garage too small for lift?

[ssntmre]

Hi all, I have been pondering putting in a 2 post lift in my garage this year. I am really getting tired of laying on the ground... THe problem is Im not sure if my garage is big enough for one. Most people have problems with height I do not have that issue My garage is an open truss with 10 foot block walls and to the peak is 16 foot. The problem comes in where the bay I want to use is only 14x28... It is an older garage (1946) and actually is 60 foot long with 5 other bays that are only 20 ft deep... Kinda ****** layout but its what im stuck with for now. I use the 14x28 big bay for working on stuff and I store my projects in the other bays and have one bay for my toolboxes and workbench, I plan on posting picks tonight to make it easier to comprehend what I am trying to explain. is 14 feet wide enough for a lift? looking at a greg smith 2 post 9,000 lift. Any recommendations, suggestions, or pictures of someone who has a smaller garage with a lift would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Al Bundy]

14' is plenty wide enough. Check the individual specs on the lift you're looking at. You can even get a 12,000lb lift that will fit inside 13'.

 

[marcello7x]

im going to squeeze one in on a 24' wide double bay, so i got 12" ,but can slide it over a little to the other bay.

 

[JMURiz]

14' is plenty wide.

 

[wachuko]

14' is plenty wide.

+1 and the fact that you do not have height issues is great. Opens up the possibility on lifts and price range. Go for it! Your knees will thank you.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

I agree with the posts above that your width is fine, keep us posted about your decision about a lift.

 

[financer83rs]

I put a two post lift in a garage bay i added to my attached garage. The inside demensions are like 15' by 27'. Worked perfect. You can fit it.

 

[mmb617]

I'm not sure I can picture the layout exactly. Are there walls on both sides of the 14 ft width? If so the lift will fit but it's going to be hard to work around it when the car isn't up in the air.

The bay I have my lift in is 15 ft 8 in wide from inside wall to inside wall and my Bendpak which is setup in the wide configuration is 11 ft 8 in to the outside of the posts, which only gives 2 ft of space on each side between the posts and the walls.

It's workable but I wish I could have gone a little wider on the bay. I built this bay specifically for the lift and couldn't go any wider due to setbacks.

With your bay being almost 2 ft narrower the posts will be very close to the walls unless you have a narrower lift. This means you can't walk between the posts and the walls, which makes getting around the bay difficult.

It should fit but be aware of the limitations.

 

[ssntmre]

sounds good... Im pulling the trigger... I only have one wall on the 14 ft width so it should be fine, thanks for the picks I will post some myself soon

 

[barnale]

I also would say that it's high enough although I would be careful when you lift up the car the first time, just to be sure that everything is ok. I think you know what I mean.
Please tell us your experience as soon as you've tried it! I guess everything will be alright anyway!

 

[mdale]

Can you post pictures of your shop? I'd love to see how you've got it set up because it sound alot like my garage which is 5bays 60'x24'overall but split in to 3 areas.

 

[camarotoolman]

I have mine in a 12" wide area, no problem. You might have to cut out your lower cord of your trusses and rework them. This has been covered here before.