Like many types of truck equipment, liftgate have changed and evolved over the last several years.
One key change in liftgate design in the last five years, says Anton Griessner of Maxon, a producer of liftgates and related equipment, is the industry’s move away from greaseless or non-lube type bearings.
Though popular about a decade ago, he says many manufacturers are opting not to use greaseless bearings. Rather, a vast majority of liftgates produced utilize grease zerks at critical rotational pivot points.
“The industry has gone full circle on this issue over the past couple of years,” he explains. “The number of grease zerks per gate varies based on the model and design of the liftgate, but it wouldn’t be unusual to find as many as 10 to 14 grease points on some models of gates produced today.”
These grease points need to be lubricated at every PM interval or after a predetermined number of cycles, he says.
Another development is the use of solar power to keep batteries working efficiently, says Mike Doerfler with Palfinger Liftgates – a manufacturer of truck equipment including lifts, cranes, hoists and platforms. The potential cost savings make solar power an option worth learning about.
“Solar liftgate battery charging systems and trail charging systems are important additional topics that should be researched and considered,” he says. “Keeping liftgate batteries at their peak is the most effective preventive maintenance measure that can be taken to reduce service calls and liftgate failure.”
