Equipment / Lifting
Authorized installerRotary lifts.Lift everything that rolls in.
Rotary has been Serving the Shop® since 1925, and the range covers two-post, four-post, in-ground, mobile column and heavy duty. Total Tool is a Rotary authorized installer on the ground here, so the crew setting your anchors is the crew the manufacturer trained to do it.
A 15-minute conversation about your bays is enough to start.
Lift selector
Three questions
Most of the lift decision comes down to what you're lifting, what your bay allows, and the work you do. Answer those and we'll point you at the right type.
What are you lifting?
What's the bay like?
Mostly what kind of work?
Recommended
A recommendation, not a final spec. Bay dimensions and slab condition get confirmed at the site visit.
Browse the range
Featured Rotary lifts
Low-profile cars through Class 5 trucks, surface and in-ground, light duty through transit. Ask about models not shown here.
All-Vehicle (AV) series
Current flagship ALI Gold CertifiedRotary's patent-pending AV Arms carry the industry's lowest minimum adapter height at 3-3/8" and the largest pickup range of any conventional two-post lift — so one lift covers today's vehicle mix. Frame cradles and stackable extensions are included rather than sold as a kit.
Standard or Shockwave power on every model. Red, blue or black.
Light duty
Cars & light trucksThe service bay classics. Two-post capacities run 10,000 to 20,000 lb; four-post drive-on models cover service, storage and parking.
The default service bay lift, symmetric or asymmetric. Also available on AV arms.
10,000 lb
HD pickups, vans and service bodies without going to four posts.
12,000 lb
Duallys, boxed trucks and upfits. Also available on AV arms.
16,000 lb
The top of the two-post range.
20,000 lbHeavy duty
Trucks, buses & transitRunways, columns, in-ground and platform configurations up to the heaviest vehicles on the road. This is where the site visit earns its keep.
Drive-on runways for straight trucks, tankers and dumps.
14,000 lb and up
Wireless columns sized to the fleet's wheelbase. No fixed bay required.
14,000–18,800 lb per column
Drive-on platforms with vertical rise for refuse, transit and tractors.
Varies by model
Nothing above the floor when lowered. Maximum bay clearance.
Varies by model
Four-post and platform setups for transit garages and school bus fleets.
Heavy dutyForward Lift
The value lineForward Lift is Rotary Solutions' value brand: two-post, four-post, scissor and alignment lifts for tighter budgets, installed and inspected by the same Total Tool crews.
The workhorse two-post at a value price point.
10,000 lb
Drive-on service and storage.
9,000 lb
Alignment-ready, with rolling jacks, radius gauges and rear slip plates.
14,000 lb
Open-floor access without columns.
7,700 lbSomething none of these fit? Lift King specialty & rail lifts cover the odd jobs.
The technology
The technology, and what it does in your bay
Speed, reach, uptime and precision — Rotary names and patents each one, which means you can hold them to it. Total Tool quotes the whole current lineup, AV arms and Shockwave included.
One lift to service them all
Rotary's All-Vehicle arms were built for shops whose vehicle mix stopped being predictable. Minimum adapter height as low as 3-3/8" and up to 32% more arm range, so one lift covers low-profile cars through Class 5 trucks within its rated capacity.
- SPOA10-AV and SPO16-AV surface lifts
- SLW210-AV and SLW212-AV Wide Smartlift in-ground
- The SLW212-AV is built for electric and exotic vehicles
Up to twice the rise and descent speed
A 110v DC power system with a built-in battery charger, plus Spotline™ laser-assisted spotting with a motion sensor so the vehicle lands centered the first time. An option, not standard — worth it where bay throughput is the constraint.
- Available on two-post, four-post and in-ground models
- Rotary publishes a Shockwave ROI calculator — ask us to run your bay count
Nothing above the floor when it is down
Rotary built the first fully contained modern in-ground lift in 1995. The whole assembly sits in a polymer cassette, so the lift is protected from the ground and the ground is protected from the lift.
- Smarguard™ coating on plungers against corrosion
- EasyAccess™ cylinders serviced from the surface — no forklift, no boom
- SL210 and SL212, plus the Wide Smartlift AV models
Set the adapter without moving the arm
A two-piece arm with a sliding adapter. The technician slides the adapter under the pickup point instead of walking the whole arm into position — small change, repeated a few dozen times a day.
- Paired with the industry's widest adapter selection
- ALI certified across the range, inspected by our own inspectors
See the AV arms work
Rotary's own walkthrough of the All-Vehicle arms. If you want to see one in person rather than on video, we will arrange it.
Side by side
How the four main types compare
The question we get more than any other. Where a figure says "varies by model," ask us and we'll pull the real number for the configuration you're considering.
| Two-post | Four-post | In-ground | Mobile column | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | General service, brakes, exhaust | Storage, parking, alignment | Max floor clearance | Trucks, buses, no fixed bay |
| Wheels free | Yes | With rolling jacks | Yes | Yes |
| Floor footprint | Two posts | Full platform | Nothing above floor | Stored when idle |
| Capacity | 10,000 – 12,000 lb | Varies by model | Varies by model | 14,000 – 18,800 lb per column |
| Installation | Anchored to slab | Anchored to slab | Excavation required | None, charge and go |
| Ceiling matters | Yes, unless floorplate | Standard | Standard | Vehicle height only |
| Site inspection | Recommended | Recommended | Required | Not required |
The vendor
Why Total Tool backs Rotary
Authorized installerRotary strong, installed locally
Peter Lunati patented the first hydraulic automotive lift in 1925 and Rotary has been Serving the Shop® ever since. Today it anchors Rotary Solutions alongside Forward Lift, as part of Vehicle Service Group, a Dover company, engineered with the market's highest-quality materials and backed by the industry's largest authorized distributor, installer and service network.
In this territory, that network is us. Authorized installer means the relationship doesn't end at the loading dock: the crew setting your anchors is factory-trained, and the lift is inspected, serviced and supplied with parts by the same local team that sold it.
Why buy it here
A lift is not a shipped box
Anyone can drop a lift on your dock. The reason to buy from a distributor is everything that happens after that, and for the next fifteen years.
- Site inspection before you order, so the slab and ceiling are known quantities
- Rotary authorized installation by our own factory trained technicians
- ALI Certified annual inspection, starting the year you install it
- Repair and parts on every make of lift, not only what we sold you
- Operator training for your techs at handoff
- Financing, and quotes formatted for purchase order requirements
Goes with this
What usually comes with a lift
Recent work
Lifts we put in
Common questions
Before you order
Overhead or floorplate, how do I know?
Ceiling height decides it. An overhead crossbar needs clearance above the raised vehicle; a floorplate model runs the crossbar along the floor instead. We measure it at the site visit rather than guessing from a phone call.
Will my slab hold a lift?
Usually, but thickness and condition decide it, and that is exactly what the site inspection is for. Finding a slab problem before the equipment ships is a lot cheaper than finding it during installation.
Symmetric or asymmetric?
Asymmetric rotates the vehicle back slightly so the doors clear the posts, which matters if techs are getting in and out. Symmetric centers the vehicle and generally handles longer wheelbases better. The SPOA10-AV is asymmetric, the SPO12-AV is symmetric.
Can you remove and dispose of my old lift?
Talk to us about it when you request the quote. Removal gets scoped with the installation rather than treated as a separate job.
Does the new lift need an inspection?
Every lift needs an ALI Certified inspection at least annually under ANSI/ALI ALOIM. We start that clock at handoff so it does not get forgotten a year later.
How long does installation take?
It depends on the lift type and whether there is excavation involved. Above-ground is typically fast; in-ground is a project. Both get scheduled around your service schedule so you keep working.
Request a quote
Send us your bay
Ceiling height, slab, the heaviest vehicle you put in the air, and how many bays. That is enough to quote it properly the first time.
On your request
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Prefer email? Photos of the bays help more than anything.