Need to lift stuff? Check out the SuperHandy Material Lift Winch

A friend sent me a meme “I never thought getting old would happen so fast.” It was one of those memes where I couldn’t help but laugh because it was true. A second one is “The number one cause of injury to old men is thinking they are young men.” Well, combine the two and here I am with back problems caused by years of wear and tear – basically my L1-L5 discs are all having issues. But…. the work still needs to get done and I am learning more and more about how to use mechanical aids.

Back when I was young, I bench pressed somewhere close to 300 pounds and squated over 300. Now, I pay the price when I bend over and pick up 40-50 pounds the wrong way. So, I can’t just use brute force any longer and needed something to help me lift. I couldn’t afford a fork truck nor did I have room to store it. Something like a cross between a forklift and a work table was a possibility. My Esteem Grinder sits on a hydraulic lift work table for example.

So, I dug around on Amazon and discovered the “SuperHandy Material Lift Winch Stacker, Pallet Truck Dolly. Lift Table, Fork Lift 330 Lbs. 40″ Max Lift w/8″ Wheels, Swivel Casters“. To be honest, I nearly skipped it with such a ridiculous title but part of the crazy titles has to do with Amazon sellers trying to optimize their product(s) ranking high in search results. What caught my eye was the customer review score – 4.6 with 203 reviews. This was better than the competitors I had also looked at.

It had a few features I really wanted – first and foremost it could lift330 pounds up to 40″. It was relatively compact and could be collapsed when not in use plus the lifting surface could either be a solid table or a pair of forks. I could also get it with ree shipping which can save a ton on heavy objects (always shop around though because sometimes the “free” shipping is included in the jacked up price). At any rate, I ordered it.

The Unboxing

It literally arrived the next day via an Amazon truck and, not surprisingly, it’s a BIG box. Now, I have to give the company some kudos – some easy assembly is required and all of the components are incredibly well packed. Sometimes, I honestly hate packaging engineers or whoever told them to do it as cheaply as possible. In this case, they used a lot of well thought out cardboard to securely pack everything vs. a ton of messy styrofoam.

It arrived very well packed with zero damage. I appreciated the careful use of cardboard to secure the majority of the componets vs. styrofoam that is a hassle to deal with and clean up after.

Assembly was quick and easy – I didn’t carefully watch the time but I bet it was less than 15 minutes. The instructions are nice and clear and it went together with very good fitment.

Clear instructions and easy assembly. The parts actually fit and no beating or bending during assembly was required.

The fitment of the parts and the quality of the finish are remarkable. Honestly, they were surprisingly good – I’m used to having to force parts together or ignore scufff marks, etc. Here, you can see part of the forks.

All of the welds are nicely done and there is good attention to details. Notice that the braking pin is knurled to better hold the tire in place vs. a smooth pin that would have been cheaper but less effective.

You can see the welds and the finish but there is another attention to detail element here – the handle bars join the unit as a female sleeve that fits over a smaller diameter tube. The screws just keep them together – the acual tubes deal with the stress and not the screws. That’s a smart idea.

The actual lifting is done via a hand cranked winch that uses synthetic rpe and not wire. To prevent binding, the designers incorporated rollers like you see on the left and right to guid the load up and down the vertical tubes. The unit has a 320 pound weight limit. I’ve lfted close to 200 pounds and it was a very easy lift. Note the black work patform/table over the forks.

The crank handle is keyed and the nut just holds it in place. The assembly with the black knob to the right is a lock. When you release it, you move the handle to where the locking pin can engage and then the load is secured.

The parking brake is easily engaged and disengaged via a foot pedal.

Actually Using It

The unit rolled easily and I had no problem lifting loads up to 200 pounds. I did find that it is best on level surfaces because the brake pedal hits steps vs. rolling up or down them.

These captain’s chairs weigh quite a bit and are bulky. I could slide the runners of the lift under the van, set brake and then moved the chair onto the table. Once it was secured, I released the brake, backed up and lowered the chair. By the way, the black “table” top folds back out of the way if it’s not needed.

Moving the chair didn’t quite go the way I had hoped. With the chair strapped to the unit so it couldn’t shift, I tried to move the load up some concrete stairs. The parking brake pedal stuck out too far and hit the step vs. the whole unit rolling up and over the stairs as I had hoped. Instead, I had to unload the chair, put it on a dolly and then rolled that up the stairs. You can just barely see it in this photo, I scraped the paint off the parking pedal’s back edge by trying to get it up over the steps shown. From a design perspectivem they could avoid this by either making the brake lever shorter or the wheels slightly larger … or a combination.

That’s a 125 pound drill press. No problem lifting it up into a F250.

Summary

The SuperHandy brand lift is affordable on Amazon and actually does what it claims to do. I’ve now moved some stuff around that there was just no way that I could have done it by myself. Sure, I wish it could lift heavier and higher but this lift will do what I need the majority of the time.

Would I buy it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely – it’s well made and has a nice finish.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

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