Lifts ?
 

Thinking of getting a lift. Which do you think would be better. A four post car storage type rack or a two post hoist?

It's main function would be used for stacked storage but also for mechanical as needed and any and all restoration type work.

About the same costs (used two post). But even the cost new or used is not that different between the two units. The car storage racks have add ons, that make it like hoist at additional cost. (not supported by the wheels)

Looking for what other hobbyists would say and advice from the pros.
Thanks

it really depends on what kind of work you do. i have both. i originally went 2 post because i do alot of suspension and motor work.. if you do lots od detailing or tranny work i would tell you to go 4post. i bought my 4 post to do exhaust and detailind. alot to do chassis mods.

you said mainly storage so i would go 4 post.

both have pros and cons.
the choice is yours.

With 2 post you need deeper concrete for code (and safety) at least where I live. I went 4 post, will pull tranny in winter so it should help. It is a slow time consumming PIA to use a bottle jack to raise car on the lift and pull a wheel with the four post, but to me the plus of having storage outweighs that negative.

Garage junkies forum has a ton of opinions


Brad

good point on the concrete thickness, the 2 post generally want 6-8" thick slab versus the standard 4" slab for a 4 post. Many garages don't have the thickness required to safely mount a two post lift.

I use a 4 post because 95% of the time I only need to drive on and raise the vehicle to do what I am doing, instead of having to set the arms to lift the car. I also have a neat jack that slides the entire length of the lift and has arms which adjust for width and height to lift the front or rear of the car. It sets up so fast and easy it takes no time, no separate jacks, etc. Here's a pic of one similar to mine:

http://www.superlifts.com/images/sj1-big.jpg

the sliding jack even come in a penumaic/hydraulic version so you can run it of the compressed air...

i just bought a lift myself, but since i dint have sufficient celinghright for a 1, 2 or 4 post lift i went with a scissor lift

I too have a 4 post with the sliding hydraulic jack Jody showed. I've had it 4 years and have done everything from engine removal to front end work. I love it. I have a 10' ceiling and can stand under the car - no I'm not height challenged! My truck can raise high enough to do exhaulst etc using my roll-around chair too!

Jody,

how much is that lift adapter ?

Brad

7 years spent in repair bays with (the equivalent of) both types. Both have +'s and -'s. 4 post is for storage, alignments and some work. But in my expereince a 2 post is much more useful for working on cars. That is what I would buy. Floor requirements woud not sway me, I'd fix the floor if necessary.

$0.02

I got Charley and I one for about $500 each or so. Not that brand though, but looks and works the same.

I know the 2 post lifts are popular when wheel/tires have to come off, but the advantage of a 4 post to me is:

simply driving it on the lift and immediately lifting (no setting the arms like a 2 post)

ground clearance; sometimes a real low car has to be jacked up just to let the arms get under the lift

much more stable, never seen a car fall off a 4 post but have seen several fall off or partly off a 2 post

moveable, which is nice when you want to steam clean the bottom of your car or need the floor space for some temporary reason

with that jack I bought I can get the wheels off just as fast for brake jobs, etc. as a two post in my opinion

they both have plusses and minuses, but I've worked under two posts a lot, and having the car rocking around gets your attention sometimes.... :wow:
Jody

This is a great Thread as I am in the Market as well.

What Brands do you recommend and why?

Thanks,

Ty

I have a two post lift that I purchased on ebay from directlifts. The reasons I bought two post were lower cost and better access to work on the car. The lower cost was because there was no need to purchase the additional jack to raise the car to remove wheels. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, one of which is safety which had already been mentioned. The other is ceiling height, the lift requires almost 12 feet of ceiling height. Another is installation, this lift weighed 1500 pounds and it is no small task to raise those columns safely. I used the front end loader on my tractor but even with that raising columns that weigh 600 pounds or so is a little nerve wracking.

I've often thought about getting a 4 post lift so that I could use the one the best suits the job I'm doing.

Don

I bought a direct lift also. It was no problem lifting the columns with myself and my neighbor picking them up by hand. I used my cherry picker to lift them off the truck and to separate them.Monday I start drilling the anchors and wire it. I modified my trusses and went from 10 foot to 13 foot ceilings.
Next will be insulate and drywall.

guys they make flush mount ancors that work great, better then the studs as if you move lift it will be smooth and you can leave ancors or fill with cement

Any more details on the anchors? Where to get them or what they are called.
Thanks Ken

Hilti brand makes all kinds of anchors including flush type. They use to be called the Red Head style. That may have changed. I'm sure their website has what your looking for.

Was this a regular type garage? (2 X 4 construction) How much work was that? Been thinking about it.

I have two words Bend pak

I bought a 4-post CL8000XLT http://www.completehydraulic.com/cl08000xl.html from Complete Hydraulic Service & Sales in Franklin, Indiana. I bought it from them because it was close enough that I could drive over and pick it up to save me the truck freight. I combined my gas costs for that trip with a stop in Gosport, Indiana and picked up an Auto Twirler Plus making the trip a little more cost saving.


I made a removable floor for mine so that I can put smaller things up on the lift to get them out of the way which gives me more floor space to work on other things. They are little sections of bleachers from an foot ball field that lay across the opening. One advantage of them is that I can pull ATV's or lawn mowers on and take out a few of them from underneath and then change oil or change blades on the mower.

Yes, it is/was a truss roof. I talked to my uncle who is a carpenter/contractor and he told me how to do it. Pretty easy and I did it by myself. If you want more info or pictures let me know.

yes please post some info and pictures on that. I was thinking of doing it. thanks in advance.

I was working on my race car today and had it on my 4 post with the jack like Jody posted holdong up the rear end while I had the rear wheels off and it is so easy. To recommend a 2 post to the home user seems wrong. How many home users know the proper lift points on cars ? How many home users know how thick their slab is ?

I Do and I know. I use a 2 post all day at work. That is why I put a 2 post in at home. I do alot of side work and to try and do timing belts on front wheel drive cars or front axles is a pain on a 4 post. 4 post are good for storage,alignments or oil changes and brake jobs. I have even had problems doing exhaust on our 4 post.And as for as as home user not knowing proper lift points, I have seen a few roll off 4 posts when somebody forgets to put it back in park or the ebrake doesn't hold.

Charlie, these guys are not typical home users. If they can't set up a lift, well.... Slab thickness is a legit concern but I am sure there are ways to find out, or cut a hole & pour - I'd probably do that anyway for piece of mind to make sure it is deep enough and strong enough concrete. I've seen cars fall off lifts & it is not nice. But I don't see either being a deal breaker here.

I totally see reasons for both types, no doubt, and would never fault anyone's decision. But if I could only have one gimme a 2 post. Now, if I had room for 2, lol....

Scott-

[QUOTE=Overkill]I bought a 4-post CL8000XLT [URL="http://www.completehydraulic.com/cl08000xl.html"]from Complete Hydraulic Service & Sales in Franklin, Indiana. QUOTE]

This is the same exact one I have been looking at as well. I want to pull the trigger but have no idea how I am going to unload this thing and put in my garage. How are you guys unloading the lifts when they weigh a ton, literally. This unit I'm interested in weighs 2000 lbs so how does one move it from the truck to the garage and then set up. In dire need of assistance. Thanks in advance.

Most places I've looked at include free delivery and set up. (located in the same City)

I luckily have a neighbor with a front-end loader on his tractor. I hauled the lift home on one of my car trailers and then backed it up close to the door. I then used an engine hoist on one end and the tractor on the other. I picked it up and pulled the truck/trailer out of the way and then slowly drove the tractor in the garage. My cousin came over and helped me set it up. It wasn't to bad with two people and the engine hoist to hold the runways up. It comes packaged pretty well and has metal brackets on each end holding everything together.

http://www.camaroheaven.org/images/a...e/PICT1806.JPG

Well, unfortunately for me I don't have anyone near me with a front end loader. But I do have a cherry picker that would probably pick up a semi. It's a home made job. I guess I could go that route.

I will ask the company if they do set up as well but I don't think they do.
Thanks for the responses guys.

I've actually kind of been in the market for one to buy as a gift for my dad... I plan on using it a lot though :D

Does anyone know what the normal cieling height requirement is to have a 4 post lift, and be able to have room for another car under it? Thanks!

I unloaded mine with a cherry picker. Had no problems, Just do one end at a time. I also installed it myself and wired it. Very easy and works great!

Depends on the height of the vehicle on top, but with my '05 2500HD on the lift and another parked underneath, I come close to the 14 foot rafters in my shop. I haven't measured to see how close it is, but it's within about 6" or so. If it were just cars it would be considerably less height required.

Figure you need about 10' to be able to comfortably work under a normal car. Measure how tall your car is and add how tall you are. That would put the tip of your head under the tire. I have found that is too high to reach everything so you will probably have it 6" lower.

Sideshow and anyone else contemplating altering their building structure;

DO NOT alter roof trusses based on advice from a carpenter or contractor!

The design and analysis of trusses is very complex and unless a professional engineer has provided the alteration design for you, you are likely to create a safety and liability hazard for yourself and all subsequent owners of the property.

The zoning laws of you're community might even prohibit making that kind of alteration without a PE design. Ask your Building Inspector.

NO contractor or carpenter is knowledgeable enough to know how trusses are designed unless he is a drop out from the structural engineering profession..

Any fool can use a saw and hammer and butcher the structure and say it was (physically) easy, but it may be a time bomb waiting to collapse.

Don't take this lightly. There are lawyers standing in line just waiting for this opportunity.

Another consideration that many won't realize is that house builders rarely compact the soil when they backfill inside the foundation. The soil under the slab along the foundation walls generally settles a bit through time and there is often a void between the slab and the soil. I have seen a void of about 4" in one job that I investigated.

The condition is often unknown because very little load is applied along the edges of the floor when the vehicles are out in the parking areas.

Due to cramped spaces I would guess that many a lift has some of their posts bear near the edges of the floor, right where the soil has settled, thereby causing cause for concern. If/when that piece of concrete breaks under the load, it will be an alarming if not dangerous situation.

It would be good for potential home users to try to determine if the post base locations are on sound bearing by sounding or coring a hole in an adjacent similar location.

I agree this does sound like a really good idea

i have scene plenty of engineers screw things up.... just because its drawn on paper doesn't mean it always works, and you dont have to be an engineer to modify a simple roof truss, just have some common sense,
think a fabricator designed the new fords so that when it needed a head gasket you had to remove the cab? doubt it

Engineers do make mistakes, but atleast they are not from ignorance.
If you have a sealed drawing from an Engineer, and it falls down and ruins your car or kills your child, he is responsible and pays the price or goes to jail, Not You.
Do you drill your own teeth? Do you do your own heart surgery? Those only involve a grinder or a knife.

You DO have to know how to do a statics analysis to modify a truss.

Go into any auto shop. They generally have one four post(Alignment rack) and 20 2 post. A 2 post gives you so much more room to work. There really isn't much you can't do if you have a screw jack.
Now if you are going to use it for storage primarily and work on the car once and a while then a 4 post is going to be much easier to get the car out of the way quickly.

I ended up buying a few of these:http://www.kennan.ab.ca/lifts.html

Set up in some extra space in a warehouse, they seem to work well. Solid enough, well thought out. Don't really roll so easy with a car loaded on them, but not bad with enough guys.

LOL The Titan hobby lift IS THE SAME EXACT lift as my eagle. Linkage, locking mechanism etc... everything is the same. I love mine.

But where is the Eagle made?

Before I bought a bike lift, I asked Eagle about theirs because it looks just like one of the US made Handy Lifts, which is one of the Industry Standards.

It turns out that Eagle's was a China copy. So just because it looks the same, don't jump to conclusions.

I put their literature in the trash.