FR-55: the frame rack whose deck is also a lift
Most frame racks sit at one height and stay there. The FR-55's deck is a scissor lift that travels from 4.75" off the floor to 63", driven from a console. That single property is what earns the machine its floor space in a shop that cannot dedicate a bay to collision work: at 4.75" a car drives on over a shallow approach, and at 63" the same deck is a working height for the underside, the sills and the wheel arches. A fixed rack gives you the anchoring and the pulling; this one gives you those plus the bay back.
It is rated 5,500 lbs and carries a single 10 Ton pulling tower with a down-pull roller — the entry point into the frame-rack range rather than the two-tower machines, and priced and sized accordingly.
Anchoring: the part that decides whether a pull is accurate
The FR-55 uses a universal anchoring system with adjustable-height pinch weld assemblies. Height adjustment is the detail worth understanding. A pinch weld clamp that only bolts at one height forces you to shim, and a shimmed clamp is a clamp that can move under load — which turns a measured pull into a guess. Adjustable assemblies let you take the vehicle's rocker at the height it actually sits, so the clamp bites square and the body is held where you set it, not where the fixture would prefer it.
That matters most on a scissor deck, because the vehicle is being anchored to a platform that then rises. Anything loose at the clamp turns into movement 63" in the air.
Pulling: one tower, a down-pull roller, and a 10' chain
The tower delivers 10 Ton of pull force and carries a down-pull roller, which lets you redirect the chain downward and pull below the anchor line rather than only outward from it — the arrangement you want for a dropped rail or a sagging sill. A 10' pulling chain with hook comes with the machine, so the reach is there for a corner pull without immediately buying extra rigging.
Behind it is an air/hydraulic pump with a pressure gauge running the system at up to 10,000 PSI, with quick-disconnect hydraulic fittings so a hose can be moved between the deck and the tower without draining anything. The gauge is not decoration: on a pull you are reading load, and a pull you can read is a pull you can stop before the panel tears.
Will It Fit?
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Deck footprint. 173.25" long and 37" wide. Add drive-on approach room at one end and standing room around the tower — the tower needs space to swing and to be worked around, not just to stand.
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Height. Deck height runs 4.75" to 63". Check your ceiling against 63" plus the height of the tallest vehicle you intend to put on it, and measure to the lowest fitting hanging from the roof.
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Power. 220 VAC, 20 AMP, 1 PH. Have a licensed electrician confirm the circuit, the disconnect and the cable run before delivery day rather than on it.
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Air. The pump needs a supply in the 100-200 PSI range. Check that your compressor holds the bottom of that figure under continuous demand, not just at cut-out.
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Floor. iDEAL does not publish a concrete depth or strength figure in the data we hold for this machine, so we are not going to invent one. The requirement is in the manual supplied with the rack; meeting it is the buyer's responsibility, and if your slab is unknown, have it checked before the freight is booked.
Perfect For
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Body shops adding frame capability without committing a permanent bay to a fixed bench.
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General repair shops that take occasional collision work and need the deck to earn its keep as a lift between jobs.
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Restoration workshops squaring up shells where measured, controlled pulls matter more than volume.
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Fleet operations straightening light commercial bodywork in house.
What's in the Box
- Scissor lift rack with console operation for raising and lowering
- Universal anchoring system with adjustable-height pinch weld assemblies
- One 10 Ton pulling tower with down-pull roller
- One 10' pulling chain with hook
- Air/hydraulic pump with pressure gauge
- Quick-disconnect hydraulic fittings
- Universal wheel stands
- Powder coat finish throughout
Listed separately by iDEAL as options: the FR-55-TBK20 tool board kit, the FR-PROMEASRKIT professional measuring kit, the FR-EWINCH electric winch and the FR-BAGJACK air bag jack. If you intend to measure as you pull rather than by eye, price the measuring kit into the purchase from the start.
Specifications
| Model |
FR-55 |
| Deck design |
Scissor lift |
| Lifting capacity |
5,500 lbs |
| Deck length |
173.25" |
| Deck width |
37" |
| Deck height |
4.75" to 63" |
| Pull force per tower |
10 Ton |
| Hydraulic pressure |
10,000 PSI |
| Required air pressure |
100-200 PSI |
| Power |
220 VAC, 20 AMP, 1 PH |
| Ship weight |
3,105 lbs |
Certification, stated honestly
The data iDEAL supplies for the FR-55 makes no third-party safety listing claim, and we would rather say so than let a badge be assumed. A frame rack is not in the same regulatory category as a vehicle lift, but insurers and some jurisdictions still ask what equipment in a collision bay is listed and by whom.
If that question is going to be asked of you, get it put in writing by whoever is asking, then bring it to us before you order and we will take it to iDEAL. Sorting that out before the machine is on your floor is a conversation; sorting it out afterwards is an expense.
Shipping and Delivery
The FR-55 ships as freight to the lower 48 at a listed 3,105 lbs. That is a forklift, telehandler or dock delivery: the truck driver will not unload it, and a pallet jack will not move it off a trailer. If you have no way to unload on site, take terminal pickup and collect it with equipment that can handle the weight, or use warehouse pickup where we have stock near you.
Look the shipment over before you sign anything. Photograph any bent, crushed or gouged steel, check the tower and the pump against the packing list, and write the damage onto the bill of lading with the driver present. A clean signature transfers the argument to you.
Residential delivery carries a residential fee. Freight is quoted live at checkout for your ZIP code, so the figure you see is your lane on the day.
Warranty
Coverage and the claims process are on our warranty claims page. The rule that saves the most claims: do not disassemble a suspect component before the claim is opened. A stripped pump or an opened cylinder is the usual reason a genuine failure ends up outside cover — photograph it, leave it alone, and call us first.
