Madison, Ind.– Axle-engaging inground lifts have been the top choice for heavy-duty maintenance operations for more than 80 years because they provide unmatched access to all serviceable parts of trucks, buses and other large vehicles and can be used to perform virtually any heavy-duty maintenance or repair task.
Heavy-duty inground lifts come in three basic lifting styles – standard (full-length pistons), modular (staged pistons) and scissor. Common among the three styles are the following benefits:
- Dramatically speeds heavy-duty repair service.
- Provides more working room around and under a vehicle.
- Provides unobstructed access to all vehicle service areas, including sides and wheels.
- Engages the vehicle
- Average 25- to 30-year service life.
Choosing the right inground lift for your application involves evaluating your budget, your facility and the vehicles you service. Rotary Lift, America’s largest lift manufacturer, provides expert guidance.
Standard: The original, basic inground lift offers the lowest upfront equipment price. Its hydraulic pistons are non-telescoping, so the lift requires the deepest continuous concrete finished pit, typically 9 feet deep. The pistons have the greatest oil displacement of the three inground lift styles. Rotary Lift offers standard electrical and chemical protection on the pistons, but not all manufacturers do. The power unit on a standard inground lift is the fundamental up, down, forward or back, with mechanical equalization and operator-controlled speed via the push button controls. The lift’s power unit can be mounted in the trench to save shop space, and controls can be either floor- or wall-mounted. It features a wheel spotting dish for axle positioning and a front jack with hydraulic adjustment. The standard is the only inground lift style that offers both recessed and non-recessed types of installation. When the jack saddles remain above ground, the typical drive-over clearance is just over 4 inches.
Scissor: From a budget standpoint, a scissor-style inground lift is the mid-range option. Instead of relying on larger pistons to lift the vehicle, inground scissor lifts utilize a collapsible scissor mechanism with many moveable parts and pivot points to minimize pit depth. Since the lifting components fold in on themselves, scissor lifts can be mounted in an economical finished concrete pit that is only about three feet deep. Scissor lifts require more maintenance than hydraulic pistons, and utilize the least amount of hydraulic fluid per cylinder. An upright control console allows technicians to operate the lift from a comfortable standing position. Computerized equalization and programmable wheelbase settings are available on some scissor lifts, representing a technology step up from a standard inground lift.
Modular: Introduced by Rotary Lift in 2002, modular inground lifts set the standard for environmentally friendly, easy-to-use design. They are entirely contained within a coated steel underground enclosure that protects the lift from corrosion, while preventing oil and shop fluids from entering the soil. The enclosure also reduces installation costs and allows for easy access when servicing the lift. Modular inground lifts are available with two or three synchronized multi-stage hydraulic cylinders to provide lifting capacity up to 105,000 lbs., which is more than any other heavy-duty inground lift. They can be operated at an upright console or, for even greater versatility, the Rotary Lift MOD35 Series inground lifts feature patent-pending pendant controls, letting technicians operate the lift from anywhere in the bay for more efficient spotting. The pendant’s joystick controls provide infinite variable speed control for positioning, raising and lowering the lift, as well as fine adjustment. The electrical console needed for MOD35 inground lifts can be mounted on a wall up to 100 feet away from the lift, freeing up about five additional feet of floor space in the bay. The most sophisticated models of modular inground lifts include multiple programmable vehicle settings, universal saddle adapters, automatic equalization and a clear floor design that provides a zero-clearance drive-through when the lift is in the down position.
For personalized assistance in choosing the best heavy-duty inground lift for your application, contact your local Rotary Lift distributor or assistPRO™, Rotary Lift’s free facility planning service.
To learn more about heavy-duty inground lifts available from Rotary Lift, visit www.rotarylift.com/Heavy-Duty-Lifts/or call (800) 640-5438. You can also find Rotary Lift on Facebook, www.facebook.com/RotaryLift and Twitter, twitter.com/RotaryLift. Videos are available at rotarylift.com/videos.
About Rotary Lift
Rotary is the leading brand of vehicle lifts and wheel service equipment in North America. Rotary was founded in 1925 by the inventor of the first automotive hydraulic lift and now offers the broadest line of lifts and wheel service equipment for use in professional automotive service, commercial truck and transit applications. Its products include two-post, four-post, inground, scissor, mobile column, parallelogram, and platform lifts, as well as alignment lifts and instrumentation, tire changers, and wheel balancers.
Rotary is a Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brand. VSG is a strong, diverse and dynamic global leader in the vehicle service industry. It comprises 13 major vehicle lifting and collision repair brands: Rotary, Chief®, Forward®, Direct-Lift®, Revolution®, Hanmecson®, Ravaglioli, Elektron, Blitz, Nogra, Butler, Space and Sirio. With its American headquarters in Madison, Indiana, VSG has operations worldwide, including ISO 9001-certified manufacturing centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Rotary products are available through GSA contract #GS-07F-8953D, and several other government procurement programs, including NASPO ValuePoint (formerly WSCA-NASPO), NJPA, HGACBuy, CMAS, TXMAS, KCRPC and OGS.
