AMGO OH-18: an 18,000 lb two-post you configure to your ceiling

Most overhead two-post lifts come in one height and you either have the roof for it or you do not. The OH-18 is supplied with three overall height settings — 174″, 186″ and 198″ — so the column and overhead assembly is matched to the building rather than the building being matched to the lift. A shop with a low roof and a shop with a tall one buy the same model.

Underneath that flexibility is a heavy machine: 18,000 lbs of capacity, a clearfloor layout with nothing crossing the bay at ground level, dual direct-drive hydraulic cylinders and long carriages that spread the load up the columns rather than concentrating it. It is aimed at truck, fleet and commercial service work.

Will It Fit?

A two-post lift transfers everything it lifts into two column base plates, so this section is not optional reading. Verifying the ceiling, the floor and the supply is the buyer's responsibility.

• Ceiling — and this is where the three settings matter. The overall height is 174″ on the low setting, 186″ on the medium and 198″ on the high. Choose the setting your roof, your lighting and your door tracks can take, remembering that a vehicle raised to full height must still clear the overhead beam.
• Bay width. Listed on this page as 150 3/4″ overall (disputed — see below), with 123 1/2″ between the columns, listed as 10.25 ft between columns. Add working space beyond that on both sides.
• Drive-through. 110 7/16″ between the carriages, a 9 ft drive-thru width. On a two-post this is the number that decides which vehicles can be driven in at all.
• Floor. Two-post lifts are the most demanding lifts there are on concrete, because the whole load and the whole overturning moment go through the anchors. The required slab thickness, strength and condition are in the installation manual attached to this listing; read it before you order. If the slab is unknown, cracked or sitting over an expansion joint where the columns need to go, resolve that first.
• Power. The power unit is 2.0 HP running at 220V single phase. That is a dedicated circuit, sized and installed by an electrician.

Clearfloor, and what you get back for the overhead beam

The OH-18 is a clearfloor design: the hydraulic and equalising runs go overhead, so there is nothing crossing the floor between the columns. That is the trade the overhead beam buys you. Practically it means a transmission jack rolls straight through, a creeper does not stop halfway, and you can sweep the bay in one pass.

The beam also carries the overhead safety shut-off, which stops the lift when a vehicle's roof reaches the beam. That is a mechanical answer to the single most common two-post accident: raising a tall vehicle into the structure above it.

Locks, arms and the details that decide how it feels to use

Unlocking a two-post is normally a two-person or two-trip job — one column at a time. The OH-18 uses a manual single-point safety release that unlocks both columns from one side, so the lift comes down from where you are standing.

The arms are two-stage rugged arms with automatic restraints that lock into position as the vehicle is raised and release when it is lowered, so the arms cannot swing out from under a load. The equalising cables use AMGO's aero sync cables with their 3 in 1 technology, and lift is provided by dual direct-drive hydraulic cylinders with high-quality seals. Direct drive is the relevant word: the cylinder acts on the carriage rather than through a chain multiplier, which means fewer wear items in the load path on a lift rated at 18,000 lbs.

Two pad types come as standard — the regular rubber pads and heavy-duty saddle adapters — so a unibody car and a body-on-frame truck can both be picked up correctly on the day the lift is commissioned.

Working height

Maximum lifting height at the top of the pad is listed on this page as 75 1/4″ without the extension adapters and 81 1/4″ with them, the 6.75 ft figure quoted in the specifications (the with-adapter figure is disputed — see below). Locked, that is 73 5/16″ and 82 5/16″ respectively. Minimum pad height is listed as 7 1/4″ (also disputed). Maximum rise under the arms is 68″, and a full lift cycle takes 84 seconds.

Where our sheet and AMGO's current specification part company

Four numbers on this page are contested: AMGO's currently published specification differs from the sheet we hold on each, and setting out the shape of the disagreement beats silently choosing.

• Maximum lifting height with the extension adapter. The manufacturer publishes a taller figure than the table above, and publishes it as a range rather than one value — so this disagreement runs in the lift's favour.
• Overall width. The manufacturer publishes a wider lift. If your bay is tight to the walls, that is the wrong direction to be guessing in.
• Minimum pad height. The manufacturer publishes a lower minimum than the one listed above.
• Gross weight. The manufacturer publishes a heavier crate. Freight is quoted from the shipping weight we hold on file rather than from this figure, so the consequence is how you plan to get it off the truck.

Neither party is being called wrong; sheets drift apart over years of republication and we cannot settle it from here. Confirm the overall width and the working heights with us in writing before you commit the bay or book the installer — a column position is anchored into concrete, and that is not a decision you revise afterwards.

Perfect For

• Heavy-duty truck and fleet shops shopping at the top of the capacity range.
• Commercial service centres wanting clear-floor jack, creeper and drain access all day.
• Buildings with awkward ceilings — the three-setting column is a real answer.
• Mixed car-and-truck work, since both pad types ship as standard.

What's in the Box

Standard equipment includes the overhead safety shut-off device, the manual single-point safety release, automatic arm restraints, the two-stage arms, aero sync cables with 3 in 1 technology, the dual direct-drive hydraulic cylinders, both the standard rubber pads and the heavy-duty saddle adapters, and the hardware for the three height settings. Confirm anchors and any optional accessory package with us before ordering.

Specifications

Capacity and power

Dimensions

Lifting height

Certification, stated plainly

We will not put a badge on this page that the product data does not support. The manufacturer's documentation supplied to us for the OH-18 does not state a North American third-party lift safety listing, and a self-declared conformity statement — whichever market it is written for — is not the same document as an independent third-party listing of the finished lift. Some commercial insurance policies, fleet operating standards and local jurisdictions specifically require that independent listing. If yours does, verify the requirement in writing before you buy this lift.

Shipping and delivery

Freight only, lower 48. The carrier arranges an appointment; nothing about a crate of this size is a doorstep delivery. You must be able to unload it — forklift, telehandler or loading dock — or select terminal pickup and collect it yourself. Delivering to a residential address adds a residential fee, priced live at checkout together with the freight. Warehouse pickup is available at Manning, SC, Dallas, TX and Temecula, CA.

Check the shipment over before you sign. Photograph anything that looks off and write it onto the bill of lading while the driver is there — once you have signed a clean bill, the damage is yours to argue.

Warranty

The warranty terms, the exclusions and the claim procedure are published on our warranty claims page. Read the live terms there rather than a period quoted in a description.

One thing will sink a valid claim faster than anything else: taking a component apart before the claim is agreed. If a cylinder, a power unit or a lock assembly is misbehaving, tell us the symptom and leave it assembled.