FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Will the DP-7 lift fit in my garage?

A: When used for storage the height needed is the height of the two vehicles to be used with the DP-7 lift plus 10 inches. The 10 inches allows for the ramp thickness + 3 inches of clearance for the top car and 3 inches of clearance for the bottom car. When the DP-7 lift is used for service and you cannot raise the DP-7 lift to the highest locking position, a person can still service the vehicle by purchasing a portable sit-on creeper (See Options page). With this a customer can lower the lift to a lower locking position and still roll under the lift to service the vehicle.

Q: Can you custom build lift to my specs?

A: We can customize the lift to your specs within resonable limitations. We have a draftsman on staff full time who can help you if need be (E-Mail: Technical Support). We can build lifts: taller, wider, longer, narrower, shorter, and enclosed trailer lifts. Contact us today for a quote.

Q: Are shipping costs included?

A: Shipping in the continental United States is included in our price so you do not have to pay us for the DP-7 lift and then pay a premium for freight charges because you may not be offered freight discounts. You will essentially be taking advantage of our freight discount because we ship the DP-7 lift prepaid and receive discounts for shipping freight in volume.

Q: How is the DP-7 lift shipped?

A: The DP-7 lift is shipped in crate form with the ramps forming part of the crate. The package is approximately 2 foot wide x 3 foot tall x 13 foot long. The total ship weight is approximately 1385 pounds. Note: that the DP-7 lift can be broken down into components with the heaviest piece being the ramp with the cylinder underneath and it weighs 350 pounds, the ramp without the cylinder weighs 250 pounds, and everything else weighs 100 pounds or less. (See Shipping Info page for more details).

Q: What type of hydraulic fluid should I put in the power unit resevoir?

A: The hydraulic fluid you can use is any hydraulic fluid that is kept on the shelf of major automotive stores. The fluid we use is Citgo brand AW32 hydraulic oil also used in farming and agricultural applications, or any tractor hydraulic fluid will work.

Q: What are the electrical requirements of the power unit?

A: The power unit is a multi-voltage power unit that can be wired for 110V or 220V. The power unit is wired standard for 110V. There is a schematic on the side of the power unit to show how to re-wire to 220V. At 110V the power unit will surge at 16amps and operate on about 9 or 10 amps. At 220V the power unit will surge at 8amps and operate on about 5 or 6 amps. Please note that there is pigtail wiring from the power supply - you will need to provide the electrical plug and wire it on the power unit. The power unit is a 1horse power unit that will not change from 110V or 220V, therefore the only advantage to re-wiring 220V is for the lower amperage draw. Since the power unit operates at such low amperage on 110V, most customers will save the 220V outlets for such things as compressors and welders. However the wiring of your power unit is your personal choice and can be done either way.

Q: What painting process do you use?

A: The DP-7 lifts are powder coated by a professional powder coating company in Wichita, Kansas and is the true powder coated finish. This adds the finishing touch the DP-7 lift deserves.

Q: Who installs the DP-7 lift?

A: The DP-7 lift is usually installed by the customer who purchased the lift with the help of some friends or aquantinances. Cytech has installers around the United States and you can ask for a specific quote to have your lift installed if you prefer. The installation charges varies depending on the installer and how how far the installer has to travel.

Q: Where is the installation manual located in my DP-7 lift?

A: After removing the shrink wrap from the lift, you will see the installation manual in a 9" x 12" white envelope in the bottom ramp in the middle of the package. If the installation manual is missing please give us a call so we can send you another one. In the near future we will be able to e-mail the manual to you so you can use your web browser to view the manual.

Q: How difficult is the DP-7 lift to install myself?

A: The DP-7 lift is really simple to install. The hardest part of the lift to install is handling the ramps. Once the ramps are handled the rest of the installation if quite simple - basically nuts and bolts. The first time you install a DP-7 lift it will take approximately 3-4 hours. Should the need arise to put a DP-7 lift together again it will probably only take 1-2 hours.

Q: Is the DP-7 lift free-standing or does it need to be anchored?

A: The DP-7 lifts are free-standing and DO NOT need to be anchored. The lifts have been tested with 21,000 pounds free-standing and rated at a 7,000 pound capacity (See Cytech Test Report). Note: The crossbars slide on the inside of the columns like commercial lifts. With an 11" square foot-pad for the column and the 8" slide inside the column there is stability created as the lift is raised into the air. With all free-standing four-post lifts that do not have a vehicle on the lift you will be able to "shove" the lift and see some movement - this movement is in there by design (like a skyscraper in the wind). No garage floor is perfectly level and this movement allows the lift to settle with the floor. Once a vehicle is placed on the lift and the weight is displaced over the tires of the of car and the four columns of the lift you will not be able to move the lift.

Q: Does a crossbar that slides on the inside of the column tend to cause the column to lean in towards the lift?

A: Even though there are competitors who show in comparisons that the crossbar that slides on the inside of the column is leaning in towards the middle of the lift, it truly does not. With an 11" square footpad on the column, 8" slider on the inside of the column, and the lift being 8-1/2 foot wide; it is physically impossible for the column to lean inward when the column is on the ground. What the competitors do not tell you is that our caster kit option has been pinned into place and the column pad is not touching the ground. With the caster kit pinned into place and the column lifted off of the ground the column will lean in slightly; however with the 8" slider on the inside of the column there is still a limit to how far the column will lean in. We will soon have pictures scanned in on the web page that show a vehicle on the lift, the caster kit in place with the column lifted, and a person pushing in on the column. In demonstrating this we will show that the column still will not lean far enough inward to hit the quarter panel on the vehicle that is on the lift. As stated before about our competitors: All of the competitors' lifts function really well; however, we feel that with our professional staff, quality of the Double Park Lift (DP-7), and a competitive price we have lifted ourselves to the top of industry.

Q: Is the mechanical lock stop that is welded onto the DP-7 column as strong as a lock stop created by notching out steel in the tubing of the column itself?

A: The DP-7 lift's mechanical lock system is achieved by welding 3/16" x 1-1/4" angle to the U-shaped opening of the column shell to create a guide for the crossbar to slide up and down. Then welded to the angle and the column are six mechanical lock stops (Note: the stops are also welded to the column and not just the angle because the column shell adds strength to the stop). The lock stop itself is 1" thick x 1" wide x 2" long. The mechanical lock that is installed on the crossbar is made from material that is 3/4" thick material and is 2-1/2" wide by 5" long. So what you have is 3/4" thick material resting on 1" thick material. With columns that are notched out for the lock to rest on you have 3/16" material resting on notched out material that is also 3/16" thick. The note to consider is that 3/4" material that rests on 1" thick material has more surface area for the material to rest on than 3/16" thick material resting on 3/16" thick material. Any time you have a larger amount of surface area, pounds per sqaure inch (p.s.i.) is reduced. Any time p.s.i. is reduced you will have material that can hold a larger amount of weight, thus why the DP-7 lift is rated at 7,000 pounds capacity (See Test Report).

Q: What part is it about the DP-7 column that gives the column its strength?

A: When you have material that stands approximately 80" tall such as the upright column on a lift the strength that is needed comes from the column being bent into the U-shape design and the thickness of the column itself, not how big around it is. So with a column shell made with 3/16" thick material and only just wide enough for the sliders of the crossbar to slide in, we are building one of the strongest columns on the market. By using a pop can as an analogy we can describe this theory. A pop can stands tall relatively compared to the thickness of material it is made from. If you put your foot on top of the pop can with a minimum amount of pressure and hit the pop can on the side, what happens? The pop can might collapse. This analogy demonstrates that the strength created comes from the thickness of material not how big around it is. So, while you can usually say that bigger is better; that may be true, but it depends on what is bigger that makes it better.

Q: What part of the lift absorbs the force being applied to the top cap as the cables are pulling downward?

A: As weight is added to the lift the force becomes greater on the cables. The cables are held in place with the top cap at the top of each column. The force is then applied from the cables to the top cap and ultimately downward through the column. As noted in the last answer above we are in affect creating the pop can analogy. There is weight being applied on the top of the column and with weight on the lift we are creating a downward force on the column. The actual factor that creates strength to support this downward force is how thick the column is and not how big around it is.

Q: Where does the strength and stability of the top cap come from?

A: The DP-7 top cap is made from 3/4" thick material and has a piece of C-channel welded to it forming a "C" around the top cap. While it is true that the DP-7 top cap only has one bolt per each top cap to hold it in place, that is all it needs. The reason for this is because the C-channel sits down inside the column and rests up against three sides of the column itself. Other models have the anti-spread bolts holding the top cap in place. Again this method functions well; however the competitor's of these models will try to make you believe our top cap design is inferior. Here is something to think about. Is C-channel steel that rests up against three sides of the column stronger than two bolts holding the top cap in place? We personally believe the C-channel is stronger.

Q: How do I adjust the DP-7 lift to level it?

A: The DP-7 lift can be adjusted to level the lift for proper engagement of the locking mechanism. There will soon be a link page to show pictures of how to do this. You can level the DP-7 lift by:

• First, Remove car from lift and then raise the DP-7 lift to its highest position and make sure it clears top lock on column.

• Second, raise the DP-7lift to where the top of the lock stop on the crossbar nearest to the power unit (gray block welded to crossbar to keep black lock in horizontal position) is level with the top of the second lock stop on the column nearest to the power unit.

• Third, go around to the other three columns and adjust the cables to level each lock at the with the column. You do this with a pair of vice grips and an 1-1/8" wrench or crescent wrench. By tightnening the nut on the cable at the top of the column the lift will raise itself at that corner. By loosening the nut on the cable the lift will lower itself at that corner.

• Repeat above step for all three columns and then the lift is level.

Q: Do the cables, pulleys, and sliders need greased?

A: No, the cables, pulleys, and sliders do not need greased. The sliders are made from UHMW, which is a teflon-like substance and does not need lubrication.

Q: Is there any other routine maintenance needed?

A: Cytech recommends that about every six months you visually inspect the lift, especially the moving parts and also check to make sure the nuts and bolts have remained tight.

We at Cytech hope these questions have helped to give you some useful information about lifts, specifically the DP-7 lift. As mentioned throughout our website and here again, we have tried to refrain from comparing directly to any one competitor on the market simply because all of the lifts function really well. However with a numerous amount of information that can be misleading we are trying to show you what is true about our product, the DP-7 lift. We encourage you to see our test page and contact the independent engineer at MAMTC, Dave Richards, or any other engineer at MAMTC and ask the above questions. Or even better ask competitors for their test results and the engineer who tested their lift and ask those engineers the same questions above. Then compare the answers that you receive, and then you can make an educated purchasing decision. The problem is that many of us do not have that much time to do that much extensive research work. Another way to find out about the DP-7 lift is to contact some of our customers who can describe first-hand of how the Double Park lift has been a benefit to them (See Testimonial Page).

If you have a question that is not covered above please contact us