Car elevator mod

[BooUrns!]

I've read quite a few posts on here about car lifts and basement garages but I can't find a thread that discusses exactly what I want to build. I have in mind a project that involves a garage with a basement but I want to incorporate a lift mounted on the basement level that can elevate cars to the main parking level. I looked into the costs of AC Lift's Phantom Park but found that it was very overpriced. I don't see how it's worth the asking price compared to a standard garage lift that is a fraction of its' price.

I've seen such a wealth of technical knowledge on this forum. I'm wondering if some of these more affordable car lifts can be modified to hold a steel framed car deck instead of open tire rails and still move a 4000lb car?

 

[Vicegrip]

One problem you will have to overcome is that most 2 or 4 post lifts have a stroke of 6.5 feet or less which is well less that a single story. Making a platform is not an issue.

 

[BooUrns!]

Ahh good info! I wasn't aware of the limitations of standard car lifts. I wonder if longer posts can be fabricated? Or is it more an issue of stability past a certain height?

I figure if they could build freight elevators 100 years ago, I can have a car elevator, sorry, scratch elevator, a hoist platform/vertical reciprocating conveyor.

 

[kvom]

Most of the newer lifts use a "direct" system where the hydraulic cylinder does the lifting directly. The amount of lift is thus restricted to the maximum length of the ram.

 

[blkhonda1991]

Ahh good info! I wasn't aware of the limitations of standard car lifts. I wonder if longer posts can be fabricated? Or is it more an issue of stability past a certain height?

I figure if they could build freight elevators 100 years ago, I can have a car elevator, sorry, scratch elevator, a hoist platform/vertical reciprocating conveyor.

im assuming most of the car elevators people have are exactly that, a hydraulic elevator with a platform on top instead of an elevator car...i cant imagine it being very cheap to install one of these, of course you can fabricate something starting with some type of car lift be it 2 or 4 post but is it worth the time/money

 

[BooUrns!]

That's the problem I'm currently seeing. Most of the car lifts I've found online are all limited in lift height. They are fairly inexpensive, especially when compared to the Phantom Park ($5000 vs $45000). I could see myself modifiying a lift to give myself the 8'-9' feet of travel I would need between the two floors. I've come across one company called KatoPark that describes four post lifts that can travel the heights I require but they don't seem to have any distributors in North America.

Continuing the search...

 

[logical]

How about pouring a ramped area up to an elevated concrete pad a foot or so off the main bottom floor that you put the lift on?

 

[Spiderman]

Think forklift. A small forklift is rated at 5000lbs and has a multiple staged hydraulic piston. So that is what you'll need for the height.

 

[rsanter]

what about a heavy duty 2 post lift. dont some of them have an extended lifting height?
get one that is 7000lb rated and attach a platform to it.
yes you will have 2 posts sticking up, but that is what you get when you are operating at a discount.
2x4 steel tube frame with aluminum diamond plate surface wont weight that much

bob

 

[CraigFL]

Now if you're clever, you could build a guided platform lift using wire rope.. The guides would be hardened square steel bars using track roller bearings

 

[BooUrns!]

Now if you're clever, you could build a guided platform lift using wire rope.. The guides would be hardened square steel bars using track roller bearings

I'm not trying to be clever. I'm trying to be cheap. I just can't see myself rolling my bmw onto a platform held up by wire ropes.

I didn't realize that two post lifts had a higher travel potential than four posters. I was aiming at a four post because it would offer the platform more stability when rolling cars onto it when the lift is technically at the raised position.

I'm not going for the stealthy look for this lift. The posts would always be sticking up and the area around the lift would be gated off. The lift would be stowed in the up position at all times.

 

[rsanter]

I have seen some 2 posts with some really tall posts. I am not sure of their lift potential but if you concider that a 2 post that was intended to lift SUVs or service trucks would have to compensate for the fact that the frame (where they lift from) will be a foot higher off the ground than that of a car and the fact that the suspension will fall slack under no load. it would reason that these could have a higher lift range.
I am not for sure...just a rambeling thought

bob

 

[logical]

I'm not so sure a 2-post would be such a great idea. They are designed to raise/lower a balanced load straight up/down. Putting a platform on it and driving on and off seems like it would be a disaster.

I'd still suggest putting a standard 4-post on a pad a foot or so high.

 

[LoneGunman]

"I'm not trying to be clever. I'm trying to be cheap. I just can't see myself rolling my bmw onto a platform held up by wire ropes."

Think elevators and cranes, both use wire rope.

 

[BooUrns!]

The drawworks for cranes and elevators are almost as big as my car. Not to mention you constantly need to keep replacing sections of line after periodic usage. Done it, it *****.

I want to stick to hydraulic rams and a four post lift system. I just have to see about finding one large enough or one that can be upgraded.

 

[rsanter]

what about getting one of the older center post lifts. how high will those go?

bob

 

[CraigFL]

"I'm not trying to be clever. I'm trying to be cheap. I just can't see myself rolling my bmw onto a platform held up by wire ropes."

Think elevators and cranes, both use wire rope.

I really wasn't trying to be a wiseass... I worked for many years as an engineer in the crane business. I've even designed stacker type cranes for automobile storage facilities. It wouldn't be very difficult at all to set up an elevator. We're not talking 3/16" wire rope here but something like maybe 3/8" or 1/2". Think four corner masts, maybe 4X6 tubes, with 1" bars screwed or welded to them, whatever is easier for you. Fabricate a drive-on platform like the ones that are used for flatbed tow trucks out of diamond plate. Support beams under the ends that are guided up the rail on the tubes by the cam/track roller bearings--they are made to run on rails, mounted in a hole and eccentic adjusted to run tight on the rail. Now, all you need is a wire rope system and a winch motor to raise it up and down on the guides. You can use a commericial small hoist that comes with a brake.

 

[phy6]

You can find multistage dump truck rams on eBay. Pretty cheap, long stroke.

 

[jcp907]

Have you contacted Katopark? They have an address listed in Delaware it's copied here:

Katopark International Trading L L C.
501 Silverside Road, Suite 105,
Wilmington, DE 19809 USA
[email protected]

Probably pricey though.

The whole steel cable thing...If I recall correctly, the four post lifts that I have worked with use steel cable or wire rope-Bendpak comes to mind.


Jay

 

[Steve_S]

I had my lifts custom-made to put the wheels over 7-feet in the air. There is no limit to how high you can go, you just need a longer ram and a taller column.

 

[jcp907]

Steve,

How do you suspect the lift would hold up with a 4,000 pound car driving onto and off of it in the fully raised position? I haven't seen how the two rails slide against each other but I suspect the twisting forces would be very high, twisting in both directions as you drive across the center.


By the way, your setup is quite impressive.

Jay

 

[Steve_S]

The lift is rated at 7,000 pounds. I don't think it would mind being driven on and off from an upper level, but I would certainly have an engineer look at the situation before installing.

 

[Mr. Welsh]

$45000

Ouch! For that price I'd be ringing up Otis, Schindler, ThyssenKrupp, etc.

 

[slddnmatt]

bendpak has a 4 post that lifts just over 7'. i was looking to store cars on my upper mezzanine when i build it and i need to get pretty close to 8'.

 

[RogerM]

Here is another option that no one has come up with, a scissor lift.
With enough looking you might find one used in the constuction business cheap.

Here is a US company that sells all kind of lifts. http://http://www.aclifts.com/Floor/hightravel.asp

Here is company that sells truck lifts. A lot roofing companys use them to load roofs. http://http://www.tescohilift.com/scissor.html

Just recess it in the floor on the lower level.

Roger

 

[rhandwor]

Any commercial elevator company can install what you want. They have elevators for Marta train cars 4 floors. They weigh much more than an over the road truck. Just be prepared to pay big money. You could buy a big overhead crane and weld fabricate a frame with guide rails. Remember they have laws on these items and codes to be met. I even worked for an automotive garage after I got out of the navy and it was on the second floor.

 

[e-tek]

I had my lifts custom-made to put the wheels over 7-feet in the air. There is no limit to how high you can go, you just need a longer ram and a taller column.

Hey Steve - I just spent some time looking at you site and garage (re)build - and in a word....INCREDIBLE!!! For anyone who hasn't checked Steves Site MG NUTS DOT COM I highly recommend it! His garage build is contained therein. Great work on the roof, the lifts (plural) and even the door!

 

[Kona Cruisers]

Just Brainstorming here... not sure about the logistics of it all

What about something like what is used in boat houses to pull boats up out of the water. build some kind of four post guide rails and have locks to hold at at 1st floor level for drive on and off stablity.

Just an out there idea....

 

[kool55]

That is just what I was thinking`Kona.I was at a car show at Ocean City MD.Staying at our rented condo overlooking a boat docking channel some boat owners keep their boats elevated in their slips with a twin winch system, with 1 winch on each side of the slip . Very do-able I think.

 

[Junkman]

Contact Bend Pak. I believe that they make one for parking garages in Mexico.