Car lift for your shop

What lift do you have in your shop? 2 post 4 post? Do you like it or would you change it if you could? We are thinking of getting a 4 post or drive on lift with jack tray and drip trays. Will only be used for our race cars. Have any thoughts any plus or minus. Thanks

I have a Bendpack 10ASL two post lift. Best investment I've made for working on cars. A four post lift is good if you want to use it for storage and occasional working on cars. A two post is much better for working on the car, IMO. Nothing in the way when working under the car. I guess it all depends on what kind of work you want to do.

In my opinion a two post lift is the way to go for working on the car, especially the drivetrain. Nothing in the way.

A two post Benpack here. Best thing I ever bought.

Four posts have a couple advantages:. Quicker for oil changes and you can do an alignment. But those are for production shops.

For home use, a 2 post is the way to go. Gets good brand name, some cheap ones are Dangerous.

OK here we go again, LOL

Myself, I had a two post and hated the instability, having to set the legs and several other drawbacks. This is in MY opinion Only.
I went to a four post and haven't looked back other than to know that I can do things with the 4 post that I could not on the two post.
Their are some limitations to the 4 post that can be argued till it's cold in h-ll but after 15 years of running a shop with the 4 post we have been able to get around them with jack trays, bottle jacks, and jack stands.
If I had the room for 2 lifts I may have one of each but because I do not I'll stand my ground on the 4 post. Safety and knowing that the 3-5000 lbs is on solid steel ramps and locked at all 4 corners makes me warm and fuzzy. As previously mentioned, whichever way you go, do not buy a NON CERTIFIED Lift.

I'm getting one of each for my new shop, but if left to choose between them it would be a 2 post, primarily because I use them to work on cars more than to store them.

Speaking of that, who makes the best, most versatile 2 post? Looking for one that's extra wide and that will fit under a 14.00' ceiling but that will use all of it. Want the style with the overhead bar, nothing to drive/trip over. Bendpack 10ASL is in the lead right now, any others I should look at?

I have a Ammco 9K two post, the best money I've spent for the shop. I store my Dart on it in the winter.

2 Post down under

good idea hanging the hoods on the wall.

The ultimate answer if you've got the money and the real estate.

I bought the Bendpak 4 post 9K model, and I really like it!

Saw all the pics of cars laying on their side, or nose/rear falls, and I just felt the warm and fuzzys for the 4 post.

Did buy the rolling Air/Hyd jack, and it is great, and made a plank that I made from gluing/screwing 2 pieces of 2x12's together to act as a transmission rearend support.

I did bolt the unit to the concrete floor for extra stability.

My 2 cents.

I have a drive on 4 post muffler shop type lift I have freinds who have both, the two post do make working on the bottoms of cars a little easier like doing brake jobs or some other job that requires removing the wheels and tires, setting them up can be a pain on a new vechicle that you haven't had on that lift though

Like everyone mentioned, the 2-post if you are working on the car daily like in a mechanics shop, or the 4-post for storage, and flexibility.
By flexibility for the 4-post, The concrete can be standard thickness and strength, and with a wheel kit they are pretty easy to move around. You can also get under the car with the cars weight on the suspension to tighten all the suspension parts and do alignments (if you have the tools?) For storage, you can place drip trays or plywood between the runways to keep drips off the car under the lift.
The bad part of the 4-post is always having to duck under the runways, and needing a jack bridge or tall axle stands to lift the wheels off the runways to do brakes.
With either, the accessories make them better, like a good trans jack and the rolling oil drains that hold 15-20 gallons of fluids. I have one for oils/lube and another for antifreeze.

I have a 4 post and have not had any problems doing any work on my car, my 66 has been up there for about a month with no rear tires on it sitting on jack stands set in the jack tray, i also have the rolling frame jack to make things easier. I would probably have a 2 post also if I had the room,my 4post is for storage also since I have to park one underneath.

I don't get the storage problem with a 2 post remarks. Aren't you suppose to leave a car on a 2 post? I have used my 2 car garage with 3 cars in it for years. The only advantage of a 4 post that I can see is you have a big shelve to pile more crap.

Concerning storage, I think a 4 post is best simply because it's a bit more straight forward concerning getting the car off and on, there are no points of contact with the car (some highly detailed undercarriage cars can end up with small paint scars, etc from the two post lifting arms, especially if stored on them for long periods of time) and ultimately the 4 post offers a more stable platform in the event the car or lift gets nudged hard, earthquakes, accidents in the shop, etc.

Picked up a 4 post about 5 years ago. Price was right, it was 3 years old at the time, had to take it down, transport and re-assemble once home. A 2 post would be nice but 4 post is better than no posts. Gettin' old for the laying on the ground all the time thing.

I'm in the market as well. I was thinking of getting a four post and a two when I can. A buddy picked up this portable 6,000 lb potable lift. I guess it's had good reviews. Anyone familiar with them?
KID

That portable lift is interesting...what brand is it?

I've been thinking of modifying my garage roof framing to accommodate a lift....I took this week off work on vacation and spent the last 3 days cleaning/organizing my garage, something I haven't done in years (spent the last several years finishing my degree/working/and being a dad...but I finally fished school about 6 months ago and have time to play again ).

Got one of each in the garage, 4 post is generally used for storage or minor maintenance like oil change and great for front end alignment.

2 post is used for major work...I love those lifts. Wish I would have bought one earlier but did not have the room for it.

I'm lucky to have two 4-post lifts in my garage.

Perfect for storage as the suspension doesn't hang on the extended shocks like on a 2-post.
Perfect for wrenching under the car as you have 2 long sturdy "tooltrays" to store tools and parts.

Have never wished for a 2-post in all my years of wrenching on cars.
Also get a little nervous seeing how instable some of these things look.
And with most of my cars being 4500+ lbs fullsizers, I don't want to torture and flex their body-seems with a 2-post all the time.

Besides, with a 2-post lift you gotta get on your knees 4 times positioning the arms...

The portable lift above made in China. My buddy purchased it from a dealer in Pontiac who also sells brand-name stuff. Just given it a try I guess. Area I out of Pontiac mi.
KID

I saw a pic of a Mohawk lift recently.. It was massive in its construction, like old school tools.. Can't say anything technical about it, but it was impressive.....

four post.... won't overload concrete with it's spread load. Two post.... may require cutting garage floor and pouring heavier boxes for support. Friend heard a loud "pop" and discovered the two post lift cracked the concrete floor.

I put in a bendpak XPR-10A last year. I had the garage built for it. I installed it extra wide (it is an option when you install it) - I would install it wide as it would be hard to position the arms / door clearance if you install it narrow. Had some initial issues - all worked out with bendpak fine.

The only problem with it is I have a lot of new "friends"... I have only used it for one of my projects, but there is almost always something on it..

I would go with an asymetric and I would not install it in the postion outlined in the manual (2/3rds of the distance from the garage door to wall) I wish I would have positioned it back to about 1/2 way or so). I don't have much clearance from the front of the car to the wall the way it is installed.

It is a pain to align the lift arms, but end the end it is no more complicated than getting a jack out and aligning the jack stands - and the car is completely in the air.

One odd point is if you can I would get the 14' version. The cylinder rams hit the top of the posts before you hit the header stop - but the car is usually high enough at this point.

I have a two bay shop and each bay is 20' wide by 40' deep with 14' ceiling height. It has 18" thick concrete floors, so I could use a 2 or 4 post lift. At the moment I don't have either one, but when I buy one it will be a 4 post. I have more than one project to do and I will opt for the rolling jack tray and other accessories to do servicing. I am too old to be rolling around on the floor positioning lift arms.

I planned on that (14' version) but not sure it will fit because my shop has a 14' ceiling and the literature says "For ceilings OVER 14'" So I'll need to get some clarity on that one before I order. I also don't know my exact ceiling clearance yet because the floor is not poured yet, should be done late this week. I also plan to go with the wide stance setup.

2 post here. As most seem to think, it great for working on cars. I am gonna get a 4 post for more car storage space. Good luck

hi, I have 1 Mohawk 10k and a couple backyard buddys 7k 4 posts. the Mohawk can lift a dumptruck without breaking a sweat with NO movement . I have the optional 15k weight guage on mine to measure vehicle/truck weights. I did add the 10k weight guage from Mohawk onto the b buddys. walking around under the b buddys with 7' FEET under the decks means no stooping for me. they both are awesome lifts, but if I only had 1,it would be a 2 post Mohawk hands down for work and storage. ronnie

Just did a little research on the Mohawk, sounds like the "Hemi Cuda" of lifts! I may not really need all that they have to offer but sure sounds like a top notch piece.

One add on feature that was really attractive was the optional drive on lift plates, gives you the basically same easy on/off as a 4 post lift.

One thing I haven't found are the prices, seems every brand out there is advertised online with multiple outlets yet nothing on Mohawks. I'm concluding that they carry an equally fat price tag to match the quality I'm reading about?

Just as an FYI, after much research for a hobbyist, I like this lift, certified at a very good price point, great people to deal with.
https://www.derekweaver.com/rodders-gara...ad-2-post-lift/

Fat price tag is correct.

http://www.mohawklifts.com/wp/gov/files/2015/05/RETAIL-Price-Sheet.pdf

When a lift is certified....certified by who and to what standard?

here's a start

http://www.autolift.org/

Wow! $7,700.00 for a 10,000lb 2 post lift? Too bad, I'm sure they are great, and I'd love one, but that is silly money for a home shop lift.

Have had a 4 post for about 8 years. Have not had many problems with access during my Charger's restomodding. I am 6'3" and have knocked a knot onto my head a few times. Very stable, have no worry about leaving the car raised for months at a time.

It is a 10k rating, and I paid less than 2k delivered with casters and lift shelf.

Bought it from a company in the Fort Worth, Tx area.

If you watch CL, used Mohawk lifts show up time to time-at good prices. An A6 will meet the needs of most home shops in rated capacity and height restrictions.

If you're headed down the 2-post path, make sure your concrete floor is thick enough to handle the anchors needed to hold the thing down. Most garage slabs are only 4-inches thick at best. This really is not thick enough for a concrete anchor to support the weight of a loaded lift.
4-post is best especially if the lift is an after thought.

My slab will be 4.00" but I'll have 36" squares of 8.00" thick where the lift legs will be anchored, and I'm shoring them up with some re-bar as well.

Wow, why so thin for shop?, it's not a side walk.

I always thought these were interesting....

Pretty standard around here, I have 5 friends in the area with 4.00" floors in thier shops, they hold up just fine (actually 4.5" is where mine will be). Bed of 12.00" compacted crushed rock, .006 vapor barrier, 2.25" thick foam sheets, 6"x 6" steel wire grid mesh on top of the foam, 5/8" PEX tubing for the radiant heat, a grid of 1/2" rebar on 12.00" centers above the tubing. 5 sack mix concrete and It'll be PLENTY strong for home shop use.

That will hold up fine....I oversee all construction for a fairly large city...and many of our older fire stations only use 8" of concrete in a fire station apparatus bay floor....and fire trucks are pretty darn heavy.

The only problem I see with that is the anchors going into the PEX tubing for the radiant heat. I have a thicker floor than that and I still have decided a 4 post is best for me. I wish I had heat in the shop floor, but I am happy with what I have.

I routed the PEX around the areas that will have hoist pads and marked the corners so there will be no chance of drilling through PEX.

:
Two post all the way!
Four post if you mostly use it to store you car. (ONLY because of ease of just driving up onto ramps) you can store on a two post too.

I store my car on my two post.

The Ramcharger will be spending a lot of time on the 4 post as I need to box the frame for strength, just like in the picture below. After it will move on its own I will be using the lift for servicing the fleet. Another reason for the 4 post is that I live in earthquake country and I really don't need to store anything up high. My '64 Polara had its wheels off and was resting on four super duty jack stands when we had the Nisqually Quake and I expected it to be on the ground when I got home, but it was still on the stands.

How tall our your ceilings those with lifts? I plan to add a 20x 20 bay on my shop...me current ceiling is 10'... do I need to go 12'...14'..??

Only will store RR and Charger....

I have a 14.00" Ceiling but if I could have gone to 16.00" I would have (city wouldn't allow a higher wall). 14.00" ceilings are fine for most anything inside on a lift, but with a 2 foot minimum for roll up doors it gives me a max door opening height of 12.00' which is boarder line for some of the taller RV's air conditioning units etc. Not an immediate issue, probably ever for me, but if I sell it all someday it could be one for a future owner.

I am looking at this one

https://www.eagleequip.com/product/MS-8000XLT.html

The measurement guide seems to show 12' ceiling will be fine... I wont have a door...its a drive in bay attached to my current shop...??

I have that lift, and a BendPak HD9XW in my garage-which has a 10' 9" ceiling. Zero issues with a 1969 GTX in the bottom and a 1967 Newport on the top (on the BendPak). Plenty of extra clearance on the top and bottom.

For WIW, I would not buy that Eagle lift: buy a BendPak. Having both, it is CLEAR where the extra 1k went into the BendPak. I would never put my GTX or Newport on the Eagle.

well I've heard a lot about shops but need more manufactures on 4 post lifts. Stopped in Warren Ohio today at Back yard buddy. I like the looks of there lifts. Pricey.. but showed me some bent ones in the back from other vendors. some of you guys seem to like the Bendpak. Cant get good pictures of the construction of them. Bendpak looks like the lock is hanging from one bolt at the top? not welded in place or anything, scares me. I like the fact of the back yard buddy has a tube around a tube vs a open 3 sided competitors. My old center post gave up the ghost. want this to store and work. want to stay with a 4 post. like that the back yard buddy is very stable when you grab it and push on it. so what other name bands you guys using? like the buddy but boy the price ! but you cant put a price on safety... thoughts on the lifts you all own.

I don't have my own lift but plan on it eventually.

I did my apprenticeship at a Ford dealer and used both hoists. The 4 post was way more versatile. Depending on vehicle length and frame configuration the 2 post could just get sketchy getting it all set-up an finding the balance points.

Never dropped a car but it happens often enough. A 4 post with a set of jack trays on air was great. Plus when working the hoist gives a nice place to put your tools down.

https://youtu.be/rQj7Y7Q8tU4

Well, the lifts are in! I went with a local vendor, CEM Lifts in Post Falls Idaho. Very good service and fair pricing. I did plenty of homework and these two filled the bill for my needs. The 4 post is a Direct Pro Park 8 PLUS LONG 9,000lb ALI certified portable and will be used primarily for storage, the 2 post is a TLT210-A 10,000 Launch Tech and is also ALI certified. It could have been setup as either Asymmetrical or Symmetrical and I went with Symmetrical to give it more versatility.

this thing is a beauty...is this the same model car that vin diesel used on the fast and the furious movie?...

that's called FSS. Flat Surface Syndrome........

The ProPark 8 is the exact one I am looking at... saw it a Barrett J in Phoenix... Cant wait!!

Several of us in Missoula have bought the 8000 from the people in Post Falls. There must be 8 or 9 of them installed in the past couple of years. Everyone, including me loves the lift. It's too small for a large heavy pick up, so you would want the 9000 which is wider between the posts than the 8000. But for a 3,600 pound car, the 8,000 is perfect. Not only can you do the work on the underside of the car...but power buffing the sides of the car are a blast now...do them at standing height - no more squatting...no more bending over.

Now you have one of each and a huge space to work in...I am jealous
I have two bays and right now they are both jammed with other peoples stuff....the junk expands to fill the available space.... I need a 4 post just to park my Ramcharger above the other stuff...

I built my shop with the intent of installing a hoist (relative to thickness of slab, height, many other considerations) and finally installed it a few years back. It is a 9,000 capacity Bend Pak that I got second hand. It seems every 2nd or 3rd job requires the wheels to be taken off. 2 post makes the most sense for me and the type of stuff I end up doing. There is enough room for a second hoist in there, if need be. If you can get one, do it...you will not regret it, and it will probably end up being the tool you use most often.

Mine

Like the lift, LOVE the car!

Those who went with the Pro Park, can I ask why? I was comparing it to the Bendpak HD-9XW. The free stuff DP includes as priced is about the same as adding those items to the Bendpak. Sort of a wash on pricing. DP looks nicer; BP seems better engineered. I'm sure either will do the job for me. And Crizilla - Love that ride!!!

And some measurement shows I'll need to swap out my door opener for the Liftmaster jackshaft unit. Barracuda on a lift will not have room for the Hellcat underneath. 12.5ft ceiling but the opener low point is 30 inches down. Another $400 out the window.

Vert,

go to this sight, this took about 30 minutes per side and the door works just fine. I did add 1 and a half turns to my Spring tension. I put a 4 post from(Best Buy Auto Equipment).

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236236

This is how to alter your track without getting a new door or opener

I like this. How long has it been since you did this? Any issues?

been since end of February, had the door open and closed 4 or 5 times over the weekend and no issues. I went to FJ garage doors in Chesterfield Twp. Mi. bought two sections of track(5 foot each) and some fasteners for under $30. The only thing you need to make sure is both sides are cut at the same point at the same angle to keep tracks even all around.