Who has a lift?
03-07-2009, 02:16 AM
#46
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I have two Bendpaks; one in the garage, and one on the side of the house. I chose 4 post lifts because both are used to store a vehicle on the lift and one under the lift; to have more room in the garage, I installed a true rollup, not a sectional door; It gives me much more room in the garage. I've built jack plates for the lift so I can use a floor jack when needing to free up wheels; also have designed cross-bars to rest drip pans so any fluid leaks won't hit the floor or car below (but, of course, we all know 928's don't leak any fluids....). Room restrictions both in the garage and on the side of the house precluded an asymetical 2 poster, but with the modifications, the 4 post lifts work great. I like Bendpak; they are located just on the outskirts of Santa Paula, so I took my car trailer and picked up my lifts; they are great when you need parts and were the cheapest 4 post lifts I could find. The outside lift has a much higher lift capacity than the inside so I can work on my trucks and 4runners, and my friends motorhome, etc... anyway, having a lift makes working on my 4 928's much easier...
03-07-2009, 04:55 AM
#47
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I am in the market for a lift - I am committed to 2-post asymmetric, but cannot decide between having the slave drive cross to the other side on the floor or over-head.
Is having a clear floor worth the extra 25% in cost?
Is having a clear floor worth the extra 25% in cost?
03-07-2009, 09:05 AM
#48
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I've had a 2 post lift with the floor plate for 6 years. My .02 is it would be nice to have the clear floor. The floor plate obviously is low but many times I manually roll a car on to the lift and that relatively low floor plate can be a pain to roll over. Secondary reason is the cleanliness aspect but not really that important.
03-07-2009, 09:07 AM
#49
YES !!!!! I can't tell you how many time I have pushed a car into the bay to lift it up. Also it is a trip hazard and when you have oil and grease on the floor you don't need additional obstacles.
03-07-2009, 09:32 AM
#50
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03-07-2009, 01:29 PM
#51
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I'm planning next year to build a seperate garage and have a lift in it. I like the idea of the 4 post lift, but the problem I see is how do you work on the car when the wheels must be removed? The 2 post obviously avoids that problem, but a 4 post seems desirable to me. How do you guys with 4 post lifts handle the work that requires wheels off? Can car be lifted without the wheels? How do you get it on the lift if you've removed the wheels?
03-07-2009, 01:40 PM
#52
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Ed,
There is only one way to solve your dilemma, ONE OF EACH!
BUT, If I had to pick only one for real mechanical work, there is no way I would get anything but a 2 Post.
Ironically I was watching a show on Speed this morning and they had a Porsche on a 4 post lift without the wheels on it. It was supported by jackstands and it fell off the jack stands when the first guy leaned over it to start working on it. SCARY.
There is only one way to solve your dilemma, ONE OF EACH!
BUT, If I had to pick only one for real mechanical work, there is no way I would get anything but a 2 Post.
Ironically I was watching a show on Speed this morning and they had a Porsche on a 4 post lift without the wheels on it. It was supported by jackstands and it fell off the jack stands when the first guy leaned over it to start working on it. SCARY.
03-07-2009, 02:44 PM
#53
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03-07-2009, 05:07 PM
#54
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Les-
I'm still leaning (sorry...) towards the Bend-Pak 10ACX for the same logistical reasons. I can rent a car hauler and pick it up from the factory about an hour away. I'm not sure I could get a trucking company to haul it up here anyway, so no matter what I'd end up getting it loaded onto a trailer someplace. Santa Paula factory or a truck terminal in east L.A. Tough choice!
Curious how you bought yours. Internet pricing is fairly consistent for what I want. Did you make the purchase through a dealer and then pick it up yourself? Negotiate any $ relief since you don't use the 'free shipping' option?
I'm still leaning (sorry...) towards the Bend-Pak 10ACX for the same logistical reasons. I can rent a car hauler and pick it up from the factory about an hour away. I'm not sure I could get a trucking company to haul it up here anyway, so no matter what I'd end up getting it loaded onto a trailer someplace. Santa Paula factory or a truck terminal in east L.A. Tough choice!
Curious how you bought yours. Internet pricing is fairly consistent for what I want. Did you make the purchase through a dealer and then pick it up yourself? Negotiate any $ relief since you don't use the 'free shipping' option?
03-07-2009, 05:13 PM
#55
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In the last year or two there was a related discussion, looking at the time about ways to get the car higher on jack stands. My thumbnail calcs showed less than 200# of lateral force needed to roll the car off of normal 3T stands at mid-height. I was promoting the use of heavier-duty large-footprint 6T stands for safety. That casual load calc also solidified my determination to get a proper lift. I don't want any of my friends huret here, and especially want to keep mrs dr bob's hubby intact for a while longer.
03-07-2009, 05:18 PM
#56
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The clear-floor design is an obvious plus for a two-post. Besides eliminating the step over on the floor, it also adds a little bit of integrity to the two-post structure. For those of us with less than 20 foot ceilings, the safety switch on the overhead crossbar protects the car from impacts with header beams and lights in my shop.
03-07-2009, 05:18 PM
#57
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Bob,
I had the same problem (huge trucks can't get to me either). Mine shipped directly from Rotary via truck. Luckily there is a friendly trucking company 1/2 mile away and I met the truck there with my car hauler and the guys at the trucking company used their forklift to load it on my trailer in the correct orientation. Then I backed my trailer right to the spot of install, cut all the strapping, unpacked everything and Jeannie and I flipped the legs up right on to the mounting spots.
I had the same problem (huge trucks can't get to me either). Mine shipped directly from Rotary via truck. Luckily there is a friendly trucking company 1/2 mile away and I met the truck there with my car hauler and the guys at the trucking company used their forklift to load it on my trailer in the correct orientation. Then I backed my trailer right to the spot of install, cut all the strapping, unpacked everything and Jeannie and I flipped the legs up right on to the mounting spots.
03-07-2009, 05:43 PM
#58
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I know I paid a lot for my Rotary (compared to the knock-offs), but it will most likely last me forever, and with all the features (safety and convenience) I feel it was a bargin. I am also a big fan of US steel when my life is at stake. Plus I ain't gonna skimp on something that is holding an 8000 LB truck or 3500 lb car over top of myself, my friends and my customers, much less my wife and my dog.
03-07-2009, 09:30 PM
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Market prices here in the US are virtually identical. I'm not sure where the extra cost comes from.
The clear-floor design is an obvious plus for a two-post. Besides eliminating the step over on the floor, it also adds a little bit of integrity to the two-post structure. For those of us with less than 20 foot ceilings, the safety switch on the overhead crossbar protects the car from impacts with header beams and lights in my shop.
The clear-floor design is an obvious plus for a two-post. Besides eliminating the step over on the floor, it also adds a little bit of integrity to the two-post structure. For those of us with less than 20 foot ceilings, the safety switch on the overhead crossbar protects the car from impacts with header beams and lights in my shop.
I say that it APPEARS to be the same lift because the part number/catalogue numbers differ only in the last character, and the pictures look the same. Unscientific I know, so I'll be calling them to confirm on Monday.
03-07-2009, 10:38 PM
#60
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I'm planning next year to build a seperate garage and have a lift in it. I like the idea of the 4 post lift, but the problem I see is how do you work on the car when the wheels must be removed? The 2 post obviously avoids that problem, but a 4 post seems desirable to me. How do you guys with 4 post lifts handle the work that requires wheels off? Can car be lifted without the wheels? How do you get it on the lift if you've removed the wheels?
I agree that the ideal solution is one of each!
We went with a 4-post because we didn't want to drill the floor (radiant heat). The advantanges are that it is easier stack two cars, makes doing alignments a breeze (Bendpak has adjustable lock-ladders which allow the ramps to be easily leveled) and can be moved around if needed. The disadvantage is that wheels-off work is harder.