I know this is from an old thread but I didn't have my solution at the time. I have had a Handy Air Lift for 15 plus years and just needed to make it work for me. The first solution was the SO method where I had my SO put a stack of little sawhorses under the car frame as I raised the table then lifted the car by picking it up by knees and back. It took 3 repeated steps up and then down. The solution to these was a Motocross Jack I found in the Dennis Kirk catalogue for less the $200.
The procedure now is to drive the bike up on the table and the car wheel up on an oil change ramp. This is good height for a lot of things but is still not high enough to get the Motocross jack under the car frame so a floor jack is needed. It still is a 3 step process, raise the table and then the jack. But I don't have call the SO for help. The jack top is at 35 inches an the table is 28 inches
You might ask if this is a little pricey but it came in steps and is still less then a price of a set of good golf clubs ( less then$1000) and half the price of a years membership to the country club.
My SO killed my pictures while I was away from the computer so I will try again
I also have a Handy table with the ATV Wings and four corner wheel kit. I see these things for sale all the time in the local papers. Once I have the space to store them when not in use, I plan to add a second one and T the two air hoses in to a single control.
Originally written by HHShort on 9/18/2007 2:51 PM
My SO killed my pictures while I was away from the computer so I will try again
Harold, don't blame everything on her. I happen to know your SO very well and you'd better watch it. LOL
Have you got the rig running yet?
A friend at the shop one day suggested we modify the lift so a sidecar rig could be run up on it from the side. The more I thought about it the more it began to make sense. Dunno, does it REALLY make sense or am I missing something? Has anyone done this before?
Seems to me that you might have so much stuff in the way that you wouldn't really have any better access to it than working on the floor. I've considered building enough out on mine to just support the sidecar wheel in addition to the bike on the lift but I'm not sure even that is worth the effort. Maybe someday. Until then I'll work on the rig on the floor and use the lift for other stuff...
Originally written by Reardan Tom on 9/18/2007 7:39 PM
Seems to me that you might have so much stuff in the way that you wouldn't really have any better access to it than working on the floor. I've considered building enough out on mine to just support the sidecar wheel in addition to the bike on the lift but I'm not sure even that is worth the effort. Maybe someday. Until then I'll work on the rig on the floor and use the lift for other stuff...
You are probably right Tom ...but with some modification to the lift and..and ..well we'll see ....lol.
I usually do suframes while the bike is on the lift. If we are building or working on the sidecar frame itself we typically stick it on the fab table or on saw horses.
Mating it all together is done on the floor of course. You can usualy spot sidecar riggers by the holes in the knees of their pants 🙂
Hello Freinds,
Just another way to approach.
Why stand and not hang?
I have thought a few times about it and I start to think about to use my shop chain teckling (with a wide slideing bridge) might become a good alternative.
The engine is 2 stroke, so a little inclination wouldn't hurt much.
All that will become nasty is to find the right points to attach to with 3 cargo tensioneers and stay more or less in the center of gravity.
I wait now 5 weeks for to take the bike to the shop for a safety inspection.
The only day with good weather the shop was closed and the rest after 12:00 or 14:00 o'clock the rain is pooring like hell... like right now.
I don't even like the idea to leave for home...
Regards from "Land Under" Costa Rica
Sven Peter Pan
That lift you have isn't the run of the mill lift, it's a heavy duty on and weigh a lot, If I had it I would have tried to make a lift for the rig by putting a alum channel across the top of the lift so that it extended under the rig past the side rail then put another channel that would pick up the for and aft cross tubes, I think that if the bike was loaded to the outside of the rack and with the above mentioned lift accessory that your lift would lift both of them with no problem, the majority of weight would be on the outside so the weight of the rig shouldn't be a problem, once it was up a safety jack or board for that matter would take the load of the lift so that it could be worked on and have good access, sure wish I had the room to put one like you have.
I built 2 ramp stands with ramps for my rig...work great but need room to use them. therwamps slide inside the stands for storage.
the side extensions for tools fold in also.
Okay I have gotten back to the forum and I will answer some of the question.
MIKE; I looked at the atv wings and they were not wide enough. I looked at a second table, that was a lot of money and you can link them with air only if the loads on the two tables was equal. You still will have to lift one and then the other.
Joyce; Doris appreciates your support. If you two gang up on me----- I'M done!!! The good news is the rig is running. The bad news is I don"t know why.
Claude: The Handy Lift has the capacity. I think that I would widen the front feet if it were tried.
Tom: Look at the second picture. You can sit on a creeper and scoot under the car, work on the right underside of the bike and all of the suspention. The little jack is only about 16 inches square.
Peter: I know that that has been done with slings and three come-along hoists. but I guess I would like to have it stand still while I am working on it.
Shadow Man: I considered that approch and went so far as the drive the rig straddle over the table and decided that I would need to build some kind of rails or extentions. The same as if it were driven over crossways.
Bob: I have the skills to build. I even had acumulated some of the material to build the table back 15 years ago.but I just didn't ever get to it. So Doris said "lets call it your birthday,Xmas,Fathers day present for the next couple of years. So we stopped at the factory and watched them build one and bought one,
storage. I have the little wheel borrow wheel thingy that Handy builds so that I can move the table around the garage. except for the vice end of the table, I can park a car over it. So when not in use it really take no space at all and the little jack goes under the bench.
When I saw the motocross jack the would raise to 32 inches I saw that as my solution. I works for me. Now if I found or built a ramp with 2 more inches of rise, I would not need the floor jack. Harold
Claude Writes: "Mating it all together is done on the floor of course. You can usualy spot sidecar riggers by the holes in the knees of their pants".
Got knee spurs from working on cold concrete? I was going to have mine surgically removed until the Doc told me that the ligament involved was often "Harvested" for transplanting into the knees of athletes with sports injuries. Figured I might end up being an involuntary ligament donor so I passed.
Now I use corregated cardboard for my floor work and under the rig work.
The Handy lift is great for mounting the bike stuff though.
Lonnie
Originally written by Hack'n on 9/21/2007 3:03 PM
Claude Writes: "Mating it all together is done on the floor of course. You can usualy spot sidecar riggers by the holes in the knees of their pants".
Got knee spurs from working on cold concrete? I was going to have mine surgically removed until the Doc told me that the ligament involved was often "Harvested" for transplanting into the knees of athletes with sports injuries. Figured I might end up being an involuntary ligament donor so I passed.
Now I use corregated cardboard for my floor work and under the rig work.
The Handy lift is great for mounting the bike stuff though.Lonnie
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Hmmmm...is there a market for those ligaments? I guess mine are still okay. Of course I only have been messing with these things for 20 years and am way behind you. When was the wheel invented anyhow?
Seriously cardboard does work very well and we use it a lot. I tried those strap on knee pad things and they were a hassle.
I have a few carpet cutoffs about 3X4'...they are perfect for laying or kneeling on ...also a small 1' square sample..great for kneeling on,,,move it around wherever you go.
Originally written by HHShort on 9/20/2007 7:49 PM
Okay I have gotten back to the forum and I will answer some of the question.
Tom: Look at the second picture. You can sit on a creeper and scoot under the car, work on the right underside of the bike and all of the suspention. The little jack is only about 16 inches square.
Harold
I see that on your system. Pretty good deal. I was replying to Claude in reference to building up the Handylift in either direction so you could drive the entire rig onto it. Someplace some time back I posted pictures of my rig lifted with the bike on the Handylift and the sidecar lifted with the chain hoist. It worked but wasn't worth the effort to get it there and down again. And that was in my previous shop. Haven't got the I beam in place for the trolley and chain hoist in this shop yet. Eventually...
