2 post lift location from wall.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I am almost sure I have read advice here about the minimum distance a two-post lift should be from the side wall, but when I search for it, nothing comes up. Can someone point me to discussions about this? Thanks!!

 

[sberry]

How big is the building? There is no set distance. Put some chairs on the floor to represent the posts and walk around. A larger building can have them farther away as there may be room for other equipment along the walls.

 

[Vet65te]

Brent - I've been researching a number of 2-post lifts lately and I've seen the recommendation for distance from a post to a wall or edge on the vendors websites. I believe Greg Smith Equipment has a reference to it on their site.
I also contacted their sales rep and this is the response I got.
When positioning your lift you want to stay a minimum of 6-8 inches away from the edge of your concrete. So if you are in the minimum 8-10 inch range you should be fine.

 

[tdkkart]

I am almost sure I have read advice here about the minimum distance a two-post lift should be from the side wall, but when I search for it, nothing comes up. Can someone point me to discussions about this? Thanks!!

If you put one of your model As up on the hoist and want to remove a rear axle, how far does that have to come out to clear the axle housing??

That's pretty much your answer. Figure at least half the rear axle flange to flange distance of the widest vehicle you'll have in there, from the wall to the side of the vehicle, and then I'd add 8 or 10 inches just for safety's sake.

Seems like most shops I've been in you can at least squeeze a person sideways between the wall and the post.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Thanks everyone. This is actually the side wall in a 50'x60' room. I will have plenty of room fore & aft to remove axles/engines but I wanted to have enough room on the one side but not waste space setting it too far away? Maybe I will look at 3 feet away from the wall?

 

[bobcatdan]

I'd go a minimum of 6' if not 8' away. Gives you plenty of room to work.

 

[astroracer]

Brent,
If you have the room, and there is no issue created getting to the lift thru a garage door, I would set it as far from the wall as practical. Working "around" the hoist stanchions is the issue. Rolling or carrying equipment around a post that is too close to a wall is frustrating. I would recommend 4' minimum. Like was said before set up some chairs or garbage cans where you are thinking to put the hoist and work around them for a few days. I think you will see what I am saying.
Or like BCD said.
Mark

 

[laser3kw]

I agree with TDK
think about the vehicle up in the air with the tire off. Would you feel comfortable doing a brake job between the wheel and the wall? Or could you pull an axle?
fft

 

[CarreraX]

Im getting ready to order a 2 post from Greg Smith and I need to put mine right up against the wall due to the location of the single garage door (3 car garage) and the location of the other post would be in the way of pulling a car in the double bay. Not a good situation but not many options.

 

[Falcon67]

I have a smaller shop, would put a post no closer than 18~24" from a side wall. Edge of my overhead door is 34" from the side wall, so with the arms on a two post the lifted vehicle should be about 48" out from the wall or so.

 

[LuvAZ]

Mine is in the single bay of an attached 3 car garage.

The post closest to the wall is far enough away that I can walk around the vehicle that's on the lift.

In other words, I can fit between the post & the wall.

This is especially handy when rotating tires so they can be rolled on the ground from front to rear & vice versa.

HTH,
Will

 

[APEowner]

Thanks everyone. This is actually the side wall in a 50'x60' room. I will have plenty of room fore & aft to remove axles/engines but I wanted to have enough room on the one side but not waste space setting it too far away? Maybe I will look at 3 feet away from the wall?

tdkkart was referring to sliding an axle shaft out of the housing. I worked at a GM dealership for a while where the lift was to close to the side wall to do that with pickup trucks. I didn't discover that until I actually started to slide the axle out. I was not a happy camper.

Look around for the largest piece of equipment you'll want to be able to get around the lift and make sure there's at least enough room for that.

 

[sberry]

Yes, big room means it is easier to get it farther away and allow for walk room between the post and even a bench or box, shelves. Running space along walls is some of the most valuable real estate in a building.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Thanks again everyone. Below are a couple of pictures that kinda shows my dilemma. The 14' door on the left in the pictures is where a vehicle would be driven into the shop to go on the lift. I would like to keep enough distance up from the door to drive a vehicle beside (under) a car on the lift if I had to. I want to position the lift forward enough in that bay where this is not a problem yet I don't want to block access through the other door (on the right side of the pictures) in case I wanted to move a car thru that area too.

So as to give a visual perspective, from the overhead door on the left over to where the door (on the right side of the picture) begins is about 35' which should provide plenty of room behind the vehicle if I allow for a 20' long vehicle however I do not want to place the lift too far forward in the bay which could create an issue with another vehicle. (From the start of the right overhead door over to the right wall is 16'.) The yellow line is approximately 12' away from the wall. Again, I want to be far enough away from the wall to have good working space without causing stress trying to get around it with another vehicle.

 

[sberry]

I was trying to give some perspective here. This is the time to step back a bit and think out of the box a bit. Mine is 20 ft away from the side wall and 20 ft from the front. Its nearly perfect for my building and wouldn't move it an inch if I had to do it again but I had some lead time and am extremely aware for lack of better wording about human ergonomics and traffic and tool placement.
The tools are not along the wall but more centered and I see another thread here with a similar set up so the same tools are on the "center" side on carts, more in center of building not hugging the wall.

 

[CarreraX]

Mine is in the single bay of an attached 3 car garage.

The post closest to the wall is far enough away that I can walk around the vehicle that's on the lift.

In other words, I can fit between the post & the wall.

This is especially handy when rotating tires so they can be rolled on the ground from front to rear & vice versa.

HTH,
Will

Can you still get a car in the next bay over (parked normally so 2 will fit in the big side) without hitting the post? I think if I leave that much room on the close side, the lift will be in the way of the next bay.

 

[LuvAZ]

Can you still get a car in the next bay over (parked normally so 2 will fit in the big side) without hitting the post? I think if I leave that much room on the close side, the lift will be in the way of the next bay.

Yes, I park 3 cars in the garage every night.

In fact, I occasionally park my 1/2 ton quad cab Ram pick up in place of one of the cars on the double-door side, no problem.

If you look closely, you may also be able to make out a large Snap-on taco wagon and some wall mounted shelving along the far wall, too.

HTH,
Will

 

[sberry]

Yes, the pics help. A wide door here helps. The door is close to the wall which does not help but,,,,,, there is no reason to put the post in the doorway on the center of building side either. Concentrate on that a bit, maybe align the this side post with edge of door.
This will also help with turning radius a bit when using the door for drive thru.

 

[sberry]

Somewhat like this.

 

[ng8264723]

leave enough room in the front to get an engine crane out! I have my lift at an angle in my 30 x 40 building to make it easier to drive on since I have a centered entrance door. My bench is on one side. I think it is a good idea to have room for a bench

 

[Chadddada]

Im getting ready to order a 2 post from Greg Smith and I need to put mine right up against the wall due to the location of the single garage door (3 car garage) and the location of the other post would be in the way of pulling a car in the double bay. Not a good situation but not many options.

Funny, I am in the same boat with my 24x30 and a single 10' door to the far right. It's in my backyard in suburbia so I wanted to preserve as much of the backyard as possible. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318386
Trying to decide if I can put the lift elsewhere, bottom left or top left of the picture.

 

[Chadddada]

I am in a 24x30 (new build) and am trying to figure out the placement. You have more space to play with than I do. I think I will be 2'-3' off the wall, pulling right in from a 10' wide single door. 2' might be a bit close to work around it but over 3' may just be a waste of space and make it harder to pull into the lift.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Somewhat like this.

Well now, that's a great thought!! I need to think that one thru a bit further though. The only thing that might cause a bit of stress with that position is getting to the other cars in the shop. Look at a couple pix below to give a different perspective of the room.

The 1st pic is a before image but use the yellow lines as reference of the doorway and what is beside the O/H entrance door.

The 2nd pic is standing in the personnel door in front of that O/H door looking to the right (opposite wall from where I was going to put the lift.)

3rd pic shows the set of stairs we have added. The yellow outline in the 3rd & 4th pics is approx. 12' wide so I had planned on stationing one car backed up to that wall extending out about 18-20 feet. That is where I wanted to be able to drive between the car on the lift, and the corner of the vehicle setting in this space.

FWIW, I think I can get the lift forward enough in that bay to give plenty of room to get thru between the cars. Maybe I need to break out the tape and do a little floor layout tomorrow.

.

 

[sberry]

I am on a phone. Might try to look in morning. It's worth playing with this for sure. The results last a long time. It's crucial enough I would even move it after the fact if it didn't work right.

 

[sberry]

The bigger the building and more people the more it all adds over time. This looks like a pretty substantial shop. Looks like you have a good grip,, it isn't always the case. Especially if we are paying. guys to walk around for years.