I liked my lift "deep" in the shop I had down in Hailey -- it allowed me to use the front space for other cars etc when something was on the lift. The shop I have now at Thunderhill isn't deep enough for that -- so I have to put one car in the air and pull the other in under it. That kind of stuff drives me crazy -- it's just wasted effort - moving stuff to move other stuff..... not my MO.

If I was able to do a two post lift, I may do just that Greg, put it in front of the 14' door in the back of the shop that goes out to the back yard. This way I could still drive between it to get out back and that "back area" could become the shop\work area leaving the space behind the 9" door on right for parking as well as in between the lift and front 14' door.

Since I'm stuck with a drive on though, which I can't drive my RV or truck under...it'll have to go on the 9' door side. Hopefully though, the only thing that will go on that side will be something that is going on the lift to be worked on. I won't need to be parking anything else over there.

I understand completely though as in my current shop, I have to pull my RV out of the shop...just to get the lawnmower out to mow. **bangs head against desk**

I've been working on this for my new house I'm building as well. I've decided to park the biggest thing I plan to lift in my shop and place my lift based on what makes the most sense. In my case it will be my full size truck.

And yes, mine will be a two post lift. I'm no a yuppy. :lol:

Im probably the Yuppy you are referring to. I'm 64 years old and hate getting down on my knees 4 times on a concrete floor to position a two post when I can just drive onto a 4 post. I also no longer build stuff myself because I want better stuff than I have the ability to build and I can afford to have better guys do it. I spent about the first 10 years of my adult life working on a large farm as a mechanic overhauling everything from pickups, Kenworths to Tomato harvesters. My lower back is shot from I assume lifting torque hubs off of tomato harvesters by hand instead of using a cherry picker like I should have. I used to love tearing into something. Now I'm starting to dread tearing into things because I end up having to load up on Advil because my back is killing me or my neck is killing me. Getting old sucks.:headspin:

I thought "its not the age, its the mileage"?

I'm just poking fun. Do what suits you and tell everybody to kiss your ***. :D

Lance, if I were you, I'd not purchase anything until I could get over there after your in Sheetrock, and lay out the cables (using the dimensions you have) with a tape measure and a pencil, on the floor. Cut you some cardboard templates the same size as your feet on your two post lift, and spend some time moving them around until you figure out if it will work or not. Then order your lift accordingly...

This is not the lift I'm looking to buy but I did spend quite a bit of time in the Shelby display at BJ last week watching these guys swap the suspension out on the Mustang on this setup.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._112304-X2.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._112155-X2.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._112144-X2.jpg

I asked the workers if they preferred this setup vs a two post lift and they both said a two post makes this job easier. That said, they didn't seem to be having any trouble and I could see some advantages to the drive on ramps while doing this job.

The lift was very sturdy, not wiggle at all to it and the car was very secure on the two rolling jacks.

I looked at several of the rolling (or sliding) jack setups and they are pretty slick. They drop down to a 3" height and squeeze in pretty far making getting even a lowered car up on a lift no big deal. The company I'm looking at has wheels on their jacks which roll up along channels on the inside of the ramps which are very nice.

I also found some lengths of rope LED lights with a magnet every foot or so, VERY cool for lighting up under a car on a lift. The magnets let you point the light where it's needed pretty easily.

This is the lift at the top of my list right now.

https://advantagelifts.us/image/cach...nd-600x600.jpg

https://advantagelifts.us/4-post-lif...Four-Post-Lift

Their rolling jack setup...

https://advantagelifts.us/image/cach...2)-600x600.jpg

So Lance, how far away are you from West World?

It's a 30 to 60 minute drive from our current rental depending on traffic. I'll be 10-15 minutes closer once we get into the new house.

Basically Westworld is in the North East corner of the metro area and I'll be in the North West corner.

I was just looking at the picture of the rolling bridge jack in your previous post. The way the wheels are mounted on the edge of what looks like an inverted channel leaves a tray outboard of the wheels where you could place your LED strip lights. Looks like a good setup! The other thought that came to mind when you were watching the guys switch out the suspension parts at BJ is that once they were done with the upgrades they could do the wheel alignment right there on the lift.

I agree! That and the way the cross bar ends go over the posts instead of inside them are both things that this company does that no others I have found do not. Their lifts are a bit more pricey, $500-600 more than others, but their jacks are $100-200 less each than others so not really a huge difference in overall price.

4 post lifts
 

Lance,
As many say there are advantages of both lifts
We have a few of the 4 posts and the biggest advantage
is you can move them around easily if you want to rearrange
things.. can't do that easily with a 2 post
You also have the platforms there to put your rotors, tools etc
vs having to reach up and down off the floor

Disadvantage is that the platforms are sometimes in the way to
get to things from below

My 2 cents worth

Bob

Here are a few more pictures of the rolling jacks and accessories in use. The more I see, the more I like.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_0970.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_2600.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_2820.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_2800.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_2830.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...slide_3040.jpg

All you need is a cart or bench close.

Everybody has their likes and dislikes - this argument about lifts will last as long as there are still two people left standing....


I had one (4 post) for 2 weeks - sold it at a loss and bought a real asysemetric
two post.... and a big Rubbermaid cart...

In both my last shops - I like being able to drive "thru" the lift as though it's not even there. In the race track shop - I hang one car in the air and park the other one underneath....

However --- for Lance -- the 4 post on wheels is probably going to be the best option. His arms are long enough to reach over all that obstruction.

Sincerely,
Rex

That over the post design looks like it would be subject to binding. Not a big fan of those exposed cables either. There may be good reasons why no one else build lifts like this. Is the lift certified?

Don

(1) I'm certain that if outfitted properly I could do everything I normally do in my shop on a four post drive on lift.

(2) There are some things that I do pretty regularly that would be much easier and better on a drive on lift.

(3) Today's activities involve talking with local lift installers to see how they feel about possibly installing a 2 post lift on a post-tension slab floor.

#RealEstateConcerns

If you get a 4 post --- get a real one --- also note 5" HIGHER lift -- good for you tall guys....

http://www.rotarylift.com/LIFTS/SM14SW/

To my knowledge, none of the home\hobbyist lifts sold today are "certified". The price more than doubles when stepping up to a certified lift.

If binding with this design was a concern, you'd think this wouldn't be possible.

https://advantagelifts.us/image/data...slide_0510.jpg

I have yet to find a bad review on lifts of this design and there are a lot of them out there.

I laughed out loud at that... :D

Direct Lifts are certified. Don’t be mislead by these guys selling non certified lifts. They are not certified for a reason....

This lift is certified:

https://www.derekweaver.com/rodders-...d-4-post-lift/

Don

Lock notches are also integrated into the posts which limits your ability to level it. Looking at this design it is a cost reduced version of other lifts. I don’t understand how they can be charging a premium price for this lift....

Don

Lifts
 

Lance,
The only thing with a post tension slab (I have one at my house)
is you need to scan the floor for the cables and then drill in areas where
they are not running through... not a big deal unless you hit one
The one drilling will know if they are hitting something in the slab
and can stop right away but the scanning should tell you where

Bob

Local Direct Lift (among several other lifts he carries) distributor balked at installing a two post on a slab already poured. Said he'd sell me a two post, but won't install it. He's working on a quote for me on a 4 post to fit my needs.

Will chase the floor scanning option a bit more tomorrow if I get time.

I'm in the midst of my first real fab job on my new 4 post drive on lift and I had to share this picture.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont...3_115735-L.jpg

What you see there is Barney on the lift ramps with one bridge jack holding the frame up right behind the rear tires and another bridge jack under the front suspension compressing it to full compression (springs out).

I'm installing a new weld in front sway bar and needed to have the frame at ride height and be able to completely flex the front suspension to check for bind. The 4 post lift and bridge jacks made this pretty easy to do. It would not be nearly as easy on a 2 post lift.

Overall I like the lift so far. I've had to learn to work around a few things that are difficult but nothing is impossible yet. The ramps getting in the way is about a push with using them as a workbench, no biggie either way. The jacks don't have enough throw in them so it's always a battle about lifting, blocking the car up with something then lifting again after resetting the jacks...probably made worse by my car being so low to start with. The overall lift function is awesome, no bind anywhere and very sturdy. One of the bridge jack does leak which is frustrating and it will pop my 20 amp 120v breaker every now and again.

Anyway, so far so good...