How many of you bolt down your 4-posts?

[sierradmax]

I have an Atlas Garage Pro 9,000 installed on a flat 6" thick slab. The manual states that it does not need to be bolted down. However, with no weight on the ramps and at full height, the lift sways in all directions whenever you bump into one of the columns. I can only imagine adding the weight of a vehicle will amplify.

 

[Cryptic1911]

ours hasn't been bolted down for like 8 years. I would recommend bolting it down, but we just never did. You will get some sway, but with some weight on it, it kind of rights itself and gets a bit more planted. It will wiggle some, but probably not as bad as you're thinking. That said, if you pull onto it with a lot of fwd cars, you may want to bolt it down. My driveway kind of slopes away from the door, so pulling up with a manual fwd car with a grabby clutch made mine slide on the floor once when I got a bit too happy with the clutch lol

 

[m6z]

The ones I've used were bolted down. I would think driving a vehicle onto them would push them forward.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

Six years and not bolted done, no issues. Direct-Lift love it and it’s been flawless.

 

[milwaukeephil]

Mine's not bolted down. It came with casters and I move it from its winter home to summer home across the shop by myself twice a year.

 

[m6z]

Mine's not bolted down. It came with casters and I move it from its winter home to summer home across the shop by myself twice a year.

Nice. I don't think I've ever seen one with casters.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I don’t have a lift at home but at work we have all of them bolted down including the huge one outside for the trucks.


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[FuzzyTiger]

I haven't bolted down my 4 post. It is surprisingly wobbly without any weight on it, but once you put a car on there it is pretty solid. You can still shake it a little if you try but not enough that I've ever felt that it would topple without someone -really- trying.

It doesn't really shift around too much either when I drive cars on/off. Probably shifts more when I lift a car up/down but I've been using it to work on a car so I have the car going up and down multiple times/day and maybe its shifted by a couple cm after a month of that. Nothing significant.

If you're going to bolt it down, I can't recall what the manufacturer's instructions say on getting it positioned properly but I would probably just put a car on it, lift it up half-way and then bolt it down. The weight will get the posts all positioned where they want to be when they're loaded and hold the whole structure in place while you're working. Otherwise I figure there would be a lot of stress going into the concrete from the legs wanting to adjust themselves.

 

[MAYOR28]

I had to. (BendPak HD-9XW here.)

Wasn't planning on doing it, but some combination of the floor or post slop made it far to unstable when lifted. Bolting it down solved all that.

 

[PDM]

Rotary 14k alignment hoist with dual hydraulic jacks bolted down. I drilled down and Hilti Epoxy inserted 3/4" cut redi rod to bolt hoist down. Would not trust an inexperienced person driving their car onto my hoist and slamming on brakes or gas while being guided by me without it bolted to the ground.

Fyi I didnt have to drill down deep - even though I have hydronic water lines buried in the concrete - the Hilti epoxy cures to stronger than the concrete. I only drilled down 3.5 inches. Plus there is limited if any pulling force on anchors on a 4 post vs a 2 post.

Predrill all your holes prior to breaking open the 2 part Hilti epoxy. It needs to be injected (mixes as its ejected) in one shot.

Do not use fast set Hilti 2 part epoxy. Stuff is pricey and its cure time is too short...that a simple bathroom break caused the unused epoxy to harden up forcing me to open a fresh tube. Most expensive **** I took last year.

 

[motorcycle79]

Nothing bolted down here been a few years no problems little wobbly but not enough to be concerned

 

[pepi]

I'm thinking common sense tells me most.

 

[hilld]

When I had a 4 post, I bolted it down, but used drop in anchors, so you can quickly remove the bolts move the lift to another spot (if you have the caster kit). Best of both worlds, a lift that won't move when you drive on/off and able to move it without wedge anchors sticking out of the concrete.

 

[Mr_fixit]

My lift must be bolted down. I'd pick safety over convenience , if it were my lift.

 

[Want2race]

Never bolted mine down. I routinely work on the top platform when in the air. The movement isn’t concerning. I’m not using slide hammers or putting excessive side loads that might make it problematic.

 

[sierradmax]

When I had a 4 post, I bolted it down, but used drop in anchors, so you can quickly remove the bolts move the lift to another spot (if you have the caster kit). Best of both worlds, a lift that won't move when you drive on/off and able to move it without wedge anchors sticking out of the concrete.

I'd like to do the same. The specs for my lift call for wedge anchors with a minimum of 3.5" embedment. Most 3/4" drop-ins I see are 3.25" and you'll probably only get 2.5" bolt depth into the anchor.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Bought my Challenger 9k lbs 4-poster ~6 years ago. Had it installed unbolted. In the very first week, I was working on my truck and one of the corner safety catches hung up as I was lowering my truck, but just in that moment I had turned away to look at something else. When I turned my head back, my heart jumped into my throat. The whole truck was cockeyed on the lift, and the post opposite the one that had locked was now actually kicked in about a foot or more. The lift was ready to collapse.

I had to carefully raise the lift to full height to get that catch released, I was just waiting for the whole mess to fall over and go through the garage wall, but I got lucky.

I had the installers come back the very next day and bolt the lift down. Plus I adjusted the safety catches to work perfectly in synch, no more hanging up.

 

[ronr80]

I have an Bend Pak HD 9, never bolted it down until I drove a brand new corvette on it , " the rear wheel drive", when the front wheels hit the ramp at slow speed , my hoist jumped ahead 2feet , scared the **** out of me, so I bolted it down with 8 anchors, I have the casters for It, and can remove the anchors, same if the car is up high on it the hoist can sway. Don't take a chance. R

 

[RPH]

Nope, move it around with car / truck on it or not. It’s solid as can be. Wildfire, 10k.
I have never had it skid when pulling a vehicle in.

 

[milwaukeephil]

Nice. I don't think I've ever seen one with casters.

It's pretty slick. They attach with a pin in a minute or so, and then you just let the lift down. The weight of the tracks cantilevers the feet right off the floor.

 

[Cryptic1911]

I bought the caster set, thinking I'd be using it.. been like 9 years and only used them once to see how they worked. Kind of a pita, but it does work

 

[FuzzyTiger]

I bought the caster set, thinking I'd be using it.. been like 9 years and only used them once to see how they worked. Kind of a pita, but it does work

Yeah. I have them as well and the only time I used them was when I assembled the lift in the middle of the garage and then pushed it into a corner. It hasn't moved since and if I was going to move it, it would probably be to another garage in which case it would be getting disassembled.