# New Hoist



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I hijacked a thread on the restoration page to see if I could post a photo because the instructions were right in front of me....and it worked. I posted a photo of my new hoist, and that got things going! I've worked on all kinds of hoists over the years, and all have their pros and cons. The current hoists at work are twin post Mohawks....heavy duty units that leave the underside of the car unobstructed, but have huge posts in the way of the doors and the sides of the car. I just had my shop expanded, from 24'x32 to 24x42, and had 20' of roof raised to 12' of inside clearance for a hoist. Problem is, my roll up door is only 16' wide and 10' tall.....and a conventional lift on one side of the garage or the other would cause egress problems. I looked at twin posts, and the narrowest one was something like 11 feet between posts....too big a footprint. I looked at 4 post car stacker lifts (the cheapest option here) and they too have a big footprint. You can store one car on top of the other, though, and save space that way. Drawbacks: need a bottle jack to get the wheels off, and limiting for anything but light service work. I needed a heavy duty, commercial unit, that I could use for day in and day out work. I talked to the Mohawk guy who put the lifts in at my work, and worked out a deal on my hoist, a USL-6000. It's a scissor lift hoist, weighs 1700 pounds, and has a cam-over pull bar that detaches so you can roll it around. Best of all, it's super heavy duty, made in New York, and lifts the car a full 6 feet in the air. I like the idea of being able to park over it and have it disappear, as well as being able to roll it outside if I want to steam clean an undercarriage, etc. Or, just roll it into a corner for storage. The hydraulic cylinder/pump is on a separate dolly, and the safety locks are pneumatic and require compressed air. It runs on 110 volts, regular plug. So far, I love it. There is unrestricted room around the entire car, allowing door hanging, body work, brake work, etc, with ease. It's as solid as a rock....no wobbling here. It requires no floor mounting, only a level surface. It has two disadvantages: it's tall when it's all the way down---my GTO's just hit at the front A arm shock pockets, so I need a plank on each side to drive up on (I have installed wider, appropriate planks since the photos), and when the rack is all the way up, you can not easily get a tranny jack in and out. You'd have to manhandle the trans jack under the car, remove the trans, lower the jack, lift the trans off the jack onto a cart, and manhandle the trans jack back out. That said, tranny shops do use this hoist. The clearance under the car is the same or a bit better than an old fashioned single post in-ground hydraulic unit. The lift comes with adapters and adjustable arms for any vehicle, and as I said, it's sturdy. It's rated at 6000 pounds, but is much beefier and better made than 10,000 pound Chinese units I've seen. So, for my application, a lift in a private shop, the Mohawk USL-6000 was the best fit. It ties up no floor space to speak of (you drive right over it like any in-ground unit), it's portable, it requires no assembly with a forklift or special 6" concrete, and it has no huge posts to smack into. The Mohawk rep also says he has installed them flush with the floor, you just saw and re-pour below grade. Super trick, but I didn't want the rack to be stuck in one place. The ramps/planks work fine. The price is high, which is why it's not in every shop, but at this point in my life, I figured I would treat myself to a GOOD piece of equipment after 'gravel backing" it all my life. So there it is.....and I'm using the heck out of it already!!!
Jeff


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Nice lift Jeff...I would have put one in my garage, but i only have an 8 ft. ceiling....lying on my back is easier on me than crouching low....Use it in good health!


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Thanks, Eric. Yeah, I had to raise my ceiling 4' to clear, so I bit the bullet and did it. It's getting harder and harder to get up off the floor, even with no alcohol involved!!!


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Super nice, and I like that it is portable too! I might have to look into a "slightly used" unit_ if _I can find one. How about a tour of the rest of your garage. It looks like a nice workspace sir! :seeya


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