What is an MOT Ramp?

A MOT Ramp often referred to as a MOT Lift, is a piece of MOT testing equipment that allows a tester to carry out an MOT on a vehicle. This piece of equipment is one of the many items required to set up a MOT Bay (if you’re not purchasing a PIT). The difference between this and a normal ramp is that an MOT Ramp has play detectors on it. MOT Ramps can either be 4 post lifts or scissor lifts and will differ depending on what class of vehicles you are testing. The most common form of MOT lifts are class IV and class VII, the example below shows you the difference between class 4 & class 7. You can clearly the see the class 7 MOT Ramp’s platform length is larger (5.7m) to accommodate larger vans. Of course, you can test class 4 vehicles on class 7 MOT ramps.

Why would you need to Recess or Flush mount a MOT Ramp?

You may need to recess a MOT ramp for space saving purposes. As per DVSA regulations, the Roller Brake tester standing area must meet a specific criteria with a minimum distance between your MOT ramp and brake tester. If your lift is flush mounted (or recessed) then your MOT ramp can form part of the brake tester standing area reducing the space required between the brake tester and MOT ramp. This can save you a significant amount of space which can be the difference between being able to offer a MOT service or not. In addition to this, longer run up ramps are likely to be required if your ramp is not recessed as you may find that you damage low profile vehicles when driving on to the ramp.

What is OPTL?

One Person Test Lane (OPTL) refers to upgrading an existing test lane to one man testing, this is usually concerned with replacing your existing MOT lift with one with play detectors. A full ATL bay (one man testing) is associated with both an MOT ramp and brake tester. An OPTL bay will require 2 x convex mirrors and a brake pedal depressor too (assuming you have the remaining equipment).

Can you carry out Wheel Alignment on a MOT ramp?

In short, yes you can. Most manufacturers if not all will offer options for MOT ramps with wheel alignment applications. The main difference is that these ramps will have rear slip plates on the platforms as illustrated in the below image. All these questions are raised and answered during a MOT site survey which can be arranged by calling our equipment team.

JHM Butt offer a wide range of MOT lifts to suit all applications for instance, we can offer a wheel free MOT scissor lift and standard MOT Class IV & VII 4 post lifts. We are consistently supplying new garage equipment for testing stations across the country. If your testing station would prefer to scrap the idea of an MOT ramp altogether we can also offer MOT Pit lanes which are a good alternative if you do not have the roof height to accommodate a ramp.

All MOT Lifts can be supplied with lighting kits which are a great added option for those workshops who do not get much light in. These heavy-duty line light kits are robust enough to cope with harsh conditions associated with busy automated test lanes and professional testing stations. All equipment comes with a standard 12 month warranty and our Majorlift jacking beams come with a 3 year warranty. We offer additional options to extend the lifetime of the warranty if a service contract is taken out with JHM Butt. We are confident in the ability of our engineers to service the equipment properly which is why we offer these options.