Portable mid rise lift question

[67rstbkt]

For those of you with one of these portable mid rise scissor lifts, can you answer a question for me please?

Where does your car locate on one of these? Is center of the lift approximately center of your car?

The reason I ask is because I am considering leaving an opening when my slab is poured so that I can recess one of these into the floor. I am working with a 20X24 deep proposed build and right now have it drawn out to place the center of the lift approximately 11.5 feet in from the garage door (front)

Any thoughts on this? I do not have the lift yet, but plan on doing it in the future. Rather than cut out concrete later, I would like to plan ahead and save myself a little work.

Thanks

 

[David Paul]

Good afternoon 67. In a word, it depends.I have this type of lift and it depends on the center of gravity of the vehicle. My Explorer sits more to the back from the center, my Porsche sits more forward, rear engine. The center of the lift will always be between the wheel base.

 

[67rstbkt]

Good afternoon 67. In a word, it depends.I have this type of lift and it depends on the center of gravity of the vehicle. My Explorer sits more to the back from the center, my Porsche sits more forward, rear engine. The center of the lift will always be between the wheel base.

Thanks! I kind of figured that - just wanted to confirm with those that are actually using them. I want to try and get this hole in the best spot I can.

 

[cspcrx]

I have the bendpak MD-6XP and as stated it depends on the vehicle. I have only lifted on car so far and it sits back, FWD Honda CRX, because it is so front end heavy. I used the form the bendpak has to calculate the center of balance. I then place that point over the venter of the lift as the instructions direct. I feel I am being overly cautious based on other posts I have read.

Problem I am running into is finding the front and rear axle weights for all of my vehicles. The CRX was easy because I track it and have the exact weights. On my Audi S4 I was able to find the front and back % of weight on line. My Tacoma PreRunner Quad cab is where I have hit a road block. No data on front and rear axle weight or distribution. Sounds like justification to buy some scales. LOL

 

[big.jim]

i have a snap on eelr model and i think you are probably being over cautious , unless you are removing major components and causing weight shift although my porsche i centre up and have removed the gearbox without noticing any real movement

 

[Jagmandave]

It also depends on whether you put the car on forwards or backwards.....my MINI is front engine so I usually pull on forwards, but if I need to work on the back I sometimes put it on the other way. But as others say, unless the car is really heavy on one end or the other, it probably won't matter too much.

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

Just to let you know, my garage is a 24x24, and my lift is positioned so there is 12' 8" from the centre of the lift to the garage door, and 10' 3" from the centre to the back wall.
The math may seem funny, but the total depth of my garage is only 22' 11" because of 2x6 walls.
Positioning the lift this way allows me to put a full-size pickup on there and still be able to close the overhead door.

11.5 feet wouldn't have been far in enough for me.

Also, the measurement from the SIDE of the lift to the side wall is ~ 57"

Hope this helps.

 

[67rstbkt]

Just to let you know, my garage is a 24x24, and my lift is positioned so there is 12' 8" from the centre of the lift to the garage door, and 10' 3" from the centre to the back wall.
The math may seem funny, but the total depth of my garage is only 22' 11" because of 2x6 walls.
Positioning the lift this way allows me to put a full-size pickup on there and still be able to close the overhead door.

11.5 feet wouldn't have been far in enough for me.

Also, the measurement from the SIDE of the lift to the side wall is ~ 57"

Hope this helps.

Thanks! That does help, especially since your shop is really close to what mine will be.

Any reason why you went with 57" from the side to the wall? I was considering centering it.

 

[tstaude]

I use my snap on midrise in a 20 x 24, works great!
Most front drive cars I position the engine and trans ahead of the body of the lift for engine swaps, oil changes and suspension work. Then I extend the arms forward to touch on the subframe, the cars are extremely stable when lifted.
I would estimate that I keep the tail end of the lift 5-6 feet from the garage door.

 

[67rstbkt]

I've been thinking about all that was said and for my space, I think it does make sense to offset this to one side instead of the middle. I made a little sketch to get a better idea of what it would look like - attached:

 

[67rstbkt]

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

^^^^^^^^Your diagram above is roughly how mine is positioned.
Having it recessed in the floor is an AWESOME idea!

Any reason why you went with 57" from the side to the wall? I was considering centering it.

Mainly for space.
When both of our vehicles are in the garage, the lift will remain under one of the vehicles and out of the way.

 

[big.jim]

just a thought as it is a portable lift why not park it under one of the cars when not in use and place it where most convenient when you need to use it , i park mine under the porsche when i dont need it and i dont have any clearance issues

 

[Jagmandave]

I also biased mine towards the middle of my two car garage, that way when the car is on the lift I can work on both sides - it's easy to move the other car out of the garage to get some more room on that side, but you can't move those walls!

 

[Thruxton]

Just as another data point, my Porsche 928 (3400#, approx 50-50 weight distribution, 98.5" WB) sits almost perfectly on my Bendpak MD-6XP (which is why I chose the lift)- with the lift arm pivots as far towards the ends as they can go, the arms are at a 90 degree angle to the lift. My shop is really small, so if I am doing work on one side I park it on the lift accordingly. I know this isn't very helpful, except possibly for two comments (which I have posted before, sorry to repeat): 1. check out the dimensions of the lift- all the ones I have seen online show the dimensions with arms out, if I had not checked I would have bought the wrong lift!, and 2. I plan to recess mine into the floor as soon as I can. It's not too bad the way it is, but that will be a big improvement. BTW, once positioned I have left it there- portable!? - not for me! Oh one other thing, when I do recess it the roller end will run on 2 steel bars, not on the bare concrete. I use my lift a lot (it's great to be able to raise it and lower it as a job requires, like when you have to work underneath the front end and then under the hood, and adjust the height to fit the job exactly, great for someone with a wonky back, like me) and the concrete has worn.

 

[67rstbkt]

Thanks for all the replies! All important points to consider!

Phuckin! Jim - yep, I came to that conclusion after drawing that sketch - I think it's a good idea

big.jim - I have a few reasons for wanting to do it this way - 1: it's not a huge space, and doing it this way will keep it completely out of the way when not in use
2: The primary car that I will use this for will probably be too low to use it without ramps - which will take up more of that valuable space
3: Since I'm having the shop built, I figure it's a good time to do this without having to cut the concrete

Jagmandave - I agree that the middle gives more access and I have not completely thrown out that idea yet - I keep going back to the 12 gauge garage thread though and I like the way the space is separated. His shop is the same width and 2 feet shorter than what I am looking at doing. I also drew up a sketch with the lift in the center. If all goes smooth, the concrete may be complete in the next month or so - guess I'll have to decide by then

Thruxton - Thanks for the tip on the steel bars - I may have to do the same.

 

[Jagmandave]

No, I didn't say I put it in the middle, just that I moved it away from the wall and more towards the middle of the garage. I also park a car over it and I have to use ramps to get it on there....but the ramps are a PITA when working on the car, so most of the time I take them outside or at least slide them back, otherwise I trip over them constantly!

In this pic you can kinda see that the Mini on the rack is closer to the right side of the garage door....which leaves a little more room to work on the left side of the car.

I use mine a lot and raise it up and down constantly, I've only had it about a year now, but I see no wear on my concrete floor from the wheels moving when I raise and lower it, just FYI.

 

[67rstbkt]

No, I didn't say I put it in the middle, just that I moved it away from the wall and more towards the middle of the garage. I also park a car over it and I have to use ramps to get it on there....but the ramps are a PITA when working on the car, so most of the time I take them outside or at least slide them back, otherwise I trip over them constantly!

In this pic you can kinda see that the Mini on the rack is closer to the right side of the garage door....which leaves a little more room to work on the left side of the car.

Yea, that looks really good! - and it looks pretty close to what I'm thinking when I say one side. The larger outline in my drawing is supposed to be a rough size of my Firebird. With the lift placed where it is, I should have approximately 3 feet between the wall and the side of the car.

 

[67rstbkt]

So I ended up going with the layout I drew above. It's installed, but I have yet to fire it up and use it. I have a few more things to finish up in the new shop prior to this. I also have to figure out what I will use to cover it.

 

[STANIMAL]

So I ended up going with the layout I drew above. It's installed, but I have yet to fire it up and use it. I have a few more things to finish up in the new shop prior to this. I also have to figure out what I will use to cover it.

Nice outcome .

 

[PDM]

67,

What brand and model lift did you go with ?

Is it portable ?



(I'm final planning the garage layout and debating whether to infloor mount a scissor lift, or opt to keep it somewhat "portable"

 

[67rstbkt]

67,

What brand and model lift did you go with ?

Is it portable ?



(I'm final planning the garage layout and debating whether to infloor mount a scissor lift, or opt to keep it somewhat "portable"

It's the central hydraulics from harbor freight

http://m.harborfreight.com/6000-lb-capacity-scissor-lift-91315.html

I got it with the 25% off coupon on Jan 1st. It is portable if you use the dolly it comes with. It does weigh over 800 pounds so portability is limited. I choose in floor to conserve space and because height may be an issue with a lowered car.

 

[funks]

looking good, wish i can recess my lift onto the concrete but post tension slabs ****.

 

[Miami]

How heavy is your car ? I'm using mid rise - http://www.finestgarageequip.com/car-lifts/scissor/ for my mitsubishi mirage, the car should be positioned so that the wheel base is on lifts center.

 

[ratdoggy]

I have the bendpak MD-6XP and as stated it depends on the vehicle. I have only lifted on car so far and it sits back, FWD Honda CRX, because it is so front end heavy. I used the form the bendpak has to calculate the center of balance. I then place that point over the venter of the lift as the instructions direct. I feel I am being overly cautious based on other posts I have read.

Problem I am running into is finding the front and rear axle weights for all of my vehicles. The CRX was easy because I track it and have the exact weights. On my Audi S4 I was able to find the front and back % of weight on line. My Tacoma PreRunner Quad cab is where I have hit a road block. No data on front and rear axle weight or distribution. Sounds like justification to buy some scales. LOL

No need to buy scales. Most recycling places have scales and if you ask nicely they will do it for free (we do all the time)

 

[67rstbkt]

Here it is with my car on it at full lift - I will post more pics when I decide on what to do for a cover

 

[geartow]

I was going to suggest the mohawk full rise portable sissor lift but ceiling height would be an issue , and it will lft full size pick ups.