2 post lifts, I'm gonna pull the trigger...

I use these ramps by race ramp, they are a high density foam with a spray on liner that keeps them from sliding, they work great and easy to store because they only way about 3 pounds a piece

http://www.raceramps.com/trakjax.html

 

If you have the budget, a quality four post with the jack bridges and hydraulic ram jacks will do pretty much everything you could want. I have a four post XL Rotary and chose the XL because it goes higher than the standard 69" and saves me from having constant head wounds. I'm hoping to have a hydraulic jack sometime - you hearing me Santa???

 

lol, I have 4 2x10's for this... and I've had more trouble getting on 4 posts than 2 posts with a low car.

 

i used wood, but my concrete floor is pretty smooth and I kept having issues with the wood sliding or in the case of a 4 post lift kicking up into the rocker or shooting out from under the wheel at the wrong time slamming the rocker into the lift..

before I got these I thought of using grip tape on top and under some wood...

 

My shop only has an 8'6" ceiling, but I do have room out front for a lift in front of the drive in door. Anybody using one outdoors?
Dave

 

Has anyone ever put a grease pit in there shop??
I have limited height in my shop, and I need to get under...tired of crawling around on my back!
(didnt mean to hijack this thread.....just curious)
thanks....U.D.

 

My buddy down the street has his outside, he wishes it to be inside but can't afford the up grades so he is content, been so for 5 years now, cons outside are weather, weather and weather.

I have a four post with the hydraulic jacks, eliminates bending down and setting the arms and trying to find a balance point on my daily chevy 1500 pick-up. The jacks allow me to spin all four tires and the rails are a good tool table. A car is on I just raise it up all the way and I have floor space underneath for work, bottom of my rails are 72". The greatest advantage is when I want to change the oil, just drive on, lift, change oil and lower, every bit of 15 minutes.
Negative is it does take alot of room, but I have adjusted to it.

 

the parts are manufactured in CHINA and shipped here for ***embly!

 

Yep, I quit wearing my cap under mine.

 

I bought a used two post 9K lbs Rotary when Roger Penske was closing the Penske/K-Mart car centers - I went to a local auction and Roger became my best friend that day (even though we have yet to meet). Cost me about $950 for hoist, loading fee onto my trailer & materials to modify the garage ceiling.

Mine is an older one with the balance cables running on the bottom. It sits in a 20 x 20 garage w/ 9' ceiling. I bumped up a pocket in the ceiling (by about 14 inches) for the roof. This was to be able to store a 3rd car in the garage. The ceiling height limits me from standing under the car without having my legs splayed a bit. JPG of the Falcon stored up in the air w/ my Triumph below it. http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/aribert/Falcon/falcononhoist.jpg

My challenge is the width of the garage. My wife expects to be able to park her car inside also. I mounted the posts about 2 feet narower than standard and shortened both the swing arms and the balance cables. Because of the narrow space it takes me about 15 minutes to have a car up in the air. Because both of my cars drip oil, I have cardboard "diapers" that I place under the top car to keep drips off of the lower car. I have wood slats that I stick into the ends of the hoist arms that hold the cardboard up in place (one side of a ho****er tank carton).

Five years ago I bought a second hoist - auction purchase when FOrd was converting the Rouge plant from Mustang to truck build. THis one is a 7K lb Rotary asymetrical that I am (finally!!) installing in my workshop garage. THat garage has 9-9 ceilings and last fall I bumped up a pocket in the ceiling to 11-2. The crossbar will run ABOVE the ceiling pocket and I will move the safety limit bar/switch to be just below the ceiling pocket. Because attic storage is at a premium, I did not want to make the pocket any higher. At 5-9 height, I expect to have adequate headroom. Here the purpose of the lift is threefold. Be able to store an extra car (right now I could not buy a parts car for lack of temporary storage), use for service work and thirdly to be able to lift whatever car sits in that bay of the garage when I am using the lathe that sits 2 feet away from teh edge of the car (and have workspace without moving a car out in the snow in the dead of winter for a few hours of garage time). Last night I was scooting one of the posts back & forth as I tried out fits w/ both my F150 (longest/widest vehicle) and my winter beater Isuzu Amigo (longest roof). If I can find the time, I'll have both posts lagged down in a few days. After 5 years, I finally have the hoist posts that have been stored, laying between cars in the garage, up and have a car stored on them!

 

Check out www.completehydraulics.com in Franklin In. I bought a 2 post lift from them for my home shop 2 yrs. ago & am well satisified w/ it. It's built like a tank. Buy the truck adapters & you'll get a U shaped adapter for frame vehicles.

 

I got my Benwil like this for $150.00 from a guy who didn't want to pay to have it torn down and set up at his new shop, he figured the money was better spent buying a new and bigger one.

I didn't even have to dis***emble it. I just rolled it across the parking lot from his shop to mine.

if I were buying one full price I wouldn't have got the one with the cables going below. it is a pain in the *** to push a dead car over the bump, plus it is harder to lift low cars since the arms don't go all the way down close to the floor.

as for outside use, another shop in my complex had the same model outside for who knows how many years. all he did was put a bucket over the motor to keep the rain out.

 

when i built my shop in 1974 i installed 2 twin post lifts. several other shop owners in the area laughted at me. i was the only shop in town with lifts. inside of 2 years i think they all had lifts of some kind. electric lifts were rare at that time it was more work to install hydraulics.

 

id LOVE a grease pit... to the poster above id also like to hear anyone that has experience witht hat.. a friends father has one and never uses it.. just parks his 57 on top of it and pretends he works on it LOL

for now i have a 1 car garage so no room for a lift, and no driveway either.. but if my neighborhood stays nice enough in 5 years im gonna build a 2.5 car garage and install a lil 2 post lift.. woulda came in handy SOOO many times... then again if i just hit the pescos the car is up a lil and makes it a lil easier LOL.. but doin the install i woulda KILLED for a lift

 

i got a bendpak 10k 2 post about 2 years ago. not one problem.great customer service.

what kind of services do you plan on doing with your lift?
2 and 4 posters both have their distinctive advantages.

 

IMO, pits ****, they are hard to clean and are difficult to insure because they are an explosion hazard. (Vapors settle in the pit).

I say lift, even if it means going outside. Remember, lifts you can move, pits, not so much....

 

Too bad you're not closer. I have a 6000 lb Matco 2 post I'm gonna sell for $800.00.
It looks a lot stronger than some of the newer ones.

 

I'll give you $800 if you deliver....

 

i've had a few 2 posts and a 4 post. from a hobbyist who mostly needs to store one over the other the 4 post is much easier. from the hobbyist who needs to work on his car the 2 post is easier but it gets to be a pain on the ol' back and knees as you get a little older . i have a direct park 7000lb 4 post lift and store my 59 ford wagon over my 59 chevy wagon for months at a time no problem. i have also used it to change motor's,trans,rear's,etc .Use it all the time to lift my wife's expedition to change the oil no problem . hope that helps

 

i have an old out of date two post that was practically given to me and i have left projects up on ti for weeks with out it moving an inch even when off the safety stops it doesnt settle down to them. no worries pal

 

Bump. Now I am more confused than ever. Salesman calling all claiming to have the best lift......ugh.

I've been stopping by and looking at shops that have each salesman's lifts, talking to the guys that work there.