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Larry Pellizzarri and Andrew Harsevoort of Hamilton Group Autobody. As you can see, the lift gives you enough height to completely expose the car’s underbody.
Power The Ikotec lift has a small footprint and big capabilities By Mike Davey
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here’s an old saying that good things come in small packages. To see if that was true, I recently visited Hamilton Group Autobody in Hamilton, Ont. as they tested and used the Ikotec 3000. The Ikotec 3000 is a single post lift designed to take up as little space in the shop as possible. It’s packs a lot of lifting power despite its small size, and the unit can be used to lift full-size pick-up trucks and SUVs. That it can also easily lift a passenger car goes without saying. A quick visual inspection confirms that the unit has a small footprint. The base is barely more than the width of a car’s tire. The real question is whether or not it performs as advertised. After speaking with Larry Pellizzarri and Andrew Harsevoort of Hamilton Group Autobody, I can say with confidence that it does. “I had a full-size pick-up on it with no trouble, lifting with the trailer hitch attachment,” says Pellizzarri, the staff member at Hamilton Group Autobody who has the most experience with the unit. “There are lots of different attachments for different jobs. You can switch them out in seconds.” Part of the unit’s strength lies in its versatility. There are over a dozen attachments available. The unit comes standard with a wheel lift. The technician simply slides the unit under the tire, makes sure it’s secure and the lift is ready for action. There are other attachments for straight lifting, such as the trailer hitch attachment Pellizzarri mentions. These can be used to lift vehicles with tires too wide to fit on the standard wheel lift, or simply for when you want to lift the vehicle by a different point.
The various attachments take the Ikotec 3000 beyond vehicle lifting. There are a number of different attachment for holding doors, a hoist crane, an engine hoist and many more applications. Basically, if it’s part of a car that you might want to lift one day, Ikotec has an attachment for it. Okay, so it has a small footprint and it has the power to lift the heaviest of light trucks. How high does it get them, though?
Power at a point. The unit can handle even the largest pick-ups, such as this truck from Carter Rentals.
Is this essentially a glorified jack? This is a case where pictures definitely speak louder than words. You can see for yourself that it’s easily capable of lifting the vehicle to working height, and beyond. “You can completely expose the underbody of the car,” says Harsevoort. “It’s great for doing estimates. You can jack the car up
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in a very short time and actually show the customer the problem.” The unit weighs roughly 150 lbs. and is fully portable within the shop environment. Techs can simply roll the unit to where it needs to be. The wheels on the bottom of the unit are small but very sturdy. There is one issue with the Ikotec unit that Pellizzarri mentions that shops in Canada should be aware of. “We blew a few fuses when we first got it,” says Pellizarri. “We’ve got it on its own circuit and haven’t had any problems since.” According to Conrad Egerter, President of Ikotec USA, this is due to a difference in power supplies between Canada and the U.S. “In the U.S., 20 amp circuits are standard, whereas in Canada a lot of circuits are 15 amp,” he says. “When you lift with the Ikotec, you’re just compressing it for the first 12 inches. For the next 12 inches, you’re lifting the most weight. Higher than that, and the side of the car that’s still on the ground is taking the most weight. During those middle 12 inches, the unit might draw up to as much 15 amps. We recommend having it on the shortest, heaviest cord you can. The longer the cord, the more amperage you’re going to lose. I would recommend a 12 gauge cord, no longer than 25 feet.” For more information on the Ikotec 3000, please visit ikotecusa.com. CRM