Challenger Lifts CL20-0: 20,000 lbs into a building you already have

Most 20,000 lb two-post lifts assume a purpose-built bay. The CL20-0 is specified the other way round, and two figures show it. Its columns are adjustable in width from 12' 10.75" to 13' 10.75", so the lift is fitted to the bay instead of the bay being poured to the lift. And at the shortest of its three column options it needs a minimum ceiling of 13' 8" — a height a great many existing workshops actually have.

This is the standard-height member of the CL20 family, with overall column options of 162", 168" or 174". If your vehicles are heavy rather than tall, it is the version that makes sense; if the roofline is the problem, the extended-height model is the one to look at instead.

Capacity is not where the compromise was made: 20,000 lbs total, 5,000 lbs maximum per arm, on two-stage front and rear arms.

Why adjustable columns are worth more than they look

Column width adjustment sounds like a convenience feature and is really an installation feature. A fixed-width two-post has to land on a slab where the anchor positions, the drainage, the existing floor joints and the bay walls all cooperate. In an existing building they rarely all do.

An adjustable span of roughly a foot lets the installer move the columns away from a bad patch of concrete, clear a floor drain, square the lift to the bay rather than to whatever the last tenant poured, and keep the drive-through aligned with the door. It also means the same lift can be re-set if the shop is reorganised later, instead of being anchored to a layout decision made once.

The symmetric design that goes with it puts the vehicle centred between the posts, so doors open into clear air on both sides — and dual integrated rubber door guards are fitted for the times somebody swings one anyway.

Will It Fit?

Take these in order, and take the ceiling seriously — it is the one you cannot fix afterwards.

• Minimum ceiling. 13' 8", 14' 2" or 14' 8", matched to the column option.
• Overall height. 162", 168" or 174".
• Floor to overhead switch. 155", 161" or 167".
• Adjustable width. 12' 10.75" to 13' 10.75".
• Between columns. 120", 126" or 132".
• Drive-thru clearance. 104.25", 110.25" or 116.25".
• Overall width. The specification sheet lists 154.75", 160.75" and 166.75". A second field on this listing gives 155", 161" and 167" — which happens to be identical to the floor-to-overhead-switch row, so we treat it as unconfirmed rather than as a rounding. Ask us before you commit floor space to the inch.
• Arm reach. 38.5" to 62". Maximum rise under the arms is 71".
• Rise. The sheet gives 76.6" to 84.6" with stack adapters; another field says 77" and 85". Take the difference as unconfirmed. Rise time is around 62 seconds.
• Services. 3HP motor, 1Ph, 60Hz, 208/230V; shop air at 90 to 120 psi.

If you lift low vehicles, read this before ordering. The pad clearance appears three different ways in this product's data: a screw pad range of 6.2" to 7.6" on the specification sheet, a 6" minimum pad height in one field and a 6.5" lowered arm height in another. For a car with low sills those are meaningfully different answers, so tell us what you are lifting and we will get a confirmed number from Challenger — settled well before the vehicle is on the ramp.

Concrete thickness and strength are not carried in the data we hold. On a lift of this capacity the anchors are the whole safety argument, so ask us for the installation drawing and have the slab checked against it. Verifying the floor, the ceiling and the electrical supply before delivery is the buyer's responsibility.

Perfect For

• Fleet shops retrofitting an existing bay, where the adjustable width is what makes the lift land on good concrete.
• Truck and trailer service needing 20,000 lbs without a high-bay building.
• Multi-use workshops that expect to rearrange the floor at some point and want a lift that can move with it.
• Shops lifting heavy but not tall vehicles, where paying for extended-height columns would buy nothing.

What ships with it

Two adjustable-width columns, two-stage front and rear arms, the power unit, the lock system and the dual integrated rubber door guards.

Optional 2' column extensions are available and are not included in this listing. They are the route to extra height if your requirement changes later; ask us to quote them alongside the lift if you already know you need them.

Specifications

Certification, plainly

The CL20-0 is recorded as ALI certified — a third-party lift safety listing rather than a manufacturer's own declaration. That distinction is the whole value of it: it is the thing an insurer, a fleet safety policy or a local inspector will ask for by name.

Whether it satisfies your particular clause is not something we can answer from here. Send us the wording you have to meet and we will check it against current documentation for this model before you order.

Shipping and delivery

Delivery is by freight to the lower 48 states, free of charge.

Sort the unload out before the collection is booked. This is freight, delivered to the kerb, and getting the columns off the trailer is the receiver's job — so you need a forklift or telehandler with the rating and the reach to do it, or you arrange to collect from the carrier's terminal instead, which many shops find simpler. Where the delivery address is residential, a residential fee applies and is added at checkout when that option is selected.

Do not sign for it until you have looked at it. Count the pieces against the packing list, walk around the load with the driver, and write anything you find onto the bill of lading before it leaves — a dented column, torn shrink wrap, a pallet that has shifted. A clean signature ends the carrier's liability, and a claim raised after the truck has gone is a much weaker position.

Warranty

Challenger administers the warranty on this lift. Our specification data for this model holds a warranty reference rather than a term, and we would rather point you at the current wording than print a duration we cannot stand behind. Ask us to confirm what applies to your configuration, or see the warranty claims page.

One practical rule regardless of the term: do not strip a part you intend to claim on. An opened power unit, cylinder or lock assembly is extremely hard for anybody to assess after the fact, and taking it apart is the most reliable way to turn a covered failure into a disputed one. Leave it as it is, photograph it, and speak to us first.