2-post lift placement - side clearance question

[truckin-on]

I just ordered a Challenger CL10V3 with 2' extensions - best price I found was from garageautoequipment.com. I called around, and other vendors were a bit more expensive than these folks. Also, they were quick to respond to a few questions I had, so we'll see how the order progresses.

My alternative was a Bendpak, but the Challenger ended up only about $600 more expensive, so seemed to me to be worth the modest premium for a US-built lift. Also, I liked the 3-stage front and rear arms on the Challenger a bit better than the Bendpak.

In any event, my question is how close to the building side wall should/could I mount the right side of the lift? I'm thinking that I can get it right up against the framing for the one wall - it's a steel building, so there is about 8" space between the inner steel framing and the side wall insulation. Are there any downsides to having it close to the wall I should be considering? Most of what I'll be working on are smaller (narrower) cars, so other than an occasional truck, I think I'll still have plenty of room on the side for wheels and brakes, etc. Thoughts?

 

[forAK]

I prefer a 2' minimum. No matter what, stuff stacks up on the side wall and you'll be walking around the rig. I'm congested at 2'.

 

[truckin-on]

I prefer a 2' minimum. No matter what, stuff stacks up on the side wall and you'll be walking around the rig. I'm congested at 2'.

Thanks - I know what you mean... I try to keep that side clear, as I usually store cars/trailer right against the wall. My thought was, given most of the cars I'll work on are 70" wide or less, I'll have 22" between the car and the lift post (if set wide), the post is about 14" wide I think, so I would at least have 36" to the wall framing, 44" to the walls. Trying to avoid having the other post intrude in the way of parking cars in the next bay over as much as possible.

 

[truckin-on]

On a related note, any compelling (non-obvious) reason to set the post wide vs. narrow? Only 4 1/2" difference it appears, which seems insignificant.

 

[protegeV]

On a related note, any compelling (non-obvious) reason to set the post wide vs. narrow? Only 4 1/2" difference it appears, which seems insignificant.

Always go as wide as available.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

If at all possible I would definitely set the column far enough from the wall you can walk through the gap between the two. It's a pain to even set the lift arms if you are limited to passing between the car and the column. Wide as designed is good too. Even when I have smaller cars on the lift it just gives better access and if you lift something wide like a PU you need that room. Ed.

 

[truckin-on]

Good suggestion on being able to pass between the wall and the lift column, had not thought about that... Thanks!

 

[protegeV]

Good suggestion on being able to pass between the wall and the lift column, had not thought about that... Thanks!

Idk how extensive the work you intend to do will be but don't forget about the ability to remove an axle shaft. It would **** to pull everything apart and have the wheel studs hit the wall before the splined end clears the axle housing. Doh

 

[truckin-on]

Yes, that would be irritating I only have one vehicle that I'm currently likely to work on that has a solid axle... but worth considering!

 

[Lotek]

Aside from the axle shaft thing, think rotating tires, it's a real pita to have to go around carrying a tire. The people in carpetland at my dealership are on a kick right now that the solution to productivity is a hoist in every spot that they can squeeze one in, nevermind the fact that without qualified techs, the racks are just taking up space. Being a smart cookie, when they installed a rack in half of my flat stall, I made sure it was offset enough to roll a transmission jack through, bonus that I thought of but they didn't, was that location precluded stuffing another rack hard against the wall.

 

[wssix99]

I'm thinking that I can get it right up against the framing for the one wall - it's a steel building, so there is about 8" space between the inner steel framing and the side wall insulation. Are there any downsides to having it close to the wall I should be considering?

Have you read the instructions, yet? They give you specific direction here regarding the slab. This stuff is really important, particularly the distance from cracks. You'll also need to keep the posts a certain distance away from all the cuts and cracks in the floor.

 

[finn]

Remember that the pump and reservoir hang outside the frame envelope on an asymmetrical lift and intrude into any availabile pass by space.

My asymmetrical lift is about 26” from the wall, measured at the post. That’s too close, but is the best I could doo with pecans runs in the floor limiting lift placement.

 

[Rod N]

I put my post against the wall to give me more room to park a car beside it like yourself.
To do this I had to mount the pump and reservoir on the wall.
Yes I need to walk around the car if the lift is just off the ground, but most of the time the car is up enough I can walk under it.
You can see the handle on the wall past the post.

 

[E30 Racer]

I put my post against the wall to give me more room to park a car beside it like yourself.
To do this I had to mount the pump and reservoir on the wall.
Yes I need to walk around the car if the lift is just off the ground, but most of the time the car is up enough I can walk under it.
You can see the handle on the wall past the post.

How wide is your lift, inside post-to-post?

 

[truckin-on]

Have you read the instructions, yet? They give you specific direction here regarding the slab. This stuff is really important, particularly the distance from cracks. You'll also need to keep the posts a certain distance away from all the cuts and cracks in the floor.

Actually just stumbled upon a PDF of the instructions on the web - otherwise apparently not available without a specific request to Challenger. My slab is 6" reinforced 4000#, and the edge of the slab would be more than 12" from the closest bolt hole, worse case, as the walls are 10" in total. So I think I'm OK with that part.

I am thinking again about mounting the lift more toward the middle of the building, but then I have two posts in the way when moving things around. My thoughts for having it against one side is to reduce it to only one post to have to deal with. The building is 60x40, with two 16' doors in the right and middle 20' sections along the 60' side. I think I'll play with the floor plan a bit more before making a decision... Lift is 3-5 weeks out shipping I'm told.

 

[truckin-on]

...but is the best I could doo with pecans runs in the floor limiting lift placement.

OK - I'll bite, what the heck are "pecans runs"?

 

[Falcon67]

My wall side column is 2' off the wall. Gives room to move around the post. THe wide door is 3' off same wall and I can back straight in to the lift and end up more or less centered.

 

[protegeV]

Actually just found a PDF of the instructions - not available without a specific request from Challenger. My slab is 6" reinforced 4000#, and the edge of the slab would be more than 12" from the closest bolt hole, worse case, as the walls are 10" in total. So I think I'm OK with that part.

I am thinking again about mounting the lift more toward the middle of the building, but then I have two posts in the way when moving things around. My thoughts for having it against one side is to reduce it to only one post to have to deal with. The building is 60x40, with two 16' doors in the right and middle 20' sections along the 60' side. I think I'll play with the floor plan a bit more before making a decision... Lift is 3-5 weeks out shipping I'm told.

My building is the same size with two doors placed similarly. My lift is centered right behind the leftmost door and 15' in. I have the exact same slab specs too.
From the door to the exterior side wall is 4'
From the outside edge of the lift post to the interior wall is 3'

 

[astroracer]

With that size of a building I would put the hoist a minimum of 4' off the right hand wall. Like every one has been saying, you will be glad you did.
You should also think about where the hoist is compared to the door. Having a straight shot into the hoist makes it a lot easier to drive into.
Also push it back far enough that the door will not hit the vehicle when opened and the vehicle is at full lift.
With 3 weeks to wait lay the "hoist" in with trash cans. Work around the "immovable objects" for a while and make your decision.
Mark

 

[coljar]

The hoist in my old garage next door is in the center of the room which is great, but when I built the new garage next to it, the left post is a little less than 2' from the wall. I would much rather have a foot or two more, but there just wasn't room.

 

[truckin-on]

Thanks everyone - good and useful comments to consider! I'm basically trying to keep the ability to have two rows of cars/trailers/tractors stored in the 20' bay when the lift isn't being used, without having to use my GoJaks to move them around the columns. I'm willing to give up a bit of convenience using the lift to maximize indoor storage to accomplish that.

I think I'll try the "stage the trash cans" suggestion and see how it works out in practice...

 

[truckin-on]

With that size of a building I would put the hoist a minimum of 4' off the right hand wall. Like every one has been saying, you will be glad you did.
You should also think about where the hoist is compared to the door. Having a straight shot into the hoist makes it a lot easier to drive into.
Also push it back far enough that the door will not hit the vehicle when opened and the vehicle is at full lift.
With 3 weeks to wait lay the "hoist" in with trash cans. Work around the "immovable objects" for a while and make your decision.
Mark

Good point - I have 12' high doors, so fortunately not much of an issue with that generally. With about 38' depth in the building, would you put the lift toward the front (near the door) or toward the back? I'm thinking toward the back, as if I have a car up on it, it may be there for a while during a long project, and I wouldn't want to loose the parking space between the lift and the door. With it toward the front, anything behind it is in for the duration of whatever is on the lift.

 

[protegeV]

Good point - I have 12' high doors, so fortunately not much of an issue with that generally. With about 38' depth in the building, would you put the lift toward the front (near the door) or toward the back? I'm thinking toward the back, as if I have a car up on it, it may be there for a while during a long project, and I wouldn't want to loose the parking space between the lift and the door. With it toward the front, anything behind it is in for the duration of whatever is on the lift.

You have to consider what kind of work you're going to be doing. If it's mostly long-term projects then I would vote for towards the back.
In my case I'm going to be doing mostly small repairs with a max of a couple days of the car on the lift.
If you put the lift towards the back wall and you need to get on/off the lift regularly then you don't want to block the car in with equipment, tools, etc that you have to constantly clear out of the way to access the lift.

If you install the lift closer to the door you always have the option to raise the car on the lift and drive something underneath it if absolutely necessary. At least that's what I do

 

[like2wheel]

My wall side column is 2' off the wall. Gives room to move around the post. THe wide door is 3' off same wall and I can back straight in to the lift and end up more or less centered.

That doesn't look too bad. I was hoping to do the same for the same reasons as the OP.

Any complaints?

 

[mrobins297aaa]

You have to consider what kind of work you're going to be doing. If it's mostly long-term projects then I would vote for towards the back.
In my case I'm going to be doing mostly small repairs with a max of a couple days of the car on the lift.
If you put the lift towards the back wall and you need to get on/off the lift regularly then you don't want to block the car in with equipment, tools, etc that you have to constantly clear out of the way to access the lift.

If you install the lift closer to the door you always have the option to raise the car on the lift and drive something underneath it if absolutely necessary. At least that's what I do

This is what I do also, if you install the lift near the rear of the building you'll end up with a ton of stuff stored in front of the lift that you'll have to move every time you want to use the lift.

Don't install that column right against the wall you'll hate that, make at least 2' or better yet 4' from the wall.

One of the advantages of having the lift set up in the wide configuration is that it will help you when you go to lift those vehicles that have very low ground clearances (like corvettes and others) it will allow you to slide the arms in all the way so that you can line them up more perpendicular to the vehicle.

 

[truckin-on]

... One of the advantages of having the lift set up in the wide configuration is that it will help you when you go to lift those vehicles that have very low ground clearances (like corvettes and others) it will allow you to slide the arms in all the way so that you can line them up more perpendicular to the vehicle.

Good point - and I get that the geometry for the arms would work a bit better with the posts being set wider, but with the CL10V3 there is only 6" in total difference between narrow and wide, so 3" per side would seem unlikely to be significant. I guess if I have to deal with moving cars around the post anyway, I may as well go wide.

Time to break out the garbage cans and see what it looks like in practice.

 

[protegeV]

Good point - and I get that the geometry for the arms would work a bit better with the posts being set wider, but with the CL10V3 there is only 6" in total difference between narrow and wide, so 3" per side would seem unlikely to be significant. I guess if I have to deal with moving cars around the post anyway, I may as well go wide.

Time to break out the garbage cans and see what it looks like in practice.

The wide and narrow configs on my bendpak are an 8" difference so 4 per side. Trust me, it doesn't sound like much but practically speaking its HUGE.

 

[finn]

Even with my asymmetrical 10k BendPack in the wide position, the doors don’t open fully on a full sized pickup.

Go wide if at all possible.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Setting the columns 6" wider means 8.5' car trailers will fit.
That is a mandatory requirement for my next lift.

Will be waiting for pics and feed back on the lift as I'm considering the same thing. Just debating of going with the +3' height.

 

[protegeV]

Even with my asymmetrical 10k BendPack in the wide position, the doors don’t open fully on a full sized pickup.

Go wide if at all possible.

I don't know that any lift exists that will allow FULLY open doors on a full sized pickup. Maybe a symmetrical lift if you can pull far enough forward to clear the lift posts. But failing that the lift posts would have to be extremely wide to allow open doors on a vehicle that big. In ground lifts are nice for that, but a lot of work to install and a lot of $$$.

 

[Rod N]

You are forgetting the OP wants to have the lift against the wall so he can still park a car beside it. I think it's a no brainer to put it against the wall if that's what it takes to go from a 1 car garage to a 2. My garage is about 20 ft. wide and with the lift against the wall I only have about 1 1/2' between the post and the second car.

 

[protegeV]

You are forgetting the OP wants to have the lift against the wall so he can still park a car beside it. I think it's a no brainer to put it against the wall if that's what it takes to go from a 1 car garage to a 2. My garage is about 20 ft. wide and with the lift against the wall I only have about 1 1/2' between the post and the second car.

OP's garage is 60' wide. Pretty sure there will be enough room for more cars

 

[1redTA]

OP. Have you considered the possibility of positioning the lift toward a corner? I don’t recall who here did it, but I’m strongly considering the same.

 

[Falcon67]

That doesn't look too bad. I was hoping to do the same for the same reasons as the OP.

Any complaints?

None - working out good so far. No problem parking two cars in the space. The larger issue is all the **** and fuel cans that ended up in the space on the left between the post and the wall.

I'm about to start work on the ceiling to make additional clearance to lift vehicles higher.

 

[truckin-on]

OP. Have you considered the possibility of positioning the lift toward a corner? I don’t recall who here did it, but I’m strongly considering the same.

Yes, this is what I'm currently thinking. Close to the right side wall, but just enough room to walk between the column and the outside wall (as long as I don't have too many more beers). Also lines up the inside of the right lift column with the right side of the door opening. Toward the rear of the bay, as anything parked in front of the lift will be easily movable (tractors or cars that run) so that will not be an issue. I don't want to loose the ability to park/store things in the left side of the bay, so I think with the posts set at 12' outside to outside, I'll have enough room to get things past the left post if needed. Also, toward the back gives more room to maneuver around the lift post when entering from the door.

I have an eclectic bunch of stuff, so I can use the left side of the lift bay for the narrow vehicles (Mini, MG, Morgan, etc.) and leave the right side for the bigger stuff ('57 IHC Pickup, Car trailer, etc.). I don't mind pulling something out to get to the lift, as everything on that side of the building runs. The left bay of the building, without the door, is storage for the things that currently do not run, which are pulled in and parked sideways (right angle from the center door) along with pallet shelving all along the left side wall.

Here is the floor plan, with the current thinking on the lift location drawn in:

 

[CraigStu]

I don't see a floor plan. I am having a hard time understanding how you have a 60 ft wide building and are worried about moving the lift 2 feet from the wall. I have worked as a tech in maybe 6 shops and the worst was one where they stuck a lift where they really didn't have the width. I know it sounds a little crazy but the first time you bend over to set a lift arm, your **** kind of bounces off the wall, and your head hits the side of the lift or vehicle, you will really want more room. W/ the lift post 6 inches from the wall it will be a pain just to remove a wheel and set it on the floor. You ever want to rotate tires front to rear? Even 2 ft clearance from lift to wall is too little because most any tire is more than 24 inches outside diameter. Yeah, you can turn sideways but it won't help much.

 

[poppinjohnnies]

I can squeeze between my column and wall, and wish I had built my building a bit wider. 2' minimum if I was to do it again.

 

[truckin-on]

... I am having a hard time understanding how you have a 60 ft wide building and are worried about moving the lift 2 feet from the wall.

Sorry, I should have made clear that the building is currently 100% storage for cars, parts, farm tractors and equipment, and trailers and is not presently used as a shop. My working shop is one bay of a 3-car garage, unfortunately without enough width or height to get a lift in. The steel building is insulated and has good power however.

If I was just fitting it up as a shop, there would be no issues, and I wouldn't be worrying about how close to the wall it is. However, I still need to get a bunch of stuff out of the weather, so although the building is large, it doesn't actually have a lot of spare space in it at the moment. Fortunately, I just sold a large trailer which was stored in the bay where the lift will go, so that opened up a fair bit of room allowing the lift install.

It's a compromise - as are most things. The building is not very convenient to my house, about 700' down the road, and also set back from the road in an active cow pasture. So when the animals are up in that pasture, access logistics requires some planning And of course, all my other shop equipment is in the house... Perhaps eventually I'll fence around the building and lane out to the road, and move the rest of my shop up there, but not in the near term.

 

[like2wheel]

You ever want to rotate tires front to rear? Even 2 ft clearance from lift to wall is too little because most any tire is more than 24 inches outside diameter. Yeah, you can turn sideways but it won't help much.

Trying to understand this comment. Are you saying that you can't lay a tire flat and move it around the post? Don't see where this is relevant, but maybe I'm misunderstanding something.

 

[truckin-on]

For some reason, I wasn't successful in embedding the drawing of the floor-plan, so I'll try one more time: View media item 87904