Challenger CL12A-2: the tallest column build in the 12K adjustable range

This is the version of Challenger's 12,000 lbs adjustable two-post for shops with a genuinely tall building. Overall height is 15' 2″ or 15' 8″ and the minimum ceiling requirement is 16' 3″, which is more roof than most commercial workshops have. If you do have it, the CL12A-2 is where the family stops asking you to compromise.

The machinery is common to the range — symmetric lifting, 3-stage front and rear arms, three width builds, the Stack Adapter Kit (P/N 10315) as standard. What is different is entirely above the carriage, and it is the part you cannot change afterwards.

Height is the one decision with no second chance

Almost everything on a two-post lift can be revisited. Adapters can be bought, footpads swapped, arms serviced, the electrical supply upgraded. Column height cannot. Once the anchors are set and the beam is squared, the height of the lift is the height of the lift, and changing it means pulling the whole installation out of the floor.

That is why the range is a ladder rather than a single model: CL12A, CL12A-1, CL12A-2, plus 1-foot and 2-foot column extensions offered on top. Buying the tallest build is not about wanting a bigger lift. It is about buying the height once, at the point where it costs nothing extra to be right, instead of discovering the limit two years later on a vehicle you did not expect to be servicing.

What the extra column is actually for

Height on a two-post pays off in one specific way: the vehicle goes all the way up, and the technician stands underneath it rather than stooping. Rise height here is 84.75″ to the top of the pad, with 80″ of maximum rise under the arms — roughly 7 ft to the top of the arms.

The number that governs how much of that you get on a tall vehicle is the floor-to-overhead-switch dimension, 14' 8″ or 15' 2″ on this build. A high-roof van, a box body or a vehicle with a roof rack meets the padded shut-off at that height. On a shorter build the same van stops well before full rise, and a technician who has to bend for eight hours makes different decisions than one who does not. Fatigue is a quality problem long before it is a comfort problem.

Width, arms and pads

Overall width is built at 142″, 148″ or 154″, described in the feature list as an adjustment from 11' 10″ to 12' 10″. Wider gives door clearance and walking room beside a raised vehicle; narrower suits a constrained bay. It is set at installation, like the height.

All four arms are 3-stage with a reach from 27.5″ to 59″, so the lift covers small cars and long-wheelbase trucks without an adapter stack for every job. Premium telescoping footpads adjust from 4.75″ to 6.625″. For electric vehicles and other unusually wide bodies, the TFPK footpad kit extends the pickup range further — increasingly the reason a shop specifies an adjustable lift rather than a fixed one.

Will It Fit?

This build has the most demanding ceiling requirement in the family, so measure first. Confirming the building suits the lift is the customer's responsibility.

• Ceiling: 16' 3″ minimum. Measure to the lowest obstruction over the bay — lighting, ducting, a door track, a sprinkler line — not to the underside of the roof.
• Overall height: 15' 2″ or 15' 8″, held elsewhere in our data as 182″ or 188″.
• Overhead switch: 14' 8″ or 15' 2″ from the floor.
• Width: 142″, 148″ or 154″ overall, with about 10.5 ft between the columns and roughly 9.5 ft of drive-through.
• Power: 2HP, 208v–230v, 60Hz, single phase (1Ph), on its own circuit, terminated before installation.
• Slab: follow the concrete specification in the installation manual without improvising. Two columns transfer the entire load into two anchor patterns. Never anchor over a crack, a repair or an expansion joint; core the floor if nobody can say how it was poured.

If 16' 3″ is more than you have

Say so before you order, because the rest of the family exists precisely for that. The CL12A-1 and the standard CL12A are shorter builds of the same lift, and a low-ceiling variant is offered with a column height of 11' 11″ for buildings that could not otherwise take a 12K two-post at all. Give us your measured ceiling height and the tallest vehicle you want to raise fully and we will point you at the right one rather than the biggest one.

Perfect For

• Purpose-built truck and van workshops with the roof height to exploit a tall column.
• Fleet depots servicing high-roof vans, box bodies and utility vehicles up to 12,000 lbs.
• Shops that intend to keep this lift for decades and would rather buy the height once.
• Workshops adding electric vehicles, where the arm reach and the TFPK footpad kit matter.

What's in the Box

• Two full-height columns with the overhead beam and shut-off system
• 3-stage front and rear arms
• Premium telescoping footpads
• Stack Adapter Kit, P/N 10315, standard on every lift in this family
• Powder coat finish, red, blue or black

Not supplied: anchors and slab preparation, the electrical circuit, the TFPK footpad kit, and accessories such as rolling jacks. Ask us to quote them with the lift rather than afterwards.

Specifications

Two clearance figures we will not choose between

Our records hold the drive-through clearance and the inside-column dimension twice for this lift, and the two records are half an inch apart at every setting. One says 103.5″, 109.5″ and 115.5″ through the carriages, with 114.5″, 120.5″ and 126.5″ inside the columns. The other says 104″, 110″ and 116″, with 115″, 121″ and 127″. A separate field puts minimum pad height at 5″, which does not sit inside the footpad range printed above.

We have quoted both rather than picking one, and left the clearance out of the specification table entirely. If half an inch changes your answer — and on a wide vehicle through a narrow build, it can — ask us and we will confirm against Challenger's current drawing before you place the order.

Certification

The data for this lift claims ALI certification, and that is the only mark it claims. What the listing covers is the lift as it was submitted for testing: not your floor, not the anchors, not the circuit, not the standard of the installation. A certified lift on a slab that will not hold it is not a safe lift. Where a specific listing is written into your insurance, your lease or a fleet agreement, ask us for the current certificate for this exact model and revision before you buy.

Shipping and delivery

Freight, to the lower 48 states, at a rate quoted live at checkout for the address you give us. The columns on this build are the tallest in the range and the shipment is correspondingly awkward, so plan the unload properly: a forklift, a dock, or collection from the carrier's terminal. The driver cannot unload for you. Residential delivery is a separate service carrying a residential fee, and warehouse pickup is available if you would rather collect.

Inspect before signing. Look over the crated columns end to end, check the beam and the arm sets, count against the paperwork, and write any damage or shortage onto the delivery note while the driver is present. A clean signature closes off a damage claim.

Warranty

Warranty terms for this model are on our warranty claims page, and we will confirm the current terms in writing before you buy if you ask for them. If a component fails, leave it intact. Photograph it in position, take the lift out of service and speak to us before anything is unbolted — a part that has already been stripped cannot be assessed, and that is what stalls claims that would otherwise be paid.