brands. And once I look at features, I end up back at Bend Pak.

I want a 4 post movable job. Anyone have any recent experience with those from any maker?