Which lift is preferred (2 post or 4 post)?

[Ron Tanzi]

Love your set up man, That toolbox is awesome!!
That’s almost exactly the one I have 10 K so it can lift my truck too. I think the only difference is mine has the cable to go over the top.I can’t tell for sure but I think he was just like the other one we have that you drive over the cables that are under a protective ramp.
edit, I went back and looked at the picture and I see now where your cables go over the top as well. That is the same unit

Thank you for the compliment Sir. I have another tool box (Cornwall) on the other side of the shop that is not in picture. My lift has gotten a lot of use since I do a lot of jobs. The only maintenance I have done is to lubricate the cables and pulleys every few months. I had to adjust the cables to level out the arms after they broke in. You also should periodically check the torque on your anchor bolts. I like the fact that Bend Paks have all the safety approvals and certifications.

Ron

 

[Marks1]

I had to adjust mine as well, I also had a hose burst one time when we were lifting my son’s Escalade. No drama it was only about two feet off the ground and the safety’s did their job. Other than that it’s been very very good. I replaced both hoses at that point with really good high pressure ones from Parker, just to be sure.

 

[tony-muscle]

Hi Guys, when I built my carriage shed, (that''s a fancy name for a place to go work on your cars) I made sure I had enough ceiling clearance to be able to put an overhead style two post lift in. That's a really important thing that a lot of guys do't ffactor in when they build there garage. Even my two bay that's attached to the house has 12 foot ceilings in it, because originally I thought that's where I was going to put the lift, but then I found out I could craoss the brook running through our property, and that opened up the spot you see in the pics below. That's not as much of a problem for a 4 post lift. I ended up with 2), two post lifts, One is a Bend Pak asymmetric, over the top cable design, and the other and older Rotary non asymmetrical drive over the cables style I found on Craig's List for about a grand as I recall. I was just looking for something cheap for my son to use because he was bitching that "my" lift was always being used. Kids !! LOL, The Rotary non asymmetrical lift is the one that is tough to open the doors of the car, because they are right where the door is. The great thing about the asymmetrical one is the posts are further forward near the door hinges. Now, if I were going to get another lift now, I would get a four post as well, as I can see the advantages of having one of each. I may still do that, since I still have one bay left without a lift in it.

Nice garage and collection. Definitely more Vettes than Tangs

 

[mjseakan]

These garage setups are making me pretty jealous .
Wish I had room for something, anything more that jack stands.
Mike

 

[69 Rustang]

I bought one to use for storage, and felt it best to keep the suspension loaded, so I went with a 4 post BendPak. A 2 post would be far better for undercar service, but you have to look at your intended use. I wouldn’t want to store my car on a 2 post.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Try getting underneath an Alfa GTV6!!!.

Used to work on those! Crawled under them MANY times. But preferred to use the four post lift. Never used a two post, but I think a four post is better suited to working on rusty old cars.
Had a shop recently use a two post to change tires on the Safari van. The jackass lifted it by the rockers. Now I have four dents going up into the rockers.

 

[Marks1]

Nice garage and collection. Definitely more Vettes than Tangs

HeeHee, I go thru stages Tony. The purple 92 I bought for 2500 to part out, and get the front and rear ends out of it, because they make great hotrods. I think at last count I was up about $4,000, and still have the front and rear ends I wanted. 92-96 Manual tranny cars are good ones to get because they come with the Dana 44 rear with 3:42 gears, and of course they are all posi rears. The automatics only have a Dana 30. The real home run on the car was the ZF 6 speed tranny, It pulled 1,600 bucks. The LT 1 pulled 1,500 with over 100K miles. You guys probably think I was wrong to part it, but believe me, the car was beat bad , and every light on the dash was on like a Christmas tree. The 65 Coupe is a real nice car, I got it in Canada when the dollar was really strong against the Canadian dollar, so I could finally afford a midyear coupe. The 2002 I bought new from a customer who bought boats from me, and gave me a sweet deal on his girlfriends demo with 1700 miles on it. It's my favorite car, gets 30 MPG on trips, I just took it from Connecticut to Cape Coral and back in August for the Chaparrl Dealer meeting, and she was a pleasure to drive. I turned her over 50K miles on that trip. She's got a Magnusen Blower, Cooks headers etc, and a bunch of cool body mods I did all back in 2003. Makes about 500HP.

Way before I owned the Vettes I was a 71-73 Mustang guy, but all that's been said before. I got back in this year because I never had a 71-73 vert, and my wife was born in 72 and turned 50 last month, so it was the perfect excuse to buy her a 72 Vert.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

I bought one to use for storage, and felt it best to keep the suspension loaded, so I went with a 4 post BendPak. A 2 post would be far better for undercar service, but you have to look at your intended use. I wouldn’t want to store my car on a 2 post.

I never store her on the 2 post lift. She stays under the house in the heated basement garage in the winter.

 

[Cleveland Crush]

I have gotten accustomed to a 2-post since that is what we had at the shops I worked at. I have a Bend pack asymmetrical 10K capacity lift I bought new in 2015 for $2800.00. That was a good thing considering the same unit now cost almost $5K. View attachment 68447

OK Ron, you win on the tool box!!

 

[Ron Tanzi]

OK Ron, you win on the tool box!!

I really wanted to sell the Cornwall after I left the shop I was working at but my wife thought it was pretty. It turns out she was right to make me keep it because it is full. LOL. I did not realize how many tools I have after 35 years of "collecting". I still have my first Craftsman box I got from my mother when I graduated high school. That is in the basement for house tools.


Ron