shop lifts

oleblu72

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 5
I spoke to the local bendpak installer, he's a 5 star installer and is motivated to do the deal...my cash price for the HD 4 post lift installed is $4140 out the door...after taking measurements it seems the 4 poster is more to my liking and the price is excellent...the posts on the 2 post lift will be in the way of 2 parking bays whereas the 4 post lift will sit perfectly out of the way...after reading about how a 2 post lift can dump it's load when weight is shifted concerns me...I live way out in the sticks, the last thing I need to do is spend a few days pinned to the floor...:wtf


That does sound like a good price 59. Do you have to fasten that lift to the ground before you can use it? That's what I like about my Back Yard Buddy if you buy their wheel kit you can move the lift with the car on it.

Mark
 

pvs409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
My four post lift is not attached to the floor. Never had a problem with, it has never moved. In fact it’s sitting on my Race Deck checker board black and white floor. Race Deck said the hoist could sit on their snap together flooring. I have a Superlift made in the USA hoist.

I strongly prefer the 4 post lift, mine is power coated red, 2 jacking bridges, 5 plastic drip trays, and aluminum ramps ( vs steel ramps). I have stored my classicscars under my hoist many times. It’s more sturdy than the 2 post hoists I reviewed. It looks as good as it did in 2003 when it was installed - I clean the power coating on the hoist with glass cleaner. I also had the hoist motor installed on a side of the front post close to the drivers door so it did interfere with walking around the hoist. I have a set of 4 rolling jacks to move the hoist if necessary. My hoist was just over $4000 with the accessories and power coating that I noted, the hoist is a wide one between posts( best thing that I did for size) and will lift to around 9 ft as I recall. I don’t remember the length, but it’s not a short hoist to fit my 62’s ( The fihoist ramps are 2-3ft longer than my 62’s.

It’s sitting on an unreinforced 5 inch thick concrete floor with 2 ft of sand under it.
As a Civil Engineer the floor I had installed did not need any additional support. One level of rebar or mesh on a garage floor is worthless. A uniform sub grade that does not pump or move under the concrete floor is the most important.
The 5” concrete floor has in floor heat also, that runs all winter at a minimum of 50 degrees.

Paul
 

Carmine

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
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La Hot Rods

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 15
Nice link. Thanks James. I see many 2 post lifts are now one piece towers. Mine are two piece. Not sure the one piece was even offered when I bought mine. I did notice that the more expensive lifts are certified. Nothing wrong with that, Carmine.

What I thought was interesting, was all the shop equipment that they sale. When I needed those things, I just built them.
 

skipxt4

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 18
When I decided I wanted a lift, I drove myself Crazy.:crazyDo I need a 2 Post Lift, or a 4 post Lift. :dunno27,000, 9,000, 12,000.:thudFirst thing I noticed, my ceiling height was 10 feet High. That sort of limited me, to a 4 Post Lift. :clap.:dohThey take up More room, in a confined area, but I feel safer under it.:appl Do I want a longer unit, for a larger car? :dunno:confused Many decisions. In a 4 post lift, the determining factor for me, was the way the locks engage the slots, in the posts. The cheaper lifts, have a ladder, that in bolted to the columns. Scary. You can rock, the whole lift. The only two companies, at the time (2016) Back Yard Buddy, and Advantage Lifts, had cut-outs, in the 4 Posts for stability. Almost impossible, for a car to come crashing down, once the locks are engaged into the slots. That was the most important reason, I bought an Advantage Lifts, model. Back Yard Buddy is made in the U.S.A but was more expensive. I'm not gonna go into the particulars, on this lift, because it will take too much time. They have a website, with instructions, how to get it off the Trailer, unpack it, and how to, put it together, after you buy it.:applWhen I purchased mine, it was under $ 4,000, with shipping. :clap. When I work underneath, I sit in a chair, because my back isn't what it used to be. :( I am totally happy.:clap Check them out. advantagelifts.us.com Tony Weber.
 

woodeye

Member
Foreward Lift gets you away from China. Many New Car Dealerships use this brand. I have their 4 Post and very happy with it. The dealer I purchased it from set it up and made all adjustments. Made the set up / install part of the price. Well worth it. Works smooth as can be.
 

59K9

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 3
I bought the bendpac hd tall model and was told I can park my car on it tuesday night...labor and material went for a total of 4145...I'm pretty happy with that deal...I've been running conduit and air piping all week, I'm about over having so much fun...
 

dualquadpete

Well Known Member
I bought a 4 post lift when re-building garage after fire. I had heat tubes placed in concrete on rebuild so didn't want to drill the floor!!! I had Impala at friends garage with 2 post & was a "big" pain in A$$ getting arms under mufflers & putting spacers in to clear them, & car was 'rocky" on lift /hoist. I wish I'd got sliding jack at the time [$936 Cdn] but when I decided to buy it , $ 1400 OUCH!!! Mine is a Atlas 8500lb extended length. Works well but some jobs really need that jack, doing A/arm bushings now and have it on floor side of shop on jack stands!!thumbnail_IMG_0419.jpgthumbnail_IMG_0511.jpgIMG_0308.JPG
 

Jeff Olson

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
I have a 12,000 lb asymmetrical Rotary 2-post lift in my shop. Because the lifting posts are angled slightly, an asymmetrical lift gives you greater room to open a vehicle's doors than the other style . Other than that, the asymmetrical and non-asymmetrical lifts are the same.

The above comments are right on:
1) make certain that your concrete floor is deep enough and strong enough per the manufacturer's specs for the lift. There are lots of photos out there showing 2-post lifts that have collapsed, with catastrophic results.
2) get a name brand lift of a professional quality. Check out what the commercial shops in your area are using: BendPak, Rotary, etc.
3) I had mine installed by the Rotary distributor. It cost me $600. and they certified the installation.
4) If you are new to a 2-post, make certain that the car is positioned correctly on the lift front to rear for it's wheelbase. Also raise it to where the tires are just off the ground and shake the front/rear before you lift it all the way up to make certain that it doesn't bounce around. Better to come off the lift at 2" in the air than 6'.
5) On a 2-post lift, be VERY careful if you are removing weight from one end or the other of the car (e.g., engine, rear axle, gas tank, etc) when it is up in the air. ALWAYS use the tall (5-6') jack stands to support the car when doing this kind of work as the sudden weight shift can cause the car to come off the lift.
5) periodically check the floor for cracks around the lift. If it is starting to crack, then you probably don't have a strong enough mounting point for a 2-post lift and need to fix the floor.

Other thoughts on 2- vs 4-post lifts (my personal opinions only):
a) A 2-post lift is great for working on suspension systems, brakes, tires & wheels, lifting/placing a body on a frame, or removing/installing an engine cradle/subframe.
b) A 4-post lift is better (my opinion) for doing routine maintenance, such as oil changes, dropping transmissions/clutch replacements, driveshaft/u-joint replacements, setting ride height or drive shaft angles, etc. The reason I like the 4-post for these things is that the vehicle doesn't (shouldn't) move around when I am doing this kind of work under the vehicle; and the suspension is fully loaded when I am checking angles & ride height related issues.

A couple of other thoughts for consideration:
A) Don't get a "hobby" lift or those that are advertised primarily for double parking - they are not made as well as the commercial lifts and will not hold up well. Remember - it's your life you are risking - don't go cheap!
B) My shop is laid out and wired to have both a 2-post and a 4-post installed side by side for the reasons noted above. I only had the money to purchase one lift initially and that was a 2-post because it offered me the options to lift bodies for my street rod builds. The 4-post is a future purchase.
C) Spend some time looking at where to put a lift in your shop/garage. You don't want to block access to other areas/equipment and you also need to allow room around the lift.
D) Look at your lift needs. You don't need to buy a 12,000 lb capacity lift if you are only working on 5,000 lb vehicles. A 9,000 lb good quality lift will power up and down fine if you have the correct drive unit on it.
E) Get a 240V unit. The 110-115V lifts are really slow and struggle to lift a vehicle.
F) Look at the maximum lift height. I am 6'3" and needed a lift that would allow me to stand under the vehicle without being bent over. That means a pretty tall ceiling for me, but you can get other lower lifts that may meet your requirements. Make certain that you can stand up under the vehicle without crouching over. It will wear you out real quick if you can't stand up under the car. BTW, the lift doesn't need to lift the vehicle to 75" for me because the lifting height is to the bottom of the wheels/tires and there is 4-6" from there to the bottom of the engine/trans/etc.
G) make certain that the lift has a good, heavy duty interlock system. If the hydraulic system fails, this will keep the car from coming down. It is also a good idea to raise the vehicle to the desired working height and then lower it down to the closest interlocks so that they are supporting the weight rather than the hydraulic system.

These are just my opinions, and as usual, there are lots of other views out there. I really enjoy my lift and it has made working on my vehicles so much easier than crawling around on the floor or under a jacked up car.
Good luck.
John
Excellent post. I will be looking for a lift as well and you addressed everything I was thinking about. Only problem is after reading it all I now want both a two and four post!
 

59K9

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 3
I finally got all my airpipes installed with controls, lubricator, and moisture drop legs at every drop...I'm quite happy with the way this is coming together...I've decided to install a/c so tomorrow and monday I insulate the metal panels that are exposed...roof is insulated but the walls never got addressed...1200 bucks for 60 2" rigid insulation boards...I've got 4 antique farmall tractors I need to get out of the building for shop space...any of you guys interested in old tractors, I'm movin' them out...not counting the compressor and lift the small stuff is mounting up to be more than I could have thought...the building has been a place to dump keepable stuff over the last 10 years, finding new homes for all my crap has turned out to be a nightmare...I sold 18K worth of old petrolania signs, pumps, eco tire inflators to finance the buildout...pictures when I get the joint sorted out a little...thanks for all the help fellas, I sure to appreciate having you guys to enlighten me...
 

Clint

Well Known Member
I finally got all my airpipes installed with controls, lubricator, and moisture drop legs at every drop...I'm quite happy with the way this is coming together...I've decided to install a/c so tomorrow and monday I insulate the metal panels that are exposed...roof is insulated but the walls never got addressed...1200 bucks for 60 2" rigid insulation boards...I've got 4 antique farmall tractors I need to get out of the building for shop space...any of you guys interested in old tractors, I'm movin' them out...not counting the compressor and lift the small stuff is mounting up to be more than I could have thought...the building has been a place to dump keepable stuff over the last 10 years, finding new homes for all my crap has turned out to be a nightmare...I sold 18K worth of old petrolania signs, pumps, eco tire inflators to finance the buildout...pictures when I get the joint sorted out a little...thanks for all the help fellas, I sure to appreciate having you guys to enlighten me...
You are spoiled with AC in the shop
 
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