AMGO PRO-18A: an 18,000 lb four-post that sets its runway width to the vehicle, not to a notch

Most four-post lifts set their runways in a handful of fixed positions. The PRO-18A adjusts steplessly — anywhere in its range, not at preset notches — so the deck is set to the vehicle in front of you instead of to the nearest setting. It is rated at 18,000 lbs, which puts the three-quarter and one-ton trucks, vans and larger SUVs that a passenger-car rack turns away inside its working range. Slip plates are integrated into the runways and the turnplate pockets are adjustable — what arrives with the lift and what is ordered separately is covered in the note further down, and it is worth reading before you order.

Underneath the alignment hardware it is a serious four-post: cable-driven on aircraft-standard cable, a 2.0 HP power unit, a mechanical self-locking safety device with an air-released lock, multiple primary locks and a cable-slack protection system. It locks at 74″ to the top of the runway, and that is the height you will actually work at, because a lift belongs on steel rather than on hydraulic pressure.

Why Stepless Adjustment Earns Its Keep

A fixed-position runway forces a compromise on every vehicle that falls between the settings: the tyres sit slightly off-centre on the deck, the technician works around it, and the pockets end up marginally out of position. Over a day of alignments that is time, and on a wide-track truck it is the difference between a comfortable setup and an awkward one.

Stepless adjustment removes the compromise. Set the deck to the vehicle in front of you, get the wheels centred in the pockets, and the geometry you are measuring is the vehicle's rather than the vehicle plus a setup error. Slip plates set into the runway matter for the same reason — one less thing to position and lose.

Will It Fit?

• Length. 292 3/4″ overall with the ramps fitted, 252 1/4″ for the structure alone — usefully close to the round 292″ and 252″ figures on our spec sheet. Leave approach room in front of the ramps on top of that.
• Width. 137 1/16″ across the columns with 122 3/8″ clear between them. The runway-spacing and outside-edge figures on this page are contested; they are in the table below, marked, and explained in the note that follows.
• Ceiling. The lift stands 86 3/16″. Add your tallest vehicle plus the rise you intend to use — maximum lock height to the top of the runway is 74″, with a maximum lifting height of 77 3/16″. Measure to the lowest thing hanging from your roof, not to the roof itself.
• Drive-through. 108 1/4″ between the carriages.
• Working underneath. Maximum underneath height 68 1/2″, and 65 3/8″ at the lock. Minimum height is 9 7/8″, which is how low the deck sits when a car has to drive on.
• Power. A 2.0 HP unit; the lifting cycle is listed at 81S. Supply voltage and breaker size are in the manual supplied with the lift and linked below — have an electrician confirm them for your building before delivery.
• Concrete. The required slab depth and strength are specified in that manual. Meeting them is the buyer's responsibility. An alignment lift in particular wants a floor that is flat as well as strong, because the rack can only be as level as what it is anchored to.

The Safety Systems, and What Each One Is Actually For

The lift is cable-driven on aircraft-standard cable, and two separate systems supervise it. A mechanical self-locking safety device with an air-released lock parks the platform on steel — a vehicle left up overnight for a parts wait is held mechanically, not hydraulically. Multiple primary safety locks mean the mechanism can engage in more than one place.

The cable-slack protection system addresses the failure that four-post lifts genuinely see. Cables rarely part without notice; one goes slack while the others hold tension, and the deck loses level with a vehicle on it. On an alignment lift that is doubly unwelcome, because level is the measurement. Detecting slack and stopping the lift is the system's whole job.

The hydraulic side uses a quality cylinder with flow control, which is what makes the lowering smooth and even rather than dictated by the load.

Perfect For

• Alignment and tyre shops that need one rack to cover cars, vans and light-commercial trucks.
• General repair shops adding alignment work — the lift does ordinary service jobs the rest of the week.
• Fleet workshops running vans and three-quarter to one-ton trucks that will not fit a passenger-car rack.
• Dealership service departments handling long-wheelbase vehicles — confirm the alignment window with us first, for the reason set out below.

What Comes as Standard

• ETL-certified AMGO power unit
• Mechanical self-locking safety device with air-driven lock release
• Multiple primary safety locks plus cable-slack protection system
• Cable drive using aircraft-standard cable
• Heavy-duty hydraulic cylinder with quality oil seals and compensation valve
• Non-skid diamond platforms
• Stepless adjustable width between platforms
• Integrated slip plates and adjustable turnplate pockets (the turnplates themselves — see the note below)

Specifications

Where this page and the manufacturer's sheet part company

Several rows above are marked contested, and on an alignment rack two of them decide the purchase. Confirm the alignment window and what actually arrives in the crate with us in writing before you order. Against the figures printed here, the manufacturer's current specification gives a shorter maximum two-wheel alignment length and a longer maximum four-wheel one — the error runs both ways, so no buyer can correct for it by assuming we are generous. It also publishes a shorter runway length, a single runway-width figure in place of our nominal-plus-range, a different outside-edge range and a lighter gross weight.

The minimum runway spacing in our table is not physically credible — a gap of a few inches between two runways cannot be driven onto — so read that cell as corrupt rather than as a specification. On the alignment hardware, our data lists integrated slip plates and adjustable turnplate pockets as part of the deck, while the manufacturer's current parts listing shows the turnplates themselves as a separately ordered kit. We assert neither version; ask us what is in the crate before you plan the first alignment on it. We are not printing the manufacturer's figures beside ours either, because distributors republish ours digit for digit — agreement across sites shows only a shared source.

Certification, Stated Plainly

The AMGO power unit fitted as standard is ETL certified: a third-party listing of the electrical assembly, covering motor, pump and control circuit, against a recognised safety standard.

That listing is not a third-party structural certification of the lift and is not offered as one. Alignment work tends to happen in shops with an insurer's inspection regime, so settle it early — if your insurer, your local authority or a manufacturer programme requires the lift to hold a third-party lift-safety listing, ask them to name it in writing and talk to us before you order.

Shipping and Delivery

Freight, lower 48 states. This is a heavy crated structure — it arrives on a trailer and leaves it under your own power.

You will need a forklift with capacity in reserve, a telehandler or an overhead crane; the delivering driver is not equipped to unload it. If your site cannot, terminal pickup is the straightforward alternative, and AMGO warehouse pickup locations are listed further down this page.

Before signing, count crates against the packing list, photograph anything damaged, and record it on the bill of lading while the driver is present. A clean BOL is the carrier's evidence that nothing was wrong on arrival.

Residential delivery carries a residential fee. Freight is quoted live at checkout for your ZIP code rather than estimated.

Warranty

Terms and the claim process are on our warranty claims page. Do not disassemble a suspect component before the claim is opened — a stripped cylinder or an opened power unit is the usual reason a real failure ends up uncovered. Photograph it and let us start the claim first.