4 post lifts outside and Mk6 Transit lifting.

[ajlelectronics]

I may need to do some extensive welding under our retiring Mk6 Transit. I have looked underneath it previously with a view to lifting it on my single poster but can't see anywhere suitable to put the pads. Under the van just looks like an inverted dish unless I am being dense!

Solution 2 is a four post lift. I don't have the headroom in the workshop so it would need to go outside. I can build a shelter for it and fully understand that it is not a good environment for reliability and longevity. So any advice? The car park currently has a sunken pikey tarmac covering, so I anticipate that I will need to get a suitable base laid.

What lift should I go for?

How much would I expect to pay?

Where would I find one?

 

[armalites]

I have a 2 post and a 4 post and they both have their uses.

I've only just got a 2 post and I know what you mean about finding somewhere place the pads, on my V70 the pads crush the trim panels. I suspect many places just jack them under the floor. Surely there must be chassis rails on the transit?

4 post lifts tend to be a bit cheaper

If you cover the motor and keep everything greased then the lift will probably be fine outside. Both my ramps are in a covered but open side barn.

Buying one is a bit of minefield, if you have 3ph it's easier, although both mine are 3ph and I have them running on one inverter. Ideally you want one that has only just been removed so you know it's all there. You need to check spares availability. My 4 post is a Laycock and could be 35 years old but Tecalemit still list parts on their website and they aren't stupid money.

I paid £300 for mine years ago at an auction where they were selling the contents of a Post Office workshop. They are a pain to transport unless they are fully stripped but much easier to install if you can get someone with a hiab to collect and lift the platform in one piece. Try and buy one with a jacking beam or that's likely to be another £2-300 you are going to spend. Majorlift jacking beams are very good and all the spares are still available and they are only 25mins from Gloucester. I have a spare Majorlift that I may get rid of if you get stuck.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

If you buy secondhand, and it's stripped down, what about getting the main sections galvanised ?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Thanks! I do have my 3 phase available and I use my single post outside from time to time on it. I am sure that I can make a decent installation. I want the four poster for other reasons, the caravan being one of them. Also with a Tranny on the lift, I would have a bit more confidence that I might live through the work! From what I can gather, a four post almost needs no base although in my case that is not going to be sensible, due to the thin tarmac.

I do have an excellent groundwork contractor if I can only get him to take an interest. I have been waiting 9 months for him to do my block paved drive.

Your Majorlift would certainly be of interest once I find a suitable lift.

 

[ajlelectronics]

If you buy secondhand, and it's stripped down, what about getting the main sections galvanised ?

Even easier is to epoxy prime and paint it a pretty colour. If I can get the job done this summer it will create a long lasting finish.

 

[MCKDAVID]

think the first question you need to ask yourself is how much welding are you needing to do? is it really realistic to justify thousands spent on an installation of a lift. At first view it seems like a good plan, but if you're leaving it outside, even under some form of shelter its going to deteriorate fairly rapidly, bearion mind it's a certified lifting apliance with you underneath it. Then you'll also probably need three phase power, you can convert to single phase, but again at what cost? seems a bit excessive for what may be a one off job..

Personally in that situation, If I didn't have the space to install it and do it properly, I'd just bite the bullet and pay to get it welded, will be more cost effective in the long run.

 

[ajlelectronics]

think the first question you need to ask yourself is how much welding are you needing to do?

It is an ongoing requirement, not just this vehicle.

is it really realistic to justify thousands spent on an installation of a lift?

Well it depends. I can probably get more work through and make some work more efficient. I am limited for headroom in the workshop, so the other option is to modify the building. However that is going to cost more than a secondhand lift and installation.

At first view it seems like a good plan, but if you're leaving it outside, even under some form of shelter its going to deteriorate fairly rapidly, bearion mind it's a certified lifting apliance with you underneath it. Then you'll also probably need three phase power, you can convert to single phase, but again at what cost? seems a bit excessive for what may be a one off job..

I don't need to convert, I have 3 phase in the workshop already, that is what powers my current lift.

Personally in that situation, If I didn't have the space to install it and do it properly, I'd just bite the bullet and pay to get it welded, will be more cost effective in the long run.

On this particular van, it has been patch welded many times by the MOT station and I can guarantee that it will not be done to my standard. I don't want to scrap an otherwise perfectly good van, so intend to renovate it. That is just a side benefit though as in the main it will be used for customer cars. (It also gives me another parking slot!)

 

[ajlelectronics]

There are some Bradburys etc on Ebay currently but ~100 miles distant. What sort of transport would I need? Can one just book a courier in the normal way if they carry such weights?

I see that Strongman do a new "parking lift" for under £2K and the carriage by artic is £250. Then there is the unloading which they say needs a forklift.

 

[grim_d]

Lifting transits can be tricky. This was ropey doing a gearbox. Not recommended for a single poster!

 

[ajlelectronics]

Lifting transits can be tricky. This was ropey doing a gearbox. Not recommended for a single poster!

Such is my fear!

I have been 'phoning around. There is a company that does "parking and service" lifts that suggest their model 3. Including delivery and assembly etc, £2340. If I have to pay a Grand for a secondhand decent make plus carriage and install, I wonder if I should just go for one of those? Although it makes no odds to me, they are single phase too.

http://www.sjrgarageequipment.co.uk/parking-and-service-vehicle-lifts/

 

[premmington]

We have had a 5ton four post lift outside for a long while - it lasted very well in the open - we used it for washing oily cars - vans down.

Insurers pulled the plug on it - we replaced it with a concrete semi pit - half concrete (form) and metal ramps. Plus we had to go for an expensive oil separator in a bunded concrete pad as well. I never repeated this when we moved workshops 11 years ago.

If you are business and want insurance - all outside lifts are to be avoided.

But in France and other Euro countries they are everywhere.

 

[armalites]

There are some Brqadburys etc on Ebay currently but ~100 miles distant. What sort of transport would I need? Can one just book a courier in the normal way if they carry such weights?

I see that Strongman do a new "parking lift" for under £2K and the carriage by artic is £250. Then there is the unloading which they say needs a forklift.

The problem is making sure the lift is taken down carefully, often when lifts are taken out it's because a new one is going in and they may be less careful. My platform would have fitted on an Ifor Williams but it would have be overhanging on both sides. Fortunately the local recovery firm owned my a favour and collected for a couple of hours labor, they lifted it on and off with a hiab. I move into place using fence posts as rollers and a tractor at the other end.

As with many things that are old, service parts should still be available for a quality brand lift but there will be bits that never fail in use and if they get damaged during transport you won't be able to get a replacement.

I would consider replacing the seals in the ram/rams when you get it if you buy used, you'll never need to do it again. If you can't get the seal kit from the manufacture there is a top bloke as Hydraulic Equipment Supermarket on Innsworth Technology Park in Gloucester(right next to R-tech) who will look at the seals and cross ref in a couple of minutes. I couldn't find anywhere that listed the seals for my 2 post even though it's a well known Italian brand. He was able to tell me immediately what they were from the numbers over the phone even though my local place in Hereford said the numbers didn't mean anything, grand total of £9 per ram. My 2 post had been insurance inspected and was in full use the week before, the only reason I knew the ram seals weren't 100% was when I first tested it my inverter ran the rams to full extention and oil came out the breather.In normal use the limit switches would have stopped them going that far.

But in France and other Euro countries they are everywhere.

Bendpak installed one outside(outstalled? ) in Florida on Garage Rehab and that is a place that has it's fair share of wet weather.

 

[gaz1]

we have an adapted unit for those transits

same as above pic

for welding height mostly its car ramps jack higher and place wood beams as chocks for all the wheels ive posted a pic of this on forum already

 

[knighty]

I helped a neighbour at work fit a 4 post lift, iirc he paid £500 for it, it came out of an ambulance depo so had been well looked after

piece of cake to fit, you'll just need 4 decent flat/level spots for the post mounts

might be easier to dig out for a pad the size of the lift and toss a bit or rebar in it... spreads the load so you'll never end up with one of the corner pads/posts sinking :-o

 

[armalites]

Watching you own vehicle ramp go up for the first time is a magical experience. When I did my 4 post the first lift was at 02:00am

When I put my 2 post up I had to get a picture of them both up at the same time.

For benefit they provide to someone who tinkers with cars even as a hobby £500 is peanuts and as long as you look after it it will always be worth something(probably at least what you paid)

When I used to get "You've got a lift at home??" it was cool now I respond "Actually I've got two" They owe me less than £1000 between them even with the inverter not including the concrete. They have easily saved me way more than that.

 

[jordhandson]

Bought a couple of the Bradbury ones max lift 3 tons plenty enough for my needs I have one fitted in the workshop and I have another in pieces in the shed waiting to be put on a girder steel frame with wheels and leveling jacks to use outside for power washing. the one in the workshop cost £100 bought new cables, safety lock springs and re-bushed all the pulleys total cost £270 the one in the shed was cost £120 and only needed new cables 120 quid the 2 cost less the £250.
We have a really good pit but with a lift its a different ball game. I put some extra safety features in so I can leave a vehicle up on max without sitting on the cables that almost doubles the space of the workshop.


Here is my main one in the shop





This the one in pieces in the shed with wheels free

 

[M.F.]

From what I can gather, a four post almost needs no base although in my case that is not going to be sensible, due to the thin tarmac.

I do have an excellent groundwork contractor if I can only get him to take an interest. I have been waiting 9 months for him to do my block paved drive.

@ajlelectronics A traditional style Bradbury lift with the lifting ram built into one of the columns requires a good foundation for the power column, otherwise they try and pull themselves out of the ground away from the lift platform. The other 3 posts only have a vertical load imposed on them and do not require quite such a substantial base.