BendPak PCL-18B-8, Low Voltage — the Eight-Column Set for a Standard Shop Supply

This package exists for a specific and very practical reason: most independent truck shops do not have a high-voltage feed, and nobody wants to pay a utility to install one before a lift can be commissioned. It is the same eight-column PCL-18B system, built to run on 208-230/190V three-phase power — the supply an ordinary commercial building already has at the panel.

Choosing between the low-voltage and high-voltage builds is not a preference, it is an electrical fact about your building, and it is the first thing to settle. Everything else about the two packages — the columns, the controls, the safety systems, the forks — is common.

Settle the Supply First, and Get It in Writing

Two things about the electrical side need saying plainly.

First, the family feature list for the PCL-18B quotes a 208-240V three-phase main power system as the standard configuration, with optional voltages available on request. This package is that standard low-voltage build, and it is the one to buy if your service is ordinary three-phase.

Second, the published sources for this package differ on the supply voltage:

A voltage field showing the other build’s value is almost certainly a copied field rather than a differently wired machine, but "almost certainly" is not good enough when the alternative is a commissioning engineer standing in your shop with the wrong lift. Ask us in writing to confirm the supply voltage of the set you are ordering, and we will confirm it in writing with BendPak before the order is placed. Do not have an electrician install a feed until you have that.

What Eight Columns Actually Gives You

Eight columns is the configuration for four-axle vehicles — the ones a four-post lift simply cannot take, since BendPak’s four-post range stops at 40,000 lbs. It is also two four-column sets when you would rather run two trucks at once, with each four-column group handling up to 72,000 lbs. The control system supports SINGLE, PAIR and TEAM operation, so the columns are addressed individually, in pairs, or as one synchronised group.

Confirm the System Capacity Before You Order

Published figures for the capacity of the assembled eight-column system differ:

The per-column rating of 18,000 lbs is consistent everywhere; what differs is the rating of the assembled system. Since that is the figure a safety officer or an insurer will ask you to evidence, ask us in writing before ordering and we will confirm the rated capacity of an eight-column set with the manufacturer.

Cable Routing, Movement and Storage

A standard four-column set runs on just three 30’ cables, which is deliberate — it keeps either the front or the rear of the vehicle clear of trip hazards, and around a raised truck the space you are not tripping over is the space you actually work in. The columns travel on their own tandem 8" polyurethane-covered steel wheels with sealed roller bearings, so a rough or debris-strewn floor does not stop them, and forklift pockets are built into each column for moving the set between buildings. Pallet-jack style steering wheels let a loaded column settle firmly onto the slab instead of riding on sprung casters.

Fit, Floor and Forks

Floor. Nothing is anchored and nothing is set into the ground, so your slab does all the work: 1,450 lbs per column before a vehicle is added, concentrated on the wheels. It needs to be flat, level and structurally sound — if you do not know what your slab is, find out before you buy, because that assessment is the customer’s responsibility.

Clearance. The forks lift to a maximum of 71.5", so your ceiling requirement is that plus the height of the vehicle on top of it, plus room to work. Programmable height limits let you cap the rise for a low roof. One caution on the published table: its two overall-height figures, 101" and 146.5", are labelled raised and lowered in an order that looks transposed, so confirm the stowed standing height with us in writing before you assume a column clears a doorway.

Wheels and forks. The forks are multi-width with locking pins and extend to suit wide tyres and deep-dish wheels, adjusting between 9.5" and 35" — which is what removes the need for the specialty wheel adapters that get lost in every shop that owns them. Each column measures 45" wide by 48.75" deep with a 32.25" chassis and turns inside 40".

Perfect For

• Independent truck and trailer shops on standard three-phase service, with no appetite for a utility upgrade.
• Fleet workshops covering four-axle vehicles and light vehicles from a single set of columns.
• Leased premises — nothing is anchored, nothing is dug, and the set moves out when you do.
• Two-bay operations that will regularly split eight columns into two working teams.

Controls and Safety

Synchronisation is handled by sealed, enclosed linear potentiometers, one per column, reporting position continuously so every column tracks the others through the whole cycle. Safety circuitry runs at 24-volts, the electronics are multi-fuse protected, and the PLC and main components are off-the-shelf brands rather than proprietary boards — which is what determines whether a fault five years from now is a stocked part or a special order. Each column has its own emergency shut-off, warning light, audible alarm and key lock enclosure; mechanical locks engage automatically at close intervals as the carriage rises; inverted cylinders carry an integrated safety valve against pressure loss; and manual override valves let a vehicle be lowered in a power cut without hand cranks. Lowering has two speeds, so the last few inches can be taken slowly.

Specifications (Per Column)

Certification

BendPak states that this lift meets or exceeds the standards prescribed by ANSI/ALI ALCTV-2011 — the North American construction, testing and validation standard for automotive lifts. It is worth having in a commercial shop: insurers and inspectors ask for that standard by name, and plenty of imported column lifts cannot claim it. If you need the documentation against a specific serial number for an insurance file, tell us and we will request it from BendPak.

Shipping and Delivery

Eight columns is a substantial freight consignment inside the lower 48 states: each one weighs 1,450 lbs and crates at approximately 106" by 55" by 41". Your freight cost is quoted live at checkout for the delivery address you enter, a residential address carries a residential fee, and terminal pickup avoids that fee. Warehouse pickup can be arranged on BendPak equipment — ask us which location works for you.

Book your unloading before the truck is scheduled; taking the crates off the trailer is the receiver’s job and this weight needs a forklift or a dock. When it arrives, count the columns against the bill of lading and walk each crate with the driver before signing. Note any damage or shortage on the delivery receipt at the time — a clean signature is extremely hard to walk back.

Warranty

The applicable BendPak warranty document is on this page, and we would rather send you to the terms than summarise a duration for you. Whatever the term, two things protect it: register the equipment at commissioning, and do not take a power unit, control box or cylinder apart before a claim is filed. Manufacturers are entitled to examine a failed part in the state it failed, and a dismantled assembly is the most common reason a legitimate claim is refused. Call us and we will open it with you.