Lift modifications Thread- Lets see them!

[77Mini]

I am sure this would work fine for a sport bike. Maybe not a Harley but they make store bought adaptors for that.
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I really like this idea. I am thinking I could do something similar for my ATV.

 

[Yellow1098]

So the hooks just lock into the pegs? I probably don't know what I'm talking about as usual ....but the only issue I see with sportbikes is the pegs don't have holes in them usually like the ones on the dirt bike

 

[ndm]

From another bike forum.

 

[Brand X]

Not my bike, but my mid-rise lift. Mine ends up with a extra work table on the side.. I am heading to town to pick up a cheap trans jack to have a another way to lift this thing.. My ceiling opening is above the lift for a extra lift point.

 

[Yellow1098]

I have been looking for a motorcycle lift on Craig's for awhile and trying to figure a safe way to lift my Ducati on my 2 post.... most of those balanceing acts make me nervous haha

 

[GLFlyer]

I have been looking for a motorcycle lift on Craig's for awhile and trying to figure a safe way to lift my Ducati on my 2 post.... most of those balanceing acts make me nervous haha

Keep an eye out for a Kendon lift. They work great and just stand up in the corner when you are done with it.

 

[killahog]

NDM, If you were to make that bar attachment taller, say about 36 or 48" would you design it any differently?

 

[lakeroadster]

Redline 2 Post Lift Motorcycle Adapters.... These would be easy to make.

https://www.redlinestands.com/catal...pa-2-post-lift-motorcycle-atv-adapters-p-1572

 

[mrobins297aaa]

This is not a mod, but it is another use for your lift.

When you need to switch the bottom section of the scaffold around because you weren't paying attention when you put it together and you don't want to take it all back apart.

Because on the ends the ladder sections have to line up with the above section to use the planks.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

This isn't a good pic but, here is my hose reel, trouble light and pull down ext cord that I added.

 

[Mopar Garage]

At my previous house I converted my 2 post hoist into a motorcycle lift.

 

[lakeroadster]

At my previous house I converted my 2 post hoist into a motorcycle lift.

Nicely done

 

[XJSuperman]

Back at home Dad has a Mohawk 12000lb and a Mohawk 9000lb.

Can't tell you how many times Ive thrown a rod, pipe, or even a broom handle across the arms and hung parts for painting or drying. Ive used it to lift heavy stuff with straps or chains, used it to lift someone up to reach light fixtures or the top of heavy equipment being worked on, and eaten lunch on it.

Dad made a bracket (back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper) that he used to press roller wheels onto steel rods that carried sheets of glass (window panes) down the production line. He worked for a couple different glass equipment companies over the years and was restoring a machine for one at the time. It basically turned the lift into a big press. The bracket is bolted to the top of the lift post and the arms were used to carry another bracket on the bottom that sandwiched the rollers. Hard to describe I know, but another modification for use nevertheless.

We replaced the clutch in my uncle's 1989 Chevy C70 single axle dumptruck on the 12000lb Mohawk with the truck 6' up. That was pretty cool.

 

[D1005]

I don't have any pictures handy, but due to disabilities, I had to get my sub-compact tractor up to do simple things like oil changes. Unable to find any kind of affordable tractor lift, I bought a mid-height, scissor lift, and in place of putting the arms on it, I laid a well framed from underneath, 61"x96" plywood top on it.

Couple of short ramps gets the tractor up on the now 6 1/2" high platform. Bonus, when the tractor isn't on it, it's an excellent, adjustable height, workbench.

Turns out, using the lift in conjunction with the bridge crane, I can fly in the mower deck, etc. and mount it from a position I can attain. Turned a 2 day endeavour into a half hour job. Course, an able bodied person, 40 years younger can do this at ground level. But I'm not an able bodied 20 year old anymore... Now I have to work smart, unlike hard as I did to get into this condition.

 

[LX-Markham]

At my previous house I converted my 2 post hoist into a motorcycle lift.

Isn’t that cool. Nicely done. Love the rest of the garage too.

 

[lakeroadster]

Vicegrip's solution to storing a vehicle, on it's suspension, on a 2 post lift.

Only thing I don't like is welding to the support bolt.. that would be easy to revise though.

 

[brentmc]

Installed a LED light kit to my new 4 post hoist. The results are amazing!!!

This looks like something you could put together from light strips off of Amazon and save some money. It looks great. Did you make it?

 

[Yellow1098]

At my previous house I converted my 2 post hoist into a motorcycle lift.

Exactly what I'm looking for....is that platform come off on to still use the normal two posts for the car?

 

[FTG-05]

Has anyone made a frame lift for a 2 post lift? If so, thread or pics?

Thanks!

 

[omowright]

i wanted to do this in my shop but was told by an engineer and rotary not to as the lifts are designed to move slightly and the walls are not. if you ever have a failure your insurance may not like the fact that you modified the lift and installed it against manufacturer recommendations.

my lift has a set of 120v electrical plugs on it but thats the only "mod" i have done to it.

The lift must be able to move as the load is changing along its height. I thought of using steel cables, tensioned to allow an inch of movement ...

 

[Regal Ryan]

Looks like my lift setup got used as a poster child for using your lift like an elevator. Aside from placement, the challenge is decking a lift. Here's how I did it.

Top view of decking

Bottom view

Made out of a cut up extension ladder with a ply panel on top

Ladder sections are pinned together with PVC pipe through the rungs.

How it sits on the runner lips

Cheap and light. I removed it for the pics with a car up in the air on the lift.

Ray is your 4 post free to move on casters or attached to the floor? Nice set up by the way I get to see it on Vince's FB page for the Moto GP events.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[slothfryk]

I use a Handy motorcycle lift model BOB 1500 in my garage for working on our trainer bikes and building up my personals.

I have always been bothered by the cast-iron brick of a foot pedal that is in the way while I'm walking around working on the bikes.

Quite some while ago I had the idea of mounting a valve into the side of the lift. The challenge was finding the right valve. This is a Nitra; not certified for jack or diddly. i.e. cheap. Yeah, I get that it's not made in the States, and I usually spring for the good stuff. But the Ingersoll Rand ARO valve equivalent was $100, and still made in Taiwan; that is a deal-breaker for me.

At any rate, I was able to assemble this in such a way that pulling the handle up raises the lift, it stops at flat (as pictured), and pressing the handle down drops the lift, with air vented through a silencer.

List of improvements: It doesn't require as much air pressure, it's faster, it's WAY more quiet, and most importantly I don't have to trip over hoses and iron bricks on the floor.

Stoked!

 

[ndm]

I use a Handy motorcycle lift model BOB 1500 in my garage for working on our trainer bikes and building up my personals.

I have always been bothered by the cast-iron brick of a foot pedal that is in the way while I'm walking around working on the bikes.

Quite some while ago I had the idea of mounting a valve into the side of the lift. The challenge was finding the right valve. This is a Nitra; not certified for jack or diddly. i.e. cheap. Yeah, I get that it's not made in the States, and I usually spring for the good stuff. But the Ingersoll Rand ARO valve equivalent was $100, and still made in Taiwan; that is a deal-breaker for me.

At any rate, I was able to assemble this in such a way that pulling the handle up raises the lift, it stops at flat (as pictured), and pressing the handle down drops the lift, with air vented through a silencer.

List of improvements: It doesn't require as much air pressure, it's faster, it's WAY more quiet, and most importantly I don't have to trip over hoses and iron bricks on the floor.

Stoked!

This is a pretty sweet idea. Thanks for posting it.

 

[MrSurly]

Decided to add a frame lift for the Ultra to the two-post. I have a table style Best Way in the little garage and a frame lift for this would be a handy alternative. I’ll be adding clamp bolts to it but it is surprisingly stable!
The challenge was the lack of height under the parked bike. I started with a planned angle iron adapter but it was going to be waaaay too tall.
Had to regroup and start with 1/2” plate.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NoPressure]

For those making some type of attachment to raise by the wheels on a 2 post, I assume this only works on a symmetrical lift? I would likely make separate panels that spanned from the left to right across the lift arms instead of the fork style like in the first post.

I would rather have an asymmetric for ease of getting in and out of a vehicle but I’m afraid moving the lift point back under the rear axle will put too much strain on the base plates.

 

[MrSurly]

For those making some type of attachment to raise by the wheels on a 2 post, I assume this only works on a symmetrical lift? I would likely make separate panels that spanned from the left to right across the lift arms instead of the fork style like in the first post.

I would rather have an asymmetric for ease of getting in and out of a vehicle but I’m afraid moving the lift point back under the rear axle will put too much strain on the base plates.

Physics, I think, would suggest otherwise.

The CG of the entire load would be the same if the car is positioned at the same point relative the posts.

 

[gregs]

I ran across this a while ago and thought it was a good idea. I think the only problem is its sorta vehicle specific since you cant adjust it much for width or length.

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum...g-a-2-post-auto-lift-work-like-a-storage-lift

But what if you where able to adapt some type of wide channel on top, that ran front to back? Then you could drive on and get the c.o.g set. Then maybe add 4 fold down pipe legs like an alignment lift for safety. Obvious down side is it would weigh a ton and wouldn't be easy to take on and off. But if you needed to leave a car on it for months at a time it might be manageable. Maybe have some small wheels that mount on it to roll it in and out of the shop when you need it.

 

[NoPressure]

Physics, I think, would suggest otherwise.

The CG of the entire load would be the same if the car is positioned at the same point relative the posts.

But won’t having the lift arm under the rear tire create more leverage on the post than having the arm further forward on the frame like normal? In my head it seems like the rear arm would be moving further back to be under the rear tire than the front arm would be moving forward to be under the front tire. I guess that depends on the car, but that’s what I picture in my head thinking about my car.

Edit: nvm I see I was looking at it wrong now. I guess I equated the arm being further back with the car being further back on the lift.

 

[NoPressure]

I ran across this a while ago and thought it was a good idea. I think the only problem is its sorta vehicle specific since you cant adjust it much for width or length.

https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum...g-a-2-post-auto-lift-work-like-a-storage-lift

But what if you where able to adapt some type of wide channel on top, that ran front to back? Then you could drive on and get the c.o.g set. Then maybe add 4 fold down pipe legs like an alignment lift for safety. Obvious down side is it would weigh a ton and wouldn't be easy to take on and off. But if you needed to leave a car on it for months at a time it might be manageable. Maybe have some small wheels that mount on it to roll it in and out of the shop when you need it.

Yeah that’s what I have in mind. It would always be used for the same car so I could make a dedicated set and have them independent of each other for ease of moving and storing.

 

[66Caprice]

My lift has a 6 inch wide ledge added to it. Makes it nice to walk down the side when the car is up in the air. There is one on each side.

 

[WarmFZI]

I have the Megalift 2100 (basically Atlas Apex 10). After a couple calls about cable tensioning and forces on the cables - basically low (also evidenced by the 'small' two bolts holding the cross bar), I decided to try a height extension. Atlas sells a kit with new cables and riser, but the stock cables are already too long by about 8". I got a piece of 1x5 aluminum and cut it to lengths. Drilled the holes for the standard bolt mounts and stacked them 4 high per side. Went slowly with no load then lighter loads and saw no apparent flex or stress. Big test was a 3500 duramax quad cab longbed 4x4. Again went slowly and saw no flex or concerning behavior. I was able to lift the truck to the full lift height (max height and safety bar reached simultaneously). I made the bottom piece longer and put holes in for later light bar mounting.

I'll remove the longer bolts and check for any stretching / bending stress.

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[MrSurly]

I Atlas sells a kit with new cables and riser, but the stock cables are already too long by about 8".

This statement I find very troubling. How do the cables attach? Are there long threaded studs on the cable ends? Do they have enough excess length on the threads to take up fully or did you have to add the extension because they *didn't*?
What did they say in response when you called then?



edited (formatting)



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[WarmFZI]

The original cables were long enough to raise the 'cross bar' the 4". The instructions are to add an 8" pipe spacer to the cables for the stock bar height, which did work fine.

 

[MrSurly]

The original cables were long enough to raise the 'cross bar' the 4". The instructions are to add an 8" pipe spacer to the cables for the stock bar height, which did work fine.

Interesting. Did they include the pipe spacer?

 

[WarmFZI]

No, just says buy some 3/4" pipe and cut to 8". Seems pretty hokey IMO. But I wasn't going to return the lift for it...

 

[MrSurly]

No, just says buy some 3/4" pipe and cut to 8". Seems pretty hokey IMO. But I wasn't going to return the lift for it...

Wow! Yeah, I would agree that seems sketchy. I mean the lift, as delivered, lacked a component necessary for it's assembly... and it sounds like a critical load-bearing component... and they'll leave it to the customer to use the *correct* material for the job? Wow, again. I can already imagine a customer needing a piece of pipe...grabbing the copper or worse, PVC he has on hand.

That is amazing

 

[Relax]

I drilled holes in my Benadpak wheel chock plates so I could sandwich them between the Harbor Freight wheel chock and tie down bar. It's as easy to remove and replace as the ramps (and just as heavy):

 

[ndm]

Having had both, I prefer the 2-post and have that now. People always say 4 post is good for storing cars, but I have no problems putting a car under my two post. No idea why people can't figure that out. Put car on 2-post. Raise car. Put car underneath. You're making the lift a parking structure at that point so what does it matter if it's 2 or 4 posts?

The only thing I liked the 4 post for was exhaust. It was nice to have the suspension loaded while fabricating exhaust. With the 2 post I have to use a pole jack to load the suspension to simulate the car being loaded. Not a huge deal.

If you have not yet poured, I have encourage you to put lights in the floor like I did under the lift. It's an absolute GAME CHANGER. They are cheap and easy to install if you plan ahead.

This is not actual lift related but it is really cool and close enough.

 

[benaj]

My lift has a 6 inch wide ledge added to it. Makes it nice to walk down the side when the car is up in the air. There is one on each side.

I like this idea, any more details or pictures of your ledge?

 

[WarmFZI]

This is not actual lift related but it is really cool and close enough.

Great idea - wish you'd told me a year ago...