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Mohawk or Rotary lift, which would you get if you could have either one?

53K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  hotrodhill 
#1 ·
Having narrowed it down to either a Mohawk or Rotary 10K 2 post lift I've noted the following:

Mohawk is heavier lift, uses larger cylinders operating at lower pressure, uses bearings vs UHMW slider blocks, seems to be mostly or wholly made in USA :) larger footprint for less psi load on floor, no overhead cables or cable guides, uses chain vs cable, etc. This does however come at about $1500 more than the Rotary for the size I am considering which is 10K.

Rotary is less expensive, is used by most of the local car dealers & repair shops, is the largest lift manufacturer and dealer network, has more parts made overseas, uses smaller cylinders run at higher pressures, and is far superior to the el-cheapo 'hobby' lifts which won't be considered for safety/reliability/longevity reasons.

Given that safety & longevity are primary concerns of mine (don't want multi-ton vehicles falling on me) and that I'm hoping to use this for the rest of my life plus my youngest daughter likes to tear things apart so she will likely be using it for some time after I'm gone, which one is the better buy? The $1500 while a consideration, will not be the deciding factor for what I consider a once in a lifetime purchase. If price was no object and you could have either of these two lifts, which one would you pick and why? Does anyone know what the average life span of these lifts is? This will be privately owned and used for weekend warrior duty and not in a shop environment used for friends & family's vehicles in a shared space with woodworking equipment so resistance to wood dust is a plus.

Thanks,
Steve
 
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#5 ·
Mohawk. The Rotarys I have had just did not hold up as well. Whichever you choose...get a professional maintenance plan! Let the guys who built it look it over every now and then to make sure it's a-ok. And LISTEN to what they say! If they say it needs something, do it! I had a chain lift break a chain...with a car on it. Scared the beejeezus out of us. All I can say is thank God for safety locks! A wise word of caution is to also NEVER use the pump to hold a car up...rest it on the stops and you'll avoid a lot of unnecessary wear and tear.
 
#6 ·
Haven't had anyone come out in favor of the Rotary so far, does anyone here own one? I am about 95% sure that I'll be getting the Mohawk, it isn't every day that I get to buy something made in this country plus I just like how heavy duty they are. I did a search on the 646 chain they use, it has a strength of 27,000-29,000 lbs depending on manufacturer & I'm sure given the way the rest of it is built that it is the latter so 54,000-58,000 lbs chain capacity on a 10,000 lb lift is a good safety margin. Everyone on this and another forum have had nothing but positive things to say about the Mohawk & I suspect that it will be like the Eaton compressor in that once I have it the price will be forgotten but the enjoyment will be there each time I use it. :thumbup:
 
#7 ·
Lifts

Steve,

I sell automotive equipment, the domestically built Rotary is a fine lift, pretty much the standard for New Car Dealerships and it will serve you well. The Mohawk is in a class by itself. If you can afford the initial investment it will probably outlast you with regular maintenance.

Avoid the off shore lifts at any cost, they are far better than they were even 2-3 years ago but the quality is still very hit or miss depending on the manufacturer of the day.
 
#8 ·
oldcpecdr said:
Steve,

I sell automotive equipment, the domestically built Rotary is a fine lift, pretty much the standard for New Car Dealerships and it will serve you well. The Mohawk is in a class by itself. If you can afford the initial investment it will probably outlast you with regular maintenance.

Avoid the off shore lifts at any cost, they are far better than they were even 2-3 years ago but the quality is still very hit or miss depending on the manufacturer of the day.
Do you have any idea on average how long the Rotary's last in a shop environment? I'll be using mine in a home shop or at least it will start out that way, once everyone finds out I have a lift it will probably see more use. Will there be any problem using the 10K Mohawk which is a symmetrical lift with front engine front wheel drive cars? When I talked to the rep he said there was minimal price difference between the asymmetric 7000 lb & the System 1 10K plus extra capacity is never a bad thing unless you go overboard & get something like a 30K lift for cars & light trucks. I have a buddy with a Suburban & a few others with full size pickups but don't plan on working on dumptrucks :nono: Main thing to do now is secure funding for the project & once Uncle Sam makes his contribution look at ordering one :thumbup:
 
#10 ·
It will be, the nice thing about my barn is that it was built by a guy who owned a cement business & was made to work on cement trucks in. He said that when he was pouring the floor that whatever was left on the trucks at the end of the day went into the floor & that it is 18" thick in parts of the back half & the front half which is where the lift will go is at least 6"+. :thumbup:
 
#11 ·
Lifts

Remember that in a busy dealership the duty cycle on a lift is tremendous. 10 years is very doable for a name brand lift even at a high volume dealership that has regular maintenance performed. The Rotary in your situation would probably last MUCH longer than that, the biggest enemy would probably be not enough use. But if it's a dry environment and you perform regular maintenance the only advantage to the Mohawk would be your grandchildren could use it. The 10,000 pound capacity asymetrical Rotary is probably the best selling lift at the Dealer level.
 
#12 ·
oldcpecdr said:
Remember that in a busy dealership the duty cycle on a lift is tremendous. 10 years is very doable for a name brand lift even at a high volume dealership that has regular maintenance performed. The Rotary in your situation would probably last MUCH longer than that, the biggest enemy would probably be not enough use. But if it's a dry environment and you perform regular maintenance the only advantage to the Mohawk would be your grandchildren could use it. The 10,000 pound capacity asymetrical Rotary is probably the best selling lift at the Dealer level.
What would the problem be with lack of use & how often would one have to be used to avoid this? It will be in a dry enclosed pole building & within a couple of years will be somewhat climate controlled at around 45* instead of unheated like it is now. It would be nice if everything was able to be passed down to the grandkids like a Mohawk :thumbup:
 
#13 ·
Steve,

I have a Rotary 10k lift with Inbay and extended height options that I purchased two years ago.

I shopped automotive lifts extensively before making my purchase and admired Mohawk lifts. A Mohawk lift is way more robust than my Rotary lift but because of unbudgeted expenses (I had to dig up and replace my concrete floor), I couldn't afford a Mohawk.

It would have taken me another year to save up the extra money and I didn't want to wait that long.

Having any decent lift will make you wonder how you lived without one!

I will say this about my Rotary lift, though Mohawk may offer the same features - since I have a 12' ceiling I'm glad I got the extra lift height and Inbay is worth every penny.

The Inbay feature moves the motor and pump up high on the lift post giving you more working room around the lift and even better, it puts a contoller on each post!

Every person that has experience with other lifts and then used mine (when you have a lift, you suddenly have more friends) has commented on how convenient this feature is.

Hope this helps.

Doug
 

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#14 ·
I am really looking forward to getting it :D In the last year I have replaced the exhausts on 2 cars & brake lines on 3 with the front end on car ramps & the back on jackstands, if/when this has to be done again it will be much nicer to do on a lift. Only purchase I've made that will be of questionable use is the dogbone creeper that I bought when I was planning on getting a kwiklift but I'll find some use for it. How wide is yours between the posts? I was looking at where I want to put it and found the floor was poured in a 145" slab there so I have 2 choices: 1. move posts 7" closer together to maintain 6" clearance from the expansion joints giving me 9' 5" between the posts or 2. move posts over so that each post is on a different slab. Which option is better? I'm thinking it would be better to keep both posts on the same slab for leveling purposes and to keep them from moving differently. Will moving the posts in 7" and having 9' 5" between the posts make that much difference over the standard 10' spacing? What do you guys think?
 
#15 ·
Steve,

Exhaust systems will no longer the Pain they once were when your lift is installed.

You mentioned in an earlier post a Suburban.

You should consult with your installer but I like the posts to be as wide as they can safely be. I don't know why being on two slabs would matter but I can say this - even though my posts are rotated, my Astro cargo vans are still a tight fit when exiting the vehicle.

About the installation - my floor had a slight pitch because it was once used as a wash bay for school buses. I didn't think much about it.

When the installers came, they looked at the floor and said "Not level. Sorry."

I had to dig up 12" of concrete and I wasn't too happy about it.

But whenever I have something heavy on the lift, I realize the installers were right and I'm glad they insisted my floor be absolutely level.

Before I bought my lift, I assembled a four post Back Yard Buddy for my neighbor. I wouldn't even think about installing a two post lift myself.
 
#17 ·
Alfordteck

Hi Steve,
I have all Rotary lifts and they serve their purpose. However, if I had to do it all over again, I would have bought Mohawk without a doubt !! The construction of Columns and Carriages is way over built for lift spec.'s, nice porblem to have lifting 5-10,000 lbs. above your head. Mohawk id by far the best choice and will be mine when I replace mine, IF NEEDED.
Happy Shopping,
Alfordteck
 
#19 · (Edited)
Well, finally ordered the Mohawk today along with the weight gauge and it is supposed to be installed next tuesday. Aside from the obvious like moving stuff out of the way in the area where it is to be installed, what should I do or get to make it go smoother? Planned it for my day off so I will be here all day when it gets here. :thumbup: Anyone thinking of getting a lift should look at doing it now as I was told that the price is going up approx 8-10% because of steel increases. On this thing that would be close to 500.00 :pain: My buddy just got a 3500 extended cab dually with the diesel engine, wouldn't want that thing on a cheap lift :nono:
 
#20 · (Edited)
Got it put in today, took the installer close to 4 hrs so the 300.00 price for the install was money well spent. Just got back in from playing with it, lifted my buddies 1 ton 3500 extended cab dually with a diesel no problem so anything I own will be a piece of cake for it :thumbup: Glad I got this one instead of something lighter. Everything on it is heavy duty & ought to last a couple lifetimes. Only thing I would change is the manual calls for 12-4 wire, you only need 12-3 as the supplied plug is for 3 phase & I have regular 240v. Thanks to everyone who recommended this one, it was worth it. :D :D :D
 
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