All,

Need help with trying to determine what type of car lift to get and was hoping some of you have had experiences recommendations you could share.
I am open to any type that is safe and reliable. It can be portable or permanent, two post or four post. My intended use is general auto repair (brakes, wheels, exhausts, etc.) and bodywork.

My garage has an 8 ft high garage door, the ceilings are 11 ft and the garage door opener drive is 9 ft from top of slab.

The garage dimensions are 24X24'

I attached a couple of photos of my garage FWIW.
Thanks,
Dave

 

More access and you can lift bodies off with the two post. As long as your floor is adaquate. JMO

 

Agree on the versatility of a two-post, but a four-post can go on almost any floor, better for storage, and with a couple of these, it's easy to lift a body.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Secure-Tite...-Down/50371714

I also installed a jackshaft opener, and modified the door track so the garage door hugs the ceiling.

 

You can't use a four post for brakes unless you ALSO pay for the expensive rolling jacks.

Your garage door opener will likely be in the way and will limit how high you can go (or will customize the trunk!).

Eleven foot ceilings will also limit you. You'll need a baseplate two post lift.

 

You will have to change your door setup. With only being 24 deep, the door is going to have to have a new track, pulley and opener setup. The door will need to go up to the ceiling and then curve. The opener will need to be a wall mounted liftmaster style. The 11 foot is more than enough for cars but could get close for a big truck. I have 10' 4" and can get a car all the way up but a truck I can only go high enough to sit on a roll around chair. The floor will need to be a full 4 inches at least for a 2 post. For what you want to use it for I highly recommend a 2 post.

I have one made by Atlas http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-BP8000 I am very pleased with it and feel very safe under it. It has a backup safety system that is activated if the chain or cables for some reason gets slack in it. With 11 foot you will likely need the base plate design.

 

This is all the way up with a 10' 4" ceiling. I have an inch left over with the standard lift adapters. The lift comes with truck adapters but it puts the car to high. With your 11 foot you will be much more comfortable than I am. I have to remove any antenna that is taller than the roof of the car.

 

I have a Rotary 2-Post Asymmetrical but it requires 11' 8 1/2" height clearance... Based on some of your limitations, I would suggest a Scissor Lift... These have a lot of capabilities and are also moveable... See below...

 

I think you're going to find any lift in that space is going to get cramped with your floor space. Like the others mentioned, your garage door and ceiling height are obvious factors affecting choices. If your floor isn't thick enough or strong enough, you'll need to cut out some concrete and reinforce things for a 2 post lift.

The 2 post will make things easier for wheel work and overall unimpeded access to the underside of the car, but not sure how comfortable I'd be using one as a storage lift. The question becomes one of how frequently would you be needing to use the lift for wheel/chassis work. http://www.maxjaxusa.com/

Something to consider is a Max Jack - a portable 2 post lift which can be unbolted and stashed in a corner until the next time you need it. Gives a lot more flexibility in how you use your space compared to something either too large to easily get out of the way or permanently fixed to your floor.

I have a 4 post lift in my shop, works great for storage but I haven't had much opportunity to use it for working on cars...but that time is coming soon, I hope. I was a caught a bit off guard when I first set it up and realized how much of my 30 x 30 space was now dominated by it.

 

Check your floor for level also. Mine was too sloped although it didn't look it to use a lift.

 

All,
Thanks for the responses. I was afraid that the ceiling height and opener were going to be issues.

I like the scissor option. I also looked into this one:


They appear to have decent reviews and appear to be a good compromise among portability, utility, and space constraints.

Any thoughts?
Dave

 

On that one I would be concerned about the equalized lifting. On the typical base plate or over head plate, there is a cable that forces the two sides to be equal. This one has no mechanical link. I am not sure how they built a safety into the system to back up the "cast iron gear flow divider" they call it. It may be fine, I just don't know that system.

 

That's the one I mentioned a couple posts ago. My brother has that setup. He had to have his floor reinforced for the mounting points because it wasn't thick enough initially...wasn't too difficult.

He seems to be happy with them, and has done assorted brake work, upgraded his wife's 69 Firebird to a 4 speed, etc on them no problem at all. He's had various cars up there, '30s Pontiac street rod, mid '60s Cuda, etc.

Not sure I'd want to use it as a storage lift though.

 

Here is the lift I purchased:

http://ezcarlift.com/

You are limited in how high it goes, but it is very lightweight, portable, and you only need a corded drill to raise the lift. Below is a quick video:

 

IMO a 2 poster is the way to go. You can pull engines and separate frames from bodies as well as lift a variety of equipment other than cars. If your slab is insufficient you simply have to cut into the floor and pour footers. A high quality 2 poster is about 3K. Get the highest capacity lift you can afford, at least 9K lbs is nice. The footers will be extra here. Let the lift company guide you. They may even offer the masonry service.
The door opener can be remedied with the door lift device that installs over the header. The track is nearly flush with the ceiling with this configuration. Nice 66 and 68 by the way.

 

Put a four post in my barn last fall, had the existing door track changed to a high lift and was able to use original door/opener. Four post lifts can be used for brakes by adding a cross brace and using a bottle jack instead of a rolling jack. The four post can also be purchased with a wheel kit so it can be moved outside.

 

It just seems to me that this is no better that just jacking the car up from the slab and not spending the money on a lift. You still need jack stands between the four post and the car, which strikes me as being less safe, or at least more complicated.

 

Finally bought the hydraulic jack bridge for my Rotary 4-post, wish I had done that years ago! Works great for brake work.

Would love to put a 2-post in front of the 4-post though. Maybe someday.....

 

On my 4-post, I've used the jack tray and a bottle jack. But brakes are so easy that I usually just do them on the floor, seated in comfort.

 

Point was it could be done, nothing else.