Another Lift Option?

[Judge Judy]

Anyone have any experience with this type of lift? I'm thinking it might work to get the rear up about 12" to make getting under the bike for repairs/maintenance easier. Wish I had room for a full blown lift, but I don't. Let me know what you think.

http://t.harborfreight.com/high-lif...t-61523.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided

 

[Papa Zook]

Anyone have any experience with this type of lift? I'm thinking it might work to get the rear up about 12" to make getting under the bike for repairs/maintenance easier. Wish I had room for a full blown lift, but I don't. Let me know what you think.

http://t.harborfreight.com/high-lif...t-61523.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided

Judy, it says that lift is only rated up to 300 lbs...thats going to be too light duty for your trike.

 

[Judge Judy]

Even just to get the rear off the ground?

 

[Keystone]

What randy said. This might be ok....

 

[Papa Zook]

Even just to get the rear off the ground?

Yep, the majority of the weight is going to be on the rear end Judy. A better option would be what Keystone suggested and if I went with that choice I would get a couple of jack stands to secure the rear end Judy. You sure dont want it to fall on you.

What randy said. This might be ok....

 

[Gorilla]

Judy I agree with the previous. Your trike probably weighs close to 1000 lbs. Most of the weight is towards the rear. You would need something with at least a 500 lb rating to lift just the rear.

Ted

 

[Papa Zook]

I've never tried it, but I've heard of folks using those drive-on automotive ramps to either drive their trike on or back it on, but it would have to clear the fenders. Have any of 'yall ever tried that or seen it done?




Something like these...

 

[dirtdobber]

The new style car ramps work good. The newer style are just lower with a loner approach to clear the car fenders.
Got to do it in reverse if you have running boards.
I use this
$129 at home depot. rated at 4,000 lbs.
My 1,000 lb bike jack will barley lift the rear off far enough to get the tires off.
This jack will clear the mufflers.
Roadsmith said the trailer hitch is strong enough to support the rear end.

 

[Woolie]

Trike Lift

I use the ramps for my GoldWing with Motor Trike. I back onto them, I put it in reverse and it hops right up on there. The ramps have a pretty good lip on the back so there isn't much worry about going off the back. If I need more height to get underneath I raise the back with a floor jack under the differential, then put stands under the Motor Trike frame so it won't fall. I have made an adjustable stand from 2x12's to raise the front wheel. I jack up the front with the floor jack under the engine where the supports for the Aqua Shields bolt on then place the 2x12 blocks under the front wheel. The 2x12's may sound like overkill but not when it is me that is rolling around under it. I have placed the ramps in front of the rear wheels and driven forward onto them but the clearance for the aqua shields makes that very difficult, but it can be done. I need a lot of clearance to get my little fat body under there on a creeper and I can raise it 16 to 18 inches. I need to remove my drive shaft as soon as I feel up to it and I will try to get a few pictures.

 

[Woolie]

Ramps

The ramps I have are the plastic ones. They are rated at 12,000 pounds. I have 4 of them and have had my Chevy truck on them several times, all 4 wheels, and they are plenty strong. I think I got 2 of them at Harbor Freight but I may have got all 4 of them at WalMart. I like them better than the metal ramps.

 

[Mick]

I use the ramps to back up on. A few years ago I also found set of hydraulic jack stands with locks I put under the rear axle to lift up the trike with. Chock the front wheel or put an ATV jack under the engine and youre good to go. With the jack stands I can lift the rear end over 23 inches off the ground. Nice thing about the plastic ramps is a couple of hooks on the wall and you can hang them out of the way.

 

[Judge Judy]

OK, you guys convinced me not to use it. This is what we currently use with jacks stands under the axel once we get it up off the ground. Getting up and down ain't so easy anymore, so we were trying to find a good alternative. But, not at the risk of our safety.

http://t.harborfreight.com/3-ton-lo...282.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

We would look into ramps as an alternative, but it would still, we think, require jack stands as a safety precaution. That still means us getting up and down off the driveway several times to get it all situated. Unless the consensus is that the jack stands are not necessary with the ramps???

Wait... I just thought of a great alternative! Gorilla - we're coming to your house!

 

[Keystone]

With that jack you should never work on the trike (or any vehicle) with out jack stands. Just not worth the risk.

Your reason for wanting a better way to work on your trike is very similar to the reason(s) I ended up buying a dedicated lift. I installed three sets of lift kits on Tri Glides using a floor jack, jack stands and on the garage floor. No more.

 

[vw driver]

I use a floor jack and these. I think I paid $10 for them at a garage sale. They are good for working on the car also. Just another option.

 

[Gold Rush]

We would look into ramps as an alternative, but it would still, we think, require jack stands as a safety precaution. That still means us getting up and down off the driveway several times to get it all situated. Unless the consensus is that the jack stands are not necessary with the ramps???

Judy if you find ramps that do the job you need then by all means go for it. You will not need the jack stands. If you do find the need to go higher off the floor then your current system will work well. Still have to crawl around on the floor and get up (which is a real challenge for some of us) but it's doable... I use the exact same options (ramps, jack, jack stands) and have succeeded to work on my own and many other trikes. :xszpv::xszpv:

 

[WindyOne]

You can buy 2 ton rated jack stands at harbor freight or Northern tool, any of the discount tool places pretty inexpensively. There is no avoiding getting up and down I am afraid. Because for me it never fails just when I think I have all the tools I will need for the job it is once I get under the trike that I find out I missed one.

I don't do down very well anymore and after my last attempt to work on the trike I said never again. I am willing to let those that get around better than me do the work. The time I spent recuperating from being on the carport floor is time I could be out riding. Riding is more fun than pain.

 

[knob]

Haven't tried the ramps but I haven't had any issues with using a floor jack and jack stands. I do have one of these that I mainly use on my two wheeled wing and atv http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...500-lb-capacity-atvmotorcycle-lift-61632.html. It actually works quite well.

 

[Ol' Man Jeb]

Ramps are OK.... till you want to remove the wheels.
Then you need the jack stands. That's been my experience.

 

[AZTriGlide]

Motorcycle Lift

Haven't tried the ramps but I haven't had any issues with using a floor jack and jack stands. I do have one of these that I mainly use on my two wheeled wing and atv http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...500-lb-capacity-atvmotorcycle-lift-61632.html. It actually works quite well.

I tried to jack my trike up with a regular motorcycle jack like the one you pictured. Couldn't get the front and tire to stay down.