Are you happy with your MaxJax

[ymurf]

I have a 24x42 garage with 10' ceiling. I am thinking about getting a MaxJax lift cause of the ceiling height. I cant afford to build another garage with taller ceiling.Wish I could. Are you guys happy with your MaxLax lift? Just not sure if Ill be happy with the 4' lift.

 

[jrj3rd]

Extremely happy. Bought one during the first group buy and it has been flawless.

 

[rubicon01]

I just bought mine used, and once it was bolted down the jeep went up into the air for 4 days! I love this thing, and can't imagine ever going back to a jack and stands.
I wasn't sure about the height either but I can now sit on a stool and roll around underneath of the vechicle, **** is not falling in my eyes, I'm not lying on my back on the cold dirty ground. I wish I would have boughten one sooner, but I didn't have a garage back then!
I've worked under full size lifts, and I still had to duck to get under the diffs. So it's not really different, the up side in my mind is the fact I can remove it and out it out of the way when I'm not using it. I couldn't give up the space required for a full size lift, I'm super happy with the purchase, and I would do it the same all over again!

 

[rubicon01]

 

[Mr onetwo]

I couldn't be happier! It has been the single best tool I have ever purchased for my garage! I have had no problems with it at all.

 

[isaac338]

With 10' ceilings, can't you fit a low-height full size hoist and just try to not ram your vehicles into the ceiling?

I had a Maxjax for a while and while it was obviously better than a jack and jackstands, I would have dumped it in a second for something with more lift had I had more than 8' ceiling height, especially since you can get a taller hoist used for the same price or even cheaper.

 

[Forever Fixin]

Agree with the above. I think you only need 9ft for a baseplate style two post. Just be careful not to run the vehicle through the ceiling.

 

[jonjon1]

I have to agree with the others, 10ft, you can put a 2 post lift, my brother has 122" finished ceiling in his garage he has a forward 9K lb 2 post in there, floor plate, he had a friend of ours come in and cut the floor so it is recessed, cost him $150, so the floor plate is level with the floor, he also installed a switch on the ceiling in the center of the lift going front to back with a wire, when the wire is pulled it shuts the lift down before you can send it through the roof... Pretty simple design he came up with, I was making it much more complicated, he figured how to do with with the switch and insulated cable, he can gt it 1/2" off the ceiling and it stops, he actually uses it as a stop, lol just holds it until it stops, I think he trusts that switch a bit too much, but so far so good... He can lift his vette so he can pretty much walk under it...

1 note if he recessed the floor another tiny bit he would not be able to lower the lift all the way with out them touching the floor, but it makes getting the arms under a lower vehicle even easier...

So for the same money I would go with a "real" lift...

 

[kevinwilly]

I have one and love it. I technically have the ceiling height for a full sized lift (my garage is around 12' tall) but didn't want to give up the versatility to use my garage for other things. Plus, I have a large loft above the garage door that I'd have to take down to lift a car higher than the maxjax can do, so I'd lose about 120 sq. ft. of storage space. And I'd be TOTALLY boned without that storage.

It turns out that I've never unbolted the maxjax since I installed it... but whatever. My garage is really too small to work super comfortably in anyways (it's only about 19x19, so you can BARELY walk in front and behind the car when it's in the air. Definitely not enough room in there to pull an engine or do anything major.

I'm sure if I eventually end up being a shop out back I'll sell it and get a full size lift... but for what I've got now it's perfect. No issues with it at all. Stock fittings were all leak-free, stock anchors held fine.

 

[All_Bavarian_Garage]

I'll add my input since it is slightly different from the previous responses.

I was also looking at the MaxJax because I have 9 foot ceilings and liked the idea of being able to move it out of the way.

What I did not like is that the MaxJax only has TWO lock heights. You raise the lift up to either height, insert a bar thru the post, and lower the lift onto the bar. That is how it locks.

Then I found out about the Triumph C7000. Look it up on this forum. There are a couple threads about it. Find the one titled "National Auto Tools Triumph C 7000"

Lots of good info in there about the lift. It is built more like a real lift rather than "hobby grade" like the MaxJax. It can raise up to 6 feet. And best of all it has stops every few inches just like a real lift.

The downside is that it does not have wheels attached to the back of the lift (long story about that) but what people do is just use a hand truck or dolly to move the lift.

Long story short: I ordered the C7000 over the MaxJax. I ordered from NAT and mentioned Garage Journal for a nice discount.

Its due to ship at the end of this week and I cannot wait to get it up and running. I'll post back with pictures after it is installed.


PS: If you are worried about this lift being an Import. Please also know that the Dannmar MaxJax is also manufactured and welded in China. And recently Danmar issued a recall on over 200 of their lifts for weld failure. If you want a lift that is designed, manufactured, and welded in the United States, look at the Mohawk lifts. But expect to pay $5000 for their smallest lift. And it's totally over-kill for a home garage lift.

 

[ymurf]

I'll add my input since it is slightly different from the previous responses.

I was also looking at the MaxJax because I have 9 foot ceilings and liked the idea of being able to move it out of the way.

What I did not like is that the MaxJax only has TWO lock heights. You raise the lift up to either height, insert a bar thru the post, and lower the lift onto the bar. That is how it locks.

Then I found out about the Triumph C7000. Look it up on this forum. There are a couple threads about it. Find the one titled "National Auto Tools Triumph C 7000"

Lots of good info in there about the lift. It is built more like a real lift rather than "hobby grade" like the MaxJax. It can raise up to 6 feet. And best of all it has stops every few inches just like a real lift.

The downside is that it does not have wheels attached to the back of the lift (long story about that) but what people do is just use a hand truck or dolly to move the lift.

Long story short: I ordered the C7000 over the MaxJax. I ordered from NAT and mentioned Garage Journal for a nice discount.

Its due to ship at the end of this week and I cannot wait to get it up and running. I'll post back with pictures after it is installed.


PS: If you are worried about this lift being an Import. Please also know that the Dannmar MaxJax is also manufactured and welded in China. And recently Danmar issued a recall on over 200 of their lifts for weld failure. If you want a lift that is designed, manufactured, and welded in the United States, look at the Mohawk lifts. But expect to pay $5000 for their smallest lift. And it's totally over-kill for a home garage lift.

Definitely do,I would like to see it. What did it set you back if you don't mind me asking? Cheapest I have seen the MaxJax is around $2200.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I love my MaxJax and wish my garage was larger to make better use of of the lift in general. When I get my driveway and side access repoured, I want to make sure I get a few thicker pads poured for future alternate MaxJax install locations outside.

 

[Denwood]

The Maxjax is made in China, however is well and professionally supported by Danmar in the US. I like my Maxjax..working underneath on a roller stool is actually very relaxing.

The advantage of a taller lift, even at only 10-11ft clearance, does let you lift lower cars to around six feet, so something to think about.

 

[ymurf]

The Maxjax is made in China, however is well and professionally supported by Danmar in the US. I like my Maxjax..working underneath on a roller stool is actually very relaxing.

The advantage of a taller lift, even at only 10-11ft clearance, does let you lift lower cars to around six feet, so something to think about.

I was thinking that also,If I go with a taller lift I could lift smaller cars high enough to walk under them but my cars are a 1968 mustang, A 1961 ford f100 unibody, A 1978 jeep cj 7. A 2001 ford f150 ext cab and a 2005 Chevy trailblazer. So even with a taller lift I might be able to walk under the mustang if lucky but nothing else. Thats kinda why I was leaning toward the MaxJax..Just didn't know if it would be comfortable working out of a sit down roller.

 

[Denwood]

On the roller issue..completely cool. I end up scooting around underneath at some velocity Working from a stool is quite relaxing. On wheel/brake suspension work the max will have you at about perfect height. I was working on a 90 westfalia so at full 48" it was just about touching my ridge beam at 11ft.

 

[jonjon1]

dennis your garage makes me feel like such a slob, I should be ashamed of myself..

 

[ymurf]

dennis your garage makes me feel like such a slob, I should be ashamed of myself..

Same here,Thats a nice garage.

 

[Mr onetwo]

You guys are focusing on the lifting height vs. ceiling height. Don't forget that you can break this lift down and move it out of the way when not in use. Try that with a baseplate lift. I got another 6" of lift height by having longer pins machined...works great.

 

[Johns12]

I'm not sure how you guys are measuring this stuff. I have a MaxJax in a garage that is 8' 6" high. My smallest car is a Mercedes SLK, which is pretty small. At full lift, I am about 5" from the ceiling. A ceiling height of 10' would not get this car up 6'. My Cadillac SRX cannot get to full height (48").

All that being said, working on a rolling stool is just great. The only time it's a problem is when trying to use a lot of torque when removing a bolt. You need to get off the stool so it doesn't slide around.

 

[Denwood]

Jon, Ymurf.. Thanks for the kind words. It was a total disaster before the clean up!

My one wish for the Maxjax would be mechanical locks every few inches. The two lock points are just fine for me in terms of working, however I'd be feel safer during lifting/lowering to have locks every few inches in case of a hydraulic issue. The columns do have hydraulic velocity fuses, but a smaller "leak" might not trigger them. Would love to see Danmar add these.

 

[VictorBravo]

Very happy with mine.

I actually have close to 11 feet clearance, but I liked the portability of the MaxJax. I considered the C7000 but decided to go with Danmar. I ordered through Costco for $1999 when it went on sale.

Now I see it's $1799: (Maxjax special)

I use it a lot. I don't have a stool but I shortened an old office chair which suits me fine. I just recline back and work on things.

The main reason I got it was the Audi. Even oil changes were painful before, because you'd have to remove the skid plate, which was a weird balancing act with jack stands. Now I enjoy working on the car again:

 

[RAYJAY]

I'll add my input since it is slightly different from the previous responses.

I was also looking at the MaxJax because I have 9 foot ceilings and liked the idea of being able to move it out of the way.

What I did not like is that the MaxJax only has TWO lock heights. You raise the lift up to either height, insert a bar thru the post, and lower the lift onto the bar. That is how it locks.

Then I found out about the Triumph C7000. Look it up on this forum. There are a couple threads about it. Find the one titled "National Auto Tools Triumph C 7000"

Lots of good info in there about the lift. It is built more like a real lift rather than "hobby grade" like the MaxJax. It can raise up to 6 feet. And best of all it has stops every few inches just like a real lift.

The downside is that it does not have wheels attached to the back of the lift (long story about that) but what people do is just use a hand truck or dolly to move the lift.

Long story short: I ordered the C7000 over the MaxJax. I ordered from NAT and mentioned Garage Journal for a nice discount.

Its due to ship at the end of this week and I cannot wait to get it up and running. I'll post back with pictures after it is installed.


PS: If you are worried about this lift being an Import. Please also know that the Dannmar MaxJax is also manufactured and welded in China. And recently Danmar issued a recall on over 200 of their lifts for weld failure. If you want a lift that is designed, manufactured, and welded in the United States, look at the Mohawk lifts. But expect to pay $5000 for their smallest lift. And it's totally over-kill for a home garage lift.

+2 on the c7000 much better than the maxjax


and also if needed you can dome your ceiling to get more height

 

[BONDOSPECIAL]

I had to shim the carriage slider blocks on my maxjax because of the really loose build tolerances on mine. I use my Maxjax pretty frequently and once I shimmed it, I have not had any problems with it. Before I shimmed the carriage slide blocks to fit snugly in the lift towers, a lifted car ended up way off level because of how much the carriage would angle under the weight of a vehicle. You can see my old thread here to see the problem and how I solved it:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265985&page=3

I am not aware whether this is still an issue with current production runs or not, but it's something to look at as you assemble yours if you buy one. I was not super thrilled to see something that I am going to work under built this sloppy, but there are no other options on the market for a 9' ceiling, so it is what it is. I am also not nuts about the lack of safety interlocks. Every time I run over to put the manual carriage lock rods in place w/ a nice heavy vehicle on the lift, I say a little prayer that I don't experience a hydraulic failure before I get both rods in....

 

[chops101]

+++ NAT C7000
After much consideration, this suited me best - beefier, higher lift and mobile.

 

[Colin Len]

^That seems like it could be perfect for those of us where the MaxJax isn't quite enough.

 

[scooz14]

if you have 10' ceiling, you should be able to go up 2' feet with scissor truss modifications. i really enjoy my full height asymmetrical rotary. my shop was 10' ceiling. i scissor trussed 4 trusses over the lift and now i can lift well over my head.

 

[BONDOSPECIAL]

Chops, that looks great. I would consider replacing the Maxjax with something beefier built some day, if my grand plans to build a garage that will let me use a full height 2 post lift don't come to fruition in a reasonable time frame (hard to save money when I keep spending it). Can you tell me whether the C7000 has mechanical safety interlocks, and whether the lift carriage assembly inside each lift tower slides on plastic blocks, or whether it uses ball bearing wheels on the lift carriage assembly? I had no idea that product existed, is that a brand new offering from NAT?

 

[efranzen]

I have 12ft ceilings don't come close to crushing the roof. My reasoning for buying it was for the ability to not have a post blocking the middle of my garage. It takes about 10 minutes to setup, I perform the work and then another 10 to take it down.

 

[bullnerd]

I always thought these were the go to lifts for low ceilings?

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/

Prices seem pretty good?

 

[Jvvmusme]

I couldn't be happier! It has been the single best tool I have ever purchased for my garage! I have had no problems with it at all.

Completely agree

 

[junkyardwarrior]

Watching this, as I have my 30x40x10 pole barn up and going. Already wishing I had a lift, but mobility is nice. Just wish I had some extra cash to let go of