Your First MaxJax: What to Expect

Axis11 · Mar 18, 2009

paranoid56 said:
i think i am blind as i cant find prices anywhere on that site. whats the price for this unit?

FlameOut · Mar 18, 2009

I picked mine up last night. Was kind of a scary 30 mile drive back, on these windy Western PA roads, carrying a 900 lb somewhat top heavy load in a Ford Ranger. It's still in the bed of my truck. To busy to unload it, because.....

we dug my new garage footer yesterday and we're pouring the concrete today! :beer:

alkemyst · Mar 18, 2009

this would be perfect for me as my lift would be outside the garage...I also don't need to be standing to do tranmission pulls and dropping my suspension...as a matter of fact having it that high would make the jobs harder.

Being I want it outside, these roll way posts are awesome. Once my job is done I just roll them inside.

I can't buy now, $1500 seems a killer price. What is going to be the normal cost (is that link two posts up the 'normal' price or a pre-order price)?

PAToyota · Mar 18, 2009

alkemyst said:
this would be perfect for me as my lift would be outside the garage...

Being I want it outside, these roll way posts are awesome. Once my job is done I just roll them inside.

That was the final selling point for me - that not only could I set it up in different locations within my garage, but that I could have a "station" outside as well. Really, it became the most versatile option for me.

The link above is the current selling price at GES, to the best of my knowledge. I believe that shipping is on top of that price. The $1500 price was a limited time offer by Dannmar.

vette-kid · Mar 18, 2009

Even at $2K, this looks like a great deal. Companies like Kwiklift and EZcarlift really need to rethink their price structure. I see no advantage to an EZlift over this and they are the same price!

Although. i would like to see some type of platform attachment to lift bikes with a trellis type frame (Ducati Monster)

bazar01 · Mar 18, 2009

I missed the group buy but I sent a PM to Tyler right after it ended. I still got a great deal. Thank you MAXJAX. I was scheduled for mid April delivery.

FlameOut · Mar 18, 2009

Finally got it unloaded, and tucked away in the corner of my garage

wachuko · Mar 18, 2009

hummm... no 7/8" drill bit... out to Lowes to get one.

Axis11 · Mar 18, 2009

I picked up mine last night as well; since I didn't bring any straps we just set it on its side and it was fine.

It'll be a few weeks before I set up and start drilling the floor.
I ended up having to agree to finish up some painting and base molding work in the house with the mrs. as a condition of purchase.

Axis11 · Mar 18, 2009

wachuko said:
hummm... no 7/8" drill bit... out to Lowes to get one.

You should get the Bosch bit. pricey, but will finish the job with ease.

7/8 SDS Max

7/8 SDS Plus

Even on sale the SDS Max bit costs as much as my HF hammer drill...

wachuko · Mar 18, 2009

19!!! Sob! I just paid 32 for the 7/8 SDS Plus at HDepot @+-(2#@!!!!

Thank you Axis11!!... I will just keep telling myselft that I am helping the local economy.... I really want to get this puppy installed...

Axis11 said:
You should get the Bosch bit. pricey, but will finish the job with ease.

7/8 SDS Max

7/8 SDS Plus

Even on sale the SDS Max bit costs as much as my HF hammer drill...

ogme042 · Mar 18, 2009

Just got it today. Plan on installing this weekend. We'll see how it goes

cw_racefan · Mar 18, 2009

Flameout - What's a Ranger rated for payload? I was considering trying to pick mine up in my S-10, but it's only rated for 800lbs.

wachuko · Mar 18, 2009

Oh ****... looks like I will have to wait... my rotary hammer drill (old Milwaukee 1 1/2 spline rotary hammer...) does not have the SDS adapter and neither Lowes nor HD carry any spline bits.

Milwaukee 48-03-3015 Spline To SDS Bit Adapter ordered... will be here in a couple of days...

Hurry up and wait...

Axis11 · Mar 18, 2009

ogme042 said:
Just got it today. Plan on installing this weekend. We'll see how it goes

Nice gratuitous shot of the new R/T challenger

wachuko · Mar 19, 2009

Axis11 said:
Nice gratuitous shot of the new R/T challenger

Yeah, noticed that. Very sweet looking car :thumbup:

wachuko · Mar 19, 2009

bazar01 said:
I missed the group buy but I sent a PM to Tyler right after it ended. I still got a great deal. Thank you MAXJAX. I was scheduled for mid April delivery.

Congrats!!

///Mflossin · Mar 19, 2009

Anxious to see/hear how these installations go.

FlameOut · Mar 19, 2009

cw_racefan said:
Flameout - What's a Ranger rated for payload? I was considering trying to pick mine up in my S-10, but it's only rated for 800lbs.

I'm not really sure, I'm guessing around 1000 lbs? I had no problems at all. I was just a little nervous it was going to tip over. We have lots of windy roads around here

ogme042 · Mar 19, 2009

wachuko said:
Yeah, noticed that. Very sweet looking car

Got everything put together on the maxjax this evening, very straight forward so far. Hardest part was getting it out of the truck. Plan to drill the holes this weekend. Will be working on the Challenger soon..

wachuko · Mar 20, 2009

OK, my lift was missing a few things..

I am missing from the lift the following (this is to setup the connector for the Motorcycle Lift, using one tower). Missing (1) 3/8"x3/8" NPT Fitting and (1) Male Quick Disconnect (ISO 16028 Flushface Hydraulic Quick Disconnect), required for single column operation.

I also received and extra motorcycle mount.

I really want to have this working this weekend so instead of waiting for the parts to arrive I just went to the local Hydraulic Hose store and got what I needed (Note - not all that shown in the photo was missing, I took a few more spare items while I was at the strore).

Also, missing from the package was the vehicle lifting point guide and safety instruction placard that helps train personnel on proper safety and maintenance guidelines. I sent a PM to Jeff at Bendpack to see if we can just get a link to download those (I know we can't download the placard, but at least download the document. I can print it and put it in a clear sleve).

A friend is going to let me use his SDS style Rotary drill since mine was missing the SDS adapter (spline type).

I will post photos of the lift installed this weekend.

///Mflossin · Mar 20, 2009

Please do.

1SlowFormula · Mar 21, 2009

I'm awaiting more install details, I hope you guys have a good weekend doing the installs. I have been watching the MaxJax stuff since they started putting the teaser videos out, can't wait for some real world reviews...

ogme042 · Mar 21, 2009

Got it installed today. Only problem I had was that it would not lift a load all the way to the top. After a few bleeds, finally figured out that it just did not have enough fluid in it. I put seven quarts in start with but it eventually took 8. Now works perfect

tatra · Mar 21, 2009

if i can make a suggestion , when putting the hoses away on a wal mount , use a figure 8 to store them.....works great with all hoses btw...........no coilings to trip over or mess with.........been in touch with gabe and mine should be shipping out the start of april.........won't be installing til i do my concrete prep so maybe by mid june i'll have it running...........power pack is looking like it could do double duty to me for othe hydraulic uses?..........sshhhhh don't tell gabe....jk :beer:

Gabriel J · Mar 21, 2009

ogme042 said:
Got it installed today. Only problem I had was that it would not lift a load all the way to the top. After a few bleeds, finally figured out that it just did not have enough fluid in it. I put seven quarts in start with but it eventually took 8. Now works perfect

Awesome! Can't to see my car in the same position...I was wondering what you used for a distance between the columns? When I laid out my new concrete pads I took into account the size of my car and truck and the recommended widths on the site.

-Gabe

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

OK, here you go... a few photos...

In my case the lift was not lifting even on both columns... even after several tries to bleed the system...

Jeff made himself available Friday and all day Saturday :thumbup:

via phone. Way to go! After several bleeds and one column still lifting higher than the other Jeff suggested that I swap hoses to see if the problem was the flow divider... Sure enough, once the hoses were switch, the other side start to lift higher. So a new Flow Divider is on its way.

Anyway. This thing is awesome!!! :drool:

Very smooth lifting, lowering... just awesome! I lifted two of my cars, pushed them while lifted... and all very stable... :thumbup:

You really need to follow the directions on the drilling... after following the instructions all holes aligned perfectly. I made additional holes to swap the towers between the single bay and the double bay. It helps that the hole are symmetrical so turning the tower 180 degrees only requires drilling one more hole for that column.

I did used the shims on one column to make the distance at the bottom of the column and the top to be equal.

I also needed to cut some of the washers to make them fit the colums as some of the holes were to close to the welds...

Anyway, enjoy the photos:

My brother is visiting... so I put him to work drilling the holes...

while I assisted by using the vac

Washers cut to fit...

Drilling on the second bay to have the capability to use on both sides...

One happy camper!

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

A few more:

Let's test it with something light first...

So far, so good...

Here is a single column use setup...

Guys! Looks like this is working... what do you say about trying a car?

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

Even more:

Here I am thinking about lifting the car... point of no return...

Well... it passed the test...

Since it worked with heavier car... let's try a lighter car just for kicks...

This one needed the extensions for the pads

That is all for now... enjoy the rest of the weekend!!!

tatra · Mar 22, 2009

that **** eating grin says it all............ :beer:

volvo · Mar 22, 2009

..
Wachuko... Good job, I like the fact that you used and custom fit your bolt head washers...Great looking floor by the way.....Was the pic with your ugly puss setting on the roll around stool at max lift height? Did it seem to have enough clearance do work comfortably under the car for you? I noticed that the safety pins were in place, Good for you and congratulations on a beautiful setup....

ogme042 · Mar 22, 2009

Gabriel J said:
Awesome! Can't to see my car in the same position...I was wondering what you used for a distance between the columns? When I laid out my new concrete pads I took into account the size of my car and truck and the recommended widths on the site.

-Gabe

Outside dimension on the bottom plate is at 128". Space is not a problem so I want room to open doors easily. I have yet to see how that works on smaller cars. May be too far apart, just depends on where the mount points are on the car.

goodfellow · Mar 22, 2009

excellent documentation of the process -- thanks for posting!! Congrats on the lift.

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

volvo said:
..
Wachuko... Was the pic with your ugly puss setting on the roll around stool at max lift height? Did it seem to have enough clearance do work comfortably under the car for you? I noticed that the safety pins were in place, Good for you and congratulations on a beautiful setup....

Very close to max height... after that photo, with the garage door closed, we lifted to max... I was able to move around under the car, while siiting in the stool, comfortably. :thumbup:

I need to get side motors for the garage door in the single bay to gain that additional 12" of clearance to be able to raise to max height without having to close the garage door.

If you could not tell, I have a mess in the garage right now... I need to sort all the stuff in there, continue to get rid of useless **** and reorganize things in the shelves... long way to go... long way to go...

I left the lift mounted in place because I know I want to play a bit more with it and also because I want to wait for the additional anchors.

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

ogme042 said:
Outside dimension on the bottom plate is at 128". Space is not a problem so I want room to open doors easily. I have yet to see how that works on smaller cars. May be too far apart, just depends on where the mount points are on the car.

This is something to consider... in the single bay mine sits at 115". I thought that was enough, that is, until I drove the car in to test. Door to column space is very limited with this width... This morning I am drilling additional holes on the second bay to increase the width between columns as much as possible.

Working in the single bay is fine for something that does not require dealing with the brakes or opening the door often... but for anything else will require to use the lift in the double bay.

vette-kid · Mar 22, 2009

Wachuko, I am amazed that you were able to drill that big of a hole, with a hammer drill no less, into the tile without cracking it. I hope they did a REAL good job floating in your floor...thats a lot of weight for a small footprint on ceramic. You not worried about cracking a tile under load?

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

vette-kid said:
Wachuko, I am amazed that you were able to drill that big of a hole, with a hammer drill no less, into the tile without cracking it. I hope they did a REAL good job floating in your floor...thats a lot of weight for a small footprint on ceramic. You not worried about cracking a tile under load?

The tiles are pretty strong.. so no worries on my part that they would crack... Initially I was planning on removing the tiles but decided to try it like this first. If I see any risk down the road I will go back to my initial plan. The anchors were set under the tiles... so those are flush with the concrete and not the tile... all this in case I remove the tiles later. But we did a couple of lifts with the different cars here and everything worked fine.

One thing to note for those that got it. After you lift the car the first few times. Check the bolts. On each lift the anchors gave a little so I had to keep tightening the bolts. By the last time we did the lifting the anchors were set and I did not notice any additional need to check the bolts.

ajrweb · Mar 22, 2009

Wachuko,

When you drilled the second set of holes for the 2 car bay where did you get the anchors and bolts from? I have a 3 car garage also and I want to do it like your set up, but wasn't sure where to get the second set of anchors and bolts from.

Thanks
AJ

wachuko · Mar 22, 2009

ajrweb said:
Wachuko,

When you drilled the second set of holes for the 2 car bay where did you get the anchors and bolts from? I have a 3 car garage also and I want to do it like your set up, but wasn't sure where to get the second set of anchors and bolts from.

Thanks
AJ

You can ask for additional anchors when ordering the lift or you can buy them via the web...

The anchors are WEJ-IT® POWER-Drop - 7/8 x 3-13/16 (5/8 Internal thread) - http://www.alliedbolt.com/wejit.html

I found serveral places on the web that sells them:

http://www.toolfetch.com/p-801-wd-58-3.shtml

http://store.eberliron.com/products/wej_it_concrete_anchors/power_drop_drop_in_anchor

http://www.drillspot.com/products/43499/Wej-IT_PD-58_Drop-IN_Anchor

Another great suggestions is to also pour some epoxy for concrete before dropping the anchor and/or to fill any space on top of the anchor... I should have thought about it before I did the others... a bit late now, but will do so for the ones in the second bay.

lowceiling · Mar 23, 2009

Very nice!!

Congrats on the new lift.

Your First MaxJax: What to Expect

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