A truck lift column setup is one of the best investments an RV and trailer service shop can make, but only if the install prep gets done right from day one. We worked with a West Des Moines shop that services diesel pushers, gassers, and heavy-duty trailers, and their first year with mobile columns taught them (and us) exactly what to check before the equipment ever rolls off the truck. If you’re weighing a truck lift column for exhaust and driveline access on tall RVs and long trailers, this is the honest, ground-level version of how that first year actually goes, from the site survey through the first real service call.
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Why a Truck Lift Column Made Sense for This Shop
This particular shop was doing everything with jack stands and a couple of low-profile floor jacks, which is fine until you’re chasing an exhaust leak on a 40-foot Class A or trying to get under a triple-axle trailer to service the driveline. They called us after turning down a few jobs because they simply couldn’t get safe, stable height and access underneath. A truck lift column setup solved that immediately because the columns work independently around the wheels, so there’s no fixed runway or pit in the way of a long wheelbase.
For exhaust and driveline work specifically, the appeal of a truck lift column is that you get consistent working height across the whole length of the vehicle, not just at two lift points. That matters when you’re dropping a driveshaft, swapping a muffler assembly, or inspecting a DEF system that runs the length of the chassis. We walked them through set counts, from a basic four-column setup for lighter units up to six or eight columns for full-size motorhomes and gooseneck trailers with heavier axle loads. By the time we finished that first conversation, it was clear a truck lift column system fit their bay better than any fixed-runway alternative they’d looked at.
The Site Survey Comes Before Anything Else
Before we quote or schedule anything, we do a site survey, and for this shop that meant walking the actual bay where the RVs and trailers would be lifted. Mobile columns don’t need a pit, which is one of their biggest advantages, but they do need a flat, structurally sound floor rated for the point loading of each column. We measured door height clearance, because a lot of RV bays have taller doors than a standard car lift bay, but not always tall enough once a coach is elevated on columns.
We also asked the questions we ask on every install: is there a forklift on site to help unload, what’s the concrete thickness and age, and is there enough floor space between columns for technicians to move freely with driveline tools out. This shop’s bay had a slab that was plenty thick, but the columns needed to be spaced wider than a typical car setup to clear dual rear axles and larger step-down frames. That’s exactly the kind of detail that only shows up during an in-person site survey, not a phone quote.
Freight, Delivery, and What Shows Up on the Truck
Mobile column sets ship on pallets, and depending on the set size, that can be a lot of weight arriving at once. We always ask up front whether the shop has a forklift or loading dock, because a truck lift column set delivered on a standard freight truck without a lift gate can turn into a half-day headache. This shop had a forklift already, which made unloading straightforward, but we’ve had customers without one who needed us to coordinate lift-gate delivery instead.
Lead time is the other piece people underestimate. Depending on the set and any custom wireless kit options, columns can take a few weeks to arrive, so we tell shops to order before they’re desperate for capacity, not after. This shop ordered about six weeks ahead of a seasonal RV service rush, which gave us time to schedule the install and get their techs trained on the wireless synchronization system before the busy months hit.
Installation Day: What Actually Happens
On install day, we’re not just setting columns on the floor and walking away. Each column gets leveled, the wireless or wired communication system between columns gets tested, and we run the full lift and lower cycle multiple times with no load before ever putting a vehicle on it. For this shop’s truck lift column set, we also walked their lead technician through the load charts, because RVs and trailers vary wildly in axle weight and it’s critical the crew knows what each column and each full set is rated for.
We spent extra time on positioning technique, since columns have to be placed correctly under the frame or axle points, not just anywhere convenient. Get that wrong on a top-heavy motorhome and you’re asking for instability. By the end of the day the shop had a fully synced, tested setup and a written rundown of daily pre-use checks, which we require every shop to actually use, not just file away.
Exhaust and Driveline Access in Real Use
Once the truck lift column setup was running, the shop’s first real test was a Class A with an exhaust leak near a rear-mounted engine, the kind of job that’s miserable on jack stands. With the columns, they lifted the coach to full standing height, walked underneath with proper clearance, and had the exhaust section off in a fraction of the time it would have taken before. Driveline jobs on tandem-axle trailers went the same way, full access down the length of the frame instead of working through gaps.
What surprised the shop most was how much faster diagnostic work went, not just repairs. Being able to stand upright under a coach to trace a driveline vibration or an exhaust rattle cut their diagnostic time significantly. That’s the real payoff of a truck lift column setup for this kind of shop: it’s not just lifting height, it’s usable space to actually do the work.
Warranty, Service, and the First Real Repair Call
About eight months in, this shop called us about a column that was throwing a sync fault code. That’s a normal first-year call, and it’s exactly why we stress buying from an installer who also handles service, not just a box shipper. We walked through it over the phone first, checked cable connections and the sensor, and had it sorted without a truck roll. When a repair does need a visit, we carry cylinder and hydraulic components for the brands we sell, so a leaking seal or a worn cylinder doesn’t turn into weeks of downtime.
We also get calls from shops needing a cylinder rebuilt off equipment they didn’t buy from us, sometimes from a tele-handler boom or a forklift steering cylinder, and we handle those the same way, get the specs, quote it fair, and turn it around fast. For a truck lift column set specifically, we stock the wear items most likely to need attention, cables, sync sensors, and seals, so a West Des Moines shop isn’t waiting on a warehouse three states away.
What We’d Tell Any Shop Starting This Process
If you’re a year out from where this shop started, the biggest lesson is that the site survey and honest column count conversation up front save you from problems later. Don’t undersize your set count to save money if you’re regularly working on full-size RVs or heavy trailers, because retrofitting more columns later means a second install visit and lost bay time. Get the floor checked properly, not eyeballed.
Also plan your lead time around your busy season, not the other way around. This shop’s decision to order ahead of their spring RV rush meant the truck lift column setup was trained-on and ready exactly when they needed the capacity most. That kind of planning is the difference between equipment that pays for itself in the first year and equipment that sits half-understood in the corner of the bay.
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