Two Post Lift Suggestions

[ToolFanGeoff]

I am looking for a two post car lift for my home workshop. The lift will be used on weekends by a hobbyist. The ceiling height of the shop is over 14 feet.

These are things I would like to have:
More than 72” lift travel height. My son is 15 years old and 6 foot 3 and still growing.
Clear floor lift
Rated for 10,000 pounds + Will be used to lift a ¾ ton diesel pickup, cars, etc.
A-symmetric – this is a personal preference, not a must have.
Locks on both sides, but lock release on one side (pump side) Again, a preference.
240 volt
Does not have to be Ali certified

Am I missing anything?
Thank you, Geoff

Does anyone have any advice on a lift that could work for me? Especially the height aspect.

Thank you

 

[dave*99]

Get your son a hard hat. My son is 6’ and I hand him a hard hat when he gets under my lift. It has saved him many times. The lift arms are the culprit.

 

[finn]

Even a brimless welder’s beanie helps when your dome hits an immovable object. That thin layer of material has saved me from bleeding many times, and there’s no brim to get in the way.

Also get him a set of wrap around safety glasses.

Check BendPac specs. Mine is a 10 k asymmetric, but I think BP changed their model lineup since I got mine six or eight years ago.

 

[dave*99]

I have a Rotary SPOA10 I think they make a higher lift model.
I have a 6’7” friend. He ducks for everything.

 

[gizardlizard]

I second Rotary. Question though: why would you not want an ALI certified lift? I would never even consider one that wasn’t ALI certified.

 

[zkdiesel]

The rotary spo10 with three stage arm option or the spo12 is the most versatile lift you can get that will work great for your application. Only bad is the price tag
I own 4 of them…

 

[brianpgriset]

You need to give us your budget.

 

[ToolFanGeoff]

To all that responded, Thank you!
I am looking for a lift that can accommodate taller people. I did not want to limit the possibilities by saying it had to be ALI.
Lots of lifts out there in the $2500 range. For the right / taller lift, I would consider up to $5000.

Is there a metric lift that raises 2 meters (78 inches)?

 

[dave*99]

Look on the websites for Rotary, Challenger and Bend Pak. Maybe Advantage too.

 

[Kaizen]

I bought an atlas 10k and it has all of that except the height. That sure would be nice to have. If i ever shave my head i'm sure it will look like the surface of the moon. I always wear a hat of some sort to limit the damage. Remember depending on what you are lifting even if the arms go to 6 feet most of the car will be under that height; tires, exhaust, etc. In other words the boy will need to learn to stoop and the art of under lift walking wheere you watch below and above. Mine has risers that go on the arms and i can get the car up another foot if i want. Just not something i like doing if i'm really hammering on something. I really like my lift.
If you are going to install yourself make sure you drill the anchors all the way through the slab if you are using sleeve anchors.

 

[ericm]

Many two post lifts have available extensions to make them taller.

 

[pelletman]

Get a used Mohawk. That being said, you can find very nice lifts, like a 10K Challenger we have, for very reasonable prices

 

[dave*99]

Many two post lifts have available extensions to make them taller.

True, but those extensions are usually to accommodate tall vans and trucks. Not tall mechanics. They don’t change the height under the vehicle.

 

[gizardlizard]

How are the extensions not changing the height under the vehicle when raised? You replace your 3” extension with your 6” and run your lift to max height and the entire vehicle is now 3” higher.

 

[dave*99]

There are 2 types of lift extensions. Column extensions accommodate tall vehicles.

Lift pad extensions take up the space between your lowered lift pads and your taller vehicle. So your lift that has 78" of travel does not have to waste 6" of travel just to touch the vehicle. Without them, the vehicle would only be raised 72" in this example.



The OP want's to raise the vehicle higher than many lifts can accommodate because his son is very tall. That requires a lift with a larger travel range. Not an extension kit.

 

[Phydeauxman]

OP, I just finished the install of my Bendpak 10AP 2-post lift. My shop has 16' walls and this lift will raise my Ford 4x4 Super Duty high enough for me to easily walk under it. Granted I am not as tall as your son but if this lift won't get your truck high enough, nothing will. The overall height from the floor to the limit switch is 11 3/4 inches. As dave99 called out...getting the lift pad extensions is a must when lifting something like a truck, even stock trucks that do not have lift kits. I am still experimenting with that part so have not yet used my lift to raise my truck. The other thing I would say (at least for me)...I am now dealing with the anxiety of making sure my truck is properly positioned between the lift posts from a center of gravity perspective so that I can safely lift it. This is something I did not factor in when I decided to get a 2-post (I already had a 4-post). The lift came with a book that shows you the lift points for many vehicles but you still have to figure out the CoG of the vehicle to be lifted so that it is safely balanced.

 

[dave*99]

Lift pad extensions are also necessary so the lift arms clear the running boards on many vehicles.

 

[dave*99]

There is mention of a Challenger extra tall lift at the end of this thread. Look it up.

Lift for tall guys.

I'm soon to be in the market for a lift for my garage. I am 6 foot 4 inches and getting too old to be hunched over under a lift. Any tall guys out there with extra high lifts? If so what is it and how do you like it? How high will it lift? BTW, I need at least a 10k capacity two post lift.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[78jeep02]

Check out the BendPak APX lift. It is a high rise lift that’s a good option for taller folks

 

[ToolFanGeoff]

Guys, You have been exceptionally helpful! Thank you!
Here is a Bend Pac lift that lifts 6 inches higher than a standard lift.

The BendPac 10APX lifts to 79 inches.
This is now the front runner!
Thank you again.
Geoff

 

[carcruse]

For your son's safety, I'd reconsider this statement:
"Does not have to be Ali certified"

 

[jetlag]

For your son's safety, I'd reconsider this statement:
"Does not have to be Ali certified"

Get a used Mohawk. That being said, you can find very nice lifts, like a 10K Challenger we have, for very reasonable prices

also, if you're lifting a 3/4 ton diesel pickup, I'd want a ALI certified 11K or 12K lift. If you're considering a 10K lift, I'd call the manufacturer and ask them if it's capable of safely lifting a 3/4 ton diesel pickup. A Mohawk 10K lift is certainly capable of those kind of loads, but they're generally out of the range of most home shop guys. And even with a Mohawk, if you exceed any of the lift's rated capabilities, you're on your own if there's a failure.

The problem is weight distribution. A 10k lift is rated for 5K at each pair of arms, and diesel trucks can easily weigh 5K or more at the front axle. It's basically lifting at the lift's theoretical capacity, or exceeding it. And one more area of concern, with those kinds of loads, it's even more important to have proper concrete underneath the lift.

 

[finn]

For your son's safety, I'd reconsider this statement:
"Does not have to be Ali certified"

I’ll call ******** on this one. Lack of ALI certification doesn’t mean the lift is going to spontaneously collapse. Acquiring the certification is mostly a business decision, re , in a highly competitive retail market can the cost of the certificate be absorbed and margins still be adequate to remain profitable.

I don’t know the current situation but there are examples where the identical, or nearly identical lift is sold by multiple vendors where only the color is different, or where only some models are certified

Examples include Advantage and Wildfire (when I bought mine at least) are/were substantially the same lift. Advantage was certified, and sold at a slightly higher price. Similarly, although the smaller Advantage 8000 lb was certified, at that time the larger 11k was not ( although a business decision was later made to pay for the certificate for the 11k lift too).

Not knocking the certification in any way, but just making the assumption that lack of a certificate is a death sentence without further investigation is foolish. I’m just as safe under my 11k Advantage without the stamp as I would be under the one made six months later to the same design with the certificate, and with no design changes, and both made in the same factory as my 8000 lb certified lift.

Sort of like only parking your money in insured FDIC investments. It’s safe, but in the end you’re not going to earn much.

 

[ncfireman1918]

I have a Derek Weaver Pro-10. It's 10k lbs, ALI certified and lifts *almost* high enough that my 6'4" head doesn't always hit something. BTW, the manufacturer on the certification is Rotary because they are owned by the same corporate overlords. I paid considerably less than a comparable Rotary would have cost and was able to pick up from their warehouse in Charlotte. It's been in for 5 years now, and I couldn't be happier with it.

 

[ericm]

The problem is weight distribution. A 10k lift is rated for 5K at each pair of arms, and diesel trucks can easily weigh 5K or more at the front axle. It's basically lifting at the lift's theoretical capacity, or exceeding it.

Aren't you supposed to place the vehicle's center of gravity between the posts, so the load is even on both sets of arms?