Bristol · established 1981
Tail lifts, fitted, serviced and kept legal
Bristol’s largest independent tail lift dealer. Three generations, every make we represent, and engineers trained and certified by the manufacturers themselves.
- Vans, rigids and trailers
- LOLER thorough examination
- Weight testing on site
- Genuine parts
What we do
One place for the lift, the door and the paperwork
New installations, servicing, repairs, accident damage, retro-fits, pre-owned installations and conversions — on vans, rigids and trailers.
01
Tail lifts
Supply and installation of column, cantilever and slider tail lifts on vans, rigids and trailers, with impartial advice on which suits the job.
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02
Passenger lifts
Wheelchair and access lifts for motability and independence, fitted and maintained to the manufacturer's specification.
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03
Roller shutter doors & curtains
Vehicle roller shutters and curtain sides, supplied, fitted and repaired alongside the lift.
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04
Servicing
Planned servicing from a fleet of equipped vans with factory-trained engineers, on your yard or in our workshop.
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05
Mobile repairs
Breakdown and accident-damage repairs using genuine manufacturer parts, so the warranty and the certification stand.
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06
LOLER inspections
Thorough examination to LOLER 1998 — six-monthly where the lift carries people, twelve-monthly for goods — with the report you are required to hold.
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07
Weight testing
A fleet of weight-testing vehicles covering a fifty-mile radius of Bristol, issuing test certificates on site.
Read more →How the lift works
Cantilever or slider — watch the difference
The two do the same job and get there very differently. Which one suits you comes down to the body, the loading bay and whether the rear doors have to stay clear.
Cantilever
The platform swings out and down on parallel arms. It closes flat against the rear of the body, so it does not eat into the load space, and it will work as a dock leveller as well as a lift.
Slider / tuck-away
The platform slides out from under the body and unfolds. Because it tucks away completely it leaves the rear doors clear, which matters if you are backing onto a bay or towing.
Not sure which is on your vehicle? Send us a photograph of the rear and we will tell you.
Compliance
A tail lift is lifting equipment. The law treats it that way.
Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, a tail lift has to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set intervals, and you have to keep the report. It is separate from servicing, and the duty normally sits with whoever operates the vehicle.
We carry out thorough examinations and weight testing, and issue the certificate on site. Most operators have us do the examination and the service in the same visit, so the vehicle comes off the road once.
LOLER inspections- 6 monthsMinimum interval where the lift raises or lowers people
- 12 monthsMinimum interval where the lift carries goods only
- Written schemeWhere a competent person has drawn one up, the scheme sets the interval instead
Manufacturers
The makes we represent
We are independent, so we can tell you which of these suits the vehicle and the job rather than which one we are tied to.
Why Hydralifts
Impartial advice, and engineers the manufacturers trained
Impartial, because we are independent
We are Bristol’s largest independent tail lift dealer. We are not tied to one manufacturer, so the advice you get is about which lift suits the vehicle and the job — without fear or favour.
Factory-trained engineers
Every engineer is trained and certified by the manufacturers we represent, so the work is carried out to the manufacturer’s own specification rather than a generic one.
Genuine parts only
We fit genuine replacement parts. It is what keeps the warranty intact and the certification standing, and it is why the repair lasts.
We come to you
A fleet of fully equipped service vans, plus weight-testing vehicles covering a fifty-mile radius of Bristol. Most work happens on your yard rather than ours.
How it works
Off the road once, and back out working
Tell us the vehicle
Make, model and the lift on it — or a photograph of the plate if you are not sure. That is usually enough for us to know the job.
We come to you
An equipped van, on your yard, at a time that does not take the vehicle off the road for longer than it has to.
The work, with genuine parts
Service, repair, thorough examination or weight test, carried out to the manufacturer’s specification.
Paperwork that stands up
You get the report or certificate you are required to hold, so the vehicle is compliant and you can prove it.
Coverage
Fifty miles of Bristol on our own vans — and the rest of the country through the network
Our service vans and weight-testing vehicles cover a fifty-mile radius of the Bristol workshop. Past that, we are part of a network of twenty-plus tail lift dealers nationwide, so a vehicle stuck the other end of the country still gets looked after.
The workshop itself is fully equipped, for anything that is better done off the road than on your yard.
- On your yardServicing, repairs, examination and weight testing from an equipped van
- In the workshopInstallations, conversions and heavier repair work at Brislington
- NationwideTwenty-plus dealers in the network for vehicles away from base
Common questions
Tail lifts, examinations and who is responsible
How often does a tail lift need a thorough examination?
Is a thorough examination the same as a service?
Whose duty is it — ours or yours?
Do you work on lifts you did not supply?
Can you come to us, or does the vehicle come in?
Do you cover outside the Bristol area?
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.