Harbor Freight Lift Warning

[lonestarmedic]

I know many own the 1000lb. Harbor Freight Table lift. I also have one and us it frequently. Now it appears that the supplier of the lift has changed. The original lift is part number 68892. The new lift is part number 69904. The new lift is proving to be structurally unsafe. It has a main beam that is "L" shaped. The foot of the L is on the bottom. The new stop bar is a hollow tube. When the lift is lowered onto the stop bar and the weight of the load is placed againt the main beam the tube bends and the main frame deforms. Down goes the load. It would do no good to replace the stop bar with one of solid steel. The main beam would still bend, even worse.

 

The original lift, 68892, has a "C" channel main beam and a solid steel stop bar. Much stronger. Mine is the older unit and has held Venture Royals, Royale Star Ventures, full dress Harleys, and Goldwings. It is 2 years old now with no problems.

 

http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=48993

 

Best to watch what is on your Christmas list.

 

JB

[rickardracing]

I checked out your pics. Look at your lower frame where the bar bent it and then look at the frame frome vintageGW's pics. His frame is "L" shaped at the top and yours is not. I do not think this was the cause, yours had a pretty week bar, but I did notice the differance. I will be watching this thread closely. I was planning on buying the HF lift. I may have to reconsider.

[lonestarmedic]

My lift is the older style. It has the top flange. The pics from the link show someone elses newer lift. Two things happened. The first is the weak safety stop bar. The second is when it deformed enough to fold down alongside the vertical surface. It was then able to push outward and deform the main frame. Most of the frame on my older one is C shape. Where the wheels attach right under the contact point of the bar, the lower edge of the C is cut away for the caster assembly.

 

I would unpack any Harbor Freight lift at this point and refuse it if it had the new style frame. Copy the failure pictures and information and show them why.

 

JB

[Carbon_One]

I was looking at lifts a couple months back. Not wanting a cheap HF lift I invested in a quality Mid-Rise car lift. I can now use it for both my trike and any of my cars or truck. Ya I had to spend considerably more money but I think in this case you get what you pay for. Quality trike lifts would of cost me almost as much as the Bend-Pak unit I purchased. Most trike lifts I checked on had ratings from 1200-1500 lb lift ratings. My trike weighs in about 1250 so we're looking at borderline capacity. With this car lift rated at 6000 lbs I have no worries at all about my safety using it. Here's a link to what I bought -- http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/md-6xp.aspx.

Larry

[IronMike]

That's way way overkill Larry!

 

And that's what we need, and that's what we like and that's why we buy your stuff. LOL.

 

Many uses for that puppy!

[Carbon_One]

That's way way overkill Larry!

 

And that's what we need, and that's what we like and that's why we buy your stuff. LOL.

 

Many uses for that puppy!

Ya if I was only going to use the lift for the bike I probably would of just bought a trike lift with at least 1500# capacity and saved myself a few hundred bucks. But as I said in the previous post having this lift will serve double duty when needed. Gets old working on cars on the ground all the time. I really wish I had done this years ago.

My garage is on the small side with a low ceiling but even at that I can raise the trike to about 3 ft from the ground.

Larry

[dave_wells]

I have heard mixed feeling on the HF lift

 

It works great or it crap (don't own one )

 

What would be a good lift for an affordable price without the over kill

 

I have been thinking about getting a lift next Spring if I can make some room for it..

[RSTDdog]

What would be a good lift for an affordable price without the over kill

 

Handy (I think that's the brand name) makes the gray lifts you see in most MC shops. Don't know how much they are, I think around 1000.00 or so. They have side extensions available for 4 wheelers and trikes. That's what I would buy.

[Pegasus1300]

Larry as there is no posted price on the website for that lift do you mind telling us what you paid for it?

[Carbon_One]

Larry as there is no posted price on the website for that lift do you mind telling us what you paid for it?

My cost was $1910 + a $50 Freight charge. I picked the lift up at a local freight company (Conway) who did load it with a fork lift onto my trailer. Those services were included with the shipping fee. You can also have a home delivery too for I think an additional $40. Getting a lift off a truck will require a forklift though.

I could of gotten a cheaper unit at about $1700 but felt this one was a better made unit.

Haven't used it yet on any of the cages yet but see no reason it shouldn't preform as intended.

Larry