Am I nuts? Parking lift question.

[Eslader]

This isn't something I'm planning to do right away, but as I organize my new (to me) garage, I don't want to be setting up storage on the ceiling where a lift would go if I got one.

Got a garage with 9' ceilings. I have 2 small cars I want to stack on top of each other. 1 car is 48" tall, the other is 50. The 50" car is very, very rarely driven (it hasn't seen a street in 8 years. Project car that keeps getting put on the back burner) and would be the top car. The 48" car is only driven in summer, on nice days, and sometimes not even then.

So, I need to lift just enough to clear the 48" car below it. It doesn't have to clear it by much - I'd be fine with stooping to get out of the car, and it doesn't have a sunroof or anything else on top that can open and reduce overhead clearance.

My calculations show that the bare minimum ceiling height I'd need in order to meet the clearances with almost nothing to spare would be 8'3. So, that has me thinking this might be doable with a 9' ceiling and I'd actually have somewhat of a safety margin.

Someone tell me I'm wrong before I break something

 

[Matt M PA]

You'd need to get the lock positions for the lift you are considering...then remember that you have to raise the lift above the lock position to lower onto the lock.

 

[D.J.]

Are the vehicles both the same length and width?

 

[Eslader]

Width is the same to within an inch. Top car is about 18 inches shorter than the bottom car at 148.

I'm not considering any specific lift at this point - that comes after I figure out whether or not I can get a lift in there at all.

 

[steam_mill]

Nope, you are not nuts!

I have just under 12'...I park my mustang on top of my forester:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99061

Best thing I ever did!

 

[JOHN 86GT]

Nope, you are not nuts!

I have just under 12'...I park my mustang on top of my forester:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99061

Best thing I ever did!

Very nice 4 eye and cool set up!

 

[dmeadow]

I had two cars about the same height as yours. They would not fit on a four poster with a 8.5" ceiling, but only by a few inches. You MIGHT get away with, but it would be tight.

A fellow I know turned his ramps upside down to gain a bit of clearance for a similar problem. Not as easy as it sounds as he had to have the lift company relocate the cables and hydraulic cylinder to between the ramps.

 

[Rentawrench]

As Steam Mill showed/ talked about in his you have to mod the garage door first. Make sure that the space will allow the door to work.

Also you could take the wheels off the upper car an store it on blocks to gain a lil extra room. that way the tires will not have flatspots from sitting.

 

[Eslader]

Yeah, the door would get modded. It's kind of a weird garage. From the door to 4' into the garage, the ceiling is just dropped-in metal sheeting. Kinda looks like aluminum siding, actually. I could easily cut a slot in the edge of the metal to have tracks going up into the attic.

But after 4', the ceiling is drywall, because there's a room over the garage at that point, which is why I can't just raise the whole ceiling and be done with it. I've even thought about raising the ceiling where the metal is, and then positioning the lift so that only the hood of the top car is under the 9' tall section, which would give me even more room, but I'll avoid that if I can. I'd rather have the upper space available for storage.

One question - is it possible on the 4-post parking lifts to set an upper limit of travel? I just have visions of the button sticking or someone hitting it and smashing the car against the ceiling.

 

[Aahz]

There's a good ceiling height calculator here http://www.revolutionlift.com/ceilingCalc.aspx to determine if Revolution Lift's RFP9 will work for you. (I threw your figures in there and determined you need 8'9" minimum..but it seems pretty risky to me!)

This calculator will only work with Revolution Lifts as it depends on the height of the locking ladders for the locks.

In regards to the overhead limit switch, not a problem. You do need tie the limit switch into the lift motor, but we do it every so often in professional shops. Keep in mind that the switch will need to hand from the ceiling though, limiting your room up there even more.

Best regards!