Home Hoist recomendations

asudds · 10-26-2007, 04:15 PM

Can anyone give me some input here. A friend got an Eagle Lift and it is not very good. I am thinking a BendPak or a Rotary Lift.

Any input would be welcome, new or used I am looking to spend about $2000-$3000

Thanks,

Aaron
asudds@yahoo.com

partrin · partrin's Garage

I have the same question.....I was looking at the new Sports and Exotic Car (Hemmings) earlier and Back Yard Buddy (backyardbuddy.com) is making comparative claims about the construction and safety of their lift versus 'brand X'. Has anyone researched this exhaustively? Testamonials?

TWork · 10-27-2007, 01:03 AM

I ordered my 4 post lift from www.gregsmithequipment.com. Absolutely no complaints. As advertised. Easy to understand instructions. Works well. Set it up by myself over a couple evenings.

dad911 · 10-27-2007, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asudds

Can anyone give me some input here. A friend got an Eagle Lift and it is not very good. I am thinking a BendPak or a Rotary Lift.

Any input would be welcome, new or used I am looking to spend about $2000-$3000

Thanks,

Aaron
asudds@yahoo.com

What is wrong with Eagle? I have had my Eagle 4 post for over 10 years, no problems.

theclaw · 10-27-2007, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWork

I ordered my 4 post lift from www.gregsmithequipment.com. Absolutely no complaints. As advertised. Easy to understand instructions. Works well. Set it up by myself over a couple evenings.

I have a greg smith sissor lift and its great. What I liked about them is that I didn't have to have my own forlklift to unload it. Some of the delivery firms require you to provide means of getting it off the truck.

asudds · 10-27-2007, 03:54 AM

My bud had 1 cylinder leak from new, lock dogs bent on the first use etc... we warned against them and recommended something a little better.

I am used to working off my dad's old commercial hoist that was a 2 post constructed using two 12" square steel I-beams for the side uprights.

I guess I just want something solid and durable

David E. Clark · 10-27-2007, 04:23 AM

I recently purchased a Backyard Buddy: My new lift is finally in!.

Very high quality lift but their customer service is absolutely awful!! I paid extra to have one of their installers put the lift in. The lift was not installed correctly (it was making a terrible howling noise) and when I called Backyard Buddy I was told that it was between me and the installer - they would not correct the problem, get the installer to correct the problem, or help in any way! I even spoke to the owner who, other than sending me an owner's manual which did not come with the lift, and promising to call me back to check to see if I had figured the problem out (which he never did), told me I had to take my complaints up with the installer (who they supplied). I wound up having to figure it out myself - I had to level the tracks and grease the pulleys.

Finally, although the web site says "Backyard Buddy Corp. shows your freight charges up front, so there are no 'hidden' costs" don't believe it! They will double bill you for shipping - once from the factory to the shipper and again from the shipper to your home. When I questioned this (only one shipping cost is listed on the bill from Backyard Buddy) I was told that "once the lift leaves the factory the customer owns it and is responsible for anything extra the shipper charges". This wound up costing me an extra $364.25! That's a total of $5,084.25! Way more than the other lifts I considered.

I told the owner that I ordered the more expensive Backyard Buddy because I was expecting Lexus level customer service. As the kids say - NOT! If customer service is important to you, stay far, far away from this company!

shbop · 10-27-2007, 06:19 AM

Finally, although the web site says "Backyard Buddy Corp. shows your freight charges up front, so there are no 'hidden' costs" don't believe it! They will double bill you for shipping - once from the factory to the shipper and again from the shipper to your home. When I questioned this (only one shipping cost is listed on the bill from Backyard Buddy) I was told that "once the lift leaves the factory the customer owns it and is responsible for anything extra the shipper charges". This wound up costing me an extra $364.25! That's a total of $5,084.25! Way more than the other lifts I considered.

I told the owner that I ordered the more expensive Backyard Buddy because I was expecting Lexus level customer service. As the kids say - NOT! If customer service is important to you, stay far, far away from this company!
__________________

Those are great reasons to steer clear.

3.2 CAB · 10-27-2007, 07:24 AM

I did have a Mohawk brand of two post lift. It was very well built, plus it came with a large set of adapters and lift pads for it, so you could lift something that was very low to the ground, or with the proper adapters, you could lift BIG, very high lifted 4X4's. Also, it did not have that PIA hump on the floor between the two post, the covers the equalizing hyd. lines, like on the bend-pak or rotary brand lifters. The Mohawk, used an overhead equalizing tube that was built into the tops of both post, it then went up high enough, to be able to lift one of the bubble or extended top custom vans, or the smaller motor homes without interference with headroom. I really liked it NOT having any obstructions on the floor between the post, made tranny, or engine moving around under the vehicle a snap without the "speed bump" on the floor between the post. It was a very heavy-duty, with extremely good tech support and at the time, they also had a lifetime warranty on the hydraulic cylinders. After I had mine a couple of years of so, being used almost everyday, I had one of the cylinders start to leak from the top seal, I called them, and they truck freighted me a new cylinder to replace it, FREE of charge! It even included FREE return shipping for the defective cylinder. If you are thinking about a two post lift, check out the Mohawk line, you won't be disappointed in the price or the quality of their products. When I get my newest garage finally finished, I will be getting another one of them.

SCOTITUDE · 08:28 PM

I have assembled 2 styles of lifts in the last month for 2 friends Both were 4 post lifts, One was a chinese unit from ebay, the other was a Backyard Buddy. They are both similar in design with minor differences in the construction, mainly the posts on the BYB are boxed while the Ebay version is a u channel. BYB's main claim is the boxed post will not spread. I cant see the cheaper version spreading unless you overload the lift. There are a couple of other "minor" differences but in my opinion they dont warrant the extra cost. The ebay 4 post lift was $1800, the BYB was $4000. If you are going to load it near the limit and use the lift every day and $ is no object i'd consider the BYB. Otherwise I think the Ebay lift is sufficient for the 911. Maybe Ill get to assemble my own some day.

asudds · 10-28-2007, 07:57 AM

Picked up a used rotary commercial 2 post yesterday, only 2 years old and looks great. Should be sufficient and now to install the bad boy