Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asylum

[Viper98912]

Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asylum



Hello fellow GJ'ers! Buncha folks all related to each other in what we enjoy doing, love it.

Here's my dilemma that I've been going about for a long time now, and I'm sure many of you have been in the same situation, so I need some guidance (most friends and family don't really have the personal experience in this aside from looking at the $).

The setup:
- Traditional 2-car home garage with regular individual door openers.

What I do:
- Weekend wrenching on regular stuff, don't visit dealers

Current setup:
- Pretty stuff: epoxied floor, 1/3 of the floor with racedeck, Gladiator cabinets along one wall, floor and crown molding, contrasting paint scheme, 10 recessed LED lights, custom rolling workbench and a medium rolling toolbox
- Work stuff: HF 1.5 ton aluminum jack, classic Craftsman 2.25 ton jack and stands, with custom adapters for my vehicles

What I need:
- I'm tired of sliding under 15" of car height on two jackstands to do maintenance, such as fluid changes, brake work, suspension work, minor engine work, and other odds and ends.
- For example, I just did motor mounts in a car. WOW what a piece of work to do under a restricted space. I have to do an upcoming rear main seal as well, so you can see the mounting problems.
- Cars weigh 3400lb, 3600lb, and 4500 lb (no trucks or SUV's at this time)

The problems:
- I have a third car that I'd like to park inside, but it's not critical if it stays outside
- I have 100" floor to ceiling - and one car measures 48" and the other 52". Doesn't include having to move up the garage door rails and a different motor opener.
- Depth on that side of the garage to the wall isn't very much
- My current setup feels "organized" and adding additional items may clutter the garage

Solutions:
- 4 post - cost $4000? with center jacks - this would be great, but I wouldn't be able to park a car underneath it due to ceiling height (and I don't want to bust out the ceiling). One side of the setup would also be very tight against a side wall, making it very difficult to work on that side of the car. One of the front posts would be very close to the house doorway, which may make the garage seem very very tight and inconvenient
- 1 post - cost probably too much? - awesome setup with the lack of extra posts in the way. But lack of under car access (solid plates) with the fact that I'm pretty sure my "average small home" does not have the high strength concrete in the garage floor it needs as a base. Base drive-over "humps" are also a problem. And I'm not pulling up concrete...
- MaxJax - $1995 I've seen as the best price, but on average $2295? - This looks like a neat idea, although again I'm not sure of the concrete. Being able to set this up in the garage whereever I want (middle) when I want to do work is convenient. Problem is I don't know where I'd store the posts, kinda out of space with the existing stuff + water heater + trash cans (they can't be stored outside per HOA). I already built a small plastic shed outside to keep the lawnmower and gardening stuff in.
- QuickJack 5000 - cost $1295 - neat setup to reliably get the car 20" off the ground with stability and all four corners flat at once. Again, even though they're thin I need to find a place to store these. While it should theoretically get me off the ground more than I need, without major hassle and moving jacks and stands corner by corner, something is going to come up where this setup may be a problem or get in the way or not enough height or just something will happen. Not sure.
- Scissorlift - cost $1500? - this looks to be the worst option, no undercar access, height restriction won't clear any of my vehicles, and I don't want to make separate ramps (wood ramps?) to have to drive onto just to be able to get over the height
- More jacks and stands - cost $200 - buy another 3 ton jack and stands and keep griping until I move forward in life with bigger and better things (house/garage).

I've been thinking about this for a long time, since there are no great solutions. Trust me that one of the solutions was to move to another house, but if I were to do that I'd want a 3 garage house with lots of garage space, but those normally come attached to houses that are WAYYYYY out of my price range . I live in an HOA so modifications to the outside of the house are not allowed, and side access for another building is not possible. Whatever setup I do go with, I want it to be removable as it will be going with me to the next house in the future (which is a long way away, but still).

Advice? What did you do in your small 2-car garage?

 

[Jvvmusme]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Maxjax
Read threads about it
Portability
120 volts 15 amps
Low ceiling
Easy Storage
Multiple locations inside the garage outside in the driveway

 

[Matt M PA]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I have both a 4 post and a midrise. My 4 post bay is high enough for even my Excursion to lifted enough for service. (I do need to back it upon, however.) my 4 post is also close to the wall on one side which makes it tough to get around when it's raised. I also rarely double park with the 4 post as the ramps hang down too far to allow a car underneath. (and yes...I bought the kit to keep the ramps up....doesn't work)

While the 4 post is great for lots of things...I find myself using the midrise much more often. Even detailing is much easier when the car is lifted.

I made my own ramps with 2x3s and park over the lift every day...it's no problem.

 

[mechanix311]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I was in this same struggle and I went for a recessed in floor scissor. I wanted drivetrain access so i found a used mohawk usl-6000. I have not recessed it yet but the lift is well built and sturdy as a tank. Once i recess it into the ground it will be the best set up for my needs. I like the maxjax but moving posts around would become tiresome. I also like the max lift height of 72 inches from the mohawk. 4 post lift is too cumbersome and is too hard to do anything but lube work even with bridge jacks.

 

[metalhead140]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I was in this same struggle and I went for a recessed in floor scissor. I wanted drivetrain access so i found a used mohawk usl-6000. I have not recessed it yet but the lift is well built and sturdy as a tank. Once i recess it into the ground it will be the best set up for my needs. I like the maxjax but moving posts around would become tiresome. I also like the max lift height of 72 inches from the mohawk. 4 post lift is too cumbersome and is too hard to do anything but lube work even with bridge jacks.

My decision also. Completely out of the way when not in use, basically all the benefits of a two post, plus additional functionality of using it as an adjustable height workbench/platform/motorcycle lift. Only disadvantage is you can't park another car underneath. Also not ideal if you want to move and take it with you, you'll have to fill the hole one way or another.

 

[Falcon67]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Right now, based on cost and how I'd likely use them I'd be in either the QuickJack or a 4 post. You can buy a decent 4 post all day long for less than a MaxJax. Yes, I'd have to blow out the ceiling to a big tray for the 4 post, but that's not a big deal. My needs have to include the ability to move things a bit, so a fixed location lift is just about out. I may need that 4 post on the other side of the room where there is no ceiling tray, but still lifts something up a bit. Shop just isn't big enough for a fixed lift. Even if a 4 post only lifts one of the cars 30" off the floor, I can still stuff a bunch of temp **** under that. Or work under it.

 

[mayday1]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I am also in the process of deciding on the same. I have a smallish
2 car garage (a bit shy of 19' x 19', but 10' ceiling). I originally
wanted to get the maxjax, but worry that a) the garage floor may
not have rebar reinforcement, or b) if it has rebars, I'll hit them when
drilling the anchor bolts.

So my choices became a Quickjack for $995/$1295 or a 4 post lift for
about $3K delivered/installed. I live in the downtown area of a small
city without much street parking, and I'm leaning towards a 4 post lift since
the extra $2K actually buy me a 2nd parking spot so I can park
2 cars on one side and still have some room to store junk in the garage.

I wrench just a few times a year so having a lift is a luxury not necessity,
but having extra parking makes it more justifiable for me.

Will probably get a directlift pp8s in the next couple of weeks.

 

[tonyx]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I think one thing to keep in mind is that given a typical garage dimension you will want to work in the middle of the garage floor. This way you have access to the car from all directions equally. This means both posts of Maxjax need to be set up and torn down everytime they are in use.

Scissors type; if it's set up permenantly in the middle of floor it will need shallow ramp for both parking spaces so you can park two cars level.

To me the Quickjack make more sense as they are most portable and can get out of way completely when not in use.

4 post doesn't work for most suspension related repairs where wheels need to come off.

 

[gunner3773]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

This was my solution:

http://ezcarlift.com/

 

[zkling]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I'd go for a mid rise. O how I dream of a mid rise lift. And yes I have used both a mid rise and a 2 post in a confined space.

 

[Viper98912]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Hmm makes me rethink the midrise scissor lift. Only problem is that because I have two individual single doors, I can't align the cars "straight in". I end up working on my cars at about a 45 degree angle once inside the garage. Poses questions about how to make custom ramps (and store them).

I had looked at the ezcarlift before, but never watched the videos. I didn't understand how it worked, but now that I do, I actually find it pretty neat! Only problems I really see are that it is somewhat expensive for what you get ($2k) plus it has a 4400lb weight limit, and one of my cars weighs over that.

 

[Jvvmusme]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Hmm makes me rethink the midrise scissor lift. Only problem is that because I have two individual single doors, I can't align the cars "straight in". I end up working on my cars at about a 45 degree angle once inside the garage. Poses questions about how to make custom ramps (and store them).

I had looked at the ezcarlift before, but never watched the videos. I didn't understand how it worked, but now that I do, I actually find it pretty neat! Only problems I really see are that it is somewhat expensive for what you get ($2k) plus it has a 4400lb weight limit, and one of my cars weighs over that.

The ezcarlift goes up and down with a drill.....sounds awkward and cheap....

I d stay with the 2 post lift

 

[bad_idea]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

As far as two doors and access to the center of the garage for work: Get some Go-jacks and push the car to the middle after driving in. Horror Freight makes a knock off of the Go-jacks for $60 a piece on sale w/ a coupon (you'll need 4).

 

[stamanti]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I have a mid rise scissor. Made ramps from 2x3s. I want to recess the lift, but I haven't done that yet. I hate the ramps, but love the lift. It would be perfect if I recessed it into the floor.

 

[Johns12]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I went through the exact same calculations when deciding on a lift. My garage is 19'X20' with 8'6" of ceiling height. I decided on the MaxJax. It has worked perfectly for me. One post is close to the side wall. It stays up permanently. The other one is in the middle of the garage and is removed when not in use. We still can fit two cars in the garage and the 2nd post stores right next to the permanent one.

I couldn't get any higher lift because of the ceiling height. I have two cars that can be raised to maximum height of 48" and two cars that can get up to about 40". There is good room to work on the side next to the wall with about 3'6" of space.

 

[mikeyr]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I got a maxjax with extra bolts and drilled both in garage and driveway, nice sunny day I set it up in the driveway, other times its in the garage.

I know you said you were in a HOA (my condolences) but they should not be upset with a maxjax in the driveway for a day or so while you work on something and then take them down.

I have a scissor lift for the day-to-day stuff like oil changes, tire/brake work.

 

[Viper98912]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

My HOA isn't bad really, they wouldn't mind me setting up shop in the driveway for a day. They would mind if I left it out there the whole week....then again, I wouldn't anyway.

So I've gone back and forth back and forth and today as I was driving I remembered looking at one of the "pit lift" split style ones from bestbuyautoequipment:

http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/Auto-Lift-PL6K-Low-Rise-Pit-Lift-p/al-pl6k.htm

This seems to have a nice setup and the price isn't bad. I was also thinking that when not in use I could put both ends together centered in the middle of the garage and just drive over it when pulling in and out of the garage. I don't think these are quite "lightweight", but I could always modify them a little bit with some removable/collapsible wheels to slide them into position.

Then I was thinking about it some more and realized hey, this is actually just a bigger, heavier version of the quickjack. So now I've circled back around to the beginning.

 

[bry@n]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I'm in the same boat. I have 22ft width, 24ft length and 12.5 feet height. Two single garage doors with normal openers.

I've thought of getting the high tracks and changing the opener but I can't decide. I think a 4 post would just be easier. I'm certain I'd have to do concrete footings for a 2 post.

 

[TX4runner]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

My HOA isn't bad really, they wouldn't mind me setting up shop in the driveway for a day. They would mind if I left it out there the whole week....then again, I wouldn't anyway.

So I've gone back and forth back and forth and today as I was driving I remembered looking at one of the "pit lift" split style ones from bestbuyautoequipment:

http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/Auto-Lift-PL6K-Low-Rise-Pit-Lift-p/al-pl6k.htm

This seems to have a nice setup and the price isn't bad. I was also thinking that when not in use I could put both ends together centered in the middle of the garage and just drive over it when pulling in and out of the garage. I don't think these are quite "lightweight", but I could always modify them a little bit with some removable/collapsible wheels to slide them into position.

Then I was thinking about it some more and realized hey, this is actually just a bigger, heavier version of the quickjack. So now I've circled back around to the beginning.

That one actually gives you a few more options than the quickjack, especially since it has the optional arms, so those that are concerned about picking up on the oem jack pads that are more than 53 inches apart, may be able to accomplish that with the PL6K. I hadn't seen that one before.

 

[Viper98912]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Almost purchased, then backed off due to indecision...

 

[ClearWaterMS]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

i apologize for escalating an old thread. I am faced with the same decision. I have a 24 wide by 32 deep garage that I am using as a tandem with 3 cars parked in it. I don't have the ceiling height for a full lift. When I want to work on cars, I typically park the cars in the middle of the garage similar to a 2 car garage.

Here is the problem that I have; the garage floor has some cracks and as a result isn't perfectly level. It is perfectly safe to use a hydraulic jack and jack stands.

Is there any concern with a quick jack on a floor that is more like a typical garage floor and not the manicured floor that is typically seen in the promotional videos?

 

[MarlynOC]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Not really a problem as weight is distributed evenly over the length of the Quikjack frames. If a real concern you can always line the floor with a 4x8 sheet of plywood or if you have access to old street signs(large ones like detour or such) use them.

 

[nerraw117]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I love my mid rise scissor. Highly recommend it. It always baffles me to hear people complain about transmission access in a rear wheel drive vehicle. How often or these people changing clutches and transmissions?? For that once in a couple years, either use the mid rise to lift it then use stands or just use a jack and tall stands. I hate dealing with 2 posts; they always seem to be in the way of the doors and such. If you do want 2 post I do recommend the maxjax.

 

[ClearWaterMS]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I love my mid rise scissor. Highly recommend it. It always baffles me to hear people complain about transmission access in a rear wheel drive vehicle. How often or these people changing clutches and transmissions?? For that once in a couple years, either use the mid rise to lift it then use stands or just use a jack and tall stands. I hate dealing with 2 posts; they always seem to be in the way of the doors and such. If you do want 2 post I do recommend the maxjax.

do you move your lift around?
Where do you store the lift?
How high does it raise the vehicle?

 

[nerraw117]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I do move the lift around and it's pretty easy. I park over top of the lift. I have wooden ramps to help with low cars but most things don't even need them. I like then though because it gives me just enough lift to get under my truck and change the oil. The lift I believe lifts up to a high of 50 inches. Way way taller then my 8 foot tall ceilings.

 

[ClearWaterMS]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I do move the lift around and it's pretty easy. I park over top of the lift. I have wooden ramps to help with low cars but most things don't even need them. I like then though because it gives me just enough lift to get under my truck and change the oil. The lift I believe lifts up to a high of 50 inches. Way way taller then my 8 foot tall ceilings.

thanks; a few follow up questions

in terms of using it on the floor; does the floor have to be perfectly level?

Given that the contact patch is likely smaller on a scissor lift compared to a quick jack; should a person be worried about the quality of the concrete using a scissor lift or is any garage that is rated to store cars on is sufficient for a scissor lift.

Thanks in advance

 

[SJW]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

As I recall, most companies say the floor needs to have 3 degrees of slope or less.

Similarly, most scissor lift manufacturers call for 3000 psi for the concrete. The consensus is that most garages in the US have that.

I can't recall if the QuickJack has a concrete psi requirement.

 

[PoorOwner]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I have stainless plates under mine to protect the floor.

 

[Lucky Llama]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Have you checked out Kwiklift? I had one in my last garage that only had 8' of ceiling height. It worked great for me and I could easily park on top of it.

 

[428PI]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

I have a quickjack and don't worry about storing it anywhere. I just push the pieces toward the middle of the car and drive over it. Takes about as much time to setup as a post lift to set the arms. If I had the ceiling height I would go with a 2 post lift. No questions. The quickjack isn't the most stable but has worked for me (I have the 5000 lb model and the max I lift on it is a full size Grand Marquis or Explorer). I really can't imagine pulling a ****** with them though.

 

[Viper98912]

Re: Quickjack vs. MaxJax vs. 4 post vs. 1 post vs. scissor vs. jack & stands vs. asyl

Lol...I was just wondering "why do I keep receiving emails from this thread? I need to unsubscribe to this thread I subscribed to". Then I realized that the reason I had the subscription was because I was the starter of the thread

In case anyone is curious...when I started this thread, it was 3 houses ago haha! With all the moving I had to do, I never bought anything, although the max jax would have been the best choice due to portability.

I did finally decide (in 2017 when I stopped moving) on a 4 post lift. Definitely worked out great for not only storing a car, but being able to do minor work such as oil changes. Also recently used it with jack stands to get all four wheels off the ground more safely than corner-by-corner with a jack.

As for the recent post with the scissor lift, that's a pretty nice setup with the plate underneath and then the diamondplate ramps.

Cheers everyone