Harbor Freight Lift Table Feedback

J. Fitzgerald

J. Fitzgerald

Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
352
Location
Mississippi
Bike
'12 GL1800
STOC #
5308
I am just about finished with my shop renovation & am looking to put a M/C lift table in it. I would like to hear from any of you that have the HF 1000 lb. lift. I can get it for $299, but I am also only 50 mi. from the guy that carries the Redline, Titan & Handy lift tables......though the price is more than double that of the HF. If you had it to do over, would you get the HF lift again or opt for the higher priced table?? Thanks

John
 
I have a HF and also picked it up for $299. Is it worth $299, yes. Are the others better lifts, sure they are worth the extra money. The way I look at it is this. I bought the HF because I know I can sink a little money into it and see how I like it. Personally I find that I use it a lot but I have people coming over from time to time and we wrench on their bikes in addition to my own. If it were only my bikes I don't know if it would see enough use for me to justify the more expensive lift. Now that I see how much I use it with my bikes and that of others, I am really thinking in the next year or two putting my HF on craigslist for the $299 that I paid for it, and getting a Direct Lift. Which is very much like the Handy/Titan ones. I will likely go Direct Lift as there is a seller about 40 miles from me and I won't have to pay shipping. I also already have a Direct Lift (4 post 9K auto lift) that I like a lot. Well since it is a 4 post I guess I could just run the bike up on there if I wanted and save the money.

I would think about how you are going to use it. If it is just you, then get the HF if you later decide to upgrade, I will doubt you will have any problems selling it for what you have into it.
 
I'm perfectly satisfied with my HF lift. It works fine for a hobbyist; if you were working on five or six bikes a day a commercial lift might be worth having. The money you save with the HF will put you halfway towards the No-Mar tire machine that you need...
 
roginoz said:
I'm perfectly satisfied with my HF lift. It works fine for a hobbyist; if you were working on five or six bikes a day a commercial lift might be worth having. The money you save with the HF will put you halfway towards the No-Mar tire machine that you need...
Click to expand...

........maybe I'll use the money I save to buy something else, as I already have the No-Mar Jr. Pro & it is a NICE piece of equipment.

John
 
I think the HF lift is E A S I L Y worth the $299...the shipping / delivery was tuff because of the winding driveway. I hadda meet the semi driver in a parking lot off the Interstate. I've three bikes I maintain and this lift helps. The PitBull lift is easier changing tires / pads though. I'd do it again. I can easily move the occupied lift around the garage too.IMAG0498.jpg
 
sennister said:
I have a HF and also picked it up for $299. Is it worth $299, yes. Are the others better lifts, sure they are worth the extra money. The way I look at it is this. I bought the HF because I know I can sink a little money into it and see how I like it. Personally I find that I use it a lot but I have people coming over from time to time and we wrench on their bikes in addition to my own. If it were only my bikes I don't know if it would see enough use for me to justify the more expensive lift. Now that I see how much I use it with my bikes and that of others, I am really thinking in the next year or two putting my HF on craigslist for the $299 that I paid for it, and getting a Direct Lift. Which is very much like the Handy/Titan ones. I will likely go Direct Lift as there is a seller about 40 miles from me and I won't have to pay shipping. I also already have a Direct Lift (4 post 9K auto lift) that I like a lot. Well since it is a 4 post I guess I could just run the bike up on there if I wanted and save the money.

I would think about how you are going to use it. If it is just you, then get the HF if you later decide to upgrade, I will doubt you will have any problems selling it for what you have into it.
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Dave, Northern Tool did have Handy Lifts at their Burnsville store a few years ago. You might check the one closest to you.
 
I don't have one but Harbor Freight stuff is OK for the price. However I see lift tables on Craigslist all the time. You might possibly get a used commercial one for the same price as the HF.
 
fella I know bought an old hospital bed at an auction,the type that can be lowered to within 9" from the ground and pumped up with a foot pedal to waiste height.It has a save lift of 500kg.he paid 50 euro.Doesn,t look as good but does the job.I,m on the look out for one.
Pat
 
STPaulK said:
Dave, Northern Tool did have Handy Lifts at their Burnsville store a few years ago. You might check the one closest to you.
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Yeah last year they had a 1000 and 1200 lbs rated air lift. I don't see them on their web site now. MSRP on the lift that most of us have bought for $300 is $599. If I recall the air ones which looked identical to a Handy and Direct Lift but came in red was only $100 more. But they never stocked them in a store that I have been to. Not that I have been to all of them. But then since it isn't a stocked item you had to pay something like $100-150 for shipping. I am not going to say that they are all made in the same factory but they sure do look a lot alike. For the cost and hassle I would just go get another Direct Lift. There is a distributor in Shakopee. The price worked out to be a little less than the HF option. The air ones have never gone on sale from what I have seen. Now it looks like they don't carry them anymore. Not on their web site at least.

For now the cheap HF is fine.

HF Air Lift

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Direct Lift

ProcycleMain.jpg
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Handy Lift

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sennister said:
Yeah last year they had a 1000 and 1200 lbs rated air lift. I don't see them on their web site now. MSRP on the lift that most of us have bought for $300 is $599. If I recall the air ones which looked identical to a Handy and Direct Lift but came in red was only $100 more. But they never stocked them in a store that I have been to. Not that I have been to all of them. But then since it isn't a stocked item you had to pay something like $100-150 for shipping. I am not going to say that they are all made in the same factory but they sure do look a lot alike. For the cost and hassle I would just go get another Direct Lift. There is a distributor in Shakopee. The price worked out to be a little less than the HF option. The air ones have never gone on sale from what I have seen. Now it looks like they don't carry them anymore. Not on their web site at least.
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Not sure why you say the Handy isn't on their website.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

Handy Lift is made by Handy Industries out of Marshalltown, Iowa. The reason the Handy looks like so many other lifts is because Handy was the industry standard going many years back and have been copied.

http://www.handyindustries.com/
 
STPaulK said:
Not sure why you say the Handy isn't on their website.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

Handy Lift is made by Handy Industries out of Marshalltown, Iowa. The reason the Handy looks like so many other lifts is because Handy was the industry standard going many years back and have been copied.

http://www.handyindustries.com/
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Scratch that. I was thinking Harbor Freight. There is a Northern Tool in Woodbury. Or maybe it is Oakdale on that side of 494. In fact the photos I posted are from Northern Tool.

Yeah, it doesn't shock me that they are a clone of someone's design.

I have never seen any of them side by side in person.
 
A few months back I purchased a Titan XL....Its got all the goodies....wide enough to put an ATV on it....Also less awkward and dangerous when you ride your bike up on it...You have plenty of room on either side to put your feet down....Its a great lift...worth every penny I paid for it....which was almost 1200....Can you get by with less...sure but I figured if I dump the ST one time running it onto one of the cheaper lifts I would wish I had spent the extra money....HF looks like a good unit for the money...I just chose to go the way I did because I had a different lift and dumped the ST off it once....fortunately my 18 yr old muscle bound son was under it ...LOL.....That lift was a Kendon and while it lifted my ST fine once you rode onto it you had no place to put your feet...therefore you get to fall over cause your feet dont reach the floor unless you have a 40 inch inseam...I built some wooden outriggers for it and that worked ok but it still didnt work out as well as the Titan but at least it made it safe...LOL...by the way I still have the Kendon if anyone is interested.....300 bucks and I'll even throw in the super duper custom outriggers I built for it...It works with air or manual...thats 300 plus shipping...I think you can get side extensions for the Kendon which would likely make it almost as good as the Titan or you could use the wooden ones I built....Bill
 
Thanks for the responses, guys. I went & picked up the HF lift today. I am getting too old to lay on my side & work on a motorcycle.....which I did for a couple hours yesterday. I bought the HF adjustable wheel chock (similar to the Condor, I think) that I will install instead of the wheel clamp that came with the lift. Looking forward to working from a sitting position. Will post a pic after I get things set up.

John
 
J. Fitzgerald said:
Thanks for the responses, guys. I went & picked up the HF lift today. I am getting too old to lay on my side & work on a motorcycle.....which I did for a couple hours yesterday. I bought the HF adjustable wheel chock (similar to the Condor, I think) that I will install instead of the wheel clamp that came with the lift. Looking forward to working from a sitting position. Will post a pic after I get things set up.

John
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Congrats on the new lift. Now don't toss the included wheel clamp too far. There are times, whenever you are working on the front of the bike and not just the front wheel, that you will not want a big front wheel chock. For instance you need to be able to turn the handle bars to remove some of the screws in the front faring. Well it makes it much easier. I just live with the one that comes with it but I get why people like a more substantial wheel chock.

Tie downs. I ditched the U bolts that came with mine. I replaced it with two sets of I-bolts. I went with the same size 1/4-20 I think, in the existing mounting holes where you can mount the included U bolts. Depending on what I am doing determines where I tie down to. Typically I put the bike up on the center stand when I put it up there.

Oh another thing I took the plywood lid of the shipping crate and cut a section of wood that just drops in the platform area and is about 1.5' long. Just be sure to not cover the plate that you can pull for rear wheel access. The 1100's longer wheel base means it sits really close to the edge of this plate so be sure to mount your chock as far forward as physically possible.

Outriggers are nice but I haven't needed them. I am tall enough that I am comfortable walking along the left side of the bike as I run it up there. Then I steady it and pop it up on the center stand. The plywood that I mentioned before does two things.

1. The 1100's CS sits back pretty far and some people have reported denting the deck surface.

2. It lifts the rear wheel a little more to give just a bit more clearance. This is a bigger benefit to the 1300 as you get more clearance for swinging the exhaust out of the way but also helps on the 1100. For instance more clearance to lift the front to clear the fender if removing the front wheel. Of course you could pull the rear wheel plate to eliminate that issue.

I think that is all that I have for tips.

I am sure you will love it.
 
saddletramp8511 said:
A few months back I purchased a Titan XL....Its got all the goodies....wide enough to put an ATV on it....Also less awkward and dangerous when you ride your bike up on it...You have plenty of room on either side to put your feet down....Its a great lift...worth every penny I paid for it....which was almost 1200....Can you get by with less...sure but I figured if I dump the ST one time running it onto one of the cheaper lifts I would wish I had spent the extra money....HF looks like a good unit for the money...I just chose to go the way I did because I had a different lift and dumped the ST off it once....

I did the Titan also.. It is great!
Click to expand...
 
J. Fitzgerald said:
Thanks for the responses, guys. I went & picked up the HF lift today. I am getting too old to lay on my side & work on a motorcycle.....which I did for a couple hours yesterday. I bought the HF adjustable wheel chock (similar to the Condor, I think) that I will install instead of the wheel clamp that came with the lift. Looking forward to working from a sitting position. Will post a pic after I get things set up.

John
Click to expand...

Congrats on the purchase...you have the same setup as I do. Love it!

A couple of pointers (if you haven't already done so)...replace the supplied nuts/bolts/washers for the wheel chock with decent quality from your local hardware store. HF hardware are notoriously 'soft' and will bend and snap at inopportune times.

Second, grease the lift at the proper points (grease zerks come with the lift), but first, replace the supplied grease zerks with quality zerks from the same hardware store. You'll thank me after one snaps off in your gun.

I've had my setup for just over 18 months now and can't tell you how much grief and body soreness it has alleviated. Was especially nice when I was changing the spring on my rear shock. I haven't made outriggers, and wont due to space issues. When riding the bike onto the lift, I place one of my car ramps (Ryno ramps) on each side at the location where my feet will fall when the bike is near or in the chock. Works like a charm....after one attempt at loading, you'll know about where to place them.

A secondary use is that I can roll the lift up to the open bed of my pickup truck and transfer heavy objects onto the table to be lowered, rather than trying to hold and not drop when doing such projects by myself.
 
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racer1735 said:
A secondary use is that I can roll the lift up to the open bed of my pickup truck and transfer heavy objects onto the table to be lowered, rather than trying to hold and not drop when doing such projects by myself.
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I have done that a few times while moving my kegerator. Even pulled the wheel vice and stop off and used it as a bridge to get said kegerator from the back of my truck to my porch.

We bought new bikes for the kids this spring. They were built on the lift. Now every now and then I come home and am pulling into my shop to discover a bike sitting on the lift all the way up in the air. They have figured out how to run it and like to put their bikes up there like daddy does.
 
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Well, I got the lift assembled last night, but I decided to wait on the wheel chock. I liked the suggestions of some that they just put the bike on the centerstand & strap it down, which allows you to have more access to the front wheel. Couldn't make outriggers from my crating material, as the bottom piece was too flimsy. I think I have enough scrap 1/4" plywood to make some. Looking forward to trying it out.

John
 
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