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View Full Version : Automotive lift questions?



ertoys
05-16-2007, 08:02 PM
We built our house with provisions in the garage for a lift, that was over three years ago. Now, I am finally going to get my wish. I will be making a lift purchase sometime this year.

Which is more functional 2 post? 4 post (with jacking trays?) I like the idea of being able to move the 4 post if I want to.

Which brand is the preffered brand of lift? Rotary, Bendpak, Eagle, ....?

All input is appreciated.

ls427ss
05-17-2007, 03:41 AM
I have a Bendpak 2 post in my garage, and love it. You can get to anything, goes up 7' 3" ... I even made adapters that bolt to structural points on the body (67 Camaro), and drilled & tapped the arms to accept them, very cool for removing the sub frame and not having the car fall off the rack backwards. Trust me, after you get a rack... the LAST thing you will be doing is moving it & 4 posts are 2 more in the way. Hope you have about 130" of height, as mine has a cross bar connecting the top of the columns to keep them from collapsing inward. I welded a ring on the top bar and hung an electric winch on it... pulls motors out of the back of trucks, lifts off camper shell & lowers it on it's dolly, opens hoods...lol
You will love it, and from my experience Bendpak is the she-it!

vintageracer
05-17-2007, 06:30 AM
Is service or parking your primary need. If service, get a 2 post. If parking, get a 4 post.

RaceMan
05-17-2007, 10:23 AM
I think the 2-post is better , nothing on the floor can help sometimes.

ertoys
05-17-2007, 07:44 PM
I have a Bendpak 2 post in my garage, and love it. You can get to anything, goes up 7' 3" ... I even made adapters that bolt to structural points on the body (67 Camaro), and drilled & tapped the arms to accept them, very cool for removing the sub frame and not having the car fall off the rack backwards. Trust me, after you get a rack... the LAST thing you will be doing is moving it & 4 posts are 2 more in the way. Hope you have about 130" of height, as mine has a cross bar connecting the top of the columns to keep them from collapsing inward. I welded a ring on the top bar and hung an electric winch on it... pulls motors out of the back of trucks, lifts off camper shell & lowers it on it's dolly, opens hoods...lol
You will love it, and from my experience Bendpak is the she-it!
Sounds like a great idea for removing the subframe! I had the garage built with a 12.5' ceiling so height isnt an issue. Can you provide me with the overall width of your Bendpack?

ertoys
05-17-2007, 07:45 PM
Is service or parking your primary need. If service, get a 2 post. If parking, get a 4 post.
I hate to say this, but both. In the future I may have a fourth vehicle. However service is the need for now.

ertoys
05-17-2007, 07:48 PM
I think the 2-post is better , nothing on the floor can help sometimes.
I see the value in the 2 post, but I thought it would be nice to have the otion to move it if needed.

Anyone else have a 2-4 post prference or favorite manufacturer?

How long have you had your lift?

Any problems?

Hows their customer service?

ProBell
05-18-2007, 02:34 AM
I bought a used 2 post rotary lift 4 or 5 years ago. It works great.
I agree you need to think of how you are going to use it. If you are just going to park on it 90% of the time and not do other work around it, I would go with the 4 post.
If you are going to do more repair type work or use your garage to work on other things I would go with the 2 post. I tend to work under my car a lot on snowmobiles in the winter and even the 2 post still get in the way.
I have also heard some war stories about some of the portable lifts but do not know what type or if they were even true.
Either way you will never go back once you have the lift. Randy

wendell
05-18-2007, 04:51 AM
2 post with balance cables over the top. That's the only type of lift I would think about. I've got a 10k# blue one (can't remember the name but they all come out of the same shipping containers @ Long Beach) and i love it. The only unique brand is Mowhawk. For the money there's no way a to justify one of there lifts for home use (nice stuff though).

With a little effort you can set the overall height of the posts right at the ceiling. Just have to drill new holes. Took about a day and half for me and my buddy to install mine.

One tip is to throw the thunderhead bolts that come with the lift away. Buy some Redheads or another premium brand. Money well spent.

As for dimensions just go to any of the sites and look them up.

Charley Lillard
05-18-2007, 06:17 AM
I have a Backyard Buddy 4 post lift and love it. I also have the sliding jack. I can do most anything on the 4 post . A two post is more convienient for stuff like doing brakes but I am doing brakes maybe 1% of the time. I also tend to get in a hurry and I feel I can make less mistakes just driving onto a 4 post versus positioning the feet on a 2 post. Rolling the 4 post outside to wash the underside of the car is also great.

Overkill
05-18-2007, 11:44 AM
I have a Complete Hydraulics (Franklin, Indiana http://www.completehydraulic.com/index.html) CL8000 CSP XLT 4-post lift. I've used it to do a couple of transmissions, oil changes, sharpen blades and service on my mower, storage and even for elevating my sisters dune buggy up so that I can work on replacing the floor without leaning over. I could have used a two post, but I like the idea that I can roll it out of the way of my door if I need to get something bigger through like my car trailer which is wider than the posts on the lift. I had wanted a lift forever and now that I've had it for a few months I don't know how I was able to live without it. When I bought it they said that they were working on a kit that would allow me to install a bridge jack so then working on brakes or suspension would be easier. It came with a jack tray that you can use, but I haven't found it very easy to work with. I made a floor for the middle of it so that I can put smaller things (like the four wheelers in the picture) up on it as well. That would be hard to do with a 2-post.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/05/PICT1808JPG-1.jpg

richs71Nova
06-02-2007, 06:44 AM
i've used both mohawk and rotary lifts, both work great, the mohawk is a much older lift tho, so it has it's quirks....like when it decides to continue raising the vehicle after i've removed my hand from the button.... the rotary lifts we have are only a few years old and always work nice and smooth. however, i've heard that benpak lifts work just as well for home use. good luck with your purchase, i'm looking forward to the day i can install one in my personal garage!