Katool KT-H105: a 10,000 lb two-post lift with nothing overhead

Start with the part the manufacturer's copy never explains. The KT-H105 is a base-plate two-post lift, which means the hydraulic crossover runs along the floor inside a low steel plate between the columns rather than through a beam across the top. That one design choice is why this lift goes into bays an overhead-beam lift cannot use. There is no beam, so nothing caps the height of the vehicle you drive in, and nothing has to clear a garage-door track, a sprinkler run or a low header over the bay.

What sits on that base plate is a 10,000 lbs (4,500 kg) symmetric lift running dual hydraulic chain-drive cylinders, with a manual safety release reachable from either column. Katool also publishes an overload test figure instead of leaving it vague: 115% dynamic and 150% static loading. It is a sensible bay lift for an independent service shop, and it is one of the few full-height lifts a home garage with a finished ceiling can actually take.

Will It Fit?

Five things decide this, and every one is yours to confirm before the truck arrives. We cannot see your building or your slab.

• Ceiling. The columns stand 2,818 mm overall, and the lift raises to 1,800 mm at the top of the pad, which is 71 inches of rise measured under the arms. The number that matters for your roof is your own vehicle's height plus that rise, not the height of the lift.
• Floor width. Overall width is 3,565 mm, with 2,800 mm between the inside faces of the columns and 3,170 mm across the outside. Allow working room on both sides too; a bay sized to the exact footprint is one you cannot walk around with a transmission jack.
• Drive-through. 2,500 mm between the columns. This is what governs how wide a vehicle can be driven straight in, and it is a harder limit than capacity ever is.
• Concrete. Minimum 5.9 inches thick, at a compressive strength of at least 3,000 PSI, level and unbroken under the anchor pattern. No expansion joint, no crack, no patched section. Confirming this is the owner's responsibility and it is the most common reason an install stops on the day. If you do not know what your slab is, core it or ask whoever poured it before you order.
• Power. The standard power unit is 220V/60Hz/1PH. A 110V motor is available as a paid option for a garage with no 220V circuit, and that is a decision to make before the lift ships rather than after it lands.

Two cylinders, and what that buys you

Each column carries its own hydraulic chain-drive cylinder rather than one cylinder dragging both sides through a single linkage. Two cylinders working off one power unit is what keeps the carriages tracking together, so a vehicle comes up level instead of one corner leading. That reads like a spec until you put a real vehicle on it. A pickup with a heavy engine forward and an empty bed is an offset load, and on a lift that rises unevenly the difference is absorbed by the arms and the pads rather than by the structure.

A safety release on both columns

The mechanical locks engage as the carriages climb, so a raised vehicle is held on steel and not on hydraulic pressure. Lowering therefore means releasing those locks, and on the KT-H105 that release is manual and duplicated on both sides. It sounds minor and it changes the working day: you are not walking around a raised vehicle to find one handle, and you are not asking a second person to hold a lever while you watch the arms. The columns also carry rubber door-opening protection, so a door swung open at working height meets rubber rather than painted steel.

Arms, pads and the adaptors that come with it

Front arms extend from 750 mm to 1,170 mm and rear arms from 900 mm to 1,480 mm, both in two stages. That range, far more than the capacity, is what decides whether an awkward vehicle can be picked up at its proper lift points. Pads screw on, and the lift ships with extension support adaptor sets that add 100 mm of pad height, which is what a truck or SUV with high pinch welds needs. At the other end of the range the minimum pad height is 3.9 inches, so a low car can still be driven over the arms without a ramp.

Perfect For

• Independent service shops adding a bay in a building where the ceiling, not the floor, is the constraint.
• Home garages with a finished ceiling or a sectional door track, where an overhead-beam lift is simply not an option.
• Brake, exhaust, suspension and tyre work on cars and light trucks, where full standing height under the vehicle is the whole point of owning a lift.
• Restoration and long-term projects, where a vehicle sits for days on mechanical locks rather than a jack stand.

What's in the Box

• Two columns with the base-plate assembly and dual hydraulic chain-drive cylinders
• Symmetric arm set with screw-on pads
• Extension support adaptor sets adding 100 mm of pad height
• Rubber door-opening protection pads
• Power unit, 220V/60Hz/1PH
• Installation hardware and instructions

The 110V motor is a paid substitution, not an included extra, so specify it when you order. Anchors and any slab work are not part of the crate.

Specifications

Certification, stated plainly

Katool markets the KT-H105 as CE approved and certified, tested to 115% dynamic and 150% static loading. Read that for exactly what it is. CE is a European conformity marking that rests on the manufacturer's own declaration, and it is not the same document as a North American third-party lift safety listing. For a private garage and for a great many independent shops the distinction never comes up. It does come up for some commercial insurance policies, for some fleet and municipal operations, and for local jurisdictions that name a specific listing in their code. Check what your insurer, your inspector or your employer actually requires before you order, not after the lift is anchored to your floor.

Shipping and delivery

This lift moves by freight truck to addresses in the lower 48 states. Freight is quoted live at checkout against your address, so what you see is a current carrier rate rather than a guess that goes stale. The crate arrives on a standard trailer and getting it onto the ground is the receiver's job, so you need a forklift, a machine, or a plan and some help. If that is not realistic, collecting from the carrier's local terminal is usually easier, and the terminal has the equipment. Delivery to a residential address carries a residential fee, which is applied at checkout when you choose that option.

Inspect before you sign. Walk the crate, look for crushed corners, gouges, shifted banding and oil, and write anything you find on the bill of lading while the driver is still there. Photograph it. A clean signature is the carrier's evidence that the shipment arrived undamaged, and it is very hard to argue with afterwards.

Warranty

Katool publishes a written warranty document covering this lift; ask us for the current copy before you order if the terms matter to your decision. One warning applies to every hydraulic lift regardless of who made it: if something fails, do not take the power unit, a cylinder or a lock mechanism apart before a claim is open. A disassembled component is normally treated as a modified one, and it is the fastest way to lose coverage that would otherwise have been honoured. Photograph the fault, note the serial number and call first.