jensenracing77

i was going to build a 4 post lift and now i am thinking i am just going to buy a lift. i want one to store a car on and occasionally use it to work on cars. to buy one i would rather have a 2 post lift but is this a good idea for storing a car on with another car below it? the 4 post lift will not be as good for working on cars. any help or input would be great.

64Rocket

I use the 2 post lift. I do park one on it and another under it. It leaves me a little leary, but the guy next to my place does it all the time.
You will need a 6 inch concrete floor. I see them on craigslist some times. I got mine for $1000. It is two years old, the place was moving to a bigger shop that had lifts already.

Gene

jensenracing77

the ones i have looked at say that 4 inches of concrete with 3000 pis is all you need. i have 5 inches, and cant remember the psi but dad said he thought it was higher than 3000 psi. we pored this floor back in the early 90's

MN71W30

Some 4 post lift have wheels, I like that option. I built the height of my garage for a lift and just need to scrape up the money, but I'm leanig towards the 4 post myself. I'll be watching this thread.

scrappie

I was considering putting a two post lift in my garage. I have a 4" slab. Most garage floors are pitched so water can run out door. Do you have to shim the posts to plumb or can you install on slight grade? I would think a 2-post lift would be more versatile.
Should I consider footings?

Bluevista

Most residential concrete is 3000 psi and at least 4 inches thick, should be wired too. Drill a few test holes with a roto-hammer and find out.
After checking out all of them I decided on the Bend-Pak HD-9 four post lift, bought it from ASE. It was between that and The Backyard Buddy. I use it mostly for storage, the convenience of just driving on and off is the biggest reason I went with the 4 post. It is the wide model so no worries about side clearance and the main ramps are adjustable for smaller cars too. Not that great for suspension work or changing tires unless you get the jack thang. The posts get in the way even with the wider model when you're working on the body, forget about painting unless you can shift the car around. Along with bonking your head walking under it ..taking the ramps on and off is the biggest pain, They can stay on but hang down and if you have two cars using it they have to come off. I store them on the main ramps behind the tires, should have gone with the optional aluminum deals. Gas stations had the counterbalanced ramps, I would hit my head on that steel weight that hung down back when I worked at them, all mini-marts in the bays now.
I ordered it and had it dropped at the shipping terminal then hired a guy with a flat bed car hauler to pick it up and drop it in the drive in front of the garage. Otherwise it costs more for shipping and you need a towmotor to get it off the truck, we all have those.
I know of one guy in this thread who does have a towmotor... and a lift.

citcapp

The garage floor issue is an easy one if you are worried. Rent or borrow a concrete saw and cut out a 2' x 2' square where each leg of the lift goes dig out the dirt about 1' deep. buy some #4 rebar and make two 18" x 18" squares connect them together with tie wire about 6" apart with straight pieces of rebar about 8" inches long set in the hole on 4 chuncks of old brick of concrete block to hold the rebar out of the dirt at the bottom of the hole. drill holes in all four sides of the existing slab about 4" deep four to a side and stick in 6" pieces of #4 rebar. Hand mix concrete and fill hole. Install the bolts and bolt pattern into the hole prior to pouring the concrete and you now have a sturdy support for your lift. A lift is on my list of thing to buy for my garage and I will go with the two post lift as mine will not be used for storing a car.

jensenracing77

i assume that the 2 post lift has a safety catch that you can rest the car on to unload the hydraulics of the lift? i know that they have a safety but is it made for long term use? i would like to go with a 2 post but i just have to feel safe for the car on the bottom. if something would happen i wonder what insurance would say about it. there is a place that sells them about 70 miles from here so i guess that i just need to make a trip to see them.

jensenracing77

this is the lift that i am looking at. does anyone know of this atlas brand? i have ben told that it is a good lift for the hobbyist.

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Ph...de=TPHR%2D8000

citcapp

I am looking into lifts as well. what weight are looking to lift. I believe the 8000 lift would work for everything I do

jensenracing77

a local guy just told me to watch out when buying a lift because there are about 20 differant lift companies now and all from china. he said that there are good ones out there but just do your homework. i think i will be going with the atlas. they have a huge showroom in Indianapolis with all there models on display and can test them out before you buy.

wonder how i will hide this from my wife

kaz442

I was going through the same thing when I was shopping for a lift. I ended up going with a single post. Its basically a drive on fork lift. I went this route because my garage is only 20 ft wide and the extra post from a two or four would take up alot of room.
70fendertrunkdeck002.jpg
70fendertrunkdeck003.jpg
70fendertrunkdeck006.jpg
Works well for doing anykind or work under the car, trans exhaust etc. If your doing anykind of wheel work I just use a bottle jack and jack stands. Not cheap but if space is an issue it works out great. I did cut open my floor and dig it out and put some 5000# cement with steel reinforcement. Jkaz

MN71W30

I love that single post lift. I need to know where you got it.
Thanks

jensenracing77

KAZ442, what brand is it? looks great.

i noticed that you have an 87 GN. my budy is a GN fan. he has an 87 also. he almost got a GNX in the early 90's, now he is kicking himself for not.

kaz442

My lift is made from a comp called Gemini:
http://www.geminilift.com/hobbylifts.html
I've had it for about 5yrs and have had zero issues with it.
As for the GN, I'm the org owner and it has 8600 miles on it. I'm kicking my self about a GNX also, While I was waiting for this one to come in(took 5 months) my dealer called me and asked if I was interested in a GNX for 36k. Like a dumb *** I refused, still kicking myself about that one!! The stupidity of youth!! JKaz

Jamesbo

x2

I was told the same thing.

jensenracing77

about to get my lift. i have a question. is it hard on the suspension to store a car by the frame and let the wheels hang for long periods of time? when you install new control arm bushings they are to be torqued with the weight of the car on them, so if you are storing it would this be hard on the bushings? i want a 2 post lift but don't want to do something i shouldn't.


maybe i should post this in a new thread?