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The right tail-lift can make or break a distribution operation — but the huge variety of domestic and foreign-built lifts can make finding the right equipment a lengthy process. But our market review could make the job easier.
• Taillifts are an essential part of distribution, whether they be simple column-type cantilevers, sliders or the foldaways much favoured by the rental fleets.
There are many makes available, most of which are mentioned here, but others are built specially by bodybuilders like Wilson Double-Deck Trailers and Wilsdon & Co for their own vehicles. The number of UK lift manufacturers has declined in recent years, with any slack being taken up by overseas producers — much to the chagrin of the home suppliers.
One company marketing foreign-made taillifts in Britain is Shire Transport Systems of Wokingham, which supplies the Dutch Avolin range.
It offers conventional rollaway or vertical-descent cantilever taillifts, in fixed or demountable formats. They range from 500 to 3,000kg and weigh between 225 and 650kg.
STS's Cargo Swivellift for small items or single roll cages can raise up to 400kg, while its welfare version is limited to 350kg. Avolifts, made by Mariba BV of Appledoorne. are supplied complete or in kit form for self-assembly.
Romford-based Henderson Mobile offers one of the widest ranges in the UK. It manufactures bottom-beam column lifts and stowable lifts for welfare and commercials up to 17 tonnes and imports the French-made Hydris range of cantilever fold-and-slideaway systems.
Henderson's torsion-barassisted Easyfit column lifts are available in 500 and 1,000kg ratings with platforms up to 2.44m wide and from 900 to 1,066mm deep. The units are supplied ready assembled on trolleys.
Henderson's Hide-a-Way lift, which can lift 300kg up to a floor height of 1.04m, is also available with a framed restraint for wheelchair use. A variation on this is its Citylift, which is offered for vans and rigids up to 17 tonnes gross, Options include lighter and larger platforms.
Henderson offers no fewer than 10 Hydris cantilever lifts, including half lifts.
For the light-to-medium truck range the 500J with its aluminium platform weighs 182kg, while the 700J with an alloy or steel dais weighs 210 or 230kg.
Standard cantilever models range from 1,000 to 2,000kg with steel or aluminium platforms.
ZOOM LIFTS
heavy duty two and threetonne versions with built-in road jacks can work to floor depths rising from 1.75m (standard) up to 3.35m. Halflift (either side) cantilevers weighing between 230 and 355kg complete with hydraulic closures are available in 750 or 1,000kg forms.
Its Zoom (slider) lifts range from 1.000 to 2,000kg in capacity, all with 2.4m-wide platforms of one-third steel, two-thirds aluminium, in depths up to 1.83m. These lifts require no chassis cutting says Henderson, the shortest version needing only 1,390mm under the frame. Three Tuck-Under folding lifts are offered in 500, 1,000 and 1,500kg ratings. With a 240kg installed weight its smallest is aimed at 7.5-tonne rigids, with platforms serving floor heights as low as 850mm. The 1.0 and 1.5-tonne Hydris Tuck-Under models are designed for 7.5-17-tonne rigids and large trailers, adding up to 450kg to tare weights.
Liverpool-based equipment engineer, Joloda has been tailoring its own cantilever lifts for several years and produces a number of designs which are also available off-the-shelf.
They include standard cantilever models (about to be revised and uprated to two tonnes); vertical tuck-under lifts, and slide-and-hide types for trailers.
Its most recent model is the all-aluminium UL cantilever lift, seen for the first time at last year's IRTE show at Telford. The 1.0 and 1.5-tonne models weigh 227 and 247kg respectively.
Lift fitting kits are supplied complete with integral electro hydraulic power pack and control cabinet, which also contains a last-lift memory feature.
A variation on the design is Joloda's Vertical tuck-under cantilever lift which can accommodate trailer couplings for drawbar work. Its 1.56m long platform folds up then lowers vertically, a feature making it well suited for demount or walk-through trailer operations on intensive distribution vehicles.
Joloda's other design of lift is the SATL slide-and-hide cantilever range for trailer applications. Its 1.5m-long platform (1.25m for the 500kg version) folds, then slides under the tail of the chassis when not needed or when dock loading.
There are four models in 500kg increments up to two tonnes, all with 2,300mm wide-platforms. These are made of steel and aluminium and weigh between 440 and 590kg.
A remote control unit is supplied and roll pallet stops are optional.
Although Multilift is better known for its hook lift and ground level demountable systems, the Shrewsburybased firm also markets a range of Finnish-made taillifts. Cantilever, vertical drop and retractable models are available covering all requirements from 400kg to two tonnes.
Its smallest lift is the KL400 for vans and light trucks. With its alloy platform the 140kg unit will raise up to 400kg to a maximum 750mm loading height.
For distribution vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes, Multilift offers the KL700 cantilever lift with alloy or steel platforms. There is also a retracting Tuck-Away version with folding alu/steel platform that also raises 700kg but at 360kg is 150kg heavier.
The LM one-tonne lifts are lightweight models for low chassis height trucks. These are available in alloy or steel, weigh between 305 and 415kg and have 1.3m working height limits. Multilift's heavier 1.5 and two-tonne KL lifts are designed for much wider applications including drawbars.
The KLT1500 and 2000 lifts are intended for semi-trailer work. They weigh 479 and 535kg and have a 1.49m working height limit. There is a choice of aluminium or steel platforms.
KLTA lifts have folding platforms which retract on slide rails mounted on the truck chassis, using doubleacting hydraulic cylinders. The *HV' version is aimed at high volume drawbar outfits with couplers deeply recessed in to the truck chassis. For those with a shallower fit, Multilift recommends its KLTR1500 (there is a two-tonne version to go with it).
Platforms have aluminium or steel edges: Tuck-Awa■,,s weigh over 600kg. Underrun bars, eleetro-hydraulic power packs and control cabinets are integral, while roll container stops or cup recesses, automatic platform tilting, foot buttons and remote controls are optional extras.
Despite the claims of others, Dhollandia lifts, marketed in Britain by Northern Taillifts of Shipley, West Yorks, offer a range of cantilevers and sliders that take some beating, on lifting capacities at least. Ratings for its lighter cantilevers run from 300 to 750kg, while at the other end of the scale its DH-SLI lifts can carry up to nine tonnes.
Sliders up to three tonnes are available for trailers or drawbar outfits, and in some cases the lift can be used without uncoupling the trailer. A quickly demountable slider is offered, along with models for use on swap bodies.
Among its specials. Dhollandia produces a folding side-lifter with widths to match the body side doors and an elevating floor for building into semi-drop deck trailers for transferring loads to the swan-neck deck.
Three-piece folding platforms, lifts for tipper use and landing legs for semitrailers are among its list of options, along with pallet stops, foot controls and warning lights for the platform.
Northern Taillifts is the UK distributor for the whole range, but stocks only the basic 1.0 and 1.5-tonne models with 1,500mm platforms.
Ratcliff Taillifts is now in its 26th year and has made considerable headway at home, in Scandinavia and on the Continent, where its Dijon operation has a large share of the French market (40% with over 4,000 units last year).
WELFARE APPLICATIONS
Its product range is a wide one, covering column, cantilever and folding lifts and there are many variations for welfare applications and specially engineered vehicles.
Standard column lifts are produced in 500, 1,000 and 1,500k-g ratings, and supplied in quick-fit format on returnable, castored trolleys. Fitting jacks are also available if required.
Half-tonne lifts with 2.0 or 2.15m-wide platforms are designed for trucks or vans with floor heights between 850 and 1,2001nm. Closure is torsion-bar assisted and there are overhead or underfloor beam models to suit dropsided or van bodies.
Heavier one-tonne and 1,500kg models for floors up to 1.43m are also available in quick-fit form or with Ratcliff's automatic stowage locking system. The latter are available with overhead or underfloor beam.
The assemblies are supplied ready piped and wired for fitting by appointed agents.
Ratcliff's cantilever lifts are intended for demountable or insulated vehicles and come in capacities from 500 to 2,000kg.
Models up to one tonne weigh up to 533kg; 1.500kg lifts with 1.5 or 1.7m deep platforms weigh between 479kg and 5584 accordingly. Options include foot-operated twin-roll stops and half or third-width platforms.
For occasional users. Ratcliff offer its 1,000kg TukA-Way lift which, with steel platform, has a maximum lifting height of 1,335mm and weighs 450kg. Welwyn-based Ratcliff also has 500 and 1,000 double-tiered lifts for use with twin-decked trailers.
Closure is via torsion bar assistance. Maximum lifting heights are from 2,745 to 3,355mm, depending on the model specified. Doubletiered lifts have a choice of top or under beam and come with a bridging plate.
If lifting above 2.0m, grab handles and a safety rail are necessary.
One of the leading UK manufacturers. Ray Smith, is also working towards reversing the influx of foreign made taillifts.
The Peterborough-based company exports into Europe. Scandinavia and to other worldwide markets, and also runs a demount plant in Holland.
Its range is a wide one, covering column, cantilever, vertical stowing and fold-away designs with capacities from 500kg to two tonnes. The HD series of lifts can be tailored to match rear aperture widths, their fitting weights ranging from 270kg for the 500kg model to 470kg for the 2.0tonne HD20.
The RS series folds away beneath the chassis tail and comes with a choice of manual or powered stowage. Most popular is the RS1OU 'Upand-Under' which is billed as a low-maintenance 1.0-tonne unit and weighs 300kg.
In its basic form the platform folds out with torsion bar assistance. its support arms passing through gaps in the underrun frame which allows sufficient clearance for drawbar hitches. All Ray Smith lift kits come with integral power packs and are ready plumbed and wired for fitting.
Latest addition to the range is a 1,500kg RS15U version, which debuted as last month's Amsterdam Rai show.
Like the standard RSIOU it stows manually; the platform can be tilted for use as a dock leveller.
The 1.5m folding platform on the standard RS15 Up-andUnder has an aluminium toe panel with a steel main section.
Ray Smith lifts are offered with a zoom option for nonmanual operation. The company also produces a lowprofile 1.500kg LPC15 lift for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes gross with floor heights between 1.020 and 1,556mm.
With a standard platform depth of 1,220mm and a 300mm ramped section, the fitting kit weighs just 480kg. Variations include half or onethird width platforms and extra-long fold-out platforms for dropsided vehicles carrying grass-cutting equipment.
Ross and Bonnyman, based in Forfar. Scotland, manufactures roll pallets as well as a wide range of taillifts.
These include the compact Stowalift 300 overhead-beam column types for refrigerated bodywork, twin-tiered lifts for double-decked bodywork. cantilever and sliding lifts.
CLEAR ACCESS
The RB300 single arm Stowalift, which fits into the side or rear of light commercial or welfare vehicles, can raise up to 300kg. When not required it folds into a 305mm-wide space. a single lever pivoting the lift clear of the aperture to allow clear access.
R&B's Slimline models now have a lighter all-aluminium platform saving around 85kg on the weight of a one-tonne model.
Last year the company acquired BCT Taillifts, adding a complementary range of products to its own. At the same time it added extra finishing treatment to its products, including optional zinc-plating, designed to extend their life expectancy.
Swedish-made Zepro taillifts are sold in the UK by Longdon Truck Equipment of Stockport, Cheshire.
Although its cantilever range is a varied one, LTE restricts itself to 700, 1.000, 1.500 and 2,000kg models. The lighter versions, with a 1,100mm maximum lifting height and weighing around 260kg, are intended for vans and rigids of 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes gross. Steel or aluminium platforms are available.
Intermediate 1.0 and 1.5tonne models for heavier rigids will lift up to a 1,300mm loadbcd limit and weigh up to 500kg, while sturdier 1.5 and two-tonne Zepro models with a 1,500mm lift height limit are intended for the heaviest truck and trailer sector.
Lighter aluminium platforms arc optional, along with loading ramps and rollpallet stops.