Scissor lift mount point help..

[Gareth87]

Hey all. Got myself a brand new in ground scissor lift, but I'm struggling for mounting points. The lift position doesn't quite reach my lift points.. and I'm definitely not sill lifting.

Has anyone made up some bars to attach to the lift tops or alternative lift methods when using a scissor before?

Thanks.

[Duncan]

Firstly, f**king awesome car

I think what you want is some rubber lifting blocks, they would be available in different heights and often with a slit for the pinch join in the sill to sit in.

Like this: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/273745103302?hash=item3fbc7ac9c6:g:jlQAAOSwpfdcfege&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4NSODXxSkSamC3EtBOgkt1g5oQrdTIqTaCp3zGuUs9p1Vel9C3ZLuVP9lnDYNLq%2Ff%2FaFi%2F78SydkuG2u2VVPjkigY06D%2B6Mqkx4l4awN5HKxyZO5nInskWrZIsiSErWxWQ6jQTx1pOidtpkcFERVm4XC9%2BP4VU0TsOTk2x26aRa7gbAdkpXTQhNJ2Y7S20FSHfebw1KZDb0lIIX%2FTg1qz0g%2FSjSkrlnLAAhuZsVR2iC%2BDH2j2QA4MEB%2FwIhg%2B1xQSq%2FYCW23uVbj9eXeJyt4dFfYPzFptaPXNykRnGY17D6f|tkp%3ABFBMhqGsocti 

[PranK]

Damn, loving the car *and* the shed! AND the lift! 

[Gareth87]

Thanks lads! Been a work in progress. Had the FJ in my car since 2004. 

As for the blocks. I actually have those, but the problem is that the lift face doesn't reach any of the lift points under the car. I need steel arms or something similar to reach under the car like a conventional 2 poster hoist.

Need some ideas on how to achieve this safely and neatly. Can't find anything out there..

[Duncan]

I think I'm catching up....you mean the face of the lift is too short to get to both lifting points on the sills?

[GTSBoy]

I would look at boxing in some small dimension I beam that you attach to the top of the lift to provide the extension you need. The boxed I beam to make it as stiff as possible and also twist resistant.

You'll want to come up with an easily installable/removable connection to the lift face so you don't have to leave them there. Something that you can trust to be firmly attached when in use.

[Gareth87]

9 hours ago, Duncan said:

I think I'm catching up....you mean the face of the lift is too short to get to both lifting points on the sills?

Yeah exactly!

7 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

I would look at boxing in some small dimension I beam that you attach to the top of the lift to provide the extension you need. The boxed I beam to make it as stiff as possible and also twist resistant.

You'll want to come up with an easily installable/removable connection to the lift face so you don't have to leave them there. Something that you can trust to be firmly attached when in use.

Great idea. I'll most likely have to punch a hole through the face of the lift to get a fixing. However.. the I beam scenario might be ok as there is only a small over hang either side of the lift face needed to reach a lift point.

Need something like this but length ways

 

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

[GTSBoy]

2 hours ago, Gareth87 said:

I'll most likely have to punch a hole through the face of the lift to get a fixing.

Yeah, I was thinking that you'd probably end up wanting to weld nuts on the underside of whatever holes you put in the lift faces and then you can throw some bolts down through the beam, or maybe through some flange/tabs welded on side. I like the idea of the tabs on the side as it will help to stabilise the beam from rocking left-right. You could whiz 4 bolts in on each side of the lift with a cordless thingo in a couple of minutes, and the surface would be left flush when they're not there.

[The Bogan]

I would look at some plate underneath anything you are thinking of drilling throufh and attaching fixtures.

Even a small amount of side loading could cause issues

Safety first 

[Murray_Calavera]

It's not cheap, but would something like this work - 

https://www.quickjack.com.au/accessories/truck-adapter-set.html

[GTSBoy]

He's not after height. He's after length.

[Duncan]

as the bishop said to the actress

[Murray_Calavera]

7 hours ago, Duncan said:

as the bishop said to the actress

So would an extra 6" be enough? lol

https://www.quickjack.com.au/accessories/slx-frame-extension-kit-pair.html

[GTSBoy]

Yes. But they might have to be hacked up to suit another brand of lift. Worth looking at to decide if a good design to copy, or buy to hack up.

[Gareth87]

Ok. So I've taken everyones input and come up with the best option of a length of steel.. something like 100x75x3mm and sitting the rubber blocks on top of it.

Its 1950mm between mounting points on my van ans less on my datsun.

So the overhang is going to be less than 500mm over each end.. but being 1 length of steel and a large contact face in the middle. It will be certainly safe enough.

I'll pickup the steel tomorrow and post some results.

Thanks everyone

[Gareth87]

Problem resolved. Thanks for the help everyone.

Went with 2 lengths of 2.5m steel

125x75x6mm to use to reach the lift points. Works perfectly. Just need some caster wheels on the steel sections to move them into place a little easier.

I can lift a standard height car to 2m and my van to about 1.5m before hitting the portal frames.

[GTSBoy]

Looks like it works.

I see a lot of deflection in the RHS though, and I worry about the load application point where the lift point pads are. You're not using the steel in its strongest orientation. I mean, I can totally understand that you want to lay it flat, because it will certainly be more stable and not as tall, but it is bendy.

Maybe you could get some 6 x ~65 straight bar that you could poke in the open ends of the RHS until it is in at least as far as the overlap onto the lift platforms - maybe 300-500mm further in. Then drill some holes in the RHS to plug weld it top and bottom in a few places. This will do wonders against the crush loading at the lift points and probably significantly reduce the bendy deflection too. This is the reason why I suggested boxing in some I beam, to provide the required stiffness.

[The Bogan]

Did you work out the centre of gravity of the vehicles?

Is the 125x75x6mm bolted to the lift frame?

Whilst it looks like it works, it reminds me of a long board overhanging on some work horses, get the weight wrong and to far up one end and all hell could break loose if it tips forwards or backwards 

I would run at least 4 nice sized bolts equally spaced through each of the hoist base and the tube, and use some 6mm flat bar underneath the hoist "ramps" to reinforce the underside to prevent the bolts pulling through

 

Safety first, hospital or smashed car second 

 

[The Bogan]

Don't do this > 

[PranK]

28 minutes ago, The Bogan said:

Don't do this > 

I reckon thats the type of thing you only do once.

 

Hopefully.