Home Lift Question

[SuperBee1969]

Hello All,

I'm a newbie here and looking forward to having first ground up garage to be built. Have dug around the forum on previous posts and haven't ran across these guys yet;
championautolift.com/home--hobby-lifts.html

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with them they could share?

Looking at 4 post w/ slide jack and primary use will be holding up my project (username big clue!) while I work on it and for storage of a daily underneath.

I'm in the Kansas City area and while don't want to pay strictly for a brand name, am looking for a quality product.

Thanks for any input & have a Merry Christmas!

 

[RPH]

Look into wildfire lifts. There based in Minnesota. Also another member here mentioned another four post lift that was based in the north west. It looked to be a very good lift too.

 

[pbon]

If you want to do serious work, get a wide lift. The most space possible between ramps. Most are 36-45” and some are adjustable. I bought a bendpak HD-9XW. I used to have a Greg Smith 2 post and think GS is a good company. Worth a look and maybe they have a location within reasonable driving distance.

 

[j p smith]

Hello All,

I'm a newbie here and looking forward to having first ground up garage to be built. Have dug around the forum on previous posts and haven't ran across these guys yet;
championautolift.com/home--hobby-lifts.html

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with them they could share?

Looking at 4 post w/ slide jack and primary use will be holding up my project (username big clue!) while I work on it and for storage of a daily underneath.

I'm in the Kansas City area and while don't want to pay strictly for a brand name, am looking for a quality product.

Thanks for any input & have a Merry Christmas!

My neighbor will be looking next week at the Champion lifts, they have a place over in Tempe. He wants a 4 post and a 2 post. He wants a wide (102") so he put his boat up in the air and store a car underneath it. This will give him room to have the 2 post to work on

Look also at the post, "Thinking of buying a new auto lift"

 

[unvago]

I have a Danmar and it has performed well for the past 4 years.

 

[biggziff]

Most of these are made by the same Chinese company and just painted and stickered for whoever is reselling them. I bought Advantage because they had spent the time and effort to create complete, detailed installation videos and had the best pre-sales service of anyone I talked to (by a long shot) Several companies flat-out lied to me and others seemed they didn't care if I bought or not (Wildfire being one) so I went with the guy who tried to earn my business. Also the best warranty (5 years) Talk to Tony Weber at Advantage (call him on the phone) watch his videos on Youtube and I'll bet you buy one.

 

[Gear Box]

Advantage Lifts you won’t look back for home garage use!

 

[wssix99]

I've never understood the attraction to these "hobby lifts", when commercial grade lifts are available for comparable costs. Even if there is a difference in cost, what would the cost and impact be if there was a failure? (It's bad enough when something fails on a professional, but the hobbyist won't have anyone to sue for compensation and relies on other things for their livelihood.)

I recommend (whatever you do) getting a certified lift. https://www.autolift.org/ali-directory-of-certified-lifts/

^ If "American Made" or a particular color is important, it's all there. Everyone will chime in with their lift brand as a favorite, but certification is a tangible thing that differentiates lifts.

The other important factors you might consider:
- Who will install this and what are they familiar with?
- Are you prepared to properly design your floor for the 2 post lift. (Typical concrete floors will often cause control joints (saw cuts) to be put in the areas where your two posts go. This will cause major problems for you - so you'll want to choose your lift and plan those cuts ahead of time to make sure your slab stays in spec. (for "cracks")

 

[biggziff]

I've never understood the attraction to these "hobby lifts", when commercial grade lifts are available for comparable costs. Even if there is a difference in cost, what would the cost and impact be if there was a failure? (It's bad enough when something fails on a professional, but the hobbyist won't have anyone to sue for compensation and relies on other things for their livelihood.)

I recommend (whatever you do) getting a certified lift. https://www.autolift.org/ali-directory-of-certified-lifts/

ALI is a scam. Try calling them to ask what they do, specifically, to test and certify a lift. The boys at Intertek in Cortland clued me in when I went up there and asked. These lifts are built beyond what they need to be. Find me one example, in the last 10 years, where a hobbyist or homeowner had a lift failure.

I'll just wait here....

 

[vhol5]

From what I have seen, MOST lifts are knock-offs of others. Sure, maybe they're not certified, but still copies of certified ones. As long as parts aren't cast, i wouldn't stress about it one way or another...

 

[bradysdad]

Advantage Lifts you won’t look back for home garage use!

Agreed. I purchased an Advantage 9000lb 4 post from Tony Weber (great guy, one of the founders and lives in KC area I believe). They are at all of the Mecum and Barret Jackson events and offer show pricing. My 15 year old son and I put the lift together in about 4 hours and there are a bunch of videos on their web site on how to ...

After doing a lot of research, I went with Advantage due to their design. Boxed, 5” x 5” posts, thick steel, 12x12 baseplates, etc... Check out their web site for specifics. My lift is very stable and does not wobble at all when loaded.

 

[RPH]

I have the wildfire lift. I found the company to responsive to any questions I had prior to purchase. After it was delivered I discovered that a bulkhead union was missing. I contacted them and two days later it was in my hand. I have seen nothing that has caused me any concern on the lift.

 

[bradysdad]

I have the wildfire lift. I found the company to responsive to any questions I had prior to purchase. After it was delivered I discovered that a bulkhead union was missing. I contacted them and two days later it was in my hand. I have seen nothing that has caused me any concern on the lift.

I looked at the Wildfire and met with the owners. The lift is identical to the Advantage. Wildfire copied the Advantage design and has is manufactured in China. The companies are a few miles away from each other in the Minneapolis area. Same nice features of the Advantage. They were on a 6-8 week lead time for their 9000lb 4 post while Advantage had theirs in stock. Advantage was also willing to deal on price and put a package together with lighting and air jack.

Both are nice lifts.

 

[RPH]

I hear you on the back order thing. But the china **** has caused problems for many. I got the last one in stock prior to the price increase in the “trade wars”. Unfortunately we are but pawns in the big picture.

 

[wssix99]

ALI is a scam. Try calling them to ask what they do, specifically, to test and certify a lift.

Well, yea. That's what standards organizations do. Often times, they won't even do the hands-on testing, but will just certify other people's tests. They don't add any value to products. They only provide assurance. Not assurance that something is "good", but assurance that it meets a benchmark.

The boys at Intertek in Cortland clued me in when I went up there and asked.

This is exactly why standards exist. Are these people trustworthy just because you saw them in person or they wave the American flag in front of their building? I'm not saying people lie - they may just have a perception of things that differs from the engineers who actually design the products. The only people who really know are the folks with the numbers. (not the sales people)

These lifts are built beyond what they need to be.

All lifts are built with a factor of safety beyond their rated loads. The steel isn't going to break and the welds aren't going to fail... The larger concern for us is their fault tolerance. What happens when a lock engages when it shouldn't and the load starts to tip? How far can that lift system go/bend before things start giving way and the load drops? (We've seen lots of pictures of this kind of thing happening.)


^ In my personal experience, I'd probably throw everything out for a solidly reliable locking/release system with some visual feedback. (Other than watching the load.) All of the mechanical locking systems I've seen/used go up just fine but make going down a nail biting exercise. (If one sticks, it's FUBAR.)

 

[SuperBee1969]

Hope everyone had a great holiday! Sorry for the slow response, really appreciate the feedback from all and I'll update as things progress. Was not familiar with Advantage and will be giving them a ring.

 

[mgbbob]

I also have an Advantage 9000. Great lift and Tony is a good guy to work with. I had a problem with a valve in the pump and he was right on it. Even offered to pay to have me install but it took a whole 15 minutes so I wasn't worried about that. The 9000 is rock solid and the install instructions are the best. I purchased the XT and it is great. I can get a car up 7' or so.

 

[CraigStu]

What kind of work will you be doing on your car? For me a 4 post is OK for storage and oil changes and ***** for everything else. Yeah, you can use a sliding jack, but the first time you are removing a tire, and your elbow bangs into the edge of that ramp, and the tire falls...

 

[SuperBee1969]

What kind of work will you be doing on your car? For me a 4 post is OK for storage and oil changes and ***** for everything else. Yeah, you can use a sliding jack, but the first time you are removing a tire, and your elbow bangs into the edge of that ramp, and the tire falls...

Hello CraigStu,

Will be primarily for assembly of the vehicle once back from paint shop. While it currently looks okay from about 20' away, I made a very poor choice back in college of taking it to the only place I could afford at the time which killed my ambition in finishing it for longer than I'd like to admit.
Once it's back together it'll be used for oil changes on it and daily drivers. One concern I do have and it may be completely unfounded is that with a 2 post my suspension would be left hanging and on a torsion bar setup not sure what (if any) negative impact that could have on it.

 

[biggziff]

What kind of work will you be doing on your car? For me a 4 post is OK for storage and oil changes and ***** for everything else. Yeah, you can use a sliding jack, but the first time you are removing a tire, and your elbow bangs into the edge of that ramp, and the tire falls...

I've found this to be incorrect. It's nice to have the runways to set tools and supplies on and I've not hit any body parts on anything. Very pleased with the 4 post.

 

[mgbbob]

I agree, when doing brake work I find tire removal is waist high and very easy. All of the parts find a home on the ramp and make it easy to lay things out. No way I would go back to a 2 post for home use. Bob

 

[c39er]

Runways are nice to have.
Two Sliding air operated jacks even better on 4 post.
Especially good for older guys.
Drive on up and do your buiness securely and safely.

 

[rburke65]

Everyone has an opinion. If I had my way, I’d have both a 2 and a 4 post.