@ Barrett-Jackson

[Mr70]

Lift Co. displaying a '55.

[Z282NV]

Oops, sales will be down for that lift.

[hogdaddy]

Wow that's not good.

[66cayne]

well the Cragar wheel held up fine...

[Formula455SD]

I can think of better ways to advertise lifting equipment.

[BCreekDave]

followed by "This is our competitor's lift...."

[1crossram]

Very upsetting for the owner of this car

[luzl78]

That’s a $30,000 body shop bill

[markinnaples]

I read that the '55 was owned by the owner of the lift company that collapsed, but no idea whether the lift was defective or maybe set up incorrectly. Truly unfortunate.

[67SS4spd]

Glad nobody was injured.

[169indy]

I do not own a lift or a Lift Company.
Would the instruction involve some form of concrete anchors.

HOW do the "MCACN" guys handle this whether they are inspection groups or vendor selling these things.

I Know it is none of my Business, Safety Rules in/on the Rails, AIR & on the Seas are written in Blood.
WAKE up call!

[lycan]

that'll buff right out

[turbo69bird]

Ouch, that’ll hurt the bottom line all the way around

[mssl72]

Yikes!! That's not good...

[Hawkeye]

I saw a comment on FB that one of the latches didn’t release when putting it down. Don’t quote me on this. Does this sound possible?

Thanks,
Marty

[useless tony]

I read somewhere that this was inside a tent/temporary covering and the asphalt under one or two legs caved in causing the lift to crash. I have absolutely no idea if there is any truth to this, just repeating what I read.

[McCune]

The lifts used at MCACN in 2023 were supplied by Titan Lifts and they are made in the USA. I have searched out some info and the lift at BJ is said to be a Champion Lift made overseas.

[Lynn]

Regardless of where it is made, it is no better than the guy (be he Moron or Genius) who puts it together!!!! Not saying that a US made lift isn't better. But just because it is made in USA, doesn't make it so.

I have a hard time believing that the subject of this thread was caused by inferior metal shearing off or breaking.

We may never know the whole story. Lots of misinformation or assumptions.

My guess is operator error.

[Bad67300]

I have a number of lifts with the same locking design as this one, though a different manufacturer. I always, always, always visually look to make sure I can see all 4 locking blocks pointed down before lowering the deck. If one hangs up, this is what can happen. Not saying assembly wasn't partially to blame, but operator error caused this to go beyond the point of no return.

[67since67]

I saw a comment on FB that one of the latches didn’t release when putting it down. Don’t quote me on this. Does this sound possible?

Thanks,
Marty

It's very plausible Marty. In 2017 my dealer destroyed my 2500 CC by dumping it from the top due to the RH latch not being released. Whether latch adjustment or operator error the results were catastrophic. I got a new truck for peanuts.

[azcamaros]

The subject toppled lift is a Champion Triple Stack lift. For the past couple years, this vendor has set up the Triple Stack lift at BJ with cars on it for display with no issues. Obviously, this year did not go as planned. This particular lift utilizes an air lock release system and is specifically designed to be anchored to a level, concrete floor with four anchors per post, 16 anchors. The BJ tent is on asphalt, has a slight slope, and I don’t see any evidence of anchors in the pictures. I do not know what the root cause of this particular incident was, but not being properly anchored was probable a key contributor to the outcome. Thankfully no one was hurt. I do own two Champion four-post lifts and have not had any problems with them. However I do pay very close attention to when raising and lowering cars. You need to make sure all of the locks release when lowering the lift with cars on it.

[CamarosRus]

The TITAN (MCACN) Lift in Post #17 Looks VERY Similar to my DIRECT LIFT (Owned by ROTARY, but Mfg in China) I read/looked at TITAN's web site and could find ZERO regarding Country Of Mfg..............

I have two DIRECT LIFT 4 post Lifts. Neither are anchored to my level concrete floor.

[Charley Lillard]

A friend that was there said when they had lifted the car up one guy said he didn’t think one lock had locked. The other guy went to lift it but instead that one leg lifted up and the tipping started. From my experience that lifting happens when you release the pressure.

[Steve Shauger]

A friend that was there said when they had lifted the car up one guy said he didn’t think one lock had locked. The other guy went to lift it but instead that one leg lifted up and the tipping started. From my experience that lifting happens when you release the pressure.

Exactly!

[Rsconv68]

Pretty sure that’ll change every lift safety protocol and setup at every show moving forward.

[x33rs]

My 4 post is an Advantage. I have noticed if I'm not pushing down on the release hard enough one of the locks might not release all the way, then when I lower it, it catches. Becomes pretty obvious, Ive done that a couple of times. It's never lifted a leg or tilted the lift but it's something that needs paid attention to. It moves so slow it would be hard to get in trouble with it without noticing somethings off before it becomes irreversible.

I've been using mine for several years and happy with it, very robust compared to a couple other brands I looked at down there last weekend.

[RPOLS3]

We have a Titan 4 post (our son won it at MCACN years ago). Not made in USA. We have had zero issues with it and it is not anchored to the floor. I agree with Charlie's and others comments regarding the locks not releasing all the way prior to lowering - something you have to be aware of when lowering the car. From my experience it is something that you will notice immediately if paying attention.

[SupremeDeluxe]

I have had a lot of lifts and I have 4 now. They are Auto Lift brand, made in China. Most importantly, they have mechanical locks and you can easily discern if they are locked or free.

I have heat in my floor so I can't anchor them, but they are on dead-level and flat floor and don't shift.

My Bendpak was on a terrible floor and I had it shimmed and anchored for stability. The air locks are a menace in my experience. You have to sight it carefully when you are lowering, because they are all independent and you can hang one and have a bad day. You also have to visually check to ensure that all four are on the slots and locked when you rest it at the raised height. Someone inexperienced can easily make a mistake. It looks like the one that crashed has air locks.

[x33rs]

Is there a reason air locks would be attractive to someone?

[1967 4K]

Everything is push button these days, push button start your car, select gear, flush the toilet. I don’t own a lift but have been around them and see that locking mechanism could be an issue if not paid close attention to. Easy way to get hurt or have a lot of property damage!

[396 SS/RS]

I see where some 4 post lifts are on casters. Sounds like a keen idea, however my Worth Lift is bolted down.

[seventyLs5]

My Brother and I each have a bendpak lift. I have a two car and he has a one car. Very well built but we hate the air lock system. I went to a champion last fall for the manual releases. Don't have to run air to the lift and I am much more confident they are releasing. As mentioned already though being careful and watching what you are doing would probably stopped this accident from happening.

[Motorhead848]

My dad and I have two advantage 4 posts with manual safety stops. The notches for those stops are laser cut into the 4x4 post. After seeing the titan lifts and the way the stop notches are cut into flat stock steel relying on a bolt at the top to stretch it tight, I would never own one. The titan guys were having to use every bit of their impact guns on Friday this year during judging to resolve issues getting the stopping plates pulled tight enough that the stops would catch. At one point, one car was being lifted or lowered, and only one side was moving and everyone started shouting. Catastrophe was avoided but I wouldn’t own a titan lift after seeing that. We’re very happy with our advantage lifts. Extremely heavy duty. Not cheap, but worth the money in my opinion.

[1967Z28]

After what I saw with the Titan lifts at MCACN, I was thankful no people were hurt and no cars were damaged.

[x33rs]

I'm actually buying another 4 post and it is another Advantage. Been happy with my other one, very robust and never any issue. I don't bolt them to the floor either. No air controls for me, I'll stick to the mechanical operation.