Four post lift

61BISCAYNE

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Hello all, I've not posted in a while. Been really busy over the past year with life. Anyway, I am in the planning stages of building a new shop. I've been looking around on the internet at four post lifts, trying to work one into my budget. I'm just curious if anyone has any recommendations. I would like one in the 8,000 to 9,000 lb. rating. Anything in particular to look for...or to stay away from?
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
I have a BackYard Buddy, had it for about 10 years maye more, no problems. Also have a SUPERLIFT, it's made like the BackYard Buddy just made out of lighter materials. Both work fine but I only use them for storage, might run up and down once a month. The Buddy goes up faster and comes down slower than the SUPERLIFT which I like and it seems more stable. The SUPERLIFT is bolted to the floor, the Buddy isn't and it still seems more stable. The big thing about buying one is the shipping and the assembly.
 

pvs409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
I have an American made Superlift - it is very stable, it is not bolted to the floor in fact it sits on a race deck floor red and black checkboard floor. It has stops to lower it onto about every 6". Make sure you get a wide lift to make it easier to drive onto the lift.
see this link for the one I bought
http://www.superlifts.com/fourpostlifts/sr7h.html -they are located in Burelson, Texas, it would fit on a open trailer. I paid to have mine installed, cost me $600, I did not have the time to do it.
Mine is used to work on my cars and occasionly for storage.
I bought it with a red powder coat -the best thing, it stills looks like new after 8 years. I also bought jacking bridges and extra sliding plastic dip pans.
I have pictures lots of pictures including the installation.
Paul
 

IMBVSUR?

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Lot's of good suggestions on brands, and I like your idea about weight capacity, don't scrimp on that. My only input would be to get a side by side or drive on, and not an A semetrical. They just don't seem to keep the heavier vehicles as stable. Some like the convenience though, so good luck.
 

BSL409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 6
I also have the 9000 LB Bendpak and it's not bolted down. I just made my jacking bridges from steel at work
IMG_0310.JPG IMG_0311.JPG IMG_0312.JPG
 

61belairbubbletop

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
I have a 'Classic Lift'. Exact copy of the 'Backyard Buddy'. Bought it about 10 years ago. Couldn't imagine Being without one now.
Jacking bridges are a must have.

What ever lift you buy, make sure that the cams lock into windows in the verticle posts ! Don't buy one that has welded on locking tabs.

You'll love it.
 

jwhotrod

 
Supporting Member 1
I have a backyard buddy that I bought 10 years ago after much searching and talking. The BIG thing about BBB's and lifts that are copies is the backyard buddy was the first one to totally enclose the corner posts with the end frames of the lift platform and cut the safety into the sidewall of the corner post which is a tube not a 3 sided formed piece of sheet metal with the safetys as blocks welded into the open side of the post, and the lift frame hangs on the cables and does not slide up and down on the corner posts like a backyard buddy. A backyard buddy CANNOT parrallelagram and fall over with a car since the posts are trapped in the lift frame. In fact it is so stable, that I put the lift on its wheel kit picked It up off the ground and pulled it down the driveway to my new shop (300') put it in place in the shop hooked up to power and took it off the wheels and was ready to work. Just be comfortable with what you buy. As to installation, it was delivered to the local truck terminal and we picked it up on my car hauler, and brought it home. Came in a 3' square bundle the length of the ramps and 2 of us put it together in the driveway with a cherry picker, set it on its wheels and pushed it into the garage in about 4 hours. Good Luck

Big Jim
 

Phil Reed

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 10
OK............................for us dummies.....................what's a jacking bridge??????????????
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Those are metal pieces made to sit in between the rails (and slide back and forth) that you can put a jack on. I had some 1" thick steel plate here that I cut for that purpose so I saved myself that expense.

I recently bought some 3/4 plywood that fits in between the rails on mine and set some drip pans on them at the engine/trans area and the rear axle area. We all know our old Chevy's like to drip this and that sometimes so it keeps any "accidents" off of the car on the bottom.
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
My BackYard Buddy came with 3 metal trays that fit between the rails to catch the drips. My SUPERLIFT has the same trays buy they are plastic.
 

bjburnout

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
Bought a Rotary lift 10 years ago........best investment EVER!
Looking to buy another for storage, will go BendPak or similar.........:brow
:cheers
bj
Bill S 35 on lift rear.jpg
 

jwhotrod

 
Supporting Member 1
See, I didn't like the Rotary type lift because it must be bolted to the floor, to keep the whole thing from parallelagraming and falling over. I had a friend with Rotary lifts in his repair shop and crazy as it sounds, somebody bumped a post coming into the adjacent bay, and the lift fell with a car on it. I just don't like the lifts with the lift frame hanging on the cables inside the posts like that. Big time scary to me.
 

bjburnout

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
See, I didn't like the Rotary type lift because it must be bolted to the floor, to keep the whole thing from parallelagraming and falling over. I had a friend with Rotary lifts in his repair shop and crazy as it sounds, somebody bumped a post coming into the adjacent bay, and the lift fell with a car on it. I just don't like the lifts with the lift frame hanging on the cables inside the posts like that. Big time scary to me.

The Rotary I have does not require bolting to the floor and has a caster system to move it.
Maybe the new ones (made outside the US) require bolting.
As for falling over, when I purchased this ten years ago they showed me a video of the Rotary
I have (loaded and lifted) and a fork lift running into it.....the hoist only moved slighty and did not come down.

A friend has several muffler shops and ONLY purchases Rotary (that's how I got mine) and has
never had an issue even with his extreme use.
During my yearly inspection I'm always told this is the Cadillac of hoists.

bj
 
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