4-post lift owners?

[V]

So, in the not so distant future, I will be in the market for some type of lift for my garage. I am leaning towards a 4 post lift due to the fact it would be mostly used for storing a vehicle up top. Then I could drop it down and use it to work on other vehicles when I need to. Basically a 3rd gen trans am GTA will be up top and a '04 GTO down below. Lift would also need to be used for a 2012 honda crv and 96 2wd dodge ram(both for oil changes/maintenance/etc)



What brands does anyone here own?

I was thinking about the bendpak HD-9XW.

As of yet, I have very few size constraints, as the garage has yet to be built. The house has an attached 1-car garage but a second bay will be built out about 15 additional feet to the property setback allowance, and the bay will be at least 25" deep. Lift would get centered from front to back so with full vaulted ceilings, max lift height with the 3rd gen would be possible.



What advice can some 4-post owners give me? like in regards to having columns up against a wall or try to position them at least a foot or two away? How about placing other equipment around the lift, or issues of having a car parked under a car being stored?

[KevinW]

I have a Backyard Buddy, one of the best purchases I have made. I bolted it to floor, even though they said it is not required.

I wish I bought the drip pans and jack roller, I am using makeshift stuff and it would have been a lot easier if I just bought those from the beginning.

I have a big garage, so it is pretty far from walls/columns. But getting a truck up there high enough to work under will take some ceiling height! You have to also figure in the overhang of a vehicle so you have enough room to close the garage door.

110v motors get the job done, 220v is faster, but I felt the price plus wiring difference was not worth the 220v. I have a 110v and it raises the car just fine.

It's a b**th to move, had to borrow my neighbors front end loader to lift it with a chain to get it off trailer and set it on the supports. I guess if you know 6 big guys, you could do it by hand

[sweetbmxrider]

I would say go two post, gives you so much more room to work under the car vs the drive on. If you are lazy, the drive on is great. The two post allows for easy wheel removal for brakes, steering, suspension, bearings, etc. plus nearly unrestricted access to the underside for exhaust and major driveline components. You can still easily store a car under it, my buddy's shop has a 2 and a 4 and stores cars under both.

https://www.garagejournal.com/ is a great resource for what you are doing among other things.

[TaKid455]

like in regards to having columns up against a wall or try to position them at least a foot or two away? How about placing other equipment around the lift, or issues of having a car parked under a car being stored?

Use common sense here. Best to be able to walk around however in some cases it may be tight. Think of door swing.


2 or 4 post. Personally, I prefer 4 post for storing which keeps car loaded and avoids potential flexing of car. 2 is better work working but tink of what are you doing the bulk of the time. The roller jack makes life nice.

Which one. For the home ower, most will be fine. The $2500 and below are all oversees built and are more or less the same in different boxes.

Next area is the Oversees made but US assemebed which go to the 4k range. They may have sliders around the post and small improvements over the lower cost ones. Thicker cables, ect. Backyard buddy says they are in this catagory , however other players say they are the bottom catagory with higher price tag. Do your reasearch.


Then there is the pure US made catagory which is overkill for the homeowner. These are for full time shops.

Sure the classifieds, you can find used ones reasonable at 40-60% off new. You may need to take it down and move it which is soimething to conisder. As mentioned above, they are not light and you will need a trailer or rollback.

Most importantly, be sure your slab is overbuilt. 6" min. Use 4-5k psi min. I over spec . Add floor heat , vapor barrier and mesh. Will cost more but worth it for a larger garage.

Synopsis, they all should do the job fine. Most are under rated for capacity. Doubtful you will need any more than a 7k unit. While odd things have happened, slab design and pure user error are typical reasons lift accidents happens. Your civic will never break a lift.

[wretched73]

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

https://www.garagejournal.com/ is a great resource for what you are doing among other things

^ This.

[6spdg37s]

I have a rotary 4 post at my shop. they are a big PITA to do alota jobs on. but also very useful so kinda torn on the advice here lol also have a 2 post which is easier to work on but sending cars up on it takes more time to setup

[V]

The bendpak is around 3500 shipped.

Garage door will get a custom track that will follow the vaulted ceiling and use a liftmaster wall mount opener.
Yes, slab will be poured overkill and lift will be bolted.
I'd probably use the lift for working on a car 1-2 days a month, and it will store a car 29-30 days a month, thats why I'd lean towards a 4 post.
Ceiling height in middle of vault will probably be pushing close to 16 feet high, but I know a truck to full height isn't going to be possible, but will be enough to do an oil change.
The columns only on the passenger side may be like 2 feet from the wall. On the drivers side, they will be between the lift bay and another open bay, so door swing wouldn't be a problem.

Door tracks would be similar to this style...









This is the house. The garage addition will basically be where the car is parked. There is 25' to property line, zoning side setback is 10', so I can go about 15'more to the right. The garage will extend to the chain link fence in the picture, which is about 8-10 feet deeper than the current garage(laundry room is behind current garage). And like I said, the ceiling on the new addition will be vaulted to full height. So as you can see with that Honda there, if the lift is centered front front to back, I will have pretty decent height.

[sweetbmxrider]

I'm sure you looked but steel roll up door? Would eliminate the need for fancy tracks.

Currently installing a liftmaster 8500 at my parents'. They seem very nice.

[V]

Wife will only allow a matching door to the existing one. That's my only restraint. Anything else I can do, lol. I'm doing windows and siding this winter, so probably gonna be mid to late summer to have the garage build begin.

[B4C]

Get two matching roll up doors, problem solved.

[sweetbmxrider]

[SS Performance]

I have a 2-post and a 4-post. Love them both for different reasons.

I have the Bend-Pak 9XW great lift, however I think it might be overkill for what you describe. You could most likely get away with a 6000lb lift for less.

On my lift I went to the local iron yard and picked up 2 pieces of channel. It rests on the lip on the inside edge of the ramp. The channel is wide enough to hold jack stands. With this I can jack up the car and take the tires off safely.

[SS Performance]

Another thing you should consider. You can get drip trays for 4 post lifts, I highly recommend getting them. If you order them with the lift if shouldn't add any thing to the shipping cost.

[MyFirstZ]

Paul,
I think i saw a post on FB market place for the sears in Nanuet liquidating some of there lifts