KwikLift vs MaxJax

[gunner3773]

I have been seriously looking at the KwikLift for my garage. The things that drew me to the KwikLift were safety, the openess under the vehicle, and the fact that it really required no maintenance. The thing that prevented me from ordering the KwikLift was the price. It just seems a bit high and they are unwilling to deal or even extend their shipping sale by even a few days. In this economy, I can only assume they are satisfied with the volume of units they are selling. I hope they have seen the MaxJax.

However, after seeing the info on the MaxJax, I thought this lift is the answer to my 9 foot garage ceiling height. Upon looking at the setup info, I saw that there are different widths to set the posts up at depending on the size of the vehicle you are lifting. I guess my question is this, and may be best answered by Jeff, is there a setup width that would work for most vehicles? Do the lifting arms extend and retract far enough to cover a variety of widths. I currently service a F-150 Supercrew, Honda Odyssey, Saturn wagon, Ford Focus, and a Honda Civic. You can see my problem. I really don't want to sink two or three sets of anchors into my garage floor.

BTW--This is a great site!

 

[goodfellow]

That KwikLift is quite expensive -- and considering the cost, I really never saw the utility of a drive-on ramp system versus a good set of jack stands and a jack.

I know some people swear by this system, but given the prices of conventional lifts these days -- KwikLift has to rethink their pricing structure.

BTW -- your vehicle fleet is quite diverse, but I'm not sure if there is one optimum position. Al least I havn't seen any postings to that effect.

 

[cw_racefan]

Gunner -

I actually emailed them that exact question (haven't heard back yet) since I have a full size SUV as well as a small pickup, so one wide one pretty narrow.
I'll post up the answer if it doesn't get answered here first.

Craig

 

[autoist]

I love my QuikLift! Just the perfect height to work on under car plumbing; jack it up & put it on jack stands on the QuikLift )they have cross-lift shelves the jacks sit on) & you can do a total suspension rebuild without breaking your back!

 

[Junkman]

I also asked the question, and the answer was that for optimum performance you have to move one side when going from a very wide vehicle to a much narrower vehicle. The lift is versatile, but it does have its limits. The arms don't reach as far as some arms that have the ability to slide long distances. My guess is that it is in the engineering. The closer the arms are in relationship to the side of the vehicle, the less leverage there is on the columns.

 

[cw_racefan]

Good point on the arm reach vs side of the vehicle. No biggie, just another set of anchors in the floor.

 

[Ray-CA]

I've used my Kwik-lift for my FFR Roadster (cobra), my F-150 Super-crew, my wifes PT Cruiser, a neighbors '70 Mustang, a '71 Mach-1, a Nissan Altima and an '03 Dakota. It has exceeded my exceptions in every way. I don't have anything to do with the company, just a satisfied customer.

Ray

 

[alkemyst]

That KwikLift is quite expensive -- and considering the cost, I really never saw the utility of a drive-on ramp system versus a good set of jack stands and a jack.

I know some people swear by this system, but given the prices of conventional lifts these days -- KwikLift has to rethink their pricing structure.

BTW -- your vehicle fleet is quite diverse, but I'm not sure if there is one optimum position. Al least I havn't seen any postings to that effect.

I can agree if you know what you are doing and not putting cars up and down all day a jack with stands is much more flexible esp for anything the wheels need to come off.

However, I'd love a lift...body type, not drive on.

 

[HIRISC]

Get a scissor lift - works with all cars - no holes

 

[JohnK007]

HIRISC- Got a novice question for you. I've looked at scissors lifts on the net and in catalogs but have never dealt with one in the flesh. How stable is it with regards to side-to-side movement? What I mean is, in your picture above, if that rear drum was stuck and you really had to yank, pull and bang on it, is it possible for the car to tip when it's up in the air like that? It's probably a stupid question but having never been around one before, I've always wondered.

Gunner, don't mean to hijack your thread, sorry..

 

[HIRISC]

HIRISC- Got a novice question for you. I've looked at scissors lifts on the net and in catalogs but have never dealt with one in the flesh. How stable is it with regards to side-to-side movement? What I mean is, in your picture above, if that rear drum was stuck and you really had to yank, pull and bang on it, is it possible for the car to tip when it's up in the air like that? It's probably a stupid question but having never been around one before, I've always wondered.

Gunner, don't mean to hijack your thread, sorry..

Sorry for the continued hijack

Super stable - really no way to tip the car over side to side.. the lift has several stop heights - if you were going crazy pulling on something, you could always lower the lift (and the center of gravity).

Back to the Kwiklift vs MaxJax programming

 

[copo69]

I hate to continue hijack but could you post pictures of the contact points on the '69 Camaro. Thanks

 

[SteveU]

Given the choice between these two I would pick the MaxJax for the simple reason you are not limited to one height & can lift the vehicle to whatever height is most comfortable to do the work at hand. There are also times that it is helpful or necessary to raise & lower the vehicle to complete the task such as the time I replaced the O2 sensor in the wife's car & wound up having to pull the header pipe & replace the exhaust manifold. With the vehicle unable to be ran this would have been harder to do on a fixed level lift such as the kwiklift than on one that is adjustable.

 

[autoist]

I'm completing a 5-year total restoration of this MGB GT - all done on the KwikLift (except pulling engine/trans & reinstalling it - soon, I hope!).....total disassembly down to bodyshell before going to body shop.....complete reassembly after paint, to include suspension, glass, brightwork, suspension....everything right where she sits.

 

[HIRISC]

I hate to continue hijack but could you post pictures of the contact points on the '69 Camaro. Thanks

Check your PM front pads under the sub-frame and rear pads (with a 2" height extension) on the front contact point of the leaf springs.

/hijack

 

[krooser]

I think the Kwik-Lifts are a bit pricey. But if you have an 8' ceiling your options are limited...

 

[rakesdl]

I have the Kwik-Lift, and have worked on many vehicles with it. The Corvette has been sitting on it now about two weeks. It is the perfect height for working under the car and not to bad if you are working in the engine bay. Only draw back that I have is that I have to move it out of the way when I am done. I have purchased two moving dolly's and place them under the ramps when I lower them, roll both ramps to the wall and place the end pieces on top of them, still leaves room to park the Vett and mower. PS. check other for sale pages on line and local, I found mine on another forum and picked it up used for less than half the price of new. Good luck either way!

 

[gunner3773]

After a lot of consideration, I pulled the trigger on an EZcarlift today. I had initially discounted the EZcarlift, but it is the best choice for me. I wanted the ease of storage, it is super safe, and it gives lots of free access under the vehicle since one of the cross bars is removable. The biggest reason I chose it over the Kwiklift was that I would not have to jack my vehicles up to remove the wheels. If I had purchased the Kwiklift, I would be back to square one with having to jack the vehicle up for brakes, tire rotation etc. Same safety issues as the vehicle being jacked up on the floor except is it now 20" more in the air.

The lifts all have their good points...the MaxJax was awfully tempting, but between the hydraulics, along with (for me) the setup and taking it down after use, the EZcarlift was a better choice. And like the Kwiklift, those that have the EZcarlift, swear by it. I should also mention that I spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with the owner and he really was extremely helpful. And he tells me that his unit reflects the cost of manufacturing it since it is produced in the US without the use of any off-shore manufacturing. I guess the welds are impressive on the unit. We will see! I'll keep ya posted!

 

[amishman]

After a lot of consideration, I pulled the trigger on an EZcarlift today. I had initially discounted the EZcarlift, but it is the best choice for me. I wanted the ease of storage, it is super safe, and it gives lots of free access under the vehicle since one of the cross bars is removable. The biggest reason I chose it over the Kwiklift was that I would not have to jack my vehicles up to remove the wheels. If I had purchased the Kwiklift, I would be back to square one with having to jack the vehicle up for brakes, tire rotation etc. Same safety issues as the vehicle being jacked up on the floor except is it now 20" more in the air.

The lifts all have their good points...the MaxJax was awfully tempting, but between the hydraulics, along with (for me) the setup and taking it down after use, the EZcarlift was a better choice. And like the Kwiklift, those that have the EZcarlift, swear by it. I should also mention that I spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with the owner and he really was extremely helpful. And he tells me that his unit reflects the cost of manufacturing it since it is produced in the US without the use of any off-shore manufacturing. I guess the welds are impressive on the unit. We will see! I'll keep ya posted!

I will keep an eye on this thread after you get your EZcarlift. I have been considering one.

Let us know how it goes.

tj

 

[PoorOwner]

Hello, I know you have already chosen your lift.. just want to say, I have a kwiklift and really like it, The only weak point of the system is that to use the center bridges you have to set the lift to one fixed width, but that width fits most vehicles.

I do use a floor jack to lift it, but I use an air bag jack to get the wheels off the lift, as most 4 post lift users have.. It's very easy. It's a good height to do brake job and suspension work. It may take a while to setup if you need to use the center bridge for the air jack, but you can also use the air jack under the side rails of the car.

 

[gunner3773]

I received my EZcarlift today and got it put together. My initial impression is that it is very well made and does really give 26" of lift. I have not lifted a vehicle yet because it is just too cold in MN at the moment to "play." I had a couple of questions about the lift and called and spoke with the owner, Boychto. He was, as usual, quite helpful. And no, I am not affiliated with the company.

I did have a thought or two as I swept the road salt off the garage floor today. The MaxJax is attached to the concrete floor with anchors. For us in the rust belt, what about the road salt getting down into those anchors or into the concrete alongside of the anchors? I have seen plenty of "pop-outs" and concrete weakened by road salt. Also, what about keeping dirt and grit out of the anchors when the MaxJax is not in use? Just some thoughts...

 

[amishman]

what I want to read about is how does it feel to work under a car using the ezlift. Does the working on your back still feel a PITA or does it feel decent with the added space to work under? I am just getting tired on sleping under cars now an prefer to be sitting up. Just curious. Tj

 

[PoorOwner]

I think those epoxied down concrete anchors should preserve the anchor pretty good.
plus a little bead of silicone ream to fend off any salty water would be a good idea.

 

[amishman]

So, any pictures of that EZcarLift in action?

tj

 

[ovilla]

I just finally checked out their website to see why some folks were complaining about the price of a Kwiklift and I have to agree. There's no motor, hydraulic lines, or aircraft cables so why does this thing cost so much? I know a lot of folks are quite happy with these units but I just don't get why you wouldn't just buy some 6 ton (or bigger) jackstands and call it a day. Sorry, but still having to lay on a cold concrete floor (especially during Illinois winters) to work on cars is no longer appealing to me. Yes, I'm spoiled with my BendPak HD-9 but if I had to do it over again, I'm sure I'd pick the MaxJax.

 

[gunner3773]

I am going to post some pics if the weather ever gets better here in MN. Now we are getting ready for a major snowstorm this morning. The thought of one of my cars dripping road salt all over the aluminum lifting racks of my new lift is not very appealing to me at the moment. If I live in hell, why is it so cold?