

Totalkare HDWS has been supplying mobile column vehicle lifts in the UK for over 40 years, and offers a full range of lifting equipment including fixed heavy-duty four-post lifts for truck and bus workshops.
But its business has been built on mobile versions of these lifts that can be positioned around a vehicle when required and then put away to clear the workshop floor after use.
“The advantage is that they can be stacked to one side of the workshop to free up space,” said Steve Braund, marketing manager at Totalkare. “Two years ago we introduced brake testers and other testing equipment on the back of our reputation for quality products and excellent aftersales service.
“That has gone really well and our mobile brake testers are outselling every other product in the UK.”
At the 2021 CV Show, Totalkare is showing a set of mobile column lifts holding up a tractor unit, a van demonstrating the mobile brake tester, headlamp testers, air-con service units and – possibly a CV Show first – a section of a pre-fabricated vehicle pit.
“We have just moved into pre-fabricated vehicle pits and while we couldn’t excavate a pit at the NEC we will have one above ground,” said Braund. “People will be able to walk in and see the quality of the build. Next to that there will also be an in-ground brake tester installation at eye level.”
Totalkare has just installed its first in-ground load simulating brake tester in the UK which avoids the need to take trailers with loads onboard for testing.
It has also launched the Y-Mech lift that is similar to a scissor lift but instead uses Y-shaped beams. With a capacity up to 35 tonnes and a platform length up to 13m, the Y-Mech makes it easier for technicians to move around the vehicle as there are fewer obstructions than with a conventional scissor lift. It can also be fully recessed into the floor so it does not take up workshop space when not in use.
Braund said the Y-Mech lift gave Totalkare “the opportunity to tailor a fixed lift or mobile columns solution to any workshop requirement for a pit above ground”, adding: “Our novel Y-Mech has really taken off with installations in Crouch Recovery, Translink Belfast and Greenhouse DAF.”
Totalkare’s stand also features a live demonstration of various van test equipment including for brakes, headlamps and emissions.