Hydro Hoist vs. Econolift

[WildCatFan54]

Guys , please tell me what I'm overlooking and point me in the right direction ? I decided about 3 months ago that I really should not be keeping my boat on the water , in wet slip from April thru November without pulling it out of the water. I also decided way before that purchasing a tow vehicle big enough for the boat was not practical to be used twice a year. I can rent a truck in April to transport the roughly 100 miles from home to Lake Cumberland in the spring , then rent it again in Nov. or Dec. to bring it back for winter storage and upkeep. Total annual truck rental from Enterprise <$200. So , with those givens , I started watching the used listing for boat lifts in my area. Not many listings and some of the few I have seen look to be in rough shape and past their prime years . So , in the past 2 weeks I have been contacting manufactures , and talking with their distributors and installers. My pier on Cumberland is exclusively Hydro Hoist so I called them first. They wanted to sell me a 4500lb , front mounted lift. While 4500 lbs seemed OK under most conditions , I thought going up to the next biggest lift (6000 lb.) seemed like the thing to do. They quoted me a price , about $1500 more than the 4500lb. lift. I then questioned them on front mount compared to a side mount , four point model. That added another $1k. Then when I mentioned that backing into the slip was something I always did , and mandatory for me , they indicated I would need rail extensions that would bring the price up to over $9k. I then contacted Econolift after doing a Google search for competitors. I had a great conversation with a corporate sales person in Missouri who basically recommended their 6000 lb. four point model after asking about my boat and the size of my slip (10' x 24') . They do not charge extra for the ability to back my boat into the slip but indicated it would be one way or the other and the installer needed to know that up front. Total price installed , almost $3k less than Hydro Hoist. So my question is simply , is there that much difference? Has anyone had experience with Econolift and should I spend a little more time searching for a pre owned lift ?

 

[WildCatFan54]

Maybe someone could also point out other brands / models , if any , I should be considering ?

 

[elcue]

I went with sunstream v lift back in 2012. It's been great. Nothing to mount just tie it wherever you want and all set. Survived superstorm sandy too.

 

[smack]

I've had my 242LS on a HydroHoist 4400 for 4 years, never had a problem with it, I'm not sure you'd need to go with the 6000. I've been through a flood, and 2 wind storms that tore up the marina and my lift and boat have had no issues. I paid $6500 for it all in which included installation and the wide slip extra , though I don't back in to it. I've never looked into the Econolift but they are all pretty much a plastic tank full of air with some trailer bunks attached to them so I can't imagine one is that much better than the other.

 

[MattFX4]

I keep my 242 on a 6,800 lb Rhino Hoist. It was used but in great condition. Paid $5k for it installed. I went with bigger capacity in case I ever got a different heavier boat.

 

[jlcj7]

I use econolift in my slip. I bought it used from the marina and have had zero issues with it since I bought it about 4 years ago or so.