Featured Hot Rods 4 Post Failure

Lots of stuff online about this. The only consistent information I have read and has been posted over and over says the owner has posted on Facebook that the asphalt failed under one of the legs of the lift.

 

So it,s a big display tent on a parking lot. Doubt that the blacktop/tarmac/asphalt gave way. If so then the whole carpark should be full of holes from daily use by all sorts of parked cars/trucks. ( maybe it is )

 

if it was asphalt you would think the dealers selling the lift would know better than put a car on it and lift it all the way up.
as for cars falling off lifts I would wager anytime I am under a car on my 2 post lift I've had both locks in place. all these stories of cars falling while I was at lunch could only happen if there was an earthquake

 

Not at all, a tyre will spread the load more so than a steel post/baseplate fixing, and tarmac is compressively weak compared to concrete.
As said, a post lift should never be erected on a tarmac surface, unless its tarmac surface over a concrete slab base, and then only if the tarmac is removed to allow post base fixing to the concrete underneath.

 

I was in the asphalt biz for 30 years. Residential drive gets 4" of compacted base, and a 2" asphalt mat. Any parking lot that will see big trucks and heavy volume of traffic would get 6-10" of base, then two separate lifts of asphalt, cooling time between lifts, 4-5" total asphalt...minimum. I find it hard to believe thats what caused the crash

 

Around here , a residential driveway is LUCKY if it gets one 2 inch lift

 

That is sometimes true if one takes the low bid, but usually commercial stuff is done proper...unless they cheat

 

I'm sure that race deck type flooring was laid over the existing parking lot long before the lift assemblers showed up.

 

Just for the record, that Floor is NOT RaceDeck.. RaceDeck can handle extreme loads that far exceed a 55 Chevy and lift. ... that said, even a knock off modular flooring that crushed, would only compress 1/4" to 1/2" .

 

sink hole would not surprise me in Florida....

 

I still want to know what brand it is.

 

it would be far less likely if not impossible to flip if the left side were connected to the right side along the floor.

 

I'm wondering if there isn't some tall stories being told by all involved parties. The lift mfgr doesn't want the responsibility, the auction house doesn't want the responsibility, the flooring guy doesn't want the responsibility, so over lunch they decide to pass it on to the owner of the parking lot, claiming the asphalt failed. 'Coure, that doesn't work if Meecum owns the lot.

Just speculating.....Roger

 

Each post has a square pad on the bottom that's larger than the size of a tire, so I'd think the weight load would be spread out more.

Going back to the debate on whether they need to be bolted down, if that was the case why does most every manufacturer have a caster option for moving them around? There's been a four post lift sitting unbolted in my garage for over 20 years; it gets moved around occasionally, and is very stable when a car is lifted up on it.

 

IMO, quality well-designed 4-post lifts with heavy square tube uprights and platform corners that enclose around the posts are far superior to cheaper designs using open "C" channel uprights. This was a very obvious observation with lifts available when I purchased my Backyard Buddy over 20 years ago. The B B lift was designed to NOT to be bolted down, and move on casters WITH a vehicle, which I've done numerous times.

It really depends on your lift's intended usage; staying in one place with very limited actual usage, or moveable and/or with normal maintenance/repair usage. Safety, and value of what will be on your lift, should be top of the list, over price.

 

A rigid steel pad of a fixed dimension and a flexible rubber tire are two very different loading cases. You're much more likely to load a smaller area with the rigid steel pad, which significantly increases the forces in the loaded area. A tire confirms to the surface below it and allows for lower relative loading.

 

That's your opinion, but Bendpak and Rotary (and others) use the C-channel design in heavy duty lifts that are ALI certified. My Direct 4-post uses the C-channel design, and it's a Rotary brand. You can look at knock-off designs of mine from other manufacturers and the are made similarly but cheaper and more prone to failure.

Ground conditions and proper lift setup are critical to the whole thing working correctly. That Backyard buddy design never sat right with me.

 

Wheeeew! Sure glad I bought a 2 post lift and avoided all these problems........... (10,000 lb) 50% less chance of a post failure.

 

I've never seen or known about a 4-post C-channel design in the 7000lb range that can move on casters with a car, including Rotory and Bendpac. Can yours?
Curious what design never sat right with Backyard Buddy for you.

 

Had a 9k Forward Certified Lift, (USA made). Did not require anchors in floor, and as previously mentioned. Certified to be able to move with car on casters. Tested it with 30chev on lift, moved around shop with elec golf cart. Was a beautiful lift, it did help sell my shop to car guy.

 

I have a cheap 4 post lift. I bought it after looking at a lot of them and bought the cheapest one that I thought was up to the job. It is not bolted down, and is still very stable. It does have a caster set, which I have used to reposition it several times with no problem, That being said, there is no way I would move it on the casters with a vehicle on it. There's no need for it and it just seems like a bad idea. I usually keep a C2 Corvette on it, but have had my F150 on it for service. Again no problem.

The last two pages of the instruction manual that came with my lift addressed adjusting and leveling the lift after it was installed. This turned out to be a fussy and time-consuming task and I wouldn't doubt may not be given the full attention of some installers. My lift worked fine as installed (you have to exercise it to adjust it) and I was tempted to just "let it go", but I know better. Like most things of this nature, this was probably operator or installer error.

 

I can't think of a situation where I would want (or feel safe) to move my 4-post with a car on it.

Floors and posts for these lifts do move, the design with the lift arm inside the post allows for more movement without binding than the lift arm surrounding the post.

If it's good enough for the big heavy duty lifts, it's good enough for me.

 

My lift was included from the previous seller of my home. It was not properly set up, both in the platform not being leveled when lifting and the locks not properly engaging. Whoever set it up didn't take the time to do that. I did, and have not had a single issue with it.

People seem to forget this is a heavy piece of equipment that requires proper set-up, inspection, and maintenance.

 

tubman and 05snopro440,
When moving the lift on it's castor wheels, the runways are only about 14" off the ground to set/position the casters, NOT fully raised.

Part of my barn is unheated, and sometimes vehicles torn down on the lift need to be moved in or out of the heated shop portion, or simply re-positioned because of other projects. The purchase of the Backyard Buddy addressed all my concerns, and has been a very important shop addition. B B wouldn't be designing and building 4-posts with these features if there wasn't any demand.

 

Looking at it, I'm sure mine would be fine as well. It doesn't have anything to do with lift quality, but personal preference. I would most likely move it on the lift if I absolutely had to; I'd just rather not.

 

[QUOTEWhen moving the lift on it's castor wheels, the runways are only about 14" off the ground to set/position the casters, NOT fully raised. [/QUOTE]

Exactly.
The beams and runways HAVE to be lowered all the way to raise the corner posts with the caster jacks, and then the foot pads are only about an inch off the floor.

I’ve looked at a lot of lifts at shows and most ranged from iffy to junk.
Bought a Back Yard Buddy used from the HAMB classifieds at a great price and love it.
Mine is so stable that I can’t get it to sway more than 1/2” even with a car raised all the way up.
Unfortunately I just had to replace the cylinder but that wasn’t a fault of the manufacturer.
They used to boast made in America from American steel, but I can’t speak to that since Advantage bought them.
The BYB line is sold separately from Advantage, and is made in Warren, MI.

Mine is like the BYB “Classic” 7K pounds.

Curious as to who made the one in the pics.
It was at Barrett-Jackson, NOT Mecum according to Mecum’s post.

 

Never anchored mine to the floor. It is close to the wall on one side so I anchored it to the wall on 2 of the top posts. Solid as can be.