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| Features |
| Tech Talk: Kartlift Kart Stand |
| Article by: -by Glenn Holland |
I hate most kart stands. To me, they represent everything I hate about the sport I love. They're usually the dirtiest, flimsiest, bulkiest, scariest contraptions we have to deal with. I've suffered more injuries from a kart stand than I have racing. I can see my epitaph now: "Glenn Holland, died when he tried to put his kart on the stand all by himself."
My first kart stand, a reputable brand that I will leave nameless here, looked like it could support Mount Everest when I first bought it. All an illusion. Now, and it's not really that old, I'm hesitant to even let it sit in my garage for fear that it will fall over and break something. Furthermore, I found that the times where I had a person with sufficient strength and height to help me lift my kart onto the stand were fewer than when I was alone or was accompanied by my girlfriend at the track or in the garage- and she hardly wants to be lifting a smoky, dirty, 200-pound kart four feet off the ground and gently balance it on a stand that's rolling away. At the end of the day, only the most daring, agile racer can hope to avoid damaging the kart or himself using a conventional stand solo.
 | | It is extremely compact in its folded state |
Considering how I felt about my kart stand, I was interested to check out the Kartlift. When I first took delivery of the Kartlift from Greg Smith, the Los Angeles area dealer (www.gpsltd.com), I was struck by how compact it was in its "storage" configuration. The most frustrating part of the conventional kart stand is storage and transportation. My conventional stand is the most awkward, unwieldy piece of equipment in my trailer. It takes way too much space. The Kartlift wraps up so easily and neatly (only 32 by 30 by 10 inches) that the amount of space and effort saved by its design had me halfway to a purchase.
The Kartlift isn't like a normal stand. It has hydraulic lifts to assist the kart's ascension, a recessed tool tray, four big ten-inch pneumatic tires, and hooks to grab the kart's rear bumper to facilitate lifting and provide stability. When Greg showed me how to operate the stand, I was a bit anxious. Throwing around several hundred pounds of kart shouldn't be taken lightly, and I don't like broken toes, sprained fingers, bulging disks, or cuts to the bone. Fortunately, the Kartlift was the potential savior to avoiding these sort of injuries.
 | Kartlift features: 1) Bumper hooks 2) Gas lifts
3) Heavy duty construction 4) Wheel lock 5) 10" pneumatic tires
6) Recessed tool tray |
We practiced raising and lowering the kart, which was a 125cc shifter, a rather heavy kart and an excellent test of the Kartlift. It took me a few tries, but I started to get the hang of raising and lowering the kart. For a video demonstration of lifting a kart, go to http://www.kartlift.com/Demonstrations.htm. (The lifting capability of the Kartlift is tied to the operator's weight, since the operator serves as a counterbalance. The rule of thumb is that you can lift a kart weighing up to 60 lbs more than you do. This covers most karters. However, for those light karters who race heavy karts, Kartlift also offers an electrically operated model). Lifting the kart takes the most effort in the entire process, but it is a leverage act, using one's body weight to pull the kart onto the stand. The sequence involves slipping the front bar under the rear bumper, setting the rear bumper onto the bumper hooks on the Kartlift, and pulling up. The operator's body motion is simply that of leaning forward then leaning back, there is no back-straining lifting involved. Lowering is incredibly easy. You basically push the kart forward, the stand goes with it, and then you gently lower the kart to the ground while the stand gracefully slips out from beneath the kart. It's a real "Impress Your Friends" moment, as most everyone stops to watch when you're doing it. I did sense a bit of envy and wonder in people's eyes when I had it out at the track.
An apparent limitation that turns out to be an advantage on the Kartlift is the lack of swivel wheels. At first, I thought this would make turning quite difficult. Once Greg explained it to me, it made perfect sense. With my "old" stand, half the wheels were on swivels - assumedly necessary to maneuver. In actuality, the wheels on my stand work like a shopping cart well past its prime. It goes wherever it wants, which is usually not where I want it to go. With the Kartlift, a moderate amount of pressure while wheeling it raises the front, 10-inch tires slightly off the ground which enables you to steer confidently with stability.
Recently, I had a race at a track that had a very limited paved pit area. I was forced to set up pit on a downslope of dirt and rocks (don't you love this sport?). Another person was racing with me and they were using my "old" stand. The Kartlift went over that terrain like a monster truck - very steady, taking hits from good-sized rocks without risking dumping the kart. Having the hooks that secure the rear bumper of the kart provide substantial stability. The "old" stand really wanted to slide out from under the kart and it took two people just to wheel the thing through the terrain.
Underneath the Kartlift is a recessed tool tray. Since this tray has a two inch high lip all around, you can carry tools and parts with you on the stand, and be confident that they will not vibrate off as you roll the stand. This way you can have these small items with you at all times, and have them where and when you need them.
Another neat feature on the Kartlift is a wheel lock. This is most useful if you end up pitting on a bit of an incline. Instead of having to stuff pebbles under your stand's tires to keep it from rolling away, on the Kartlift you can engage the lock, and the stand will stay put (either empty or with the kart on it).
A drastic departure from regular stands, where the kart sits on two crossbeams, the Kartlift supports the rear of the kart by hooking onto the rear bumper. Not only does this enable the Kartlift to lift and lower the kart, but also makes the motor easier to work on. We're all familiar with having to shift the kart on the stand to get the rear support crossbeam out from under the motor mounts so that we can adjust chain tension. With the Kartlift, that's no longer an issue. The whole underside of the rear of the kart is unobstructed, so you have full access to your motor area. Isn't ease of maintenance why we have kart stands in the first place?
I've mentioned how impressed I was with the storage ability of the Kartlift. The Kartlift also opens up interesting possibilities in your trailer. For those with flatbed or swingout door trailers, you can use the Kartlift to get the kart into and out of the trailer. The operation is just like picking the kart up off the ground, except that now the kart is starting from the trailer deck (typically 12 inches off the ground). For those with ramp-back trailers, you have the option of transporting your kart up on the stand inside the trailer. This requires securing the kart and Kartlift together (tie wraps work fine), and then securing the kart and lift to the trailer (using tiedown points inside the trailer, such as on the floor or walls). With this approach (which also frees up a lot of trailer floorspace), all you have to do when you arrive at the track is remove the tie down straps and then roll your kart and Kartlift out of the trailer.
I hurt my back last year racing, and every time (that'd be two times for every practice, qualifying, heat, or main) I had to lift my kart, I'd strain the injury. If I'd had the Kartlift, I would have left a lot more Vicodin in the bottle instead of ingesting them. On second thought…
Lastly, I can never keep my "old" stand clean. If you touch it, you are dirty. The Kartlift seems to stay much cleaner and is much easier to clean. I believe that's true since it has less surface area to catch dirt coming from the kart. I don't know about you, but one less thing to clean is nice.
In case this is sounding like a "too good to be true" story, the Kartlift does cost more than a typical stand - and typical stands aren't cheap. But, like anything else, you get what you pay for. However, when you consider all that the Kartlift does, fulfilling the roles of both a rolling stand and stationary crank-up lift, and consider the cost of buying those two pieces of equipment, the Kartlift can actually be cheaper. From working in the garage or shop to the track, getting your kart from ground and onto the ground, the Kartlift is like your bed at home - you spend so much time using it, shouldn't you have the best?
For more information on Kartlift, go to http://www.kartlift.com.
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