Adjustable runways on 4-post lift.

[Voi]

Designing a new garage and I'd like to pick out a four post lift that can hold our side by side or a vehicle. Need to get one picked out so I can decide on side wall heights and truss configuration.

I'm not sure how often I'll switch back and forth between storing car and UTV but I'm curious to know if there are products out there that make moving the runways easier than others.

 

[James E]

My BendPak has adjustable rails, but I've never changed them after my initial setup and it would be a fairly difficult job to do if I ever wanted to. Several bolts involved, along with moving the rail and lining it up. If there are any lifts out there that have easily adjustable width rails, I'd be interested in hearing about them, too--just to see how they work.

One thing you could consider is measuring the wheelbase of the UTV and seeing if there is a lift where you could drive a car onto it normally, or park the UTV on it sideways (front axle on one rail and rear axle on the other).

 

[JMURiz]

HD9 has an adjustable rail...super easy to do. I needed to widen it to do an engine drop on my 914. Just put a furniture dolly under it and lowered it down all the way to help slide it wide...simple enough one-man job to do.

Another option is to get an optional solid floor to install a section or two when you need to put the UTV on there.

 

[biggziff]

Just put a sheet of 3/4 ply on it when you put the atv on it.

 

[Voi]

My BendPak has adjustable rails, but I've never changed them after my initial setup and it would be a fairly difficult job to do if I ever wanted to. Several bolts involved, along with moving the rail and lining it up. If there are any lifts out there that have easily adjustable width rails, I'd be interested in hearing about them, too--just to see how they work.
.

James E, here is one post suggesting it's fairly easy. Maybe Bendpak makes lifts where adjusting the runways is easier than some of their other models?

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=319285&postcount=2

One thing you could consider is measuring the wheelbase of the UTV and seeing if there is a lift where you could drive a car onto it normally, or park the UTV on it sideways (front axle on one rail and rear axle on the other).

Our current UTV has a wheelbase of just under 7' and it's the shortest 4/5 seater on the market as I recall. If we ever get another I can't image it being shorter.

More importantly the main reason we're considering a lift is so we can lower it and head straight out of the garage. I want to avoid having to move more than the vehicle underneath it during the snow season. That's actually the main reason for designing the last stall around a lift.

 

[Voi]

HD9 has an adjustable rail...super easy to do. I needed to widen it to do an engine drop on my 914. Just put a furniture dolly under it and lowered it down all the way to help slide it wide...simple enough one-man job to do.

Another option is to get an optional solid floor to install a section or two when you need to put the UTV on there.

I tried searching this on Google earlier and only came up with information about slab thickness. But when I included HD-9 then options for a solid deck came up. Honestly I think this is my best option.

HD-9 is within our budget. Anyone else have any recommendations for other four post lifts with solid decks?

 

[James E]

Ha, my BendPak is an HD9 but it never occurred to me to set it down on furniture dollies and just slide the rail over. I'll bet it would be easy to do that way.

Does the HD9 work for your Ute when the rails are in the narrow position? I have loved my BendPak and would recommend that lift if the spacing worked for you.

 

[Voi]

Does the HD9 work for your UTV when the rails are in the narrow position? I have loved my BendPak and would recommend that lift if the spacing worked for you.

I'm not navigating around their site very well so I'm not sure.

[EDIT] Found a dealer site that showed the specs in a tab. All of the HD-9 models will work with our UTV or any UTV we would consider in the future.

However, it looks like we would need the extra tall version for our UTV to fit underneath.