Many many years ago at SEMA I saw trailer mounted lifts and now found this;
https://www.mobileliftconcepts.com/
The web page has "Copyright 2014" though.
Also these;
I would expect the trailer is a tad :-) on the heavy side especially for a European and it doesn't look super convenient to work on with the trailer fenders to trip over.
buzzboy said:irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:for all the race, rallycross, and stage rallies i've done, I can't think of a single time i was like "if only I had a lift here I could...." IDK, maybe you guys do more crazy stuff than me lol. Just the thought of having to tow TWO trailers around to races 5, 10, 15 hours away hurts my wallet even more than just towing the racecars lol....
We've swapped a few transmissions at races and I would have much rather been under a lift than on my back with jackstands. Also, we bring like 5-10 people so one person could tow the car and another the lift. If you're a one-tow-pig operation then this makes no sense for you.
FYI, a QuickJack is a good transmission-height work platform. You're still on your back, but the extra height (and stability!) over jackstands means you can extend your arms. Works well for track use, especially since it fits in the bed of the truck or under the car on the trailer.
therealpinto said:Many many years ago at SEMA I saw trailer mounted lifts and now found this;
https://www.mobileliftconcepts.com/
The web page has "Copyright 2014" though.
Also these;
I would expect the trailer is a tad :-) on the heavy side especially for a European and it doesn't look super convenient to work on with the trailer fenders to trip over.
I don't know about the convenience problem. If you're working on the sides of the car, you're going to be by the wheels and it looks as if that's what the, umm, running boards are for. If you're doing undercar, you're in the middle between the scissors. The only time the fenders will be in the way will be if you're trying to access the inside of the car when it's lifted, which does happen but can be avoided with a little planning.
buzzboy said:irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:for all the race, rallycross, and stage rallies i've done, I can't think of a single time i was like "if only I had a lift here I could...." IDK, maybe you guys do more crazy stuff than me lol. Just the thought of having to tow TWO trailers around to races 5, 10, 15 hours away hurts my wallet even more than just towing the racecars lol....
We've swapped a few transmissions at races and I would have much rather been under a lift than on my back with jackstands. Also, we bring like 5-10 people so one person could tow the car and another the lift. If you're a one-tow-pig operation then this makes no sense for you.
If portable lifts were A Thing(tm) don't you think all the pro level teams with infinite budget would have them already? Look like a lot of Quickjacks and copies, not a lot of 2 posts on trailers.
Am I the only one that thinks that looks sketchier than a set of recalled Harbor Freight jack stands?
In reply to z31maniac :
I dunno. Mobile cranes are a thing and they put far more off-center and high (physically) loads into their base than this does. It would be a wobbly beast without the legs extended, but with them extended it should be stable. It's probably no worse than a four post lift with the scissor in use.
I'd put mine on airbags so I could decrease the approach/breakover angle and make it easier to deploy legs. The nice thing about this scissor setup as opposed to the two-post one is that it's also a trailer.
Huh, it's actually a rollback with onboard air, power and waste oil tank. Ignore the models pretending to operate the equipment, this is a pretty spec'ed out rig.
The point of this isn't to have a lift for the track. My days of changing transmissions at the track are over. Anything that broken is going on the trailer and headed to the house. I don't even want to check tire pressure between runs most of the time. I'm not that interested in winning.
The point is to have a portable, full-rise, 2-post lift at home. One that doesn't have to be bolted down in front of my shop 365 days a year for 10-20 days worth of work. When in use, it's on the apron in front of the shop. When it's not in use it's parked behind the shop out of sight and out of mind. Set up will be as simple as dragging it out from behind the shop and dropping it to the ground. 10-15 minutes tops.
I had a lift that was not anchored. It was probably safe enough but I could never convince myself so I poured it into concrete. Unless you have wide supports firmly anchored and concrete there is always going to be some sway and it's not comfortable working underneath 5000 lb that is rocking.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to z31maniac :
I dunno. Mobile cranes are a thing and they put far more off-center and high (physically) loads into their base than this does. It would be a wobbly beast without the legs extended, but with them extended it should be stable. It's probably no worse than a four post lift with the scissor in use.
I'd put mine on airbags so I could decrease the approach/breakover angle and make it easier to deploy legs. The nice thing about this scissor setup as opposed to the two-post one is that it's also a trailer.
Mobile cranes also have outriggers, monitors, load sensing, and safeties. On the common Broderson mobile cranes, you can not lift a load until you go through the safety check boxes (the hydraulics are interlocked). The displays provide real-time information to how the load is going and how tippy it might get. Maybe putting a monitor on the portable lift would stop Billy Bob Buttberkeley from tipping it over, maybe not.
Photo of display below. Gives real-time info. Adjusts for load, stick-out, angle, and outriggers down or not.
Source: Is Operator.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
I am not surprised, the potential for catastrophe is high with a crane and there are a lot of factors. I was merely holding them up as a fairly extreme example of how it is possible to make a mobile platform stable. It would be a lot more difficult to tip over a lifted car on a trailer-mounted scissor because the load is always centered laterally. You might get some longitudinal asymmetry but that's the more stable axis of the trailer. That's reversed in the two-post example.
Reading me had me thinking about this article, because in a way, this is similar to an artillery piece, it has to be able to be moved, but be super stable when stopped: https://www.theautopian.com/i-was-a-tesla-engineer-and-this-wwii-artillery-gun-suspension-design-blew-me-away/
I wonder if you could make the chassis something like the one on the Bofors cannon, where the drawbar serves to lift the thing off the ground or set it down. Probably not necessary, but very neat.
Seen this today shopping the Princess Auto flyer. Looks interesting, probably still be on your back working on most things with a max lift height of 72"
93gsxturbo said:Keith Tanner said:In reply to z31maniac :
I dunno. Mobile cranes are a thing and they put far more off-center and high (physically) loads into their base than this does. It would be a wobbly beast without the legs extended, but with them extended it should be stable. It's probably no worse than a four post lift with the scissor in use.
I'd put mine on airbags so I could decrease the approach/breakover angle and make it easier to deploy legs. The nice thing about this scissor setup as opposed to the two-post one is that it's also a trailer.
Mobile cranes also have outriggers, monitors, load sensing, and safeties. On the common Broderson mobile cranes, you can not lift a load until you go through the safety check boxes (the hydraulics are interlocked). The displays provide real-time information to how the load is going and how tippy it might get. Maybe putting a monitor on the portable lift would stop Billy Bob Buttberkeley from tipping it over, maybe not.
Photo of display below. Gives real-time info. Adjusts for load, stick-out, angle, and outriggers down or not.
Source: Is Operator.
You could have at least used a pic of a 510 or Insight or Element display.
I was the Tech Writer for Greer for about 4 years, but after that ancient piece of equipment.
But thanks for making my point about cranes not really being a good comparison.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to 93gsxturbo :
I am not surprised, the potential for catastrophe is high with a crane and there are a lot of factors. I was merely holding them up as a fairly extreme example of how it is possible to make a mobile platform stable. It would be a lot more difficult to tip over a lifted car on a trailer-mounted scissor because the load is always centered laterally. You might get some longitudinal asymmetry but that's the more stable axis of the trailer. That's reversed in the two-post example.
There are also truck-based cranes, used a lot for maintenance on big rigs. AutoCrane is a good example, worked there for a bit too. I ruined a sweatshirt during training when I was out on the floor putting undercoating on a new truck.
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