4 post drive on lift questions and options - Lateral-g Forums

SSLance · #1 06-01-2017, 06:21 AM

Thank you Steve and Rick for the input, you guys relating your hands on experience helps make this decision a bit easier.

Are there locks on those jacks? Like can you lift the car up off the ramps and set it on locks inside the jack? Or will they just bleed back down like a bottle or floor jack if weight is left on them for a long time? They are hydraulic right, they tie into the hoist pump? To remove one you would have to take the hydraulic line loose correct?

Maybe having just one in place might be a better option. If I needed all 4 tires up I could just lift the front of the car, put jack stands under the lift points and ramps then move the jack to the rear to lift it up.

I'd really like to see one in operation first hand before making this decision. Thankfully I have until next January at the earliest to do so.

dhutton · #2 06-01-2017, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSLance

Thank you Steve and Rick for the input, you guys relating your hands on experience helps make this decision a bit easier.

Are there locks on those jacks? Like can you lift the car up off the ramps and set it on locks inside the jack? Or will they just bleed back down like a bottle or floor jack if weight is left on them for a long time? They are hydraulic right, they tie into the hoist pump? To remove one you would have to take the hydraulic line loose correct?

Maybe having just one in place might be a better option. If I needed all 4 tires up I could just lift the front of the car, put jack stands under the lift points and ramps then move the jack to the rear to lift it up.

I'd really like to see one in operation first hand before making this decision. Thankfully I have until next January at the earliest to do so.

They are manual pump jacks, they do not tie into the lift hydraulics. No locks on mine. They are very heavy. You install them and leave them. Just slide them back and forth. The long lift you are buying can easily accommodate two jacks.

Don

**clill** · #3 06-01-2017, 07:02 AM

They have automatic locks so no need to worry about it bleeding down. As you are jacking up you will hear the locks clicking and can see it working. I just have one on my hoist and love it. Hellfire and other cars clear the sliding jack with no problem.
I think in the post above he is misunderstanding your question about locks.. Once it is setting on the locks you need to jack it up slightly in order to unlock it.

SSLance · #4 06-01-2017, 07:08 AM

Okay, so manually pumping a jack is not my preferred method!!

After a little digging I found this little gem which will convert any manual hydraulic jack pump to an air operated one.

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Ai...t-w-auto-oiler

I then found another lift supplier that sells a RJ 45 jack that lefts 4500# and comes with the air over hydraulic option too. It appears these newer versions do have locking tabs as well. The RJ 45 also has ball bearing wheels instead of just plastic sliders that make it easier to roll the jack to and fro...

I'll keep digging and shopping but thanks for sharing the details on these. I think with enough bells and whistles I can really set a 4 post lift up to do what I want it to do easily.

I need to look more carefully at the commercial 4 post lifts as well, they've got 220v pumps on them which I'm sure will go up faster but they also cost considerably more.

**clill** · #5 06-01-2017, 08:15 AM

The manual jack is simple. The pump is simply a porta power. I would not bother with the air setup and it is just a hose you would need to bother with. The ports power jack really is easy and quick.

**GregWeld** · #6 06-05-2017, 05:15 AM

I converted my engine hoist to air over hydraulic..... best thing I ever did!! It became less "bouncy" with a load... was smoother... and was easy to fine tune in lifting. That wouldn't apply to these four post lift options - but it sure was slick on the engine hoist.

TheJDMan · #7 06-13-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clill

The manual jack is simple. The pump is simply a porta power. I would not bother with the air setup and it is just a hose you would need to bother with. The ports power jack really is easy and quick.

I agree the air assist is not necessary. The bridge jack features a lock mechanism which will allow you to take the load off the hydraulic ram for prolonged raised storage. I also think the RJ45 is overkill because you will only be lifting one end of your car at a time. The 3500# RJ35 is more than capable for your intended use.

Lance,
Take a look at this thread where I described the LED lift lights I installed on my lift.

https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=48550

jarhead · #8 06-25-2017, 10:57 AM

another reason i like this site, I learned allot just reading this one thread...

That is going to be a nice garage Lance, I hope your challenges all work out.

Joe

SSLance · #9 08-29-2017, 03:09 PM

I guess I can put this one to bed...

My Realtor (she rocks BTW) went out last Saturday with a tape measure and a camera and laid out where the tension cables are behind the 9' door part of the RV garage...and the results aren't good for wanting to drill to install a two post lift.

In this picture the black lines with arrows are the tension cables, purple lines are measurements from bottom and right walls.

I would want a two post lift with 108" (9') in between the posts which is the same width as the door. The cable on the left side of the door running up and down (North & South) is right in the way of where we'd have to drill.

To get around that I'd have to move the lift either too far to the left or too far to the right and neither is a good fix.

So it looks like we'll go with the commercial grade four post lift after all.

Here's a picture of the actual cables which are hopefully covered in concrete by now.