First-time poster, long-time lurker—thanks to all you guys who’ve contributed to this terrific site.
I’m working on plans for a new two-car garage with apartment above. The garage will feature a longitudinal I-beam running down the center of the ceiling, allowing me with trolley cranes to hoist an engine or my 13’ Boston Whaler when it’s time for annual bottom paint. (Yes, I have an architect and a structural engineer involved in this.) For aesthetic reasons, we’re limiting the garage ceiling height to 9’3”, and the W16 I-beam will protrude just over 7” below the finished ceiling, giving me effectively 8’7” of clear lifting height once past the open overhead door. The single, 16’ wide door will use high-lift tracks and a jackshaft opener.
With the limited ceiling height and the nature of the work I do myself, a mid-rise scissor lift fits the bill and I’m thinking the Bendpak MD-6XP is a good choice. (Vehicles will range from 2,700 – 5,000 lbs.) Since the garage starts with a clean sheet of paper, and as I don’t want to mess with ramps to get a low car over the lowered lift or mess with moving/storing the lift, we’ll incorporate a covered recess in the floor to house the lift when not in use. We'll place a conduit for the hydraulic lines beneath the floor. Regarding this particular lift and sizing/locating the recess, I have a few questions. Ideally, I’ll get the lift on-site prior to pouring the floor, but in case that’s not feasible, here are the questions that I’m hoping someone can answer:
1. The manual for the MD-6XP doesn’t specify how much the vehicle moves longitudinally as the lift is raised, nor are the measurements needed to do the geometry provided. Can anyone tell me how much it moves fore/aft from 0 lift to full lift? Or, alternatively, the length of the lift’s outer arms (the ones without the wheels)?
2. The manual says the lift itself is 1000 mm (39.5”) wide and with the short lift pads installed, 181 mm (7.25”) high when fully dropped. I believe the length they specify is for the lift in the raised position, and so would not be proper for sizing the recess. Can someone verify the width and height, and provide the overall length in the fully-lowered position?
3. Do the four moveable lift arms pivot so that, when stowed, they fit entirely within the footprint of the lift? If not, how much additional width and/or length would I need to allow in the recess to accommodate the lift arms when stowed as much as possible?
4. The lift will be centered laterally in the garage, maximizing working room around the car. (Plus it’ll make a handy based for a ping pong table!) This means that, when the lift is stowed and covered and I park two cars in the garage, I’ll be driving over or possibly parking on the recess cover. In that I don’t want to use something heavy for the cover (e.g., ¼” steel), the cover will need some support. I can attach some framing beneath the cover to rest on the lift, but I’d like to confirm that, when lowered, there’s no pressure on the hydraulic cylinders—i.e., the lifting arms come to rest against the floor or another part of the lift. I'm open to other ideas on constructing/supporting the cover, too.
5. The tallest vehicle I plan to raise--BMW X5--would be restricted by the ceiling/beam height to about 2 ½ feet of lift. I assume that the lift has locking points every couple inches along its entire lifting range, and that raising the lift past the relevant locking point won’t be a limiting factor. Can someone confirm this?
6. The jack pads on the X5 at 67" apart F/R and 60" side-to-side, or 90" on the diagonal. Will the Bendpak reach those? From the diagram in the manual, I don't think so, meaning I'll have to either find somewhere other than the outboard jack pads, else not lift that vehicle.
Thanks for any help you all can provide. I'll see if I can get definitive answers from Bendpak, and will post anything I learn from them. I’ll also post pics and updates once we get under way later in the year.
I’m working on plans for a new two-car garage with apartment above. The garage will feature a longitudinal I-beam running down the center of the ceiling, allowing me with trolley cranes to hoist an engine or my 13’ Boston Whaler when it’s time for annual bottom paint. (Yes, I have an architect and a structural engineer involved in this.) For aesthetic reasons, we’re limiting the garage ceiling height to 9’3”, and the W16 I-beam will protrude just over 7” below the finished ceiling, giving me effectively 8’7” of clear lifting height once past the open overhead door. The single, 16’ wide door will use high-lift tracks and a jackshaft opener.
With the limited ceiling height and the nature of the work I do myself, a mid-rise scissor lift fits the bill and I’m thinking the Bendpak MD-6XP is a good choice. (Vehicles will range from 2,700 – 5,000 lbs.) Since the garage starts with a clean sheet of paper, and as I don’t want to mess with ramps to get a low car over the lowered lift or mess with moving/storing the lift, we’ll incorporate a covered recess in the floor to house the lift when not in use. We'll place a conduit for the hydraulic lines beneath the floor. Regarding this particular lift and sizing/locating the recess, I have a few questions. Ideally, I’ll get the lift on-site prior to pouring the floor, but in case that’s not feasible, here are the questions that I’m hoping someone can answer:
1. The manual for the MD-6XP doesn’t specify how much the vehicle moves longitudinally as the lift is raised, nor are the measurements needed to do the geometry provided. Can anyone tell me how much it moves fore/aft from 0 lift to full lift? Or, alternatively, the length of the lift’s outer arms (the ones without the wheels)?
2. The manual says the lift itself is 1000 mm (39.5”) wide and with the short lift pads installed, 181 mm (7.25”) high when fully dropped. I believe the length they specify is for the lift in the raised position, and so would not be proper for sizing the recess. Can someone verify the width and height, and provide the overall length in the fully-lowered position?
3. Do the four moveable lift arms pivot so that, when stowed, they fit entirely within the footprint of the lift? If not, how much additional width and/or length would I need to allow in the recess to accommodate the lift arms when stowed as much as possible?
4. The lift will be centered laterally in the garage, maximizing working room around the car. (Plus it’ll make a handy based for a ping pong table!) This means that, when the lift is stowed and covered and I park two cars in the garage, I’ll be driving over or possibly parking on the recess cover. In that I don’t want to use something heavy for the cover (e.g., ¼” steel), the cover will need some support. I can attach some framing beneath the cover to rest on the lift, but I’d like to confirm that, when lowered, there’s no pressure on the hydraulic cylinders—i.e., the lifting arms come to rest against the floor or another part of the lift. I'm open to other ideas on constructing/supporting the cover, too.
5. The tallest vehicle I plan to raise--BMW X5--would be restricted by the ceiling/beam height to about 2 ½ feet of lift. I assume that the lift has locking points every couple inches along its entire lifting range, and that raising the lift past the relevant locking point won’t be a limiting factor. Can someone confirm this?
6. The jack pads on the X5 at 67" apart F/R and 60" side-to-side, or 90" on the diagonal. Will the Bendpak reach those? From the diagram in the manual, I don't think so, meaning I'll have to either find somewhere other than the outboard jack pads, else not lift that vehicle.
Thanks for any help you all can provide. I'll see if I can get definitive answers from Bendpak, and will post anything I learn from them. I’ll also post pics and updates once we get under way later in the year.