Forward MR-6 Review: Rolling Bridge Scissor Lift for Maximum Flexibility

The Forward MR-6 is a full scissor platform, 70 in long and 58 in wide, that raises 6,000 lb to 34 in. What separates it from a fixed mid-rise is the running gear underneath: casters that carry the 650 lb platform across a floor when it is unloaded, then retract or unload so the frame sits flat on the concrete before a vehicle goes on. The idea is one lift shared between bays, wheeled to the car rather than the car driven to it.

That solves a specific problem. A household with three cars and one garage bay that can hold a lift has to pick which car gets lifted where. A rolling platform goes to the car in the driveway, does the job on flat concrete, and comes back inside. It also makes rearranging the garage possible without a pallet jack.

The trade is height and cost. A fixed Dannmar DMR-6 gives 47 in of rise for around $2,499. The MR-6 gives 34 in for around $2,299, and the difference is the caster hardware. Buyers who will never move the lift are paying for wheels they do not need.

The 6,000 lb rating covers every passenger car and crossover and the half-ton pickups at curb weight. Four adjustable rubber pads meet the vehicle at its pinch welds or frame points, so there is no per-vehicle frame positioning as there is with a QuickJack. Pad travel along the 70 in platform reaches short-wheelbase coupes and long-wheelbase trucks; very wide lift-point spacing should be checked before ordering.

Rise is 34 in. That puts a sedan's rocker at about 38 in, which is enough to sit upright on a stool beneath the car and to roll a transmission jack under it on its lowest setting. It is not standing height. Brake, suspension, exhaust, fluid and driveline work are comfortable; long sessions under the car are on a stool, not on your feet.

The 4 in collapsed height is the lowest in this group of platform lifts and a half inch under the BendPak MD-6XP. A stock car drives over it and parks. A car on lowering springs may need ramps. With the casters retracted, the platform's own weight holds it on the floor under load.

The MR-6 runs on a standard 110V circuit, and Forward's manual calls for a dedicated 20-amp outlet rather than a shared one. There is no 220V option listed. For a home garage that is fine; for a shop cycling the lift all day it means slower rises with heavy vehicles than a 220V mid-rise manages.

The floor is where mobility stops being free. A 650 lb platform on casters needs smooth, sealed, level concrete to roll, and a floor with a lipped expansion joint, cracks or a broom finish fights the wheels every trip. The platform must also sit on flat concrete when loaded, because a scissor lift on a pitched slab loads one side of its locks first. Practically, that means the lift moves between bays inside one garage, or out to a flat driveway apron, and not across gravel or a sloped drive.

Setup is placement: move the pallet in, connect the power unit to the hydraulic port, fill the reservoir, cycle the platform unloaded to bleed the system, and set the pads for the first vehicle. Two people can do it in an afternoon.

The MR-6 has automatic safety locks that engage as the platform rises, an overload valve in the hydraulic circuit and a flow control on the descent. Once the platform stops, the vehicle sits on steel. Lowering requires a short raise to unload the locks before they release, which is the standard scissor sequence and means the locks never let go under load.

Forward's spec sheet does not claim ALI certification for the MR-6, and the model is not in the ALI directory. For a home garage that is a judgment call; the mechanism is the same class used on certified platforms, and Forward has sold lifts for years. For a commercial bay that answers to an insurer, it usually rules the lift out, and it is the main functional difference from a BendPak platform.

The warranty is 2 years limited, shorter than the 3 years on the Triumph NSS-6 and the 5-year structural cover BendPak puts on the RBJ6000. On a lift with casters, the running gear is the part most likely to need attention, so that gap counts.

The BendPak RBJ6000 (around $2,399) is a pneumatic rolling bridge jack that lifts one end of a vehicle to 32 in and needs shop air. It rolls more easily than the MR-6 because each unit is 350 lb, and it carries a 5-year structural warranty. It does not lift the whole car with one unit, and it does nothing without a compressor. Choose it for a shop with air and several bays; choose the MR-6 for whole-vehicle lifts on 110V.

The Challenger CMJ6 (around $1,999) is a pair of 145 lb battery-powered jacks that lift a car to 26 in and store in a corner. It is the mobile option for a single-car garage that has to park every night. The MR-6 is 650 lb and cannot do that.

The Triumph NSS-6 (around $2,199) is the closest match: a 620 lb portable scissor platform, 36 in of rise, 110V, no casters. It gives 2 in more rise for $100 less. In our view the NSS-6 is the better buy for one bay, and the MR-6 only earns its price when the lift actually moves.

The MR-6 is a sensible buy for the owner with a multi-bay garage or a small shop, a smooth concrete floor, and a real need to bring the lift to different cars in different places. It gives whole-vehicle lifting at 6,000 lb, on ordinary household power, with automatic locks and a 4 in profile that most cars park over. Households with three or four vehicles and one workspace are the fit.

It is the wrong lift for a single fixed bay, where the Triumph NSS-6 does the same thing without the caster premium and the Dannmar DMR-6 adds 13 in of rise for $200 more. It is the wrong lift for a garage that must be cleared nightly, because 650 lb does not go on a wall. And it is the wrong lift for anyone who wants standing-height access, which starts at the 46 to 48 in mid-rise platforms.

If the lift will move between bays every week, buy the MR-6. If it will move twice a year, buy the NSS-6 and keep the $100.