4 Post Lift - Drive Under Clearance

[highaltitude]

Hey all, I'm hoping you can provide some real-life data points here.

I've got a 99 Land Cruiser on big tires that's around 76-77" tall with the roof rack. I want a lift to store my lowered Supra on top of it. According to the BendPak literature I'll be fine, but only with a couple inches to spare. I plan on daily driving the Land Cruiser and parking it regularly under the lift so it's imperative that it actually fit.

Can anyone provide the actual drive under clearance at the top one or two rungs in their BendPak or other 4 post lift? Dimension "B" in the attached pic.

I know the approach ramps generally dangle so I'm planning on taking them off or having to re-engineer something for that aspect. I'm more concerned about the clearance under the main ramps or any other permanent part of the structure.

I'm looking at the HD7 and HD9 series. It'll be a very tight fit.

Thanks!

 

[Firebrick43]

Why not get the extra height version. Would **** to wipe the roof rack because a new set of tires raised the cruiser up an inch or two.

 

[highaltitude]

Oh for sure. I will barely fit under the high clearance one. The regular height is way too short.

Sorry, should have clarified. I'm looking for info on the higher rise versions. Hd-7, hd-9x, direct lift pp8, etc...

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Well... to be safe, you could lower the Land Cruiser and lift the Supra

 

[Firebrick43]

The hd-7pxn (narrow) or hd-7pxw(wide) are the tall ones and have 140" clearance under the lift platform (Max)

The regular lifts are the 80~ inches of clearence

 

[highaltitude]

Well... to be safe, you could lower the Land Cruiser and lift the Supra

Har-dee-har-har-har... har har har... haha.

The hd-7pxn (narrow) or hd-7pxw(wide) are the tall ones and have 140" clearance under the lift platform (Max)

The regular lifts are the 80~ inches of clearence

I would consider those, but that's an extra $3k on top of the non-RV oriented lifts. Before I consider dropping that much for about 60" of extra clearance I don't need I want to see exactly how close I'd be with their more... "normal" 4 post lifts.

But touche, the super high rise ones are an option.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have been around semi trucks and trailers my whole life. Dad had heavy equipment including an odd fork truck on tracks. He was good friends with a fellow that had a semi wrecker. The tracked forklift was great for recovering wrecked trucks/trailers. About twice a month some fool runs a 13'6" trailer into a clearly marked bridge < than 13'.

I also canoe/kayak and know lots of people with kayaks on the rack forget that and park their car in the garage and swipe/destroy a lot. One guy twice. Most of these people are not idiots, just thinking about the task at hand and not what's above them. We form habits. Habits are hard to break.

So you have a rack and it clears. Now you throw something up there, wheel for the day, and park the cruiser under the lift forgetting that it's up there. Or say you thought the supra was all the way up but is really in the next lock section down. Say your lucky and it just messes up the roof of the cruiser. Bet it will be close to 3k to fix it. Say your unlucky and it knocks over the lift with the supra on it, if your not hurt( or killed) how much will that cost.

Murphy's law states even the brightest of fellows make mistakes some days. I would suggest ponying up the extra dough or removing the rack. Playing a game of inches is not something you want to do with a lift, especially with a car on it.

Now if you still want to, for a few extra inches consider mounting the lift on some 2" thick steel plates. I would make the plates larger than the feet, bolting the plates down to the concrete and threading the plates to take bolts from the lift itself. Maybe have to use a 2x6 runners to get the supra on the runway.

 

[highaltitude]

I have been around semi trucks and trailers my whole life. Dad had heavy equipment including an odd fork truck on tracks. He was good friends with a fellow that had a semi wrecker. The tracked forklift was great for recovering wrecked trucks/trailers. About twice a month some fool runs a 13'6" trailer into a clearly marked bridge < than 13'.

I also canoe/kayak and know lots of people with kayaks on the rack forget that and park their car in the garage and swipe/destroy a lot. One guy twice. Most of these people are not idiots, just thinking about the task at hand and not what's above them. We form habits. Habits are hard to break.

So you have a rack and it clears. Now you throw something up there, wheel for the day, and park the cruiser under the lift forgetting that it's up there. Or say you thought the supra was all the way up but is really in the next lock section down. Say your lucky and it just messes up the roof of the cruiser. Bet it will be close to 3k to fix it. Say your unlucky and it knocks over the lift with the supra on it, if your not hurt( or killed) how much will that cost.

Murphy's law states even the brightest of fellows make mistakes some days. I would suggest ponying up the extra dough or removing the rack. Playing a game of inches is not something you want to do with a lift, especially with a car on it.

Now if you still want to, for a few extra inches consider mounting the lift on some 2" thick steel plates. I would make the plates larger than the feet, bolting the plates down to the concrete and threading the plates to take bolts from the lift itself. Maybe have to use a 2x6 runners to get the supra on the runway.

Lots of good stuff here. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

I'm completely with you on most all of this. I planned to get a Roof Top Tent and some serious roof rack accessories (Kayak, awning, hi-lift mount, etc..) and have a nice ceiling mounted hoist to hold the RTT when not in use and on and on. But then... we bought a house with a fantastic garage space minus one thing: The 7' garage door. No matter what I do for the lift, I'll have a 83.5" hard limit on clearance from the doorway. I'm not going to pony up to remodel the front of the house with a bigger door so that's just the way it'll be for the foreseeable future. I'd add on a third bay with a 10' door before I re-framed the existing garage entrance. As is, I can't have anything on the roof of the Cruiser. I've long given up that dream in favor of an even better one: An expedition trailer. We have storage on the side of the house with an enclosed gate that would be a perfect home for a dedicated off road trailer. Making lemonade from lemons!

So that being said, I don't see the lift clearance being a problem from the standpoint of forgetting anything on the Cruiser roof. I already know not to have anything up there. 'Tis a shame, but oh well.

I had the exact thought with the steel plates. I could have some plates waterjet or plasma cut just bigger than the lift feet and mount it just like you said. That's more or less my back up plan right now in case I need an extra inch or so. Bendpak states a max 1/2" shim with their provided shims, but I'm sure you could safely increase that allowable extra lift with some custom plates like we're talking here.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Now if you still want to, for a few extra inches consider mounting the lift on some 2" thick steel plates. I would make the plates larger than the feet, bolting the plates down to the concrete and threading the plates to take bolts from the lift itself. Maybe have to use a 2x6 runners to get the supra on the runway.

Good and affordable idea here. I'd also setup some sort of height alarm to trip when a vehicle taller than permitted were trying to get under it.