Tail lifts, passenger lifts and shutters — Bristol’s largest independent dealer since 1981 0117 9770810  · info@hydralifts.co.uk
An engineer recording test readings on site

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Weight testing

Proof-load testing on your yard, with the certificate issued on site. Our own test vehicles cover fifty miles of Bristol.

Thank you — that is with the workshop.

A tail lift has a rated capacity, and the only way to know it still holds that capacity is to load it and see. Weight testing puts a known load on the platform and proves the lift performs as it is rated.

We run a fleet of vehicles carrying the test weights, which is why we can do this on your yard rather than asking you to bring the vehicle to us. For an operator with a dozen lifts, that is the difference between an afternoon and a fortnight of single trips.

Most customers have us weight test alongside the thorough examination, so the lift is proved and the paperwork completed in one visit.

How a job runs

Off the road once, and back out working

  1. 1

    Tell us the fleet

    Vehicles, lift capacities and where they are. We plan the visit around your yard rather than ours.

  2. 2

    We bring the weights

    Our own test vehicles carry the load, so nothing has to be hired in or borrowed on the day.

  3. 3

    Proof load, on the platform

    The lift is tested at its rated capacity and watched through the full cycle, not just lifted and dropped.

  4. 4

    Certificate on site

    Issued before we leave, so nobody is chasing paperwork a week later.

Compliance

The lift is lifting equipment

Weight testing normally sits alongside a LOLER thorough examination rather than replacing it. The examination is the judgement about whether the lift is safe to keep using; the test is the proof that it still lifts what it says on the plate. Doing both together is why most of our customers only lose the vehicle once.

LOLER inspections
  • 6 monthsWhere the lift raises or lowers people
  • 12 monthsWhere it carries goods only
  • Written schemeSets the interval instead, where a competent person has drawn one up
50miRadius from Bristol
On siteWhere we test
Same visitAs the service
1981Doing this since

Common questions

Tail lifts, asked and answered

How often should a lift be weight tested?
In practice it is done alongside the thorough examination, so the same six or twelve month rhythm. If a lift has been repaired, altered or involved in an incident, test it before it goes back to work regardless of when it was last done.
Do you have to come to us?
No — you can bring the vehicle to the Bristol workshop if that suits you better. Most operators would rather we came to them, which is why we run the test vehicles.
What if it will not hold the load?
Then it should not be lifting, and you find that out from us rather than from a driver. We carry genuine parts and will tell you straight what it needs.
Can you test a lift you did not fit?
Yes, and most of what we test we did not fit.
How far do you travel?
Fifty miles of Bristol on our own vehicles. Beyond that we are part of a network of twenty-plus dealers nationwide and can arrange cover.

Need a lift looked at?

Tell us the vehicle and what it is doing. We will tell you whether it is a service, a repair or an examination that is due.

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