Will not lift at all
Motor silent, or it hums and nothing moves — usually power, the pump motor assembly or a dead solenoid.
The specialty
Liftgate repair, on site
The company's own logo says "trailer repair and liftgate specialist", and the liftgate half is the reason most people call. Hydraulics, cables, platforms and the wiring that runs them — diagnosed and repaired where the truck is parked.
Hydraulics
Pump motors and valve bodies
Nearly every "my gate won't work" call ends up in the pump box.
The pump motor assembly, the reservoir, the valve body and the solenoid coils sit together in one housing, usually mounted under the body where road salt and water get at them. A motor that has drawn water, a valve that no longer seats, or a coil that has burned out all present as the same complaint from the driver: the gate is dead.
We replace pump motor assemblies and hydraulic valves as whole units where that is the right call, and individual coils, lines and fittings where it is not.
- ReplacedPump motor assemblies, complete
- ReplacedHydraulic valve bodies and solenoid coils
- ServicedReservoirs, hydraulic lines and fittings
Structure
Platforms get rebuilt, not written off
A cracked aluminium platform is a repair. A new gate is a capital purchase.
Liftgate platforms crack along the hinge line, at the flip section, and wherever a forklift has hit them. We drop the platform, cut back to sound material, measure the replacement sections, and weld them in — then reinstall it and cycle the gate through full travel loaded and empty before we leave.
The platform in these photos came off a box truck, went onto work mats on the ground, got welded back up, and went straight back on.
Diagnosis
What the gate is doing tells us where to look
Describe the symptom on the phone and we can usually narrow it to a part before we load the truck. That is the difference between one trip and two.
Lifts empty, stalls loaded
The gate manages itself but not freight — commonly a worn pump or a hydraulic valve bleeding pressure back.
Drifts down under load
Pressure is not holding. A valve body or a cylinder seal is letting the platform sink.
Dies part-way up
Often a cable, a limit switch or a connection heating up and dropping out under current.
Platform bent or cracked
A welding job, not a parts job. Aluminium platforms crack at the hinge line and along the flip.
Cable frayed or snapped
Stop using it. A cable that has started to go will finish going with a load on it.
Parts and brands
OEM parts, from the gate's own manufacturer
On liftgate components we order from the manufacturer rather than fitting whatever crosses the counter.
Hydraulic and lifting parts on a gate are load-bearing. A cheaper cable or an almost-right valve is how a platform comes down on someone. The gates in our own job photos so far have included Maxon, Waltco and Morgan units, on Whiting, TODCO and Everest bodies.
Running a make we have not listed? Say the make and model when you call. If we cannot source parts for it we will tell you that on the phone.
Mobile service · Metro Atlanta and Middle Georgia
Gate down with freight on it?
Tell us the make, the model and what it is doing. We will tell you what it usually is and when we can get to you.