Home garage lifts. reviews?

Who all has a garage lift? We just moved into a new house with a high ceiling detached garage.

Who has one?

What brand?

Stationary or movable?

I assume professional install for stationary models?

Seller recommendations and price?

I live in Clover SC if someone knows a place in the Charlotte NC and surrounding area.

Thanks

Wade

Wade,

I hope to have mine up next week. It is a Danmar Brigadier 10ACX, 10,000 lb. 220 volt two post lift. I ordered it from Best Buy Automotive Equipment, http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/Dannmar-2-Post-Lifts-s/495.htm

I did lots of research on lifts some are cheaper some more expensive. I watched the videos of them testing lifts and them failing. I watched videos of lifts in dealerships failing. They call for a 4 1/4" thick floor 3000 psi concrete with reinforced steel bar for foundation. Since I had not poured I dug deeper under where the columns go and made 8" with 1/2" re-bar frame set in the concrete. This lift is tested and certified and many of the cheaper ones are not. It also had free shipping and an extended 3 year warranty, $2,440.00. Some only have 90 day. During shipping the trucking company scratched the paint and damaged the decals. When I sent pictures they sent me touch up paint and new decals with no questions asked. The install is drilling some 3/4" holes in the concrete and setting the uprights. It weighs a little over 1,600 lbs. and I came to Greenville, S.C. to pick up at truck terminal. My builder is going to help me set it up.

I did run my electrical under my slab before pouring but you can run overhead also.

Take a look at their web site they carry pretty much any equipment you might need for a shop and 2 post lifts go as low as $1,340 for a 7,000 lb. lift.

They do make lifts for low ceilings and also portable. I like a two post lift better than a 4 post you can get to everything easier. A 4 post lift just lifts the car up so you can then jack it up and you have all the lift in your way. This two post lift has nothing on the floor just the footprint of the column. I did talk to local shops and found none that preferred a 4 post over a 2 post.

You are welcome to drive up the mountain and come see next week if you want here in Hendersonville, N.C.. I doubt the power will be on I am in the process of wiring the garage now and one man 68 goes slow, lol. My shop has 14' eve height. Not sure what the minimum is but should be one the web site. They also had carts for Mustangs made by Auto Twirler but the shipping was about as much as the cart so I cancelled that order. Got a hose reel and wheeled tall oil change bucket also.

Rain delays and builder for the erection over booked have set me back about a month.

You can PM me and I will give phone and address.

Install is like most things not rocket science you do have to drill 3/4" holes in the concrete and will need help to stand up the columns. The electric I think is 220 single phase, 20 amp or maybe 15 amp but just three wires either way.

There have been other recent discussions about lifts/hoists. You can search for them in the search box, upper right of this page.

I have a Bend-Pac 2 post asymmetric lift rated to 7500 pounds...quality stuff...except...

The hydraulic fluid reservoir is plastic and deteriorates with time. I've had two just break apart sitting there, spilling 4+ gallons of hydraulic fluid over the floor. I called around and sure enough, there is a metal reservoir for the same price as the plastic version. Definitely go with the metal container.

It also depends whether you're only gonna lift your car for the short period you work on it or whether you want to park it there for a longer period of time.

If it's for storing a car off the ground get a 4 post with ramps as cars are designed to carry their weight on the suspension and not on the jacking points. Especially if you have a convertible you don't want it to sag on a two post lift after a few weeks.

Also remember that a two post gives you more access to the underside of the car but you can't do anything that requires the car to be standing on its wheels. Think wheel alignment and such things.

As for brands I can't help you as we have completely different suppliers here in Europe than you have in the USA.

The best lift you can get is backyard buddy, the next best is bendpak. I have just purchased 2 four post 9000 pound bendpak lifts. I did a lot of homework cuz I wanted the safest lift for the cheapest amount of money, (these were 2600 bucks each, with free shipping!) of course. These lifts can be mobile and you can purchase a wheel kit to move the lift around or you can bolt them to the concrete. the main reason I purchased Bend Pak is the safety mechanisms that are built into the lift. There are 2 safety catches. the first safety mechanism is an air operated safety catch release. The second safety catch is operated by a slack cable. The material they use to construct these lifts are thicker and stronger and the welds are a lot better then a lot of the cheap lifts I've seen. Cheaper lifts have a very flimsy safety release mechanism and I just do not trust that. I did own a Gemini (same as Atlas and many others) lift when I lived in Phoenix it functioned well but was not as sturdily made as Bend packs. If you are searching for a lift make sure it has an ALI certification. There are only 3 lift manufacturers that have this certification. This is not a tool that you want to cheap out on!! I assembled both of my lit's myself. The assembly was fairly straightforward but you will need at least 4 strong guys to lift some of the pieces. Good luck in your search!

I went with this unit out of Canada from the Lift Super Store that had a local distributor. The hydraulics are all US made. I gave ~$2800 for it installed though not bolted as I wanted to be able to move it if needed so it has a set of wheels that allows such. I swapped a set of tires for the jack. I am more than pleased.

Thanks guys! A few questions;

For an exsisting floor how would you go about the footing modification? Jack hammer\sledge hammer?

Verticle rebar and horitontal rebar making a round or square guage to sit in the hole?

Can bag quickrete from Lowes\Homedepot be used?

The car CANNOT be on the lift when moving it around correct?