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great deal!

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:27 am
by Zombie Master

Great deal, but the quality is spotty

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:50 pm
by Ken in Oklahoma
I bought one to replace that Mickey Mouse front wheel vice that comes with the Harbor Freight lift. I bored four holes into the top of the lift, ran four bolts upward through the holes, tightening nuts onto them. Then the wheel chock would slip onto the exposed bolts, and 4 wingnuts would hold the chock into place. Easy on, easy off.

It is now much easier strapping the bike to the lift. I can go from side to side on the lift without worrying too much about the bike getting away from me and falling over, and making me cry. The upshot is that the chock is a big improvement, at least for me and the way I do things.

But the quality of the chock is not very good. The first one I bought I had to take back to Harbor Freight. I don't remember the problem exactly, but I think it was welded improperly so that it couldn't work. It was easy enough to replace it. All I had to do was drive 1 1/2 hours to my nearest Harbor Freight store, exchange it for a new one, and drive 1 1/2 hours back. Grumble grumble.

Then I set about assembling the replacement chock. At least this one was built more or less properly. But the design as sold wasn't very good. I simply couldn't get the chock to work very well with the hardware supplied. I'm talking here about the pivot for the rear swing upward do dad on the chock. I made up my own hardware stack,discarding the goofy rubber bushings and making my own steel bushings/spacers and using a nylock type nut so the thing wouldn't work loose. Then it worked OK.

The mods I made could be duplicated or improved by most everybody here on the forum, since we tend to be pretty handy. But the fact is, the chock "didn't work like it says on the box". (Playing with the expression that our southern hemisphere friends have used. Been looking for a chance to use it.) And that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Knowing what I do now I would do the same thing again. The modified chock works so well for me that I wouldn't want to go back.





Ken

Re: great deal!

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:36 pm
by Deleted User 61
So in other words, make sure you get it for the SALE price!

Re: Great deal, but the quality is spotty

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:28 am
by Zombie Master
But the quality of the chock is not very good. The first one I bought I had to take back to Harbor Freight. I don't remember the problem exactly, but I think it was welded improperly so that it couldn't work. It was easy enough to replace it. All I had to do was drive 1 1/2 hours to my nearest Harbor Freight store, exchange it for a new one, and drive 1 1/2 hours back. Grumble grumble.

What did you expect for $30.?

I have one of those full length lifts too. What I did was to remove the crappy wheel chock all together. When I roll a bike onto the lift I have some wood directly ahead of the lift at the same height. That way I can pull the bike back onto the center stand and it's not to far back. If I have a bike without a center stand I put some wood along side the lift so I can use the side stand then strap the bike down so it needs no stand. These are cheap lifts but I'm not using it daily to make a living. They do make life much better though!

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:41 am
by Deleted User 61
Maybe Ken paid $50 for his?

Yeah, I've been ponderin...

Hey Scot...

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:43 am
by Scot
R65 Rob wrote:Maybe Ken paid $50 for his?

Yeah, I've been ponderin...

Hey Scot...

What?

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:44 am
by Deleted User 61
Scot wrote:
R65 Rob wrote:Maybe Ken paid $50 for his?

Yeah, I've been ponderin...

Hey Scot...

What?

I thought I remembered you having a lift.

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:45 am
by Scot
R65 Rob wrote:
Scot wrote:
R65 Rob wrote:Maybe Ken paid $50 for his?

Yeah, I've been ponderin...

Hey Scot...

What?

I thought I remembered you having a lift.

$200 cash. Come and get it.

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:51 am
by Deleted User 61
That's what I meant! But only if you are serious. I know selling tools is a major step. But my ex's son lives in your neighborhood, and I've been looking for an excuse to visit... :)

(going home, now.)

Re: great deal!

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:54 am
by Scot
R65 Rob wrote:That's what I meant! But only if you are serious. I know selling tools is a major step. But my ex's son lives in your neighborhood, and I've been looking for an excuse to visit... :)

Well . . . now you've got an excuse. Come and get it.