Econo Lifts

[thirtydaZe]

Going to go look at a 6000lb Econo Lift today.

Seller states it's 4 years old. He's the 2nd owner. Claims that he bought it from a lady who had it for the first 3 years, but rarely put it to use.

He's now used the boat for 1 season, and up grading his boat considerably so this lift is now to small.

Asking $2500 for it, but will negotiate that.

Anyhow, are econo lifts a good quality product? Anything else you can fill me in on?

 

[jason78]

I don't have any personal experience with the brand but when I was looking for a lift for my last boat, I did quite a bit of research and even considered a couple Econo-lifts. In my reserach I found that Econo-List is just that- it is a lower end, lower priced lift that will get the job done. That is also proven by the fact they dont seem to hold their value.

Based on what I found, if you plan to keep the it for a few years you will probably be fine. If you want it long term, spend an extra $1000-$1500 and find a used Hydro-Hoist, Poly-Lift or Floatair.

Good Luck!

 

[thirtydaZe]

I don't have any personal experience with the brand but when I was looking for a lift for my last boat, I did quite a bit of research and even considered a couple Econo-lifts. In my reserach I found that Econo-List is just that- it is a lower end, lower priced lift that will get the job done. That is also proven by the fact they dont seem to hold their value.

Based on what I found, if you plan to keep the it for a few years you will probably be fine. If you want it long term, spend an extra $1000-$1500 and find a used Hydro-Hoist, Poly-Lift or Floatair.

Good Luck!

Great, thanks for the quick response! I guess what it boils down to is when it comes the different brands of lifts offered, i don't really know any except Dry Docker. Makes researching it more difficult for me....

Have you heard of Sunstream lifts? We were at the boat show last night in Omaha, NE and looked at a few. Seem to be pretty cool, but way out of our price range.

www.nelsonsezdock.com

if you are so inclined....

Thanks again.

 

[jason78]

Great, thanks for the quick response! I guess what it boils down to is when it comes the different brands of lifts offered, i don't really know any except Dry Docker. Makes researching it more difficult for me....

Have you heard of Sunstream lifts? We were at the boat show last night in Omaha, NE and looked at a few. Seem to be pretty cool, but way out of our price range.

www.nelsonsezdock.com

if you are so inclined....

Thanks again.

I have never heard of them but they may just not have a presence in my region. I am no boat lift expert but one thing you need to pay attention to is what is under water when the lift is in the up position. Some have bands that go under the tanks. These will eventually rust or corrode and have to be replaced. When it comes to boat lifts, other than the plastic tanks, the less under water, the better. This is a big selling point of the 3 brands I mentioned earlier. The other thing you need to pay attention is the motor. I am sure I am missing stuff but that is a start.

 

[casey344]

We are refurbishing a Sunstream FL6 6000# float lift. Last I checked they were 12k new, this one should be around 8k when we are done. I am just waiting on the new cylinders. We have replaced the hydraulic hoses, new electronics with (2) new hand held transmitters etc etc. They are really nice lifts but if you have a u-slip there are lesser expensive options.

There is good value in pre-owned boat lifts but be cautious. If you don't know what you are looking for you could be buying trouble. Be sure to consider your slip dimensions versus the dimensions of what you may be buying. If your slip is 12' wide but you buy a lift that was in a 10' slip you will have to re-size the lift to fit. Sometimes this means adding steel to accommodate the new dimensions, other times you are cutting the steel away.

Econolift are ok in calm areas where there is no wind or boat wakes. We make allot of money servicing them because of their economy parts. We serviced an Econolift this past Friday and only had time to remove and move the boat to a safe place. At the direction of the boat owner we floated the boat over to an empty slip figuring it would be safe until we could return Monday to complete the repair. I received a phone call earlier today saying the boat sunk. Apparently the boat had a hole in it that the owner wasn't aware of (yes, we did check the drain plug). That isn't the lifts fault, just a terrible story.

I wouldn't consider Econolift if you are in a main channel area. Also, they are a bugger to transport. We charge a $200 Econolift surcharge for the added aggravation of pushing them to a boat launch.

Poly Lift, Galvalift and Hydrohoist are all good brands regardless of how busy your area is. For a number of reasons Poly Lift and Galvalift would be my first choice.

 

[dhansen]

thirtydaZe...if you haven't pulled the trigger on a lift yet, keep in mind that with Bellevue and Sandpiper marinas closed that you can probably get a pretty good deal on a used lift this season. $2500 seems the typical asking price for a 6500# lift, but I bet you can do some negotiating!