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I bought a four post, 9K lb. "Quality Lift" by Challenger last summer. It has all the certifications and some safety and standard features not included with others. They were on display and being sold through Napa Auto during Hot August Nights. Their delivery and installation package is what sold me - the installation even included an extra year on the warranty. After watching three guys with a forklift install it, I know I couldn't have done it by myself.
When I bought my AutoLifter lift, for $300 a company that specializes in lifts brought it out from its shipping destination, assembled and installed it for me, including drilling the concrete and shimming to vertical.
Two guys did it without a forklift (shear muscle power).
When I bought my Kwik-Lift, the manufacture shipped it to the Fed-x facility in Commerce,(East L.A.). I went over with my pick-up and put the pieces in the truck by hand. The shipment came in two parts. The first part came through ok, the second part of the shipment was lost and ended up in Sacramento. By the time it got to L.A., two days later, Fed-X had destroyed the packaging and the contents were completely exposed. Luckily, nothing was missing. Can't really say to many nice things about Fed-x on this shipment.
As others have indicated, lift was delivered to freight yard and they loaded onto my car trailer. I'm lucky to have a little back hoe and used this to remove from trailer and to erect the lift with no other assistance. Don't really need a fork lift if you can borrow a back hoe or rent one from close by.
I had my Bendpak delivered to my home. I used a skid loader and a chain. Slid the first box/crate out the end of the truck, wrapped chain around one end and pulled it out far enough to wrap a chain around the center point (i used two chains on each end of the bucket) and lifted it up enough to clear the trailer deck. The truck drove forward until the crate cleared the trailer. Drove the skid loader to park the package and repeated with the other. I put it up all by myself, but would have liked to have one or two other people available.
I used a landscape trailer to deliver from freight drop off to my garage.
Called Backyard Buddy and got the name of a local installer. Got 3 guys to come and do total install. $450. Money well spent
I bought my Cytech Double-Park DP-7 lift eleven years ago, and Cytech delivered it fully assembled, on a special trailer they built for show location deliveries; their truck held another fully-assembled lift which they had delivered to the Street Rod Nationals, and my home was about 150 miles from that drop. Their tech guy (Alvin) rolled it off the trailer on the casters, into the garage, removed the casters, leveled the cables, and I was in business. It has worked flawlessly ever since.
I rented a small forklift from United Rent-All's the day my lift arrived. I used it to get the lift off the truck (home delivered) and it helped with construction as well. With the forklift, I was able to assemble it myself.
Believe it or not I bought mine local and they put it in a long bed truck and I drove it home. I thought for sure I would break a rear spring or something. It was about 15 miles. I have a daughter in college so some of the boys that were hanging around helped unload it a piece at a time off of the truck. Two of us put it together in about 5 hours. I can't believe how easy it makes everything from cleaning, to changing oil, etc.
When I bought my Autolift we played stupid and when the truck delivered we just broke the package and off loaded the pieces. There are not that many pieces/boxes and two guys can get it off the truck just as fast as trying to jockey around with a forklift. Have a friend or two there and give the driver $50 to ignore the "forklift" requirement. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to take all the pieces off the truck.
I'm from a really small town and had my 8,000 lb. four post delivered to the local lumber company who also have a forklift. We took the forklift and loaded it onto my 16' trailer with fixed sides on the trailer. Since the trailer sides get in the way of loading and unloading, I stacked empty pallets on the trailer to raise the floor above the sides of the trailer.
Then, when I got it home, I unloaded and assembled the entire thing by myself. Used a floor jack to lift one end and then the other of the ramp with the ram (the heaviest piece) and place it on furniture dollies at one end, the floor jack at the other. Took me a little longer to get it off and assembled than it would if I had help, but where there's a will, there's a way . . . .
Another option is to prepurchase a lift that will be used at a car show, such as Carlisle, Bloomington, or any other shows displaying lifts. If you are close to the show or enroute to the manufacturers return trip home, the Lift companies can drop ship it to your garage already assembled.
I have had several friends do this and it works great, with no freight or setup fees.
Got mine from American Custom Lifts and they sub contracted a local facility here in Washington to do the install. The guy had a commercial boom truck and could just lift and extend into the garage.
Well normally he could do that, but with my drivway grade and door height, he couldn't get it all the way in. So I picked half the system with my overhead chain fall and pulled it in the rest of the way. Worked great.
An alternative is to have a flat bed/tilt car hauler pick it up at the freight terminal. Then the driver can tilt the bed and dump it in your driveway.
Highly recommend an engine hoist and a couple of four wheel furniture moving dollies.
07-06-2011, 11:39 AM
I have a daughter in college so some of the boys that were hanging around helped unload it a piece at a time off of the truck. Two of us put it together in about 5 hours. I can't believe how easy it makes everything from cleaning, to changing oil, etc. 
