MSC-18K-X-236: a 36,000 lbs column pair that runs off its own batteries

This is a set of two iDEAL mobile columns rated 36,000 lbs as a pair, and the thing that decides whether they suit your building is not the capacity — it is that they run on 24VDC battery power with an onboard charging system. There is no trailing supply cable to route around a vehicle, nothing to anchor into your slab, and nothing permanent to design a bay around. You wheel the columns to the vehicle, lift, work, and then park them against a wall.

The columns talk to each other over a communication cable on retractable reels, wired in a U-shape configuration so the run stays clear of the vehicle's path in and out. Either column can drive the set, and a master control panel with an LCD keypad handles individual or paired synchronised operation.

The part that is easy to miss: the batteries are not included

iDEAL's own specification is explicit about it, and we would rather you read it here than discover it on delivery day. Each column takes a 12VDC sealed deep-cycle battery — BCI Group 31, AH-105 — and those are not supplied with the lift. Budget for them, buy them locally, and put them on your order list alongside the columns. It is a small line item against a set this size, but it is the difference between lifting on the day the freight arrives and waiting a week.

The charging side is built in. Each column takes an AC input of 100 to 140VAC, 60Hz, 1PH, and converts it to the 24VDC the drive runs on, so a normal wall outlet keeps the set charged overnight rather than a dedicated three-phase feed.

Will It Fit?

• Ceiling. Each column stands 88.6" at its lowest and reaches 155.5" at full extension. Measure to the lowest thing hanging from your roof — a light, a door track, a heater — not to the roof deck.
• Lifting height. 67.1" at the fork. Add that to the underside of the vehicle to work out the height you will actually be standing under.
• Floor space. Each column is 44.1" wide, and the set will run with the columns up to 32'8" apart, so the same pair covers a passenger van and a long-wheelbase truck.
• Wheels. The forks adjust from 12.6" to 22" to suit the wheel diameter, the forks are 17.9" long, and there is 10" of clearance between fork and column.
• Floor. iDEAL specifies a minimum concrete surface strength of 3,000 PSI. Mobile columns are not anchored, but they concentrate the whole load onto four small caster and foot contact patches, so slab strength and flatness still matter. Confirming your slab meets the specification is the buyer's responsibility, and if you do not know what your floor is, have it cored and tested before the set arrives.
• Indoors. iDEAL specifies indoor set-up and operation for this lift. It is not a yard machine.
• Noise. 70 dB(A), which matters more than it sounds in a shop where technicians work next to the columns all day.

Synchronisation, and why the encoder is the safety feature

A PLC and an optical encoder keep the columns synchronised continuously while the set is moving. That is not a convenience feature. Four wheels being lifted at slightly different rates puts the vehicle into a twist it was never designed to take, and it is the failure mode that mobile columns have to engineer out. The encoder measures where each carriage actually is, rather than assuming that equal run time means equal height.

Under that sits an independent mechanical locking system. When the set is at working height the load rests on steel, not on hydraulic pressure. Each column also carries its own emergency switch, so a technician at any corner of the vehicle can stop the whole set without walking to a master station.

Perfect For

• Truck and bus shops that need to lift by the wheels rather than by frame contact points.
• Fleet and municipal workshops where the vehicle mix changes weekly and a fixed lift in a fixed bay is the wrong shape.
• Shops that rent their building and cannot cut, drill or anchor the floor.
• Multi-bay operations that want one lifting set that can be pushed to whichever bay is free.

What Comes With the Set

• Two columns, each with its own emergency switch and mechanical locks
• Master control panel with LCD screen and keypad
• Communication cable on retractable cable reels
• Adjustable lifting forks
• LED work light with a magnetic base
• Poly caster wheels, so the columns can be repositioned with a pallet-jack type device

Not included: the 12VDC batteries described above, and the optional MSC accessories iDEAL lists separately.

Specifications

Certification, stated exactly

One line in the feature list on this page mentions optional MSC accessories that are ALI certified. Read that for what it says: it is a statement about certain optional accessories, not a claim that these columns themselves carry a third-party North American lift safety listing, and we are not going to blur the two.

If your insurer, your fleet policy or your local jurisdiction requires a lift to carry that listing, ask them to name the requirement in writing and then talk to us before you order, so we can put the question to iDEAL and answer it with a document rather than an assumption.

Shipping and Delivery

The set ships as freight to the lower 48. Each column is listed at 1,584 lbs, and there are two of them, so this is a forklift or loading-dock delivery — the driver will not take it off the truck for you. If your site cannot unload, arrange terminal pickup and collect with your own equipment, or use one of our warehouse pickup locations.

Check the freight before you sign for it. Photograph any damage to the crates, count the columns and the control gear against the packing list, and write what you found on the bill of lading while the driver is still there. A clean signature is the carrier's proof that nothing was wrong on arrival.

Delivery to a residential address carries a residential fee. Freight is quoted live at checkout for your own ZIP code rather than estimated.

Warranty

Coverage and the claim process are set out on our warranty claims page. One rule matters more than the rest: do not dismantle a suspect component before the claim is open. An opened control box or a stripped carriage is the most common reason a real failure ends up outside cover. Photograph it, leave it as it is, and call us.