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    1. #1
      Join Date
      Nov 2011
      Location
      Virginia
      Posts
      229
      Country Flag: United States

      How many with a lift?

      I'm working on plans to expand my home garage in a year or two and am considering the pros/ cons of having a lift. The pros are obvious but main con is in fixing the location of where I work on the car (with one 16' door, sometimes I put the car in the middle to have clearance on all sides, then get 2 cars in when the project is done.)

      So, I thought I'd ask here...

      How many on this forum have a lift in your home garage? If you have one, what type?

      I also need to determine the concrete foundation reqts to get that into the plans now, just in case.

      Thx!

    2. #2
      Join Date
      May 2010
      Location
      kitchener,Ontario,Canada
      Posts
      2,336
      Country Flag: Canada
      I don't have one but would if I had the ceiling height, as far as concrete specs...talk to the concrete pros for what you need and if your concerned with a hoist taking up too much room consider one of those 4 post lifts that you can roll around
      Ryan Austin

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Dec 2012
      Posts
      73
      Country Flag: United States
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      Last edited by andrewb70; 01-26-2014 at 07:59 AM.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Dec 2004
      Location
      HILLBILLY HOLLYWOOD, TENNESSEE!!!
      Posts
      2,041
      I have 2. One 2 post and 1 four post.

      IF working on your car is your main reason for a lift buy a 2 post lift. You will need 6 inches of concrete below the posts. Cut your floor if you have to and re-pour the sections with concrete adding re-bar for strength.

      If storage, exhaust work and transmission work is your goal a four post is fine. I would recommend bolt this lift to the floor also.
      Mike

      Remember, "Drive Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts!"

      www.musclecardeals.com

    5. #5
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Location
      Barrington, IL 60010
      Posts
      206
      Country Flag: United States
      I have a Rotary asymmetrical 10,000# unit. Everything that Mike suggested above is true. Depending on your needs the 2-post is far more versatile. If you do go with the 2-post, look into the asymmetrical units. The basic difference is the posts are not parallel to each other allowing you to open a car door without hitting the post; a very nice feature.

      Here are a few pics:





      Rich

      'Wicked Witch'...1969 Camaro, Mast Motorsports LS-3, Magnum T-56, DSE suspension & BFG Rival-S on Forgeline wheels.
      A herd of stock #'s-matching '69 Camaros.

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Apr 2008
      Location
      Sequim, Wa.
      Posts
      17
      Country Flag: United States
      There are no cons to owning a lift One of the best purchases I have ever made. After a lot of research I went with a Rotary SPO10 (10k). BendPak was my second choice. As far as the post pads, I dug down about 8" deep (about 3'x 3' square). I believe Rotary says to go 6".

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    7. #7
      Join Date
      Mar 2008
      Location
      Chicago suburbs
      Posts
      667
      Country Flag: United States
      I went with a Bendpak 4 post to make it easier to do alignments & not have to worry about the concrete. Adding a bridge jack makes it damn near as service friendly as a 2 post.

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Oct 2009
      Posts
      22
      Country Flag: Philippines
      I also have a Bendpak 4 post. Made up some wheels so can wheel it outside for any dirty/dusty stuff. My goal was to minimize bending over and having to get on hands and knees. That is the beauty of a 4 post. Just drive on and lift. No getting down under cars to make sure the posts are aligned with the lifting points. All I would recommend is getting a couple of jack trays (or the air lift ones if you can afford) and an extra bottle jack or 2 and you can do whatever you would ever need to do with a 4 post.

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Nov 2010
      Location
      orlando fl
      Posts
      411
      How much ceiling height do you need for the 2 post? And can't you just cut/modify the ceiling? I have a 8 foot ceiling maybe 8.5...thanks guys

    10. #10
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Location
      Barrington, IL 60010
      Posts
      206
      Country Flag: United States
      The Rotary catalog I have shows a minimum of 10' clearance needed on their smallest model. If you are contemplating modifying the ceiling, what is upstairs/above?

      My 12' lift (SPOA10 Rotary) has a cylinder that arises 12' 5" and the ceiling is 12' 0". Had to make sure the cylinders were not directly below a 2x10 ceiling joist. They enter the ceiling but do not interfere with the flooring above due to the 2x10 ceiling joists. Works fine.
      Rich

      'Wicked Witch'...1969 Camaro, Mast Motorsports LS-3, Magnum T-56, DSE suspension & BFG Rival-S on Forgeline wheels.
      A herd of stock #'s-matching '69 Camaros.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      NE Illinois (Chicago area)
      Posts
      142
      Country Flag: United States
      What are you going to do with the garage door? It's not as simple as just cut/modify the ceiling. A 6" pad is the recommended depth for concrete. Like Mike said, if you intend to store your vehicle to make room to park another vehicle under it, then the 4 post is the way to go.
      Nice garage there, Enzo and Winmon.

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Sep 2005
      Posts
      49,371
      Country Flag: United States
      I've got a Rotary 4 Post - the Best Thing I've ever bought.

      They make Casters for them to Roll, but I didn't like how it felt loose. Mine is Bolted to the Floor.

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Feb 2002
      Location
      Springfield, MO
      Posts
      4,470
      Country Flag: United States
      My new (to me) place has a 4 post and I've never had one before.... WOW!! Freakin awesome!! Should've spent the money on one years ago, even if it wouldn't fit in my other houses!! LoL!
      Jimmy

      69 Camaro Twin Turbo'd
      58 Nomad 348 Baby Rat

      http://www.fquick.com/shmoov69


    14. #14
      Join Date
      Feb 2002
      Location
      Springfield, MO
      Posts
      4,470
      Country Flag: United States
      Here is a pic

      Well apparently the app won't let me load a pic from my phone. :-(
      Jimmy

      69 Camaro Twin Turbo'd
      58 Nomad 348 Baby Rat

      http://www.fquick.com/shmoov69


    15. #15
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      Fredericksburg, VA.
      Posts
      3,155
      Country Flag: United States
      I could not have built Dust Off without my Stinger 4 post lift. By dumb luck my garage has a 12ft ceiling which allowed me to buy a taller post lift. A 2 post vs a 4 post lift is a matter of personal preference. I have used both and I prefer the 4 post with jack bridges. Most 4 post lifts can be outfitted with caster wheels so you can move them around as needed. My neighbor can roll his 4 post lift outdoors if he chooses, my garage door is not tall enough. The other advantage of the 4 post lift is that it can set on a standard concrete garage floor without needing any special reinforcement. A four post lift also does not need to be anchored to the floor. We had a 6.8 magnitude earthquake here in VA three or four years ago which did a lot of damage to a lot of buildings. Dust Off was up on the lift 6' in the air when the quake struck. The lift did not appear to have moved it just absorbed the movement and the car was uneffected. I also have installed LED light strips to the lift to light the underside of the car while working on it which could not be done with a 2 post lift.



      Steve Hayes
      "Dust Off"
      68 Camaro

      Given sufficient initial acceleration, even pigs can fly!

    16. #16
      Join Date
      Sep 2011
      Location
      Southern Ontario
      Posts
      640
      Country Flag: Canada
      Checking the Bendpak site, most of the smaller lifts 10,000lbs and under, recommend only 4" of 3000 psi concrete.

    17. #17
      Join Date
      Sep 2005
      Posts
      49,371
      Country Flag: United States
      My Driveway is thicker than 4"

      My Garage Floor is 14 Inches (House is 75 Years Old). The Installer went through 3 Drill Bits!

    18. #18
      Join Date
      Jan 2009
      Location
      Tampa, FL
      Posts
      127
      Country Flag: United States
      I work abroad a lot and caught myself spending a lot of money to store cars and parts. Over the years I had spent more than the value of a car. For about 2 months, I had 4 units with 4 cars stored at one time, at $150 a month per unit. I bought my last house 2 years ago, and needed a bigger garage to cut back on storage expenses. I have a 3 car with 3 4 posts. I spent about 1 years worth of storage fees to purchase the lifts so I could fit 6 cars in my garage. They all have removeable casters and moveable. Those are my PRO.



      CONS:
      I now have to pull cars out of the garage to roll my tool chest out to get tools. I'm constantly shifting things around to get to other things. I don't have room for too many project parts so I ended up storing literally near a ton of parts upstairs in a spare room. AND I still need a 10x20 storage unit to store other car parts, engine hoist, engine stand, extra Cobra IRS units, wheels, tires, doors, and yet another car.



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    19. #19
      Join Date
      Nov 2004
      Location
      Delaware
      Posts
      84
      Are you using it to store cars and or just work on them? If both you need a four post to support the suppension and not letting it hang. I have a Back Yard Buddy. In my opinion in is one of the best ones by far. I also have an Eagle, but one of the last American Made ones. There is no comparison at all. To see the two side by side my friends are amazed how much better the Backyard Buddy is, With the car on it, it does not move. Also I have a basement in my garage. I had a structural engineer do the loads and we have a 6 in slab.

    20. #20
      Join Date
      Dec 2004
      Location
      bowling green,ky
      Posts
      845
      Country Flag: United States

      How many with a lift?

      I just purchased one this summer. A 4 post challenger lift for my 2 car garage w 10ft ceilings. Best purchase I've made. Solves a lot of problems
      69 Camaro
      03 z06
      90 mustang coupe

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