Advice on Two-Car Tandem Lifts?

[Bamafan]

I'm embarrassed to say that I posted my first-ever thread in the wrong forum. I think this forum is the proper place for it.

I am moving to Greenville, SC and will be building a garage onto an existing home. I want space to store four cars, but it looks like a 2-car garage is the way to go in the space we have (about 30' wide by 23' deep). Hence, I am very seriously considering a two-car, tandem lift. The garage will have a bonus room above it, but I am spec-ing a 12' ceiling. I want the lift to go quite high so my wife is not intimidated by the structure. Does anyone on this forum have experience with this type of lift?

Here are a few options I have found:

BendPak HD-9SWX. Very reasonably priced; optional aluminum inserts make it look pretty good. http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/fou...s/hd-9swx.aspx

Gemini Super Twin. Looks great; costs 40% more than the BendPak. http://radliftsbygemini.com/portfoli...-two-car-lift/

BendPak PL-6KDT. Has the ability to raise and lower cars independently. BUT the lifts are solid platforms, so there is really no way to service a car. It's really just a very cool elevator. http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/parking-lifts/pl-6kdt-pl-6kdtx

Are there options out there that I am not considering?

The garage is still in the design phase, so we can pretty much modify the interior to suit the lift.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have.

 

[turfgnome]

I would price 2 4 post lifts and see if you find a price difference as I bet it will be close and allow to work independently.

 

[jloehlein]

This may be an ignorant question, but why not just get two separate lifts? The wide variants of the single car Bendpak HD-9s have 8.5ft between the posts. Two of those cost roughly the same (could be less depending on model) than the two-car lift and you don't need to move both cars out from the bottom to get one car off the top. If 8.5ft isn't wide enough, the HDS-14 has 10ft between the posts. That's wider than your typical single car garage door. With the tandem lift, you're also constrained in the layout of the garage doors.

What kind of cars are you parking in there and what else are you trying to fit in the garage? My 3 car garage is only 32ft wide. I have a bunch of sports cars in it, so it feels like there is plenty of room. It might be easier to do a 3 car garage with one lift and let your wife park in the open spaces.

 

[Bamafan]

Good points. And I have looked at the BendPak HD-9's.

I am looking at a 2-car lift so that it is less intrusive and visually intimidating to the garage. 99% of the time the lift will just be used for storage, and I want it to be as recessive as possible.

I currently have 7 cars, so there will still be a few outside. I'm not a collector, but cars seem to collect me. My largest is a '66 Lincoln Continental Convertible. It likely won't go on the lift due to its size (221" long), but it would be great if it could. My smallest are a '95 Acura NSX and a '03 Honda S2000.

I really like the idea of a 3 car garage. But the architect advised against it given how tight the turns would be since the house backs up to an alley.