march2023 - 29

#2: Watch the center of gravity
With lifts, it's important to remember what goes
up can come down. This is especially true if the
vehicle's center of gravity becomes disrupted, which
will cause the car or truck to tip over, at minimum
damaging the vehicle and at worst causing a fatality.
" When a technician pulls an engine out of a truck,
or drops a differential, then that causes a shift in
the center of gravity, " Gasner
explained. " The next thing you
know, that vehicle flips one way
or the other. "
When considering the center
of gravity, a technician should
be aware of how the weight is
distributed in a vehicle.
" Some guys are not going to
take into consideration that
they just removed the engine
and transmission, which is going
to be about an 800- or 1,000-lb.
shift in the center of gravity, "
warned Steve Perlstein, president
of Mohawk Lifts.
" What's the safest thing you
can do? " Perlstein asked. " It's
really simple. The answer is
always lower the lift onto the
mechanical locks. Just like
your grandpa probably told
you: 'Never use a jack without
a jack stand.' "
This keeps the swing arms
from kicking out and causing
a serious incident, he explained.
" High Reach Supplementary
Stands should be used whenever
adding or removing components
to a lifted vehicle that may cause
a shift in the center of gravity-or
even when any extreme
torquing or shaking of vehicle
may take place during the vehicle
repair, " Gasner reiterated.
These stands should be certified
to the current edition of
ANSI/ASME PASE, and should
not be replaced by transmission
jacks, engine stands or other
unapproved substitute devices.
#3: Know your
lift capacity
Just because a lift's capacity
rating exceeds the total vehicle
weight doesn't mean it's
safe to lift.
" I don't know how many times
a guy has called us up and said,
'My 13,000-lb. ambulance has
bent the arms on this 15,000lb.
lift,' " Perlstein said. " But the
rear arms' capacity and the rear
end of the ambulance are what
matter. Don't overload the arms! "
Gasner concurred, saying
that the total capacity on a
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two-post lift is equally divided by the four swing
arms. A 10,000-lb. lift would have 2,500 lbs. per
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" We see a lot of times where a vehicle is 8,500 to
9,000 lbs. but you may have it break like 6,000 or
6,500 lbs. on a rear axle and 2,500 on the front, "
Gasner said. " At that point, you are drastically
overloading those rear arms. "
You should not just go off the standard model
weight either.
" A vehicle may say that it's 7,000 lbs. and you
feel comfortable putting it on a 9,000-lb. lift.
[Then you add in] the fuel tank, the auxiliary
fuel tank, and the toolboxes, and all of a sudden
now you're trying to lift a 9,500-lb. truck on a
9,000-lb. lift. "
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march2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2023
