Sunday, April 24, 2011

Don't buy Viking Boat Lifts!!!

I have a Viking Boat lift. In the past, I have called to get service, and while they say they will come, they never have (this has happened the past 3 years in a row).
This year, despite their claims that their boatlifts can withstand ice, my lift was knocked over. Once again, despite Bo and Angela assuring me that they would come and fix it (they were scheduled to come to my area April 2),  they did  not show. All I have left is a problem, ruining my floating dock and delaying launching my boat.
Dont let this happen to you!! Dont buy anything from Viking Marine Boat Lifts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17 comments:

  1. Are you willing to take them to court if we have a few of us it might make it worth while. They have promised to come several times last year and no show. The boat lift was leaning and this year it's in the water. I'm convinced this thing cannot withdstand ice since were on a very small lake. If it can't survive our lake it certainly can't survive large bodies of water. I want my money back do you want to deal with this every year?

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  2. You guys are not alone. I bought one 2 years ago.
    I was worried about the purchase because he is a one man show and was very hard to nail down a delivery date. I mentioned that concern and was told they have extra staff when needed but never have any problems aside from a minor motor issue.

    Bo was not able to level without an articulating leg, which he promised he would correct. Did not happen, and now the lift is on it's back in 6-8 feet of water.

    Not sure what lake you are on, but I understand there is another on my lake that has fallen against the dock as well, but have not had a chance to go see the owner. Also someone in NY posted on the Hull Truth and linked to this blog.

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  3. these comments seem so familiar to me. My lift survived 2 somewhat mild winters on a quiet bay, but was was pushed out of position when the ice heaved this year . I am lucky in that the lift righted itself and is operational. I was actually at the lake when this happened and the lift was simply pushed over by the ice and the soft lake bottom allowed it to give somewhat. I tied it off to prevent it from going right over. Its only a matter of time and my lift will end up the same way in aggressive ice. I am in north eastern ontario

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  4. Thanks for your posts. It's great to see that my suspicions about them are well founded. They have threatened legal action against me for posting this blog, rather than just fixing my lift. This too proves what a fraud they are. I hope more people post their stories, and we move further up the search chain.

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  7. More serious problems with Viking Boat Lifts:
    1. Five months late on install date
    2. Never finished installation and had to put the bunks on myself
    3. Tried to upgrade to motorized and they never returned any calls/emails
    4. Three weeks ago the hoist inside it completely failed and dropped my boat three feet into the water damaging the boat slightly, but COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEBODY
    5. No response to my calls and emails to correct the broken hoist
    6. During my research to fix the broken lift, I found out that the winch was half the capacity I bought
    7. All capacity markings on the internal winch were suspiciously missing, only the hood has the capacity right in the casting (check yours if you have one as it could save a life)
    8. Had to buy my own new winch at the correct capacity

    I have further inquired and been told by Viking Boat Lifts that the lift is n.ot engineered at all... very serious

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  8. For anybody that has one of these lifts, I strongly suggest to verify the internal hoist capacity by looking at the hook and ensuring the boat weight plus about 500 pounds for the cradle system is not over the listing on the hook.

    My boat lift has survived two winters but it is against a concrete seawall, but for those of you with the lift out in the lake I would recommend you have it lifted out at end of seasons by a backhoe or otherwise.

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  9. Happy New Year folks!

    Just wanted to let you know that the Canadian Government just laid 30 charges against this company - full details on my blog at http://myvikingboatliftexperience.blogspot.com

    Safe boating all!

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  10. Can anyone provide me with the manufacturer of the winch used in the Viking lift? I believe mine is rated for 4000 lbs. It is a manual crank lift. The winch is making squeaky noises and I wish to remove or possibly replace with another. How does the handle come off? There are no visible screws or bolts to remove.
    Viking does not respond to email questions about how to service winch.

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    1. my chain rusted out. Going to Harbor freight to replace the entire unit. The crank is threaded on, pull off top and stick screw driver inside to stop unit from turning while counter clock wise turning handle. replaced unit with harbor freight unit, just had another threaded pc welded on as the same as original. Salt air and water took toll after 10 years of service. lift still working.

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  11. Does anyone know what gearbox and electric motor is used on the Viking Lift. I've been waiting 3 years for mine, and by the looks of it I'll never get it.

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  13. when i crank down the boat, it sticks now and i need to wiggle the boat a boat for it to drop. Anyone else have this problem?

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