Tractor Lift

Fins59 · Jun 19, 2011

Was looking through my Old Cars Weekly this morning and saw ads for car lifts.
Anybody ever seen one for a garden tractor?

This would have to be a 4-post and not just a platform lift. That way you can also store a tractor on top of the other (freeing up space for another tractor:trink40

And just think how easy it would be to work on them.

There's some good fabricators on this forum that I bet could make one.

I replied on another thread about the possibility of using a engine hoist to raise front end of tractor instead of buying an expensive "Mojack". I've got an engine hoist sitting idle in a corner of my garage not earning it's keep. Right now I just use a floor jack, but rigging up a safe front end lift using hoist might be the ticket.

tiltin · Jun 19, 2011

I've been thinking about that too. Here's one that comes in hydraulic and electric versions

J.Gibson · Jun 19, 2011

I would think a motorcycle/atv lift would work for working on them, wouldn't be able to store one under it though.

Hugh-SS/16 · Jun 19, 2011

i wouldnt be surprised if you could pick up a tractor using a car lift and make it work. i dont think a tractor lift has been invented yet because there is no need (that i am aware of) for one.

bridgeman · Jun 19, 2011

Tiltin, I think the lifts you picture-linked are Handylifts, made in Iowa. I recently sold mine on Craigslist after giving up motorcycling (don't like ouch), and it worked extremely well over 20 years of use. A bit pricey today, at close to $1500 delivered with platform extensions to handle a tractor's width, depending on how far from Iowa you are. You can get a cheap Chinese knockoff at Harbor Freight for about $500, but they look to be a bit junky, IMHO.

tiltin · Jun 19, 2011

They are pricey. I found out about them when a local mower mechanic was selling his for $900. I have thought about making one out of wood. I am much more experienced with woodworking than metal fabrication. A wood one would also be lighter and easier to move around. Boy it would be cool to get a set of plans for one along the lines of how Popular Mechanics used to publish plans for all kinds of handy workshop stuff. I'll check the Harbor freight one out. Sometimes you can take something cheap and reinforce it or tweak it to make it better.

tankdriver · Jun 19, 2011

Norther Tool has 22 different 4 post lift, up to holding a buss. But none for a GT size item. It would be simple to fix a couple piecs of channel for the tires to ride on. They are not cheap. the cheapest one they have is about 2 grand. Harbor Freight has some they about the same cost.

mikeeeylikesit2 · Jun 20, 2011

i had a 4 post 9,000 lb. lift for cars. laid 4x6 boards between inside rails crossways where tires would sit. roling tractor on it would span middle space but used boards for safety in case it moved side to side

Fins59 · Jun 20, 2011

Hugh-SS/16 said:
i wouldnt be surprised if you could pick up a tractor using a car lift and make it work. i dont think a tractor lift has been invented yet because there is no need (that i am aware of) for one.

One of my buddies bought a used 4-post Back Yard Buddy lift recently. I helped him put it together. The previous owner had made a add-on ramp to accommodate his garden tractor. And of course my buddy doesn't use it. He also made a thingy to lift his motorcycle with it.

I suppose if they did make one it would be kind of pricey for the average guy, but I could sure use one. The other day I had my RER John Deere's front tires propped up on top of a picnic table so I could work on deck. But I had it blocked and propped so it was safe.

tankdriver · Jun 20, 2011

This is what I use (not my mower). It does a good job. Drive your rear tires up on it, strap the tire down, use a drill to power the screw. Done..... It's about a 100 bucks.

Tractor-Holic · Jun 20, 2011

I use an engine hoist all the time to lift the front up when changing a deck belt,or taking blades off,etc..just be careful where you attach the hook & chain so you wont bend any tie rods or deck brackets,etc...and block the rear wheels as the tractor will want to slide backwards when you start to lift it up...I put something under the tractor like a milk crate in case it should slip and try to come crashing down,and I dont work under it if I can help it,I stand off to one side instead..

I have pondered building something for my garage ,like a lift ,to make working on the tractors easier and also get more room,if I built something on the idea of a 4 post lift,only smaller,or even something like a real heavy duty table that tractors could be parked up on,tall enough for my vehicles hood to fit under--that way I could get my truck or car in the garage too,instead of letting them rust outside ,just so my tractors can stay dry inside..
I can get pallet racking pretty cheap,but the problem is getting the tractors up on the "shelves",without a forklift you must either try driving them up on to rams (very risky),and or using some type of winch as a hoist --getting the tractors back down when you go to use one will be a pain in the backside too...and you KNOW the one on top" will always be the one you want to use,and you'll have to move any others under it too..
I would simply add on to my garage,if I didn't mind paying more property taxes ,and I knew I was going to BE here long enough to justify spending the money to build onto it,or go making some type of lift/storage rack unit...

Wiregeek · Jun 20, 2011

hrng.

looking at a 5 foot total 'lift', ok, so 3 foot piston with a 3x lever gain, what's a GT weigh in at?

figure 500 lbs (I can b-b-b-b-barely lift the front of my 1979 gt.) 3x lever gain plus 1x murphy = 2000 lbs piston at 36".

Harborfreight says 20" is a long stroke. Hrng.

So now we have to get a 4x or more stroke, but we're still at 2000lbs, since the HF unit is an Air Ram vs. a traditional hydraulic. (like 80 bux, too, yay).

...wish I had some legos to model this with, but it's looking do-able.

pointandshoot · Jun 20, 2011

i wonder if a guy got creative with some 3x3 .188 wall posts and some camper jacks. only problem would be keeping the costs down to justify building something vs just going out and buying one.

Onan18 · Jun 21, 2011

At the shop I used to work at we had two lifts for working on "Mowers" (LT's, GT's, ZTR's, etc...) They were basically the mechanical part of a forklift with a pair of adjustable boom arms (slid back and forth on a BIG I beam) and adjustable pads for the tires to rest in. Never seen any like them before or since, but would be easy to make if you had an old forklift laying around.

Joe

oldsoldier · Jun 22, 2011

TSC has a ( frontend) lift similar to the one TANKDRIVER'S photo shows. Same screwlift (front) but that won't help with storage, runs about $190.

Fins59 · Jun 22, 2011

Almost got a forklift a couple months ago from where one of my son's work but when price of scrap went up, I think they scrapped it.
Forklift I think would come in mighty handy, but then you got to have space to store that too.
I recently built a 30'x48' detached garage.....it's full. Too many toys.

Tractor Lift

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tiltin

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