Two post floor plate thoughts

[dave_dj1]

Hi all, I am about to build a garage, not much compared to some of yours here but will be mine none the less, simple 24'x32' with 13' walls on a (my design) Alaskan slab.
My brother has a 10k two post with the top bar, it's a Mohawk, nice and wide as we both have full size trucks, I have a Ram and he has a Chevy.
All the talk here about overhead trolleys got me to thinking I would like one front to back in my shop so have been thinking about a two post bottom plate lift. I just found that Greg Smith offers a new 9k for decent money. I know for a fact my truck weighs 6200 ish lbs. My main concern is the width between the posts,this particular lift only has 110" between the posts, do you think it will be adequate? I mostly will be working on my Jeep on it but the truck too and maybe the wife's hybrid Kia Optima.
Thanks,
David

Here is a link to the lift
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Elite-9KBP

 

[matt_i]

I don't know if I'd turn away a Mohawk with a top crossmember so you could put in an I-beam monorail that's free-running.

Worst case you are into 2 trolleys and two hoists on the same monorail so you don't have to jump the crossbar. But this is ~hundreds of dollars vs. ~a thousand plus dollars on a different lift that's not a Mohawk...

Absolute worst is you'd have to climb a ladder and ease the chain + falls over the center hoop to get on the other side.

 

[dave_dj1]

I don't know if I'd turn away a Mohawk with a top crossmember so you could put in an I-beam monorail that's free-running.

Worst case you are into 2 trolleys and two hoists on the same monorail so you don't have to jump the crossbar. But this is ~hundreds of dollars vs. ~a thousand plus dollars on a different lift that's not a Mohawk...

Absolute worst is you'd have to climb a ladder and ease the chain + falls over the center hoop to get on the other side.

Matt, my thought is to be able to take things out of my truck and move them to the back wall/work bench. The Mohawk is nice but it's in my brothers garage who also lives about 25 minutes away from me.

I'm thinking wider will be better so that lift may be out and I may have to go to a top rail lift.

 

[pbon]

For ease of access in and out of the doors, I like the asymmetrical post lifts — the angle helps. Bendpak XPR-10AS was my first choice. My Greg Smith floor plate BP8000 was very tight in the car doors with my BMW. Hopefully the 10000 model is much wider so you can easily get in and out of your truck.

 

[Mr. D]

The Mohawk A-7 / Sys 1 (asymmetric) lifts can be configured without over head interference using in-floor hyd lines.

If you have the coin the Mohawk is one fine lift for sure.

 

[Falcon67]

"My main concern is the width between the posts,this particular lift only has 110" between the posts"

My Derek Weaver has 103" between the posts and I've had the F350 on it. It's a bit tight but it works. Really - it depends on where the front doors end up when balanced on the lift.

 

[dave_dj1]

"My main concern is the width between the posts,this particular lift only has 110" between the posts"

My Derek Weaver has 103" between the posts and I've had the F350 on it. It's a bit tight but it works. Really - it depends on where the front doors end up when balanced on the lift.

This brings up a good point, how do you know the "right balance"?
I've had my truck on his lift many times and never had an issue but now you have me wondering.

 

[lowe.joshua51]

I have a derek weaver lift, same one as falcon I believe. It's a baseplate floor model and I've had a 2500hd chevy on it no problem. Probably not ideal for parking in that bay all the time but it works fine. As far as the baseplate vs overhead lift. I'd recommend an over head lift, it makes working on transmissions, using an oil drain, etc much easier. I also use my lift to lift things out of the bed of a truck, pull out, then set it down and move it from there.

 

[dave_dj1]

I have a derek weaver lift, same one as falcon I believe. It's a baseplate floor model and I've had a 2500hd chevy on it no problem. Probably not ideal for parking in that bay all the time but it works fine. As far as the baseplate vs overhead lift. I'd recommend an over head lift, it makes working on transmissions, using an oil drain, etc much easier. I also use my lift to lift things out of the bed of a truck, pull out, then set it down and move it from there.

That's a good point, I may just end up doing just that.

 

[wssix99]

I have 144" between my asymmetrical posts and its fine - but more is always nicer.

If you have an overhead trolley, that's going to limit your lift height, ultimately. If that's not an issue for you, you could get a really high lift and run your beam under the lift's overhead member. (If you do this, you would probably just have to customize something so the auto-shutoff switch works around the beam.)

 

[firebirdparts]

I have about 110" spacing and symmetrical, and really, I don't open the doors on anything, ever. I push everything onto the lift. So having a lift is super wonderful, even if it's 110" spacing, but more would be even more wonderful.

 

[firebirdparts]

This brings up a good point, how do you know the "right balance"?
I've had my truck on his lift many times and never had an issue but now you have me wondering.

If you can't guess where the CG is, then try to find some data on a few vehicles on front/rear weight distribution. You can pencil it out from that. For instance, if it's 60% of the weight on the front, the cg will be 60% of the wheelbase in front of the rear axle.

After you do that, if you pick up a big truck, shake it when it's 6" off the ground, not 6 feet. See what you think about it. No reason to be a cowboy at home. There's nobody there to impress.

 

[Falcon67]

This brings up a good point, how do you know the "right balance"?

I start with the steering wheel lined up with the forward half of a post more or less.

 

[firebirdparts]

Hard to go wrong with that, really.

P.S. If you remove 500 pounds from a vehicle on the lift, you think about that ahead of time. if you pull a big diesel drivetrain out you could maybe remove 1000.

 

[Falcon67]

As above - if I was dropping the rear end out of a car, I'd back it up a bit more for sure - AND use some tall jack stands to insure the heavy end. FWIW I set the arms, raise till it's on the pads (or posts), verify contact on all 4, raise about a foot, give the vehicle some good shoves in various directions to see if it stays in place. Then raise it up to the first lock and re-check.

 

[6768rogues]

I have a two post lift with a floor plate and an open top. I like it because I can lift a tall vehicle without thinking about hitting the cross bar. The floor plate is always well behind the engine and transmission, and far in front of the rear axle, so it has never been in the way servicing anything. I have a 14' ceiling and I can raise almost anything all the way up.

 

[Diesel Dan]

My first lift was a floor plate due to height restrictions.
When I built a taller shop I upgraded to a clear floor. Trans jack, oil drain bucket, car on roller skates etc all work better with a clear floor.

Doesn't a Mohawk give you the best of both?
Clear floor and no upper cross brace? Only thing above is hydraulic lines and those can be run through the rafters if need be.