Garage Lift Questions

[jimlam56]

Hi All:
I'm starting to look into a lift for the garage I'm building this fall.
It looks like Bend Pak is the industry leader, any other recommendations?
I like that their lifts are moveable with the optional caster kit.
Here's the one I'm looking at:
http://www.bendpak.com/HD_9C.pdf

[fastblackmerc]

Hi All:
I'm starting to look into a lift for the garage I'm building this fall.
It looks like Bend Pak is the industry leader, any other recommendations?
I like that their lifts are moveable with the optional caster kit.
Here's the one I'm looking at:
http://www.bendpak.com/HD_9C.pdf

From what I've heard Bend Pak is one of the best.

[justbob]

Bend pack 4 post is what will go right next to my awesome, but now out of business unfortunately 2 post USA Autolifters.

Great lifts IMO.


Self proclaimed Builder Of Badassery.

Buy it, Break it, Build it BETTER.
"Since 2004"

[martyo]

Bend Pack

Rotary

Challenger


For home garage duty, I would also keep an eye on Craigslist and consider buying used. You can save a ton of money that way.

[marauderthis]

I am soooo Jealous

[lji372]

Subscribing :popcorn:

[jimlam56]

Bend Pack

Rotary

Challenger


For home garage duty, I would also keep an eye on Craigslist and consider buying used. You can save a ton of money that way.

Thanks, good thought, I'll keep an eye on that in my area. But this is one piece of equipment I want to make sure works perfectly, especially when I'm standing under it...

[Spectragod]

Bend Pack

Rotary

Challenger


For home garage duty, I would also keep an eye on Craigslist and consider buying used. You can save a ton of money that way.


I know I did, didn't even have to stay at a Holiday Inn Express. Thanks again Marty.

[sweetair]

I went with Back Yard Buddy. USA made not cheap Chinese steel and standards.

[jimlam56]

Wow, see what you mean Marty!

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/tls/4447383249.html

That's about 600 bucks off new, before negotiation...

What's in your shop?

[lji372]

But after adding his commission :run:

[martyo]

Wow, see what you mean Marty!

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/tls/4447383249.html

That's about 600 bucks off new, before negotiation...

What's in your shop?


At home I have four Rotary two posts - the largest of which is a 9,000 pound unit that came out of a Kia dealership and is brand new. Th either three are varying ages and all work well and I stake my life on them regularly. In the almost six years that I have had a shop at home, I have only had to make one service call on one of the older Rotary lifts.

One of the things to remember is that when you leave a car hanging on a lift, let it back down to the locks to take the pressure off the cylinders.

You will also need to consider who will do the install, what your concrete pad is, and whether you have the power to operate the lift (all of mine are on 230v single phase).

I used to have a mid rise Rotary in my garage upstairs but I sold that to Spectragod a few years back. It was like brand new when it left. I just did not have a need for it after I built the shop downstairs.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

[martyo]

The unit in the add you posted is a nice piece but again consider how you will use the lift. Remember that on a four post the car will be sitting on the tires unless the lift also has jacks.

[justbob]

The unit in the add you posted is a nice piece but again consider how you will use the lift. Remember that on a four post the car will be sitting on the tires unless the lift also has jacks.


And jacks are NOT cheap! :eek: but definitely a necessity you can't go without! :D


Self proclaimed Builder Of Badassery.

Buy it, Break it, Build it BETTER.
"Since 2004"

[jimlam56]

The unit in the add you posted is a nice piece but again consider how you will use the lift. Remember that on a four post the car will be sitting on the tires unless the lift also has jacks.

Great advice, thanks.
I'll need jack extenders for sure with a 4 poster. I just like being able to move that model.
My little collection ranges from a 944 to a Marauder with a few stops in between.

[martyo]

Great advice, thanks.
I'll need jack extenders for sure with a 4 poster. I just like being able to move that model.
My little collection ranges from a 944 to a Marauder with a few stops in between.


What is the floor in your shop?

[jimlam56]

It hasn't been poured yet, any suggestions?

[martyo]

It hasn't been poured yet, any suggestions?

Certainly not less than 4" and preferably 6"

Make sure you have confidence in your concrete guy.

[Granddaddy Marq]

Certainly not less than 4" and preferably 6"

Make sure you have confidence in your concrete guy.


6" just in the areas near the post, right? And what kind of ankers would you use?

[svtrichie]

what about direct lifts. I have also read about atlas lifts are pretty good for the money(on the low end).

[Gryphonzus]

I had six inch floor put in on my 30 X 60 garage. It did not seem that much difference in price and is much safer. I also bought a used Rotary 2 post lift. It has worked flawlessly and was about half the price of a new one. I am not sure there is much that can go wrong on a 4 post lift. One of these days when I get rich I want to get a 4 post lift. My 2 post lift was the best investments I have made. Good luck on finding what you want.

[justbob]

4" is all they require at a MINIMUM. Unfortunately mine finally popped the concrete when I was doing periodic maintenance re torquing the bolts. It was a gamble from the beginning as I had four cracks that X'ed my garage perfectly and the one post straddled it. It took almost two years of abuse but I will be removing it soon now to cut out and pin in a decent slab around the posts like I should have done in the beginning.

That also brings up the importance of checking your equipment over periodically. Bolts, pulleys, grease, and cable adjustments need to be checked every so often.


Self proclaimed Builder Of Badassery.

Buy it, Break it, Build it BETTER.
"Since 2004"

[finster101]

Jim,

If you find a used one and have someone install it you can have new cables put in it for not a lot of money. That may help your confidence about it. That and making sure the safety catches have not been disabled as some shops will do to save time.

[460mudsports]

I use/have/work on vehicles of many shapes/sizes/weights and I am going to get a Bend Pak HD-14TL once I get my shop built.

Things to consider on any lift - but specific info on the Bend Pak models:

1. Check the maximum lift height then subtract the thickness of the runways to get the walk under the runways max height -- HD-9 is a max of 70" with runways of 4.5" giving a MAX under runway height of 65.5" or 5 feet 5.5 inches. If you have a longer project going on the lift, this is a bit short for me if you use the lift as a storage lift and want to walk/work/park under it. The HD-14TL I am planning to get has a max of 82" with 7.5" runways leaving 74.5" max under the runways. A few other brands I have checked on only lift 60".

2. Length of runways -- if you are only going to use this for relatively standard cars almost any lift will work. However, crew cab long bed trucks may be too long for standard length lifts -- HD-9 has 164" long runways and my 91 Chevy CC long bed has a 164.5" wheel base and about 170" at the contact patch (remember wheel base is center to center of axle - tire contact patch will add at about 3" on the front of the front tire and also 3" to the back of the rear tires). I also plan to use my lift to work on trailers (wiring, inspections, etc. are easier from underneath) and they tend to be longer. HD-14TL has 198" long runways.

3. Check the height between locks. As mentioned above, you should always lower a the lift to a lock before going under. I believe most of the Bend Pak lifts have 4" between locks, but some other brands may be different. You want this to be big enough to have stout locks, but as small as possible to be able to adjust the lift to "just the right height" to work under.

4. Lifting mechanisms - different brands use differing ideas. Bend Pak lifts use cables, some others use chains (like forklift masts use - stacked plate chains not link chains). Ben Pearson lifts use chains. A friend of mine with a transmission shop will only buy lifts with chains because he trusts them more than cables.
Different sizes of a brand may use different part sizes. HD-9 uses 3/8" cable vs HD-14 using 1/2" and the sheaves are smaller/larger as well.

5. Lifting capacity - remember that all the lifts are designed to support their given load rating at a specific point on the runways. A very short but heavy vehicle may weight less than the lift capacity but overload the lift by not spreading the load out far enough from the center. A bobcat loader or forklift may overload most lifts.
HD-9 capacity specs a minimum wheelbase of 115" to get the rated capacity, only 75% of capacity at a wheelbase of 100", 50% capacity at 85", and 25% capacity at 70".

6. Check the width between the columns. I know I will want to be able to put a 102" wide trailer on my lift.

7. Check the overall dimensions and maximum height with the tallest vehicle you will put on the lift -- you could run into ceiling interference or run out of shop space.

Theses are my suggestions to consider before buying any lift.

Another lift thought: If you are building a new shop - make sure you can roll your lift out the shop door if you have a slab outside. This will make your lift usable as an underbody wash station without flooding your shop. This includes shop door/concrete design so you don't have a trough to cross or having a filler you can use during lift movement.

As an American Concrete Institute certified flatwork concrete technician, I can NOT recommend anyone putting in a shop floor with a concrete thickness of less than 6 FULL inches and prefer 8 inches - most people use 2"x6" forms which only give 5.5".

4" thick slabs are fine for parking, but if you plan to use a floor jack or bottle jack you can put a very high point load on your floor which will cause it to crack or break.

Using a caster system on your 4-post lift will require that your slab be able to support the point load from it at any point you could move it. I plan to put my HD-14TL on a caster system as well ( I will just have to build mine as they don't make one for the heavier lift).

Much like buying a larger TV, it is extremely seldom when someone says "I wish I had bought a smaller TV or a thinner concrete slab." It is nearly impossible to go back and add thickness to a shop floor that was to thin and cracked/broke without removing and replacing the entire slab.


Hopefully some of this will help you. I am not trying to push you towards the HD-14TL lift, but I did want to use it for a comparison model. It is much more expensive and heavier, but it will suit my needs well. You should get the lift that suits your needs best.

Concrete slab calculations
slab length x slab width in feet x the thickness in feet = cubic feet of concrete. There are 27 cubic feet in a yard.

examples using a 30'x60' slab in 4" and 6" thicknesses

30' x 60' x 4"/12" = 600 cubic feet
600' / 27 = 22.22 cubic yards

30' x 60' x 6"/12" = 900 cubic feet
600' / 27 = 33.33 cubic yards

[jimlam56]

Thanks to all for the info.
Good to hear from you James, the 4:10's are rockin'!
460mudsports, awesome stuff, thanks for taking the time to pass it on!

[Mike Poore]

You've gotten excellent advice. I have two lifts, one a Rotary 4 post 220V, and a Revolution 110V 4 post. The Rotary is a first class professional quality lift; but I would not recommend the Revolution, especially with the 110V. It's slow and cumbersome compared to the Rotary, and we had a very bad situation almost disaster with it going up/tilting forward onto two legs, with a neighbors truck on it, due to improper use by someone not following proper procedures by lowering it onto (all) the stops. In any case, have your lift professionally installed, and BOLT IT TO THE FLOOR!

best... mike

[martyo]

BOLT IT TO THE FLOOR!


Agreed, I am not a fan of something that big and heavy that can roll around. I know they say they are designed to, but....