Hey guys, My brother and I are starting a shop and we are looking into lifts. Now we found a 2 post 9,000 lb capacity rotary lift but i guess its asymetrical as oppossed to symetrical. People have told us that my truck will be wobbly on it. What do you guys think? Would you risk it? How much do you think my truck weighs. What do similar trucks weigh? I haven't had time to get to the weigh station.

 

Look into used lifts, places like a shut down K-Mart auto center often sit empty with the lifts in them. Property owners are happy to get a third of their value

Your truck is around 7,000 lbs, maybe a little more.

 

Yep this is a used one. A guy is closing his shop. Has 2 of them that are about 4 years old. We might get both. He also has a 12,000 four post lift but I dont know if i like that plus its more money.

 

Go for it if the price is right. Rotary is an excellent brand. 9000# is just a little borderline for diesel trucks or one tons. Capacity wise it is fine, but it may seem a little wobbly at full height. You can always use the tall floor stands for extra stability. I like the two post lifts because most of the jobs I do on a lift are "wheel off" jobs.

Those lifts are not real expensive brand new, so make sure you are getting a good price.

Hopefully your shop will have high enough ceilings to take full advantage of the lift. Nothing worse than lifting something up and still having to roll around on a creeper or stool. Good Luck.

 

Think about what you're doing here guys, that cheapest lift you're looking at also has your life in it's construction. Sometimes, cheaper is not always better.
Just a safety tip for the day.

 

Yeah but this is rated at 9000 lbs. I have had my truck on one of these exact lifts and I'll admit its a little wobbly and I bet for as much time as it will be up there it will be alright. The only time it gets real wobbly is if you start yanking on stuff. I can get both lifts for $3400. You guys think I'll be alright?

 

Asymetrical just means the front of the vehicle is closer to the posts, in other words the posts are not at the center of the wheelbase. This actually means that a nose-heavy vehicle like a CTD will be MORE stable on an asymetrical lift since the posts are closer to the center of gravity on the truck. The reasons lifts are built this way that it's generally easier to get the doors open far enough to get in and out, and it also means that the lift is more balanced with today's typical car (front wheel drive, no weight out back). The asymetrical lift relies less on the mounting hardware to keep it from falling over since the load is usually balanced better. I agree that 9,000 # is adequate, especially if this is a home shop where the lift won't be picking up the truck 10-15 times a day. If this is a business and you intend to work on mostly pickups, I'd think hard about that 4 poster.

 

See this is a business where we plan on working on cars. We sell like import parts and performance parts and install them so trucks prolly wont be in the shop only maybe once a month at the most you know. Big trucks anyway.

 

The last shop I worked in had a 9000 lbs and a 15000 lbs lifts by far I prefered to use the 15000 lbs lift even on sub-compact cars...the only trucks we lifted with the 9000 lbs lift was 1/2 ton pickups everything else bigger got put on the 15000 lbs lift

 

The Rotary 9000# lift is by no means a "cheap" lift. Like the other guys said, given the choice of a bigger lift, they would have more stability.

With that said, if the 9000# lift is operated within its rated capacity and with the standard amount of caution and care, it would give you years of safe operation.

 

I didn't mean to say it was a cheap lift.
Keith has a 10000 pound lift in his shop at Forest City Diesel and it is pretty sturdy even with my truck on it.
I just meant to say that your lift is your life. You will probably be fine with what you are doing.