Lift Purchase

[Stephen B.]

Re: Lift Purchase

[quote=Bruce Bursten (27670);541536]I have had my Autolifters 2 post lift for about 8 years now with no problems.
I have used it to work on everything from my Chevy 1/2 ton pickup and also on a 67 VW and the 3 Corvettes I currently own.
I do have a 11 foot raised ceiling in the lift bay so being short (not quite a midget, Steve) the clearence is fine for working under it. I have used it to restore 2 cars and as far as I'm concerned a 2 post is the way to go.
And yes you do get some body flex on a 2 post. When lifting my 57 I can watch the door gap open when the car is lifted from the floor. I have lifted it many, many times and the flexible nature of the body and frame is just natural. No cracks or damage have occured.
At times I have stored my 65 up on the lift for months at a time but it does not flex like the C1.
As far as being in the way, when not in use it takes up much less room then a 4 post lift.
Bruce
I meant no disrespect to midgets every were, not that you are one.To the contrary ,you are a mountain amoung men.
Stephen Barrett

[Jim T.]

Re: Lift Purchase

I have two Autolifters M6 and they both use 110. In use since 1995. They both have wide/large steel feet on each post sitting on a regular poured garage floor. Do not have any idea of how thick the concrete is for the garage floor. My garage door is adjusted to stop just over the top of the fenders on my 68, 70, 85, or 96 with two raised and two below all the time. If I did not have steel cabinets on the back wall I could move the lifts farther back.
Garage ceiling is between 9 and 10 ft. high.

[Joseph K.]

Re: Lift Purchase

I have a Rotary brand asymetrical 2 post lift which I installed myself 10 years ago and have been nothing but pleased with its performance. Since it is asymetrical when you lift a car the doors are able to be opened completely and depending at which height you decide to work, you may work inside under the dash very comfortably and without standing on your head!!.........................Bought mine from k-mart when they were closing stores, paid 800.00.sweet

[Terry M.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Lot of good info here, but now I'm really confused. Thought I just wanted a lift for cars in my garage to work on or store. Now I see there are two main styles I want, 2 and 4 post. 2 post for working on cars and 4 post for storing. 2 post are better for working on them, but the flexing of the car makes me a little nervous. 2 post lifts probably need 4-6" of 3-4000# reinforced concrete where as the 4 post would probably be fine on most garage floors. I'm planning to build a home right away with a 3 car garage and asked for an 11' ceiling with the third garage door being a roll-up commercial door. Sounds like now I might have to ask for the double garage door to be the commercial roll-up so I can have a 2 and 4 post lift or get one and then another one later perhaps. Are most the lifts primarilly 220 or 110? What do you think of the concrete specs?

If we all had ALL our wishes most of us would chose a 4-post for storage and a 2-post for working -- at least I would.

Most of the lifts are provided with motors that can be wired for either 110 or 220 volts. Since the 220 volt connections will draw less current they would be my preferred settings, but not everyone has 220 volt electrical outlets in their garage or the capability to install them. If you only have 110 volts available, your options will be limited. Since you are building new, ask the electrician to install a 220 volt outlet near where you think the lift controls will be. Ask the company you decide to purchase the lift from if the motor can be wired for either voltage, or ask them to supply a 220 volt motor if need be.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Ken T.
Since you are building getting a 11 foot vaulted ceiling in one bay should not be a problem, just a matter of ordering the correct roof/ceiling joists for that area.
As far as the floor, what ever thickness you have it poured be sure the stress relief cuts in the floor are not where your lift will be fastened to the floor, that is if you get a 2 post lift, which I like over the 4 post lifts.
The manufacturer can give you the information.

[Mark T.]

Re: Lift Purchase

I have been in the lift business for over 30 years and have pretty much seen it all and done it all. Paul Jordan gave the thread for prior discussions about lifts.
Terry all 2 post lifts are 220 volt 4 post lifts can be either 110v or 220v. You need 220v for 2 post lifts to build enough pump pressure and the concrete is critical for safety.
A 4 to 6 inch floor of 4000psi is the general spec we use, There are many lifts on the market with different demensions both 2 post and 4 post.
The best advise I can give is to buy from a brand name lift company not some noname import company.

[Ken T.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Thanks for the info. I'm going to see if I can go higher than 11' in the garage and get 220 just in case. What do you think about if I thicken the slab a couple of inches and add some rebar in between the bays where post will set?

[Terry M.]

Re: Lift Purchase

I have been in the lift business for over 30 years and have pretty much seen it all and done it all. Paul Jordan gave the thread for prior discussions about lifts.
Terry all 2 post lifts are 220 volt 4 post lifts can be either 110v or 220v. You need 220v for 2 post lifts to build enough pump pressure and the concrete is critical for safety.
A 4 to 6 inch floor of 4000psi is the general spec we use, There are many lifts on the market with different demensions both 2 post and 4 post.
The best advise I can give is to buy from a brand name lift company not some noname import company.

Mark. Thanks for the clarification. I am glad you jumped in. I knew you would know all the answers.

[Grant W.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Grant


Add the height of your car( 1966=49") to the thickness of the deck (4"), and 2 to 4 inches for safety. Now subtract that from your ceiling height of 84 inches. that leaves you with 27 to 29 inches to walk under the car.This wont work unless your a midget,and you'll never be able to park another car underneath.Unless you have the ability to modify the ceiling don't waist your money.
Stephen Barrett (21558) 59,66,71,73

Hi Stephen
I am a midget!!! Older I get the more I shrink.
Unfortunately when I built the garage the city only allowed 8 foot ceiling.
I really have no alternative.
I plan on putting the 68 on top and my sunbeam tiger which is lowered, will fit on the bottom.
If I do any oil changes I will get my wife to do it.....or just older and I'll shrink some more.
I think in the future for chapter meets the judges will be on chairs with rollers. Will have to find some low type of chairs or a lawn chair with rollers.
Hope they judge and not fall asleep.
Thanks, Grant

[Paul J.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Thanks for the info. I'm going to see if I can go higher than 11' in the garage and get 220 just in case. What do you think about if I thicken the slab a couple of inches and add some rebar in between the bays where post will set?

Ken, my shop was designed for a two post lift and my ceiling hieght is 13'. My doors are five section, 8' tall insulated residential doors with high bay lift tracks. No need for commercial doors. Although I don't have a lift, it was one of the future contingencies that I designed my shop for. Which brings me to my point. Since you are building this garage, don't miss something that you need and leave it out. Decide what kind of work you are going to do and plan for everything you need for now and in the future. The comments about 220v access is a good start. You will need recepticles for this for a lift, for any stick welding, and most importantly, for an air compressor. But this is only one thing. You should plan for drop cords, wall recepticles, power for your workbench and any tools.

All of this is only part of what you should do when building a garage/shop. There are other considerations such as where do things like a workbench, air compressor and blasting cabinet go? Now you're into the design of a shop. Oh, and don't forget lighting, there were some detailed threads on this not long ago.

You might want to go to some of the "garage" websites, but here are a couple of threads from the archives that might help. There's some good pictures in these too.

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...=lift&uid=2872

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...=lift&uid=2457

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...hting&uid=8725

Take your time and have some fun with designing your shop.

Paul

[Mark T.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Ken more concrete is always better but do not use rebar in the area where a 2 post lift would be . Wire mesh is sufficent , the rotary hammer drills we use will not drill through rebar. If we hit rebar we than have to cut it out with a rebar cutter which is a pain and time consuming.
Paul gave some excellent advise , keep in mind the colors you use for the walls ceiling and floors . Light colors will reflect more light. I would also check out the garage doors available. They can now run them up to the ceiling and use a front wall mounted opener.
If you have questions or need any more info send me a pm
MARK

[Les G.]

Re: Lift Purchase

I installed a 4 post lift last year in my garage with a 9.5 foot ceiling. I modified my ceiling by cutting out a 6' x6' foot section in the middle and 2 joints in the center of the garage door and recessed my garage door opener into the ceiling. I then ran the garage door track up on the ceiling and mounted an extra garage door panel on top of my door. If i could I would have invested in Torsion Spring for the garage door and a Torsion Spring Opener this would have given more clearance but the investment was another $1500.00. I told my wife that i would be able to get her car underneath,but with all the calculation it missed by a few inches. So now I have 2 Corvette on that side of the garage. The thing about the 4 post it is easier to bring the cars in and out of the garage and you don't have to worry about arm placement everytime. I also purchased a rolling jack so it is easy to jack the car up and work on it. The other advantage is that if your Corvette ever leaks fuild the 4 post has drip trays so it fall on the car on the bottom.

[Phil D.]

Re: Lift Purchase

so I can have a 2 and 4 post lift or get one and then another one later perhaps. Are most the lifts primarilly 220 or 110? What do you think of the concrete specs?

I have a 4-post lift, but I also bought two sliding scissor jacks with it. I have probably 80% of the functionality of both types this way. As a 4-poster, I can drive on and off for quick inspections, oil changes, etc. I even lift the car up to workbench height to polish the lower half of the car without stooping over. I can park another car underneath. I can open the doors all the way without banging a post. Although I haven't yet, I could even buy some alignment tools and do my own adjustments with a 4-poster. That would be very cool. Then using the two sliding jacks, I can position the four pads on the frame and lift the wheels up to a foot off the runners for brake and suspension work. The nice thing about this setup is its like having the car right on your workbench as the runners serve as a tabletop for tools while I'm working. The only occasions I've wished for a two post were when I needed some extra clearance to swing a long breakover handle or cheater pipe and one time when I had to snake a sway bar through a bracket. The runners were kind of in the way, but I managed. The only thing I figure I absolutely can't do is drop an engine/transaxle unit from underneath on a front or rear-engined car. For that, only a two-post will do. Mind you that the two scissor jacks that fit my lift cost about half again as much as the lift itself, but I think money well spent as I've got the best of both worlds.

When I was making my decision, seems most 4-posters were 110v while many 2 post were 220v. I think because the 4-post has an elaborate pulley and cable system hidden inside the runners, that enables lifting with less power. As to concrete for a 2-post, I would want more than a minimum spec of 3" to drive some very deep anchors. I'd be afraid of me putting all my weight on a cheater bar at the front of an already nose-heavy car and the rotational force pulling out shallower anchors. I've read where some people just cut a hole in their garage floor and set piers for the lift to bolt to rather than pour a whole 5 or 6 inch slab.

[Ken T.]

Re: Lift Purchase

Ken more concrete is always better but do not use rebar in the area where a 2 post lift would be . Wire mesh is sufficent , the rotary hammer drills we use will not drill through rebar. If we hit rebar we than have to cut it out with a rebar cutter which is a pain and time consuming.
Paul gave some excellent advise , keep in mind the colors you use for the walls ceiling and floors . Light colors will reflect more light. I would also check out the garage doors available. They can now run them up to the ceiling and use a front wall mounted opener.
If you have questions or need any more info send me a pm
MARK

Excellent ideas.