4 post drive on lift questions and options

[SSLance]

We are having a production style builder build the new house and garage in a subdivision and there are NO exceptions to the way they build. Basically it's their way or the highway. Thing is, we like it because we found about 97% of everything we wanted with this builder and everything else is going very VERY smooth so far.

This is what they do, the post tension slab...and there is no way around it. I'm just trying to do the best with what I have available.

The Super did take me out on a job site Tuesday and showed me a similar garage that is formed and has the cables in place so I could look to see them before the pour and he did say I'll be able to see the one end where they grout over the cable hole...but not the other end. He just stressed that the cables might move while it is being poured and the ramifications of nicking a cable while drilling are massive... They won't even let anyone but myself onto the job site to look at the slab area the day before it's poured, only the homeowner is allowed onsite (for safety reasons).

I understand why they are like this and am okay with it...I just need to figure out if it's worth it to me to take the risk of locating the cables after it's finished and drill the floor (completely voiding the slab warranty) just to have a two post vs a 4 post lift.

This is a just about identical slab as I'll have, the side I'm looking at here is about 15' wide and 48' deep. The cables are on roughly 4' centers here. Each layout would be different though just based on how the guy that installs the cables that day does it.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by CJD Automotive

So the floor hasn't been poured yet? Just build some anchor plates with the bolts already in. Just align and stick in the slab before pouring.

That all sounds fine and dandy Craig, and I agree... But the first problem is I'll most likely be 1200 miles away the day they get ready to pour. Second problem is...no way will they let me do that. This company is SO strict about following their procedures, they do not vary on ANYTHING. We get exactly 3 what they call ZQ orders with are special "off the books" requests and we've used all 3 up already.

Please understand, I'm getting my dream house and shop here...it's going to be cool. No way am I letting the little lift issue screw the rest of this up.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by clill

I have had a 4 post lift for years and have that exact sliding jack platform. It is awsome. Bought a two post lift a year ago and hardly use it. I prefer the 4 post. Just drive on and lift. No crawling on the ground all around the car getting the 2 post arms in just the right spot. a 4 post can also be rolled outside if your door is high enough if you want to pressure wash under the car.

That's what I wanted to hear Charley, from someone with first hand experience. My only concern was the jack part being low enough to stay out of the way but it seems like it is and that won't be an issue on any of my street driven cars anyway.

How was the drive on lift to use the last time you pulled the suspension apart on something parked on it? Did the ramps get in the way at all?

[clill]

The ramps also serve as a place to put all the parts you are taking off.

[dhutton]

Glad you got the answer you wanted to hear. Since retiring (Thanks Greg!) I am out in my shop 6 or 7 days a week doing a couple of frame offs per year. I can tell you there is no way I would give up my two post for either of my four post lifts. Too slow and too awkward to work around in my experience. I guess it comes down to what you used first and how you developed your working techniques around the limitations of the lift.

And yes the four post makes an awesome wash rack. I set one up outside under a large 12' high cover for just that purpose.

Don

[Vegas69]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Glad you got the answer you wanted to hear. Since retiring (Thanks Greg!) I am out in my shop 6 or 7 days a week doing a couple of frame offs per year. I can tell you there is no way I would give up my two post for either of my four post lifts. Too slow and too awkward to work around in my experience. I guess it comes down to what you used first and how you developed your working techniques around the limitations of the lift.

And yes the four post makes an awesome wash tack. I set one up outside under a large 12' high cover for just that purpose.

Don

Two posts for folks that WORK on cars. 4 posts for those than Tinker.

With that slab, I'd stick with the 4 post. You can't have it all.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Glad you got the answer you wanted to hear. Since retiring (Thanks Greg!) I am out in my shop 6 or 7 days a week doing a couple of frame offs per year. I can tell you there is no way I would give up my two post for either of my four post lifts. Too slow and too awkward to work around in my experience. I guess it comes down to what you used first and how you developed your working techniques around the limitations of the lift.

And yes the four post makes an awesome wash rack. I set one up outside under a large 12' high cover for just that purpose.

Don

I appreciate that Don. I agree that it is based on what you are used to working on and how you will be using one. While I love my two post lift, there are a few things about it that make me think a drive on would be better for me at times. For instance, I can not get my lift arms to lift equally on both sides, so the pass side of the car is always a bit higher than the driver side. This doesn't affect you while doing any suspension work on the car, but for ride height setup, corner balancing, alignments, etc it's a huge PITA. I had to build crib stands and level each of them and set the car on those to do any suspension setup work whereas with a level drive on lift it's just drive up and go.

I imagine the raising speed is related to the 110v motors vs the 220v. I've dealt with the slower raising speed on 4 posts before and don't think that will be an issue for me. If anything, the very slow lowering speed of the two post vs the fast drop of the 4 post might make up for that. Unless my 7,000 # truck is on my 2 post, it is VERY slow to come down.

My main concern was how the two sliding jack setups are to work with. If they got in the way constantly, cars got hung up on them and they were hard to get the lift pads in the right areas, that would be a pain in the arse. I thought they looked like this wouldn't be a big issue but wanted to be sure. I KNOW using bottle jacks on the jack trays of the regular drive on lifts is a huge PITA. The only way I would even consider a drive on is to get one with the two sliding powered jacks.

My shop floor will be sloped front to back but should be pretty level side to side, so all I'll need to do is work out a pad to put under the back legs to get the lift level. That shouldn't be too difficult. I can probably work on some way to attach those pads to the floor (adhesives maybe) and have bolts sticking up out of them to just secure the legs in place. This way I can still use the caster kit to roll the lift to a different spot if necessary. Most likely I won't but it's nice to have that option.

It's also nice that the drive on ramps store in between the big lift ramps, more than once I've walked into the ramps hanging off the back of our old lifts...and walked away bleeding.

[dhutton]

I cannot drive my wife's 69 Camaro onto my four post lift if the jack is at the rear of the lift. I have to push it forward so the car will clear. Her car is lowered on Ridetech level 2 suspension. Not a huge deal.

Each post has a height adjustment so you should not need pads to level the lift.

Hope you enjoy the new shop.

Don

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Each post has a height adjustment so you should not need pads to level the lift.

Hope you enjoy the new shop.

Sweet, where exactly is the height adjustment? More specifically does it adjust the locks so they end up being level when the ramps are lowered down onto the locks?

The shop (and house really) is going to be awesome, I can't wait. Being in the Southwest vs the Midwest will be the #1 huge upgrade weather wise, but also basically having everything I currently have on my 11 acre lot now with 4.5 acres of grass to mow on a .8 acre lot in a gated subdivision with zero grass to mow PLUS a pool...is going to be sweet.

Here is a picture that is pretty similar to how our house and shop is going to end up looking like.



Only difference is I'll have a 9' tall door next to the 14' tall door on the front of the garage instead of the windows like this one has. The shop is 31x51 clear open span on the inside with 16' ceilings. It also will have a 14' tall door on the back side and a 50'x50' gravel area behind the shop to park trailers and whatnot which will all be inside a 6' tall concrete block fence.

The shop interior will be insulated and completely sheet rock finished and have one full bath in the back house side corner. Other that that it'll be a blank canvas for me to start over in. I plan to put the lift inside the 9' door area and my office will be built between the lift and the bathroom. The whole other side of the garage will be open to store my RV and whatever else I need to arrange for.

[dhutton]

There is a nut on top of each post that adjust the height of the locks. Easy to do.

Don