Need some guidance for a lift

[BrokeEF]

Well guys, looks like I should be moving next week! The new house has a larger 3 car garage (31' wide, 21' deep) with 11' ceilings. The plan is to build a larger shop on the property, but for now I will working in that third bay of the garage. This is the first time I have ever had room for a lift, and I am not quite sure what to get.

I am leaning toward a 4 post lift, and I can just leave it in there once I build a shop with 2 post lifts in there. The idea is that the 4 post is easier for general maintenance type things, and for storing vehicles. I am not 100% sold one way or the other, just what I was thinking. If I go with a 4 post, I would like it to have the jacks that you can put between the ramps.

I know pretty much nothing about lifts, so lay it on me. What brands are good, which ones to avoid, what features to look for, certifications, whatever else.


Thanks,
Sean

 

[b-boy]

I'm thinking the same way as you. A 4 post lift with jacks. It seems like the overall best solution. It's going to be stable and it's good for storage and maintenance. I've been looking at the Bendpak lifts myself.

 

[glentre]

If you are going to build a new garage with two post lifts, go ahead and install a four post in your present garage. This will give you the advantage of having both types and have the ability to store one vehicle on top and another under. With the new garage, it's unlikely you will be doing much actual wrench work in the present one and will be glad to have that four post lift for storage.

Glen

 

[66Caprice]

You will need to watch how big of a lift you get. 21 feet deep is not a lot of room for it.

 

[pbon]

4 post with 2 jacks will cost 50-100% more than a 2 post if cost is an issue.

 

[BrokeEF]

You will need to watch how big of a lift you get. 21 feet deep is not a lot of room for it.

I was wondering about this actually. I did plan to lay it out on the floor with tape to get an idea of space. My concern is it wouldn't leave me enough room to work on a car (under hood) as well as it would with a 2 post.

4 post with 2 jacks will cost 50-100% more than a 2 post if cost is an issue.

That is always a concern. From the little I have looked, there seems to be a very wide spread on lift cost. Generally speaking 4 post is more of course.

Another question, which would be better for lower vehicles? What about any functionality for lifting a motorcycle? I have seen motorcycle attachments on Max Jacks (I think), but does anyone make anything for a normal 2 post?


Sean

 

[pbon]

With a low vehicle you may need optional 4’ ramps and with a 2 post you may need to drive onto planks. You can buy or make platforms or adapters for a motorcycle. 2 post is better for working on cars in my opinion due to the greater under car clearance. Some 4 posts are wider than others and will allow most work. Mine has 41.5” of clearance, which is enough to drop a 4 cam 4 valve head V8 out of my BMW, but if I wanted to remove the rear subframe with suspension attached, I would have to spin it sideways first.

 

[finn]

My recommendation would be to skip the four post lift for now and pull up the build of the detached shop by a few months. The four post lift, with ramps, wiring, and incidentals may be 5% or more of the budget to build a modest shop. Assuming you are relatively young and in good shape, a floor jack and some ramps can crutch your along for a while until you build a shop. Those so called three car garages are more like oversized two car garages.

Delaying worked for me, anyway.

21 feet deep isn’t very deep and you may have issues opening the garage door with a car on the lift.

 

[LuvAZ]

Sean,

Which type of lift to buy can be better answered once you've identified what you're looking to do w/it.
Having owned 3 different types of lifts- a 4 post, a mid rise scissor lift, and now a 2 post, I can tell you there's pluses & minuses w/each.

So, the 4 post may be a better choice if you are looking to store a vehicle (I stored a classic car during the winter when I lived in NH. It let me turn a 2 car garage into a 3 car. During the 3 other seasons, it was a service lift & was great for oil changes. Doing brakes & rotating tires (probably the 2nd biggest service use next to oil & filter changes) was another story. You need a sliding bridge jack and even then you're lifting either the front or back, not both (unless you get 2 bridge jack set ups = $$)!

I'll move on to the 2 post now as you didn't ask about the mid rise scissor lift.
First off, I no longer need to have any winter storage as i moved back to Scottsdale.
Knowing that my top 3 uses are oil changes, tire rotation, and brake jobs; I opted for the 2 post. This type of lift provides the easiest access to my 'top 3'.
No bridge jack like on the 4 post, so front to back tire rotations are much quicker & easier on the 2 post.

Hopefully that helps you make an educated decision between 2 or 4 post.
As far as brand goes, I've seen a lot of guys here go for brands such as Mohawk, Rotary and Bendpak.
I bought my 4 post Direct lift ProPark 7 and my 2 post Atlas BP8000 from Greg Smith Equipment.
I installed them myself, not too tough. Spent the better part of a day on the installation.



HTH,
Will

 

[garagelogician]

I'm in a similar sized garage (though mine is a bit smaller at 27x19'ish). I've looked at all the 4 post lift options out there, and I've finally settled on what I'm going to get. BendPak generally has the tightest footprint available in the various sizes. I'm going with the HD-7W, and I'm going to outfit it with rolling bridge jacks from Advantage Lifts (another member here recently confirmed that they fit). The 7W gives me the width I need, plenty of space between the runways, yet it is one of the narrowest 4 post lifts available. I think the only ones that are narrower, are the BendPak HD-7 and HD-9. The standard length BP lifts are also some of the shortest (when you remove the ramps).

The Advantage bridge jacks are roughly half the price of the BendPak ones, and they are manually operated rather than air (the BP jacks are pretty air hungry and I don't have a big compressor right now).

 

[59 wagon man]

if you can get a 4 post now get it and enjoy . I have a saleen mustang extremely difficult due to height and angle of spoiler. It fits on my direct park lift easily and has for the last 15 years or so along with my 59 chevy trading places. the bridge jacks are expensive so . The lift usually comes with one jack tray ,so get an extra one. I have a air bottle jack which can lift the front end and then i. set my jackstands . then I move the air jack to the second jack and do the same.
believe me even waxing the car will be way more fun
I got the jack at northern tools for about $50 on sale easily lifts an avg car rated to 12 tons

 

[Pate]

I have a 4 post Challenger extra long in my 22’ deep. It works fine.

 

[Chevy-SS]

I have a 4 post Challenger extra long in my 22’ deep. It works fine.

4-post Challenger here too. Absolutely love it. I use one rolling jack and one heavy tray (which I can use with bottle jack to raise the other end of vehicle to get all four wheels in air at once).

I debated for a while about 2-post versus 4-post. There are certainly a few advantages with a 2-poster, but I have never once (not even a little bit) regretted getting a 4-poster over the 2-poster. Very easy to store vehicle on 4-poster. Plus I find it very handy when working on vehicles to have the ramps serve as workbenches, to hold tools and parts whilst repairing vehicles.

 

[Relax]

No problems with my HD-7W in my 20x20 with high lift garage door. But to get a low clearance car on it, I need to use longer ramps which need to be removed to close the door. I originally wanted a 2-post but wasn't confident in the thickness or quality of my cement floor, and redoing it properly wasn't worth it. Decided to just get a free standing 4-post that I could move around wherever I like, and I don't regret it at all.

 

[Relax]

Also, when I don't need it for a car, I can store 2 motorcycles and my trailer on it.

 

[BrokeEF]

Sorry I haven't been responding to this. Things have been going a little sideways with the selling of our house, so I have been a bit distracted.

I will say that I have gone totally back and forth because of this thread. I was 100% on board with a 2 post, and now I am back to wanting a 4 post. I am not going to go back and re-read everything, but I will address some of the things I remember seeing posted.

Garage door: I am going to put on a jack shaft style opener, and have the door changed to open as vertical as possible. I think with 11' ceilings I should be able to get my low car all the way up, and with the door opening changed should clear with the car lifted. If not I can deal with that.

Garage size: I realize that 21' deep is not big by any means, but I am coming from a 20x20 garage so it seems massive. I have had friends with lifts in their garages that were only 19' deep, so I know it will work to some extent.

Thin concrete: That is a concern, and something that is pushing me back to a 4 post. I have no idea how thick/thin it may be, but I will assume its 3-4".

Cost: This is always a concern! I am good spending the money for a good reason. There are things to consider with this whole deal too. Right now, there is only a 3 car garage and I have 3 cars and a motorcycle. Beyond that there is no shed on the property which means I will need to store everything in the garage at least temporarily. My current plan is to build a large shop, and section off a part of it to act as a shed. If that is the plan, then until I can build that I will need to store a bigger riding lawn mower, snow blower, push mower, pull behind spreader, trimmer, blower, etc. in the garage along with all of my vehicles and all of my tools/equipment. While still a pain in the ***, it is much easier to do if I can lift up the project car and park my daily under it leaving at least one empty bay. With all of that said it becomes a lot harder to hold out to spend 2-3 times as much on a lift that will take up more space. That pushes me back to a two post.

Sorry for the long rambling post, just under a lot of stress right now and also need to figure out this deal so I have somewhere to put all my ****. As I am laying this all out I am thinking I am back to doing a 2 post for now, and moving that to the shop and replacing it with a 4 post once I get that built.

What 2 post should I be looking at? Which ones should I avoid? Where are good places to buy? What do I need to know about the concrete to be sure it will be safe?


Thanks again for all of the help guys!
Sean

 

[Relax]

If you plan to stack your cars, make sure you account for EVERYTHING. With my 4-post, it's not just the heights of the cars plus the height of the runway, but also the safety lock heights (because you want it lowered onto a lock) as well as the clearance you need to raise it up off a lock so it can retract for lowering (usually a couple more inches). Bendpak was great for having all of that stuff documented. With a 2-post lift, you should factor in suspension droop, unless you plan on building a platform to raise it by the tires.

 

[LX-Markham]

No problems with my HD-7W in my 20x20 with high lift garage door. But to get a low clearance car on it, I need to use longer ramps which need to be removed to close the door.

I solved that buy using my extra ramps to create one pair of double length ramps, hinged in the middle.

 

[pbon]

I like the folding double ramps!

 

[brownbagg]

i have a two post, get the four post now.it doesnt have to be bolted down, you can drag it to the driveway if you want.

 

[Jazzman442]

I was doing the same thing. I wanted a lift but did not know what type. I went with a 4 post Direct Lift. They are safe and I don't have to worry about my son or anyone else having to understand about weight distribution. I do everything on it plus I can move it if I have to. Challenger was also my option.

 

[Wraithman]

Whatever style lift you buy make sure it is 3rd party rated by ALI American Lift Institute. Their rating is 150% of advertised load. Many mfg'r claim but few can deliver. The Mohawks are the strongest and best lift and also the most expensive. Do a Youtube search and discover why. Buy one used if you can. The original warranty is 25 yrs. All American made, no cables or hoses.