I've been thinking about getting a 4 post lift, any feed back on brands to avoid? should it be mounted to the floor? The ones that advertise casters kits can they be moved with a car on it? My inside ceiling height is 10' is it high enough?
Thanks

 

i just looked at many of them. i decided to get a 2 post. as for a brand i liked ATLAS the best out of the ones i looked at. i seen some cheep unsafe looking ones and atlas was the best price and had a good quality and also had a second backup safety. as for 10 foot, i have 10' 4" and can get an A body up high enough to stand under it and i am 6 foot. i only have 1 inch above the car. if you are using it fore storage you will be fine. if you are using it to work with then it may be just a little low but could still be OK.

 

Avoid anything from China as usual.

I have a Bend-Pak HD-9 and like it a lot. It's built like a tank and I think it has some of the best safety features of any lift out there, which is the most important thing when you have tons of steel hanging over your head or another car. There are pneumatically operated safety catches you have to release and hold when it is going down and there are back up catches that immediately lock in if a cable should happen to fail. You need a small air compressor at the least to to operate it.
All I know is that you see rows of Bend-Pak lifts at auto service places, gearhead TV shows, even Jay Leno has them , the blue things are everywhere, tells you something.

They should be bolted down IMO, I know they have a caster kit but common sense says to secure the thing. If you hit one of those legs driving under it with another car bad things could happen, just makes me feel more secure with four big bolts holding down each leg into concrete. You need at least 4 inch thick wired concrete with a 3000 psi strength rating, normal and has been minimum code requirement in most places forever. Unless you have a big garage you can move the lift around in easily the casters aren't much use. The lift won't fit through a normal height garage door if you want to take it outside or anything like that either.

A ten foot ceiling is getting a little low but it all depends on the use. If two cars are being stored the height of the cars determines the garage ceiling height minimum. You may have to bend down a little to work on a car on the lift, a lot depends on the car height, and your height too.
Measure the car's heights that you want to store then add about a foot for the runway thickness, ceiling and car roof clearance. The lifts have to go up about 3-4 inches higher beyond whatever locking position height you want then drop down to release the catches on the Bend-Pak and others brands maybe too. You have to leave at least 6 inches above the car when when it is at it's final height to go up then lower it and have a little leeway just in case you get carried away. If you accidentally go to the next catch going up you're literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The schematic on this site has better numbers and info to figure it out.

http://www.asedeals.com/garage_lift.html

The garage door has to be a hi-lift type or the swing out old type. How far the door hangs below the ceiling is another thing you have to watch for, mine is about 6 inches. Fine for a regular car because it just sits above the trunk, with the wagon it gets real close to the roof and it has to be down to put the car up because of the extra needed to drop down and latch it, hope I never forget about that door.

Mine are squeezed in with an 11 foot ceiling, but an inch is worth a mile.

april may 056.jpg

I just looked up at this and scared myself, this post is way too long.

 

I wish I had a garage big enough for a lift. I guess I should be thankful though. My 2 car garage is big enough to have the Olds and my wifes VW in it. Plus, I still have room to work on the Olds when the garage door is down and the VW is in the garage.

 

Mine is a 8000lb direct lift. It was about $2000. I think it's the best bang for your buck. My ceiling is just over 11ft. 3" and will raise the car 68" to the bottom of the ramp, which is max for the lift. Do your homework so you know how high it will go.

 

Be aware of open garage door height, that was my biggest restriction.

 

X2

 

I just raised my tracks to the ceiling and added a short lenth of track to the bottom. You will not be able to use a conventional electric garage door opener. Jkaz

 

Would anyone care to debate the 4 post vs. 2 post lifts. Are the 4 better for storage?

 

...I have..2...2 Post ROTARY LIFTS in my garage...assymetrical.?? [ spelling]..just so you can open your doors and not hit the POST..But the only thing i see as far as BETTER with a 4 Post is..?? Doing your own FRONT END ALIGNMENTS and EXHAUST systems since you want the weight of the car on the ground, so to speak. and its convenient to just drive up on to a LIFT without setting up the 4 ARMS that you would have on a 2 post lift......But.You cant take your TIRES OFF and do brakes,But my garage door is in the CENTER of the garage and I have a LIFT on the LEFT and the RIGHT of it.....So I have to make a turn for either lift and a ..4 POST would limit my turning radius so....Thats all I have to say..lol.....

 

if all you are going to do is store a car on it i would say go with the 4 post. if you plan to do work off of it also i would go with the 2 post.

 

where are you located. this link is to a place in indianapolis indiana that has all these lifts on display. you can look and play with them.

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Ve..._Lift_s/36.htm

mine was made in china but am very happy with it. i paid $1595 for it. if i got a US made one it would have ben several thousand. all the atlas brand i seen were good. i am sure you can find other brands out there that are good also but i sure did find some that i would not put my 4 wheeler on let alone a car.

 

..Id rather have the TIRES OFF the ground if its gonna sit a while......Just so yah dont get them." SQUARE WHEELS "

 

i thought the same thing for a long time. i don't know what to think about that now, i am undecided. if you store it with the wheels hanging then the suspension bushings have a reverse load on them and the top out bumper is smashed under the upper control arm. if they are new or near new i doubt that it will hurt them but if they have much age on them i think it would be bad for them. have you ever took apart a chassis that had the engine and body off of it for a year or two? the top out bumpers are destroyed. like i said, i don't know what to think on this issue but wanted to add my thoughts.

 

I mounted my garage door opener on the side wall and attached the chain to the end of the bar with the spring on it. I welded on 1st gear off a 10 speed bike and it works great and nothing is hanging above the door.
Dave

 

..The LIFT is on the FRAME.......So basically.....YOUR...SAVING SUSPENSION PARTS......The WEIGHT of the whole CAR isnt on THEM......

 

with the car sitting on the wheels the bushings are in a neutral position. with the suspension hanging there is a negative load on them. when you install new ones they are supposed to be tightened with the weight of the car on them to keep them neutral. maybe this would have no affect on them but would think it would in time. i am storing mine on a 2 post but i can change them myself it it ever messes them up. i do know for sure this will destroy the top out bumper after a couple years.

 

If you have a large enough garage one of each would be the ticket