If you
are one who enjoys spending time wrenching on cars, then there are probably more attractive lift offerings, but hate to say, you’re a shrinking demographic. Oh how it saddens me to say that.
With more and more neighborhoods falling under some form of H.O.A. jurisdiction, installing a less gaudy car stacking solution is becoming an increasingly targeted objective. The Autostacker is sleek, high-tech and smart looking, especially when
it practically disappears when not being used as a stacker. Having a car parking lift that is just that and nothing more caters to a much larger audience.
Last week in the testing area, we did our best to simulate a low ceiling scenario which is a worst case in the realm of door-opening possibility as the lower scissors leg trails farther to the rear. As you can see, the door opens generously as much as permitted in any grocery store lot. Yes, if and when opened fully, the door would make gentle contact with a cushy rubber pad.
This scenario would have required a ceiling about 112” tall. The top car when parked on the lowest lock towered around 107” from the floor. An additional 5” of overhead clearance is needed as the lift must first rise to clear the locks.
One patented element of the design that is hard to see but plays a crucial role is the recessed portion of the rearward scissors arm. As stated in the patent claims…”
the recessed portion 56 provides additional clearance for opening the doors of the second vehicle when parked beneath the platform and between the pairs of legs. The rubber pad 58 also provides additional protection against damaging the door by contact with the respective leg.” B
Because the recessed portion of the scissors leg is very near the axis point of the door (hinge), the seemingly minor recession equates to a larger swing of the door which helps provide additional opening clearance.