4 post hoist, how close to wall?

[Fisherguy]

Looks like I'm buying a used Forward 12,000lb 4 post hoist. My shop's inside dimensions are 39' x 24' wide and there's 2 - 10x10 doors on the end. The hoist is 11'3" wide.
I'd like it close to the wall if I can so I'll still have room to park something beside it, I have drill presses, welder etc down the side of the other wall. Wish the shop was 6 feet wider but it came with the house.
So I'm wondering what the minimum clearance I should have to the outside wall, I'm hoping people with4 posts could give me some advice?

The hoist will mostly be used to store my 69 Chevelle SS but also for tinkering on my longbox Dodge 3500 long box diesel.
Thanks.

 

[St-rider]

I've got mine just far enough from the wall so that I can fit between the wall and post. I've got casters so I can always move it if I have to.

 

[ghnl]

When it is all the way up or all the way down, getting by is not an issue. But when it is partway ('working height') you'll appreciate enough room to easily pass by on the outside of the posts.

 

[Stuart in MN]

It's really up to personal preference, there's no requirement for the amount of clearance. I think the lift in my garage is about a foot from the wall, but I'd have to go measure it.

 

[PDM]

How skinny are you ? (No joke )

I had to narrow my shop by over 1 foot from my original plans due to property line setbacks and retained my 12k Rotary hoist in it's original position as I had designed my floor layout.

Everything hinged on the placement of my hoists as we had to route and plot all my radiant heat runs around the post bases as well as retaining symmetry on my 2 front roll up doors while allowing large trucks to drive up the ramps (I have an F350 dually also so the rear tires have a slight overhang on both sides)

Ended up with my front corner post close to the wall and makes for a very tight fit for me to slide around my hydraulic motor assembly especially with the garage doors closed.

If you're skinny and flexible you don't mind ducking underneath the runners but rolling tires around posts close to walls is a pain.

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It appears to leave room but with the ramps in place, doors closed and hoist runners at work height - having it mounted this close is a bit of a hassle.

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It comes down how far away from your wall can you afford. I would take accurate measurements of your hoist layout and layout the bases in masking tape then move other vehicles in the other side to see your actual working space.


Once I'm against my wall working on the cars is fine since the runners are inset from the outer bases but rolling tires around the wall side is a bit more of a hassle especially tall wide truck tires.

 

[Fisherguy]

Thanks guys.

PDM, yours doesn't look too bad a foot from the wall, the car is still set in quite a bit on your hoist which I assume will be of similar dimensions to the Forward 12k I'm getting. I can see getting by the post with a tire would be tricky when the hoist is down, maybe I'll get the masking tape out and see how 18" will work. I'm putting the controls for the hoist toward the centre of the shop so it's not so cramped operating it.

I see you painted the hoist, looks good.

BTW we retired in 2015, lived in the lower mainland, looked 2 years for a place in Kamloops but ended up moving to the cariboo, really like it up here.

 

[Glemon]

I'm putting the controls for the hoist toward the centre of the shop so it's not so cramped operating it.

I have been looking at lifts, most have the controls on the opposite corner from where I want. A few say the controls are moveable, how hard is it to relocate them?

I am also looking at wall clearance so reading this with interest.

 

[930dreamer]

After watching a few Advantage lift video's their controls are movable from the right rear to the left front.

 

[infinkc]

I have been looking at lifts, most have the controls on the opposite corner from where I want. A few say the controls are moveable, how hard is it to relocate them?

I am also looking at wall clearance so reading this with interest.

You have to decide when you build the lift what side you want it on. All the columns remain in the same position regardless, it’s just the ramp ends/stops that have to swap, then the lift has to rotate 180.

 

[Fisherguy]

I have been looking at lifts, most have the controls on the opposite corner from where I want. A few say the controls are moveable, how hard is it to relocate them?

I am also looking at wall clearance so reading this with interest.

It will say in the instructions for the hoist you're getting, with the Forward hoist the choices are rear driver's side or rear passenger side. Also this one has the big ram ontop of the uprights of the side the controls are on, so it will be on the passenger side in my case and will not interfere with opening the drivers door when the car up on the hoist.

 

[Fisherguy]

You have to decide when you build the lift what side you want it on. All the columns remain in the same position regardless, it’s just the ramp ends/stops that have to swap, then the lift has to rotate 180.

No really, if it rotated 180* the ramps wouldn't be toward the garage doors.

 

[brianh]

No really, if it rotated 180* the ramps wouldn't be toward the garage doors.

The ramps can be swapped to either end.

 

[Oilguy]

Leave enough space for removing wheels/tires if you get a traveling jack. Also room for casters if you have that option.

 

[glentre]

My posts are on 24" from the wall. The hydraulic pump is on the wall side and that only gives me 12" to squeeze between the pump handle and the wall. A little tight but ok by turning my body sideways. The 24" dimension gives me enough room to work on that side with a car on the lift as well as being able to open the doors on my Yukon when it's parked under the lift.

Glen

 

[jmiller_2308]

Is it a parking or working lift? If you are going to do any work you really need to be able to get around it. My buddy tried to live with his only 1 foot from the wall and after struggling for most of a year he moved it further away so that he could actually get around it.

Also consider how wide your vehicles that you will put on it are. When my truck is on my lift the mirrors stick out far enough that you would need to take that in mind when setting the position.

Finally, even if only parking on it, think about if you need to ever get into the wall side of the vehicle. If you do, then having the lift close to the wall will make it a pain if not impossible. This was yet another thing that my buddy discovered when he originally placed his lift close to the wall.

 

[Fisherguy]

The installer recommended 2' from the wall, was hoping to go less but after reading the comments here I'm not so sure now.

The ramps can be swapped to either end.

That might be true with some hoists but from what I can see with this one the power unit goes either on the rear driver's side or rear passenger side.

 

[MFortie]

I personally would set it at least as far from the wall so I could open a car door all the way and still have room (2'-3'?) to get by. For when I decide to work on something inside from the passenger side.

Then again, if I was planning to do brake/wheel/suspension work I'd want even more room.

Based on working on my '67 Chevelle SS...

 

[Fisherguy]

This is a 12k hoist I'm looking at over 11ft wide, similar to PDMs hoist and even with his 1 foot from the wall it looks like he has room to open the driver's door of his GTO.
But you're right, I wanna be able to open the door all the way, same as now when I park it in the shop without a hoist.
Sure wish the shop was a bit wider...

 

[infinkc]

Since you are buying it used, why not just go and take some measurements and see what you are happy with? Or is it all disassembled already?

 

[97tj-neil]

Far enough from the wall that you can pull an axle shaft all the way out of the tube.

 

[Fisherguy]

XL

Since you are buying it used, why not just go and take some measurements and see what you are happy with? Or is it all disassembled already?

It's in a Walmart approx 5 hours from where we live.
Apparently they're closing the Walmart auto centers, or they are up here anyhow.
I've downloaded the installation manual but you're right, there is some things not shown, like how far the edge of the driver's ramp is to the outside of the posts etc.

This Forward lift is over11ft wide, 2 feet wider than the Bendpack HD-9XL I was thinking of but the BP is new and more money but lifting my Dodge Cummins LB 1 ton would be pushing it's limits, but my main use for the lift is tinkering and storing my Chevelle.
Tough decision...

 

[SHOCheapRacing]

After watching a few Advantage lift video's their controls are movable from the right rear to the left front.

On mine, you flipped the direction of the lift and moved the ramps and stops to the other ends. My controls could also be on the side or end of the post.

 

[PDM]

Are you 100% positive in that overall listed width ? Seems kind of wide...

Here's my ground shot from floor base to the main post ( I have a 1 inch concrete footing sticking out the first 12 inches of my walls.

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My older 12k alignment hoist measures 127 inches outside post to outside.

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With my hydraulic controls on the wall side(cannot swap without flipping unit 180 degrees) I have 15 inches to the reservoir and controls to my chest. It's snug.... 6 inches narrower than I had this same hoist mounted at my old shop. 6 inches makes a difference in 10 years time if you're stalky like me lol

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As I mentioned the runners are far enough away at 40 inches from the wall distance so working on the wall side is comfortable except rolling tires around the wall side posts.


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Enough wall space I can store my oil drain tank and alignment cart and still function around most cars.

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Again my question is how wide is this hoist outer edge to edge on the posts. My shop is exactly 25'3 inches wall to wall wide and my inner post is inset only 3 or 4 inches from the center door post. So IF that hoist is actually over 11 feet wide then you may hit your center post with your dually mirror.

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(Snip)

I see you painted the hoist, looks good.

BTW we retired in 2015, lived in the lower mainland, looked 2 years for a place in Kamloops but ended up moving to the cariboo, really like it up here.
(Unsnip)

Yeah I had the hoist and shop in storage containers for almost 8 years after I shut it down so a lot of my equipment suffered surface rust - prompting me to refresh everything after rebuilding my house and shops.

We opted to stick around in town after looking to buy acreage in the valley and restart but as the housing market blew up here in Vancouver we decided to renovate and rebuild as we were still over a decade from retirement which was a massive 4+ year EXPENSIVE option.

 

[James-W]

I would think it depends on what you plan to do with the lift. If all you want to do is store vehicles on it, then being close to the wall shouldn't be a problem. If you want to use it to work on vehicles, then you will want some room on the sides so you can actually do the work.

 

[Fisherguy]

BDM, ya, that's what the instructions say:
https://www.forwardlift.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/12000EWT-op.pdf

But since I started this thread I've decided against getting this Forward lift for the following reasons:
- before this I'd never heard of the brand
- it's a HUGE mother, it's just too wide at over 11ft, with the 2 feet at the outside wall it would mean the inside post would be 13 feet from the wall which is just too far IMO for a 24ft wide shop.
- I don't know for sure how old it is. If it IS it's 10 years old from a commercial shop like I was told, that's a lotta use
- it's the old ram ontop of the post design, when you lower it into the "working" position the weight is off the hydraulic cylinder but the vehicle weight is still supported by the cables, not the best me thinks..?


So now I'm thinking about a BendPack HD-9XW instead, it's 2 feet narrower and approx the same length so would be a better fit in my shop shown in this pic.
Thanks for all the ideas
Will

 

[Cryptic1911]

If you're gonna work on stuff, make it far enough you can open a door without hitting anything and far enough away that you can pull an axle without hitting the wall

 

[LX-Markham]

Something else to consider: the compaction when they back filled the foundation walls may not be 100%. The sub grade may have settled along the edge and left a void under the slab. Obviously that’s not optimal for a post.

I placed my lift almost right up against the wall. I cut out the slab and poured a thickened pad for the post to sit on. Glad I did, because here’s what I found....

 

[Mr_fixit]

my lift says not to drill holes closer than 5" from an expansion joint. Thats how close mine is to the wall.

 

[fteufert]

I thought most 4 post lifts don't need to be bolted in place?

 

[Fisherguy]

Something else to consider: the compaction when they back filled the foundation walls may not be 100%. The sub grade may have settled along the edge and left a void under the slab. Obviously that’s not optimal for a post.

I placed my lift almost right up against the wall. I cut out the slab and poured a thickened pad for the post to sit on. Glad I did, because here’s what I found....

I'm guessing yours is a 2 post? With them the concrete is a LOT more important than with a 4 post, I'm definitely not going to hack up my floor to repair something that might not even need it.

I thought most 4 post lifts don't need to be bolted in place?

The 9k hoist does not need to be bolted down but you read the installation manual and it says it has to be bolted down if you use rolling jacks on it which I AM going to do.

If you're just storing cars on it then you don't, but mine will be a "working" lift.

 

[Mr_fixit]

I thought most 4 post lifts don't need to be bolted in place?

The light duty ones don't . I have a 12,000 pound one.

 

[Fisherguy]

The light duty ones don't . I have a 12,000 pound one.

What do you call "light"?

From the installation manual:

Q: Does the Lift have to be anchored in place?
A: Yes, BendPak strongly recommends that you anchor the Lift; it may be less stable if you do not anchor the Bases, and you could possibly void ALI certification. If you plan to use the optional Rolling Bridge Jack, the Lift must be anchored.