4 post trailer lift?!?

[Cole]

Anyone ever seen a 4 post car storage lift mated with a car hauler?


Basically using the deck of the trailer as the deck of the 4 post lift?

I've been trying to plan out how I could convert my trailer into a 4 post for storage purposes. Basically, I'd like to be able to pull my flat bed car hauler with race car on it into the garage, plug it in, lift the whole thing up and park another sports car under it

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Found this, but it was apparently not posted by the builder...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/tow-rigs-trailers/779494-open-stacker-trailer.html

Good luck with your project.......

 

[Matt M PA]

I'm thinking it would be easier to use a traditional 4 post lift.

Back your trailer with car onto the lift and use a jacking tray or similar for the tongue jack.

Or....am I missing something?

Seems to me that modifying a trailer would be costly and add lots of weight. Plus, while I'm not an engineer...I would think that the trailer wasn't designed for this and lifting from the corners could be a mess.

 

[kamesama980]

So you're looking to add the hydraulics, rams, etc to the trailer to lift the trailer? ick. +1 for just get a normal 4 post lift and back the trailer+car onto it and lift them up.

You'd have to:
-get the hydraulics
-reinforce the frame for corner lifting
-mount the hydraulics in a way that they could be removed, pivoted, or just leave enough clearance for "normal" trailering while still being strong/stable enough to be left on them for long periods.

I'm not saying it can't be done. it'd be pretty cool in the end. Just that it'd cost as much as a lift, be less useful than a lift, weigh 2-3x a normal trailer it's size, and be somewhat less safe than a normal engineered lift unless you know what you're doing and really overbuild it.

 

[Cole]

I'm thinking it would be easier to use a traditional 4 post lift.

Back your trailer with car onto the lift and use a jacking tray or similar for the tongue jack.

Or....am I missing something?

Seems to me that modifying a trailer would be costly and add lots of weight. Plus, while I'm not an engineer...I would think that the trailer wasn't designed for this and lifting from the corners could be a mess.

The basic problem is space. Both height and width. My garage is tall enough for a 4 post lift with a car on it, but not a car on a trailer on a lift.

There is also a width issue. The bay is barely the width of the trailer at the wheels. A traditional 4 post lift would have to be wider than the trailer. A lift mated with the trailer wouldn't really add any width since the posts would be mounted inline with the wheels.

Then of course there is the length issue. Balancing a trailer with a car on it not hooked up to a tow rig would be precarious at best. Of course, this being the Internet someone will say "why not put the trailer with the race car on the bottom?" The simple answer is that I don't need the race car and trailer everyday but want to drive the other car often.

 

[Blk88GT]

Buy an enclosed stacker trailer

 

[rsanter]

So you're looking to add the hydraulics, rams, etc to the trailer to lift the trailer? ick. +1 for just get a normal 4 post lift and back the trailer+car onto it and lift them up.

You'd have to:
-get the hydraulics
-reinforce the frame for corner lifting
-mount the hydraulics in a way that they could be removed, pivoted, or just leave enough clearance for "normal" trailering while still being strong/stable enough to be left on them for long periods.

I'm not saying it can't be done. it'd be pretty cool in the end. Just that it'd cost as much as a lift, be less useful than a lift, weigh 2-3x a normal trailer it's size, and be somewhat less safe than a normal engineered lift unless you know what you're doing and really overbuild it.

Seems to me that it would be better to get a 4 post lift and add the axles, wheels and towing tounge to the lift to make it a trailer

Better yet, get an enclosed trailer and store the car in there out OD the garage

Bob

 

[geewiz]

Yeah, I would say that if something like this (http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/hd-7500bl.aspx) doesn't fit in the garage then you probably need to store the trailer somewhere else.

I have the same desire (race car on trailer over another car) and have been looking into lots of options, but nothing is quite right for my garage plans either.