Thinking about a car lift for the new garage.
- Thread starter Nubs
- Start date
kuch
Tele-Meister
Don't know what you're looking for but Costco has these. Hydraulic
guitar_paul1
Tele-Afflicted
All I know is that keeping it plumb is super critical on lifts.
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
A pal of mine has a four-post Wildfire lift in his garage. It's free-standing, electric, and extremely well built. The really cool thing about it is it has LED lighting built in to light up the underside of the vehicle. An add-on he got for it is a traveling jack that rolls forward and backward on rails between the wheels to support rear axles, transmissions, etc.
String Tree
Doctor of Teleocity
All I know is: Saftey First.
OVerall, I Love the idea.
OVerall, I Love the idea.
RodeoTex
Doctor of Teleocity
Plan on having a fork lift on hand to assemble the thing.
Flat6Driver
Friend of Leo's
@Nubs what do you want to do with it? Store a car you don't use much: 4 post. Work on your car a lot? Either a 2 post or a "mid rise" lift as posted above. I have a mid rise and I have done all manner of projects on my cars: engine removal, suspension work, general maintenance, etc. I needed to replace the clutch on my Miata, but because of all that is in the middle of the car and so is the lift, I ended up paying to have that done. A friend and I picked it up in DE in a pick up truck and unloaded it with an engine hoist.
My next house will likely have a bigger garage and if I want to keep working on things, I'll get a two post life so my old ass can get under it easier.
And a motorcycle lift, but I can get that sooner.
My next house will likely have a bigger garage and if I want to keep working on things, I'll get a two post life so my old ass can get under it easier.
And a motorcycle lift, but I can get that sooner.
trapdoor2
Friend of Leo's
I designed my Garage-mahal around a 4-post lift. I needed storage & work. The celing is 14' up.
Lots of issues were worked thru...clearances for the door (with a 20', 5,000lb Buick up on the rack) lighting, power, thickness of concrete, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Still haven't bought the lift. Life happens.
Lots of issues were worked thru...clearances for the door (with a 20', 5,000lb Buick up on the rack) lighting, power, thickness of concrete, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Still haven't bought the lift. Life happens.
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MarkieMark
Friend of Leo's
You will need a high ceiling for a full height lift as someone mentioned already.
But what is often unknown and overlooked is that a thicker floor is required for safety. Putting a two post lift on a standard garage floor is not safe and could be a recipe for disaster.
Four post less so, but then they take up a lot of space and are generally in the way for anything much more than stacked storage (which is also much more cramped than one might picture)
*Crossed posts with @trapdoor2
But what is often unknown and overlooked is that a thicker floor is required for safety. Putting a two post lift on a standard garage floor is not safe and could be a recipe for disaster.
Four post less so, but then they take up a lot of space and are generally in the way for anything much more than stacked storage (which is also much more cramped than one might picture)
*Crossed posts with @trapdoor2
rarebreed
Tele-Afflicted
The big issue you need to know in a 2 post vs. a 4 post lift is the thickness of the concrete floor. I was always told that with a 4 post lift you can get by with a floor thickness of 4-6 inches. But a 2 post lift will need a floor probably double that at least in how thick the concrete is.
buster poser
Poster Extraordinaire
I'll be following my buddy's lead and getting a four-post next year. *edit, found a pic. I'd be getting this exact setup (sadly not the Jag or the Cayman)
Unless you anticipating doing lots of suspension work, four post is easier for reasons cited above. Also safer imo, because they're easier to get the car suspended and a lot more confidence inspiring when you're under them. If it's for maximizing space by stacking cars, no brainer; I wouldn't put a second vehicle under one that was on a two-post, even if I could rig up some kind of tray under the top one.
In terms of "space" of two versus four post... seems like a non-issue or at least the least of my concerns.
Unless you anticipating doing lots of suspension work, four post is easier for reasons cited above. Also safer imo, because they're easier to get the car suspended and a lot more confidence inspiring when you're under them. If it's for maximizing space by stacking cars, no brainer; I wouldn't put a second vehicle under one that was on a two-post, even if I could rig up some kind of tray under the top one.
In terms of "space" of two versus four post... seems like a non-issue or at least the least of my concerns.
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I had many a scare with a two post, back when I was doing that sort of work and more immortal than careful---vehicle balance point and lift pad placement can be critical. I opine that I would go with a four post, were I to have one in a home garage.
My new neighbor (whom I do not know, yet) just put in a four post and left a one ton utility/tool bed truck up on it over the weekend--testing one, two, three. From the street, it appears to have room to park an additional car under it. ((Note, that he constructed a purpose built backyard shop to support his business and his hot rods)).
My new neighbor (whom I do not know, yet) just put in a four post and left a one ton utility/tool bed truck up on it over the weekend--testing one, two, three. From the street, it appears to have room to park an additional car under it. ((Note, that he constructed a purpose built backyard shop to support his business and his hot rods)).
RobRiggs
Tele-Afflicted
Two post lifts are more prone to arm placement mishaps than a four post. Just remember safety first.
Good advice so far all, thanks! I'm thinking the ones from Costco will probably work out just fine for me. I'm looking to learn more about cars and possibly do some minor tinkering. I've already changed the oil so I'm pretty damn proud of that, but now I'm looking to do more. Not sure what that entails. Tranny fluid change maybe?
Whatcha say?
Whatcha say?
buster poser
Poster Extraordinaire
I wouldn't change transmission fluid unless the mfr says so. You'll likely need a bleeder and some other tools more or less specific to the job which you might do 2-3 times in your life; it can be a real PITA. Something like brake pads if not discs/calipers is pretty easy and a common maintenance item and DIY money saver. Four post sucks for that though, you'll want jack stands.
Changing the oil is a perfect use case for the roll-on lifts if that's all you ever use it for. At the 'auto-hobby' shop on Fort Meade they had probably 15 two posts and just one four/roll-on, and you were only allowed to do oil changes on it. Never got over how much easier it was when that was available. Trying to get the car just-so on a two-post took longer than the oil change most of the time.
Changing the oil is a perfect use case for the roll-on lifts if that's all you ever use it for. At the 'auto-hobby' shop on Fort Meade they had probably 15 two posts and just one four/roll-on, and you were only allowed to do oil changes on it. Never got over how much easier it was when that was available. Trying to get the car just-so on a two-post took longer than the oil change most of the time.
that is good info. I think the costco one would be fine for where you are now. If you advance and you get to where you are modding vehicles and swapping out axles etc, lets revisit. Great things about both lifts, but WHAT you are going to do will help figure that out.
Flat6Driver
Friend of Leo's
I like the high mount garage door openers.
trapdoor2
Friend of Leo's
Yah, I needed the clearance to open the doors with a car on the lift. I originally wanted roller doors...but these have worked out well. They're very quiet and very nice. Had the left one fail just two days after installation and the company reinstalled a whole new opener unit...and left me with a pile of spares. Been working for 2yrs now, no further issues.
I worked with Bendpak to spec out a lift to suit me. They steered me away from a 2-post simply because I wanted storage. A 2-post lift, storage rated (from another company), was 3X the cost of a 4-post lift. Of course, they also caveated that they know many who use their 2-post lift for storage...just takes a bit of care (voids their warranty, of course). With a 5,000lb vehicle up that high, I would rather be safe!
I also used their specs when I had concrete poured. Exceeded their requirements by going with 8" thick in the garage area (workshop area is 6" thick).
My only failure was to think about room on either side of the lift posts. I should have widened the garage by a few feet. Always something!
