I also posted this on the Garage Journal, has anyone had experiences with portable lifts. I've been looking around and non of them really show the underside while up. You have the scissor type that looks to block the middle of the car and only go up mid height, you have the ones that come in from the side and look good for access and height but look kinda scary to be under and then you have a twin post type that is a mid rise but needs to bolted to the floor when in use, so you need to use it in the same spot. The ones I like the best are the wheel lift but are only heavy duty and priced around $25k. My info is I need to lift everything from a 1954 ford panel truck to a model A and lifting bodies from frames is a bonus too. It's going to be inside a 2 car garage so I can only go so high with the panel (but would like to be able to walk under it on a smaller car), it needs to move out of the way when not in use and enough space underneath to pull a trans. Anyone have some more input, lifts they've used, what to look for or stay away from? Yes, I'm getting old and lazy .
People I know use a drive-on 4 posted lift, and other use the 2 posted lift with 4 adjustable arms. Benefits in both types, however it's a lot easier to take a body off using the later 2 posted lift. Horses for courses as they say. All the ones I know of are permanent and not transportable. All have easy access to car on top and enough clearance to park a car underneath.
they'll be in the way and take up most of the garage if it's the 2 or 4 post permanent type. also I can roll a portable outside to use it if I need more room to work.
There is hours and hours of lift information on the garage journal. No free lunch, there will always be compromises between portable, two post and four post.
I have a 4 post drive on that has a set of casters that can be pinned on to the posts. When you lower the deck onto the casters, it lifts the posts. I can drive a car on, lower it onto the casters and spin it 90 degrees to go between the roof trusses.
X2, i move my 4 post from 2 car garage to my yard or to my carport.And i use my lawnmower to roll it on the gr***....................YG
X3....I added adjusting feet where the bolt down holes are, I get the columns plumb and finger tight the feet and is very stable, dosen't creep around all..Very happy with the quality, little over 2k $$ delivered..As stated in previous post there are pros and cons to all types and you have to go with the highest percentage of pros and work around [live with] the cons..Any lift is better than none at all ..
Digging this one back up, anyone have any experience with the portable lifts?? I want one, would prefer the in ground piston setup but one could roll away would be great IF they work.....
I had a early scissors lift I could drag around with a floor jack and it worked pretty well for lifting the car up a couple feet for body work. Not much else though. Newer ones are more portable and lift higher.
I have used the portable lift like the one the truck is on at friends transmission shop. It worked good and was stable, but it only goes up 70 inches. Pulled a hemi 4 speed out of a 68 Plymouth GTX. Would I own one no, but he bought one since sometimes he needs to work outside if the shop is full with broken down cars. Also they are pricey $3800.00 without freight.
Dannmar MaxJax is the only two post "portable" I've found. Portable is a bit of a stretch, more like removalbe to set a side. The ability to unbolt it and set it a side I really like go free up room. Costco has the best prices, 2k, shipping and handling included, and Costco stands behind their stuff: http://www.costco.com/Dannmar-MaxJax™-2-post-Portable-Auto-Lift.product.11731656.html I've really condidered it. Never seen one in person but from pics I've seen, I wish it would lift just a little bit higher. I think 6 more inches could make a world of differance. I'd like to hear from someone who owns one. The in ground piston lifts are insanely expensive. I believe the reason being is they are sold as a sealed unit in to prevent lift oil leaking out and contaminating the ground. Rotary I believe is the only one that sells them and they are 8k+. I though it would be cool to have one of those with the lifting arms recessed into the floors with a steel plate over them to where it's competly hidded but the cost is way to high to justify. Plus if you move, they're a lot harder to take with you.
No personal experience... But a trans guy down San Mateo way has had one of those single post roll under jobs in service every day for years now. I could round up his number if you want to call him.
I do know that I wouldn't again buy a 4 post/drive on lift if I intended to use it to work under/around the car. They're great for added storage. Just me sayin'.
Had my Maxjax for 4 years now and still love it. I had the bendpak P6 in my old garage and while nice it has serious limitations compared to the 2-post Maxjax. BTW, I ordered an extra set of pad extensions to put max height up about another 4 inches and it is perfect for rolling around in a standard lowback office chair under. Picture of my P-6
I'd love to have a lift at home but it's just not practical with my house. I have one at work and it makes me decide I'm not laying on my back in my garage for anybody elses' junk. Devin
RatPin, How thick is the pad under the feet of your two post? I'm building a garage in the next 6 months and should probably plan this in for the future.
4-5" thick. If you're building from scratch you should go a bit thicker and maybe use extra rebar in the post locations. Can't hurt.
I don't currently have a lift. But if I buy one I am pretty sure it will be the 4 post drive on variety. I have a friend with a muffler shop and I love his 4 post. Another buddy uses a 2 post with the swing away arms. It is probably useful for more things, but my problem with it is.........getting up and down and onto my knees to position the arms. May sound goofy but it really is a problem for me. Yeah, I'm old too, LOL. But probably no older than some of you other guys here. I am not at all familiar with those that move about on casters. Ron
i have a 10k 2 post directlift that i paid 1700 for brand new. hands down best tool ever. i have a screwed up back and it made it miserable to work on anything before. now its not a all day project for a two hour job.
In the ground piston lifts are pretty well obsolete. They are a pain in the **** in a lot of ways too. You have to have a hole in the shop floor that is about seven or eight feet deep to sink it in, you have the hydraulic lines to the piston that can and will leak, the oil tank usually holds somewhere between 50 and 100 gallons of oil. And old ones bleed down and are prone to drop several inches. I had one out here that a guy gave me about 20 years ago and it sat in the back of a trailer I had for several years before I finally hauled it off for s****. We have a local guy who supplies muffler shops in the area and he often has pretty nice drive on or two post hoists for sale for a pretty good price. Nice ones are often available used but in great shape for reasonable prices if you keep an eye out and are able to jump on one when it pops up.
If your going to build a new garage you may want to PM me. Everyone who has visited my garage leaves with severe garage envy. I'll give you some ideas. Steve
I have a two post lift that i got out of my wreaking yard. My dad bought it years ago and it heavy duty. Its not portable kind and i dont know that i would trust one of those. The thing i dont like about mine is its too wide, or the arms are at least. Makes it hard to put some cars on and impossible on others. Maybe some extensions?
I worked with some 2 post inground lifts at the midas shop in KC years back neat as hell the front post moved front to rear with a prybar and the rear would pick up by the tires or the rear dif but you had to control each cylinder separatly it was an art. I have a 2 post above ground would not have anything else. I get a kick out of people when thay see me park a car under a car. Thay think it will fall on the car below. Then I ask them if there was any value in me because I work under it all day long.
I have three lifts in my workshop. Two 4 posts and one 2 post. The 4 posts are great if you intend to do light work. You can do a lot with them but there is many limitations. However the 4 posts are great to double your parking spots. Most can be moved around also as stated in previous posts. Most come with "jack bridges" that span the open space under the vehicle so as to jack the car off the lift to do brakes/ suspension work... not the easiest way to do it... but can be done. The 2 post lift is the way to go for heavy work - body off, suspension, brakes, etc.... But with the 2 post lift, it is bolted to the floor and cannot move. Most recommend 3000psi concrete. I love the 2 post the best!!!! Mobile lift seem like a great idea. I just like the idea of carefully setting up the unit and not worry about it anymore.... Then again, my mother never let me got to the traveling carnival, she said, "... those rides are temporary and not safe". I rarely listened to my mother.
I have an old one like the one holding the truck in the first post. For my shop its perfect! I can use it like a hoist,forklift,pull bodies or engines. For me its the best bang for the buck. I have about 10' 4'' ceiling height and at max lift it clears just nice. An old office chair works great to roll around under the car!
i like a pit for under car work and motor installation----easy to do when building shop--put a lip around it so you can board over it when not using--doubles as a storm shelter----prefer a four poster for everything else and parking--casters would be great
My issue is space, I have a 34' x 24' wide building plan set up. I want two bay doors on the 34' side and one tall door on the 24' eave side. That way I can pull larger equipment in the shop to work on. Any way I go I have a lift bolted in a travel path, unless I go in ground or portable. The base on the two post portable looks small. Looks like it would be easy to tip the car overif you were torquing on one end of it some.....
If you use a 2 post and get angry with the car on the lift just get some screw leg post to suport it and then get after it.
Which ever lift you use,don't forget to plan for raising your garage door with a vehicle in the raised position. If your lift can not be placed deep enough in your garage this can cause problems. I used my 4-post to stack two corvettes in my attached garage with 8' 4" ceiling,but I could only raise my garage door about 2/3rds open with a car in the raised position. I could still drive the lower car out,but it was tight.
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