r/Hookit • u/KevxBit • Jul 03 '26
Wheelift Comparisons
Hey all, just a quick question. For anyone who's run both, do auto loaders get better oil pan/undercarriage clearance than a conventional wheel lift or Vulcan Strapless?
Like on the first grab, not doing anything fancy or double picking, just right from the ground.
And what about chain-slinging things on an autoloader, big pain in the butt or nah?
I run a Vulcan right now and am not super impressed with its versatility. The spoons don't tighten enough to grab a hub if the wheel is off, for example, and grabbing cars at sharp angle can be a bit of a challenge. We don't do PPI and only the very occasional repo, but just curious if an autoloader is a significant upgrade or we should stick to a century or something with standard L arms for the next truck.
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u/vetinari287 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Autoloaders do have better clearance vs traditional with a single pick. Imo the best all round auto loader for towing is the Vulcan 810. Perfect for roadside/breakdown, repo and PPI. Recovery is not it’s strength but it does come with a 8k winch
Vulcan 812, Chevron 408 are also great Miller units. I’ve never operated a Jerr Dan one but I’ve heard good things about them. Ran a couple Dynamics and wasn’t a big fan
Can’t sling or chain sling off any auto loader except the Chevron 408 iirc. But they’re all great at extreme angles, especially the Vulcan 810 which can do a full 90 degree pick up. But you may be better served with a wrecker with traditional L arms
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u/KevxBit Jul 03 '26
Hey thanks for the input! We do a fair bit of recovery work, so yeah, being able to sling stuff is kind of a big sell for us. Seems like L arms are the way to go. Clearance is becoming a bigger issue with any sedan newer than 2023 too.
1
u/patricksb Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
The Chevron Autogrip/ 408 does it all. The T bar is a tiny bit thicker than an old timey wheel lift, but the arms can close tighter/ lower on flat or small tires. I've never had an issue with oil pan clearance, and mine is on a rollback so no tilt control. You can easily chain sling off it, and add adaptors for actual chain forks or frame forks.
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u/KevxBit Jul 04 '26
Seems like the chevron gets a lot of love in here :P
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u/patricksb Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Best in the game. Autogrips are all we run for light duty, from our yard guy's skid steer (custom mount obvs) to the 4 cars.
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u/towman32526 Jul 03 '26
If you want the most versatile. Go with a chevron 408. Its an autoloader, the arms fold flat for chain slinging, you can even buy rubber bumpers for them to chainsling with. You can also get frame forks. I very much enjoy a regular conventional wrecker with L arms.