Two Post Lift

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mud

Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
701
Location
Texas
Getting too tired of crawling around on the floor under our vehicles, so I'm thinking about getting a 2 post lift. Anybody have any experience in these? Recommendations? My criteria so far - asymetric lift, overhead cable between posts, 115 or 220v OK, 7K-9K capacity. Bottom of roof trusses in my shop are 12 ft ht, at 5 ft spacing, so I can install the regular style of lift, just being careful with the car/truck roof! Slab is 6" with #4 rebar. Thanks [Patriot]
 
You might try a Rotary 2-post. We had -lots- of those at our old dealer shop (was around since the '70s). Many of them were in terrible looking shape but worked great. Just make sure to get one with a manual safety catch and -use it!-.
 
when my dad put in the lift he went with an eagle, i think. good lift. definetly go with the asymetric lift, makes getting in and out of the car very easy.
 
You can hire out a lot of car repairs for the price of a lift and a high-bay garage. That would make things even easier, if that's what you're after. I personally think that lying on a cold concrete floor under a dripping car builds character.
 
yeah you could hire out a lot of car repair for that much. but in our case we also race cars. i think its a little rediculous to run a bracket car that someone else has to work on, unless you are a hired gun. we use the lift for other things too. we picked a mill out of the bed of a truck with our lift. it also depends on how many vehicles you maintain. in my parents household there are 5 street driven vehicles, 1 race car, my monte ss that gets on the lift every now and again (project car) and then when i need it for my car or my fiances car. (aka a lot of cars)
 
IMO, I believe that the new "external lifts" are more economically feasible than the ones in bedded in the concrete - when these are worn, the repairs are expensive. And installation is costly. The newer ones take up more room(floor space), but this is less expensive than all the concrete work... Mud, you did everything correctly, 6'' and rebar, and a 12' ceiling
 
quote:
than the ones in bedded in the concrete
Are you talking about the old center post hydraulic lifts? (Where the center post comes out of the ground?) According to my mechanic, these are pretty much history because of EPA fines if they start leaking hydraulic fluid into the ground. He also said that they're pretty poor for access to the underside of the car, if you're replacing an exhaust for example. The reason I asked my mechanic about the center-post lifts is that I saw one on Knight Rider a while ago (it was the scene where Kitt gets trapped on one) and it occurred to me that I hadn't seen a center post lift in years, and I wondered why.
 
i think the original poster is talking about one of the ones that bolts into the concrete with 6 or so huge bolts on each post.
 
yeah thats all i remember my dad and i having to do, drill some holes with a hammer drill.
 
Thanks for all of your replies. BigAl - after many years of crawling around, I will leave the character building to someone younger! I want convenience. We have similar situation as racer12306 - lots of different vehicles to maintain, so I'm not worried about profiting from the lift, just making life easier. You are right - I would simply use a hammer drill on the slab to install the embedded bolts. That was one reason that I installed a reinforced 6" slab, plus it is a minimum of 4000 psi concrete. So far, I can get (shipping included) a Bend-Pak MX-10C (10K lbs) for $2200, a Worth 9K lbs for $2600, or an Eagle 9K lbs for $2500. There are also some on Ebay but I wanted to find out country of mfg on those. All are asymmetric lifts. At this point I like the construction/features/price of the Bend-Pak, but open to comments. Thank you for your help. PS - I will confess to liking to watch Knight Rider ..... it was always SO clear who was going to be the hero on each show!
 
quote:
BigAl - after many years of crawling around, I will leave the character building to someone younger! I want convenience.
I doubt that I'm younger, just cheaper. I've heard the term "character" used to describe me, but I'm not certain exactly what the person was trying to say . . . . Now, if I could convince one of my friends or neighbors to install a lift, THAT would would be convenience . . .
 
I have a older Rotary 2-post,its like new,and works well in my home car/hobby barn..They (installers) did have to make sure the 8 large bolts on the posts went "at least" 10 inches into the floor concrete. Good luck/be safe
 
Yup, I have heard from several sources that the Rotary units are top of the line. Curious though - if the bolts went in at least 10" into the floor concrete, how thick is your slab? Or did they mean that the bolts needed to have at least 10" cover? If that's the case, then the bolts would have gone thru the slab into the soil below?
 
The 2-post designs rely on balance for stability. Concrete thickness is to support the weight, not anchor the bolts. The bolts keep it from moving around. I can vouch for the durability and reliablity of the Bendpak HD9 4-post I put in about a year and a half ago. It can be bolted to the floor if desired, although it is designed as a free-standing lift. In fact, they sell a caster kit which allows it to be rolled around with a vehicle on it in a large enough shop. The thing I like most about ours is parking the seldom-used old Chrysler for storage. The Plymouth parks underneath it, effectively turning a 3-car into a 4-car garage. Don't know if the two-post is recommended for parking / storage, although I don't see why not. Go with 220v if at all possible. you'll see noticeably quicker lift times.
 
Mud, what type of door / entrance do you have? There could be clearance issues if it is a standard residential garage door. In that case a high-lift door is called for unless your shop is big enough to position the lift forward / clear of the door. I installed a commercial chain-driven opener with high-lift tracks on mine to allow door clearance. This is typical for any standard-sized garage with a lift. 12' is good. My ceiling is 11'6" and plenty high enough. Usually work with it one or two stops below max lift anyway. But then again, I'm only 5'9" tall, myself.
 
Very good points - thank you. We bought some property out in the county several years ago to build a new home upon and this gave me the chance to build the shop I've always wanted. It's 40x50x12ht, with two 10x10 overhead doors on the 40ft side, and one 10x10 on the opposite side to give me a drive thru if needed. The overhead doors are industrial style. I have an enclosed air conditioned enclosed area (8x8x50) along one of the 50ft walls that includes a workbench/tool area, bathroom with shower, and small office. Building exterior is metal panels with a 6" interior concrete slab. The underside of the roof trusses are 12 ft above the floor and the lift would be far enough into the shop that it would not interfere with the overhead doors at all. The last car I built was on one side of a 2 car garage and this is like my little slice of heaven. Since we are not that close to parts stores, etc. it's great for maintenance and project work, plus my son likes to use it for his projects too.
 
I always make sure to do all the honey-do stuff FIRST just to stay on the good side of the CEO...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
Which 2 post Lift would you buy?
Replies
15
Views
6K
Drew7a
Top