Madison, Ind. — Summer is fast approaching, bringing with it mandatory state bus inspections for many school districts. Garage operators concentrating on getting their buses in top shape should also take the time to evaluate their vehicle lifts, as lifts are essential to the inspection process.
“Most transportation inspectors won’t even look at a bus unless it’s on a lift,” said John Howland, president of Filtrec Corporation, a Rotary Lift Master Distributor. “Inspectors need to thoroughly access the frame, drivetrain, suspension, fuel lines, tires and other components. If they have to crawl around on the floor or lie on a creeper, there’s a chance something could be missed.”
Howland suggests that bus maintenance personnel take time before the inspections to inspect, clean and maintain the lifts they have and think about replacing any nearing the end of their life expectancy.
“You can have a garage full of lifts, but they don’t do you any good if they aren’t working properly,” he said. “After a long winter of being exposed to road salt, lifts will start to corrode if they aren’t maintained. Routine maintenance is something technicians can easily perform on Rotary Lift products without calling a distributor.”
According to Howland, inground lifts are the most popular option for bus garages, but interest in mobile column lifts is growing. Both lift styles offer unobstructed access to the vehicle’s underside.
“No matter what model you choose, it’s important that the lifts in your shop are able to quickly move buses in and out of the bay,” Howland said. “Downtime during the setup for each bus inspection can be costly, especially if you have a large fleet. Easy-to-set-up Rotary Lift models like the MOD30 and MCH413 allow you to move buses through the inspection area as efficiently as possible.”
Timesaving features on the Rotary Lift MOD30 environmentally friendly inground lift include automatic trench covers, joystick controls and the VEC™ Variable Equalized Control system for simultaneous jack raising. The lift utilizes Rotary Lift’s patented universal saddle adapter, which is designed to receive a wide selection of adapters and inserts for easy, fast setup.
The new Rotary Lift MCH413 mobile column lift is battery operated, so there are no power cords to clutter the service bay. It can raise a bus 69 inches in just 68 seconds.
To learn more about the Rotary Lift MOD30 inground lift or MCH413 mobile column lift contact your local Rotary Lift distributor, log on to www.rotarylift.com or call (800) 640-5438. You can also find Rotary Lift on Facebook, www.facebook.com/RotaryLift; Twitter, twitter.com/RotaryLift; and YouTube, www.youtube.com/RotaryLiftMedia.
About Rotary Lift
Rotary Lift is the leading brand of vehicle lifts and equipment designed to increase technician productivity. Founded in 1925 by the inventor of the first automotive hydraulic lift, Rotary Lift offers the broadest line of lifts for use in professional automotive service, commercial truck and transit, and enthusiast/residential customer segments. There are more Rotary Lift products used in vehicle repair shops around the world than any other brand.
Rotary Lift is a Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brand. VSG comprises nine major vehicle lifting and collision repair brands: Rotary Lift, Chief® Automotive Technologies, Forward® Lift, Direct-Lift®, Hanmecson®, Revolution® Lift, Elektron, Blitz® and nogra®. Based in Madison, Ind., VSG has operations worldwide, including ISO 9001-certified manufacturing centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. VSG is part of the Engineered Systems segment of Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV), a multi-billion dollar, global producer of innovative equipment, specialty systems and value-added services. Rotary Lift is a GSA contract holder, GSA contract #GS-07F-8953D (Dover Industries, Inc., DBA Rotary Lift).
