automobile lifts

[jazzer3]

Hello, I am asking for advice on auto lifts.  I need to put two cars up and two under, a double wide four post lift would do what I need for about $6,000, but two separate single car lifts end to end would be better suited. 

 I have an area 12' wide by 38' long and 13' heigth where the lifts would be located.

   The cars up top may be there for years, maybe.  If you have done it and were going to do it again what would you do?

  Would two post lifts work or stick with four post lifts, I am thinking the four post might be safer for long term storage but I do have a friend that always has a car up on his two post lift.

  Our shop floor is 6" concrete reinforced with wire.

Thank you,

Jay

[padgett]

If strictly for storage then a four post makes sense (other than flatspotting the tires.. OTOH what I do most often involves removing tires so have a portable medium rise (4" to 40") scissors lift rated at 7,000 lbs (RV I had at the time was 6300 lbs). Makes dropping a transmission out the 33" wide center or a gas tank out the end easy. Rverything from the 148" WB RV to the 94.5" WB Crossie fit.

How big depends on what the biggest thing is you have going on there.

One thing I do not understand is "cars up top may be there for years" - then why have them ? Each or my cars has a door.

And on the gripping hand, why not one four post and one two post. Can park a car under either.

[Spinneyhill]

Are you near California? Those bolt down lifts might not be too flash in an earthquake. You would need a purpose-cast base for it. Bolts drilled into the floor will just pull out and it will pancake due to lack of lateral bracing in any direction.

[FLYER15015]

Jay,

Check out "National Auto Tools Inc." on the web, or call them @ 1-866-563-lift.

My 4 post lift is rated at 8000#. and I placed (3) 2x12 pads cut 12" square, to raise it enough to park my Expedition under.

Mine arrived on a Saturday morning and I had it put together that afternoon.

Been in service for 5 years now with no issues, and their price was the best I could find at the time.

Current price for mine now is $1995.00 with free shipping.

Mike in Colorado

Edited November 29, 2015 by FLYER15015 (see edit history)

[Mark Shaw]

I agree with Mike in Colorado...  Two post lifts may be great for working under vehicles, but I prefer 4 post lifts for storage.

 

I have three 4 post lifts; two in my car barn & one in my home shop so I can still work comfortably under my cars. 

 

My home shop was my only storage until I bought property with a storage building.

[jazzer3]

Thanks so far, padgett's question as to why "years" made me rethink my storage plans, thank you.  I was thinking of putting our "future projects" out of the way(up top).  Four operable cars loaded onto the lifts makes much more sense. 

  We have eight older cars that are operable and two buildings each with two doors.  Five of the cars are easily gotten out three take some manuvering involving dollies and a floor jack.  This past summer seven of the eight got driven, the eighth stayed put only because of the trouble to get it out.  If no more cars are purchased the addition of the lifts will greatly enhance operating room floor space.

 No earthqukes around these parts yet!

Jay

[Dwight Romberger]

Another benefit of 4 post lifts is that you can reconfigure the layout depending on need. Two in a line might work best for now.  Two next to each other might better fill a future need.

[JACK M]

I like to drive all of my cars.

If one was stored on a lift I could not drive it on a whim.
I keep all of my cars on the floor and near a door. I don't even like to store them two deep for the same reasons.

So any one of them that is blocked in any way is one that wont run.

[poci1957]

 

I have had a four post from Greg Smith in Indianapolis (and other locations) since 2008.  I use it for storage and work and prefer the four post for my use since it is self supporting without being bolted down.  I can pull on and off easily, I can park another car underneath (although I never do) and it has casters that enable easy moving to another space.  I had to disassemble and reassemble it when I moved and was able to do so with no problems after reassembly.  I would definitely prefer two individual lifts rather than one double wide just for more placement options.  Try Greg Smith, I have been satisfied, good luck, Todd C

[Paul Dobbin]

I put a runable vehicle on the 4 post lift and a regular driver underneath.  I move the regular driver to drive the car on the lift or to use the lift for servicing others.  Great invention.  Because 3 of my cars are 68" tall I bought a lift with 75 " clearance (Accomodates my cars and my headroom)  To go that high it's a long ramp lift, but I like that too.  It also makes a great work table with a few 2 X 4"s and some plywood when set at about 3 feet off the floor.

[poci1957]

It also makes a great work table with a few 2 X 4"s and some plywood when set at about 3 feet off the floor.

 

I have done that too, also used it as a scaffold for work on my garage ceiling.  Also for detailing my cars after washing, my wheels and rocker panels were never cleaner.  Absolutely the best $2000 I have ever spent on a piece of equipment to make my life easier, Todd C 

[jazzer3]

Hello, I purchased 2 extra tall lifts, they are rated at 8000 lbs. but don't think it will ever get that close.  One is together which I did alone so I could take my time, the second I will enlist some help now that I'm familiar with the assembly.  The lifts were purchased from "best buy" because they were the first to have them available, I think they might also have the lowest price for a comparable lift.  There are no "Made in USA" stickers and the manufacturer wasn't proud enough to note where it was built but being a fabricator of sorts I saw nothing in the build quality that upset me.

As of now there is a 57 Studebaker trying to drip it's fluids onto a 36 Airflow.

No photos as I lost my phone a month ago and it took lousy photos anyhow.

Jay

[JACK M]

There should be drip pans available that fit right in the channel.

I have three of them and they come in handy.

They look like big bread trays.

[jazzer3]

Yessir, I have some in position. The Studebaker is "trying" to drip on the airflow .

[c49er]

Two of My lifts are 4 post for work ( 2 rolling jacks) and storage  .

I bought the 19.5' extra long, extra tall and wide so I could drive or dolly the cars under the lifts with plenty of room and to keep the legs out of the way.

All my cars are big at 16-18.5' long.

[Guest]

Jay,

Check out "National Auto Tools Inc." on the web, or call them @ 1-866-563-lift.

My 4 post lift is rated at 8000#. and I placed (3) 2x12 pads cut 12" square, to raise it enough to park my Expedition under.

Mine arrived on a Saturday morning and I had it put together that afternoon.

Been in service for 5 years now with no issues, and their price was the best I could find at the time.

Current price for mine now is $1995.00 with free shipping.

Mike in Colorado

I have two of those lifts ( 4 posters ) and I have no problem working on cars. On one of the racks I converted the front half into a alignment rack, with 40 degree swing plates for caster measurements A real and simple + plus to your rack, just make sure you or the guy who poured the concrete made your concrete area absolutely dead nuts flat. I use the racks for stacking and working and lifting. Because my ceiling is so high and my span is so great I use the racks as a huge scaffoldings to replace florescent tubes and to paint the inside of the building, something you could never do on a two poster One thing you must understand any rack/hydraulic electric hoist, hydraulic jack- bottle or floor, Hydraulic press etc. must be used on a regular basis or you will have hydraulic leak failure guaranteed.

My working space is 1,632 sq. ft. I would have liked more, but the city said I had maximized my footprint on my property. A four post lift, two in my case was like almost adding a two car garage for less than 5K. Think on that.