Ready to get a 4 Post car lift for small garage. Many vendors sell "hobby" grade import for @ $2k. Bend Pak is @ $ 3500. Anyone using the import version? I will actually need to notch the trusses in my roof for clearance but still rather not deal with jacking wayyy up ... Thanks Powerband
I have seen some scarry accidents with the cheaper models I put the bend paks in my shop , got the 12,000 pound models , better way safe than a little sorry !
OK here is the deal,,, I have a Cheapie hoist and I am very happy. The above posters are correct that a name brand hoist is better, but WE are not comercial businesses. for our uses our hoists do not lift much weigh and are used very little. YOU do NOT NEED a 10,000 lbs hoist,,, 6 to 8,000 lbs is all you need for a hot rod. BEware of shipping charges,,,many e-bay dealers jack up the shiiping rates!! shippin from indy to detroit was only $170! other dealers that were closer were going to charge $350!! I recomned the guys out of INDY, ( they also have a East coast outlet) they have been in hoist business for years and when you take the total cost (+ shiiping they are cheapper than most) http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/
a friend has a DiRECT lift and is very happy with it. i think he paid around $2000 for it. the rods that control the catches are a little iffy , i always check to see if they (all four) are engaged properly before i get under it..once i do i feel safe the guides are just nylon type blocks and not roller bearings like the expensive ones, but it goes up and down seldom in hobby use
I am very happy with my Direct Lift from Greg Smith Equipment in Indy. I too paid just under 2k for mine and it came with a bunch of extras. I would love to pick up a jack to drop in the jack tray that was included. I don't know how I ever lived without it.
The sturdiness of the lift isn't going to matter much if you notch the trusses in the roof of your garage.. that is going to take away from the sturdiness of your house/garage.... JMO...
I don't know how high up you actually are needing to go, but I've got a cousin who ivented/builds/manufactures/sells a hobby type lift that gets the wheels around 24" off the ground, has removable bridges between where the wheels rest, and is only operated by a standard floor jack. He typically sells them at the bigger car shows (they've been at the Darryl Starbird's show here in Tulsa for years) and I'm not thinking they are too expensive. If you're interested, PM me and I'll see if I can find the details about the lift.
you haven't seen/heard all the horror stories about lifts failing and dumping cars over? i'm not saying the hobbyist NEEDS a top of the line lift, but this is not something to shop by price for. do your homework, check out the garage journal, there's some feedback there on which lifts are good or not.
i have a back yard buddy lift and have been well pleased with it. the lock system seems very sturdy and solid when a vehicle is sitting on the lift.
I have a 25+ year old 9000# twin-post that I bought used for $1800.00. Works great, has never let me down and is secured to the floor with about a dozen 1 1/4" diameter bolts. In contrast, my buddy has a 'cheapo' 4-post Chinese lift that you could probably get one guy on each end and shake the car right off of it. It sways about 4" when you try to remove a tight drain plug...no thanks! Make sure you buy plenty of life and disability insurance when you buy one of these things... Why do we spend countless $$$ to build these cars and then try to use the ****piest lifts to work on 'em... End of rant.
i just finished installing an 8000 lb 4-post Complete Hydraulics lift. They are out of Indiana and it cost me $1600 bucks, including 3 center oil pans, a jack tray and a bottom cover. So far, so good. The quality actually looks pretty decent, as does the safety catches, etc. If you want more info or photos, shoot me a PM and i'll remember to add them to this post. As far as height of trusses and idea of notching them. Im thinking of doing the same. To do it right will require installation of a center beam with major supports. I wouldnt advise doing this out of permit, as it could present problems if you ever sell the house. -scott noteboom
Thanks all for the info. Still have to make my own decision but now have better handle on options... Powerband
<!-- s:roll: --> I wound up getting the US made Bend Pak 9000lb lift. It arrived yesterday and was a bear to get off the truck (@ 15' long and @ 1500lbs. all one package). I got it un strapped to check out and it is impressive with well made components and lots of gravity effect <!-- s:roll: --> . I especially like the Heim joint air release safety lock system. > Anyone know about the safety release - air pressure system tubing and fittings used on the Bend Pak lifts ?. I never saw that type of connection before, I don't know how they are fitted or what they are called... Thanks Powerband Now to get at those trusses... Poweband <!-- s8) --><!-- s8) -->
Just put a used Rotary in the shop, $2k with a new power unit and cables. Way better than a new cheapo.
One thing nobody ever addresses is the subject of moving a lift. Recently, I had to move one from one bay to another. Took half a day with two guys and a tractor with a bucket. I have a Backyard Buddy that is 6 or 7 years old and it has the best set of installation instructions I've ever seen. Easy to dismantle and reasemble. Never a problem. Quite frankly, I wouldn't let my dog lay under some of the Chinese **** that's out there.
Anyone have one outside ? I'm thinking about pouring some deep footings in a new pad for a 2 post ***ymetrical and putting it outside under corrugated steel shed deal. Of course it snows here.
Most of the 4 post lifts have a wheel caster kit available. I purchased the kit with the lift but haven't gotten that far ***embling it yet. The caster kits use the weigt of the ramps to lift the 4 posts. Anyone played with moving theirs around on the wheels?.. (Of course you can't move it with a car on the lift...) Powerband
Seriously, not true. The wheels are great. I have them on my direct lift 4 poster and the wheels work *better* with the car on the lift. I can push the lif and car around the garage, spin the thing with not much pressure - certainly on my own. Like others have said, the only minor isue is the bars used to control the locking mechanism, so I always check that they are all 4 locked. But the lift is really sturdy and doesn't sway at all.
Have a friend with a roll around, rolls it out side when he wants it out of the way. We moved it once on a roll back car hauler, quite a site going down the road.
A guy that sells high end commercial lifts had good things to say about Direct-Lift for the hobbyist. I agree with those that say we don't need some big dollar wazoo lift for poking around our hot rods occasionally at home. PLUS, without a bunch of employees disrespecting it, the entry level hoist will give years of safe use
I recently purchased a direct lift pro park 8 from Greg smith. This one --http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=TPPRO-PARK8 for less than $2k delivered. I did a LOT of research and am very happy with my choice. It uses a "lock ladder" system like the more expensive lifts rather than those welded on blocks, and it has double locks in case of a cable failure. Here is an important thing to keep in mind when buying a lift, especially for a small garage ---GET THE TALL ONE. I almost bought the standard height lift because I only have a 10ft ceiling and can't put a car the whole way up anyway. Then just before ordering it I realized that I'm gonna be stuck with those ramps on the floor all the time, or if I keep them up I'm gonna be hitting my head on them. My lift has 6'9" clearance under it, and is also about 1ft longer than the standard lift. I'm 6'5" and can walk right under the ramps without ducking, and can even park my 2" lifted Jeep under them with no problem. Do your research carefully, I was looking at other lifts, including complete hydraulics, but didn't like the locking system or some of the poor weld quality on the 2 I looked at. I would have liked a Back Yard Buddy, but at $4600 plus delivery it was just a little too much, but it is a really nice lift and American made. The lift I chose IS made in china, but it's the only one made there in an American owned factory, and the welds and overall quality is much better than the Complete Hydraulics that I looked at. As far as the lift failures, I know that at least one of those failures that you see in the ads was caused by a car hitting the lift. I've also heard about the failure at Carlisle, but that's probably because the lift was set up on an uneven surface, or gr***. My lift is very stable, I marked the floor around the posts as soon as it was installed, and it has not "walked" even the slightes bit. I am in no way affiliated with Greg Smith or any other dealer, just happy with my purchase, and thought I'd p*** on what I've learned. PS One other thing, I did screw up a little, I always planned to be able to roll the lift outside when I need more room to paint or something, then realized that the columns are a little too high to fit under my door! One other thing, you don't need that expensive jack, or any jack. Raise the car, then lower it onto a tall jackstand, then place some jack stands under the frame on the jack tray, I use railroad plates to sit it on (experiment a little), once you figure out how to do it, it'll work great, just be safe!
www.allamericanlifts.com has a slightly smaller model # M 813 that seems to be suited for a smaller garage. Does anyone have any experience with this company and their quality?
I've had a handful of questions about the lift I mentioned in my previous post. My cousin Danny Johnson is the Owner/President/Inventor/Seller/Distributor of the Kwiklift system. Its isn't one of the lifts that raises a car way up high in the air, but they are designed to place the wheels around 24" off the floor, and the bridges are removable so you can move around easier under the car itself. It is also portable, so you can move it around in your shop as well as take it with you to the pits if you need to. Their basic kit starts at $1049, and if there is enough interest in them, I could probably talk him into offering some kind of a discount to the HAMBers. I also don't know if it'll make a difference, but tell'em Danny's cousin Greg sent you. Might get the family 10% increase as well. Who knows, but do me the favor of mentioning me, as this is one way of keeping track of the sales I send him, and possibly talking him into a discount for all of us. Anyway, the website is www.kwiklift.com
I would sure like to know more about these so called cheap chinese lifts that are failing. The only ones I have ever seen or heard about are the ones pictured in compe***ors ads. Wives tail?? I don't know. Lets see some more pics and hear actual stories. I would suggest that *****s have gotten themselves hurt using a shovel, much less a car lift on their own. Is it a matter of understanding how to use it, abusing it, or just a cheapo lift? Again, first hand experience or hearsay? Not trying to cause trouble, just honestly curious... I have been to Greg Smith Equipment in Indy. Awesome shop. Just bought a big roll around tool box there and will likely buy a lift soon. They have the Pro Park 7 for less than $1600 carry out. A friend bought one there and I have had my 3/4 ton suburban on it for maintenance with zero wobble or any other such nonsense... Oh yeah, I am rebuilding my traditional flat ceiling roof in my garage to accommodate the future lift. Not much too it if you do a little research first.
True/FUNNY on the people getting hurt with a shovel. Big liability issues here. So, i'm sure there are no real "bad ones" out there. There's always the guy that drives off the other end, or puts a crewcab dually on one that's set up in sand, etc. There's a lot of things that are built cheap to save/make more money. I'm sure this ain't one of them
Two fellas I know have 4 post lifts. One bouhgt "the cheap one" for 2k while the other sprung for the "better" one. The biggest difference I noticed is that the cheaper one has welded in blocks while the "better" one has machined in slots. Sorry I can't be specific on name brands - I'm NOT a lift guy - just a drooler. Anyways my buddy with the "expensive" one was always telling me what a hunk of junk the cheaper one is. Well one day the guy with the cheaper one stops by - he needs me to machine some parts for his lift. One of the cable pulleys was goobered up. It never made any noise - just kept wearing, wearing, wearing until one day BLAMO it dropped - lucky for him he was only using it to lift up 1/2 his bike to change a tire - bike was barely off the ground - no damage. This guy owned a "garage" for years - he only does hobby work now and not THAT much of it. The lift was bought new and was a couple years old. Point is they DO FAIL. Who knows what the hell would have happened if he had his car on it and he under it. Be safe - inspect those cables, idler pulleys - the whole shootin match. That's as close to FIRST HAND as I got.
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