Stephencs601

Kwik Lift, moves were I want it cost 1200.00. Drive up ramp type. Car up 3-4 feet. I like to lay on my back and work, that standing up stuff makes me tired. What I like is I can break it down in 10 minutes and bring it someplace else.

linderpat

how thick does the concrete floor need to be for a decent 2 post?
Dr Bob - your calcs scare the crap out of me (200# lateral to push over a car on the jack stands at mid-height!). One thing I do is put RR ties under the rear brace and under each front arm - all nice and snug, so that if stands fail, it'll rest on the wood. No more than 1/2" clearance, so it doesn't have far to fall.

blown 87

The three 2 post lifts I have bought have all said 6 inch min floor thickness, it cost me 750 to have my floor that was thin in one place (5 1/2) cut out and repoured on both sided.

It is not worth taking a chance, having a car fall can be very bad at best.

DR

I found driiling the holes the hardest part of installing mine. In my shop it turned out to be the hardest darn concrete w/large aggregate (rocks) I have ever seen. I wore out 8+ Bosch rotary hammer-drill bits over a solid weekend just getting the few holes drilled. I have drilled literally thousands of 3/4" plus diameter holes in concrete over my lifetime. Ironically 95% of those were over my head (rigging lighting/sound systems), but these were the worst ever. I honestly think that those *%&#^@^$ lift holes alone had a lot to do with the current hand/wrist nerve damage I now suffer from.

Always wear well cushioned gloves when using a hammer drill extensively and have some friends to help take turns drilling!

Dave Sz.

IIRC the minimum thickness for my "hobbyist" lift was 4" of reinforced concrete. There is a specific psi rating I just don't recall. Also I agree with DR, drilling those holes is the worst. Rent the biggest, baddest hammer drill you can no matter the rental fee. You will not regret it.

cold_beer839

I got my Mechanix Two Post Car Lift MTP-12F installed the other day, but the damn lift arms are too long and tall to fit under a 928.
It's a heavy duty 12k lb lift.

http://eagleequip.com/page/EE/PROD/LI-ETP/MTP-12F

I called the company and ask if they had low profile short radius lift arms for that lift, but they haven't called me back yet. They probably do not...

In any event they have their 9k lb Eagle Global Two-Post Asymmetric Car Lift (GLO-9A) on sale so I may be installing a second lift soon.

http://www.eagleequip.com/page/EE/PROD/LI-ETP/GLO-9A

dr bob

I'm so looking forward to drilling the mounting holes. When we placed the floor, I made sure it was at least 10" in the new bay, 3500PSI concrete minimum, did the slump tests to be sure, and there are two layers of 1/2" rebar on 6" grid for at least four feet around the posts. The aggregate is no bigger than 1/2". There was a lot of language used by the guys pouring and finishing while stepping on all that steel. I have a pretty good 1" SDS hammer drill. If it comes up short there's no problem renting a bigger one. 16 holes to drill... Somehow we'll figure something out. Maybe swap guest drilling duty with guest lift time credits or something.

goldknight

Had one. Just sold it for $1500.00 Go it for $100.00. 8Klb two post lift.

Hint..

Check local car dealer with shops and auto repair shops. They upgrade there lifts every 5 to 10 years for saftey. I got mine form a Dodge dealer that upgraded to a 12Klb lift. Little cleaning one new hose($35.00) and bam working lift.

Warning.

If you decide to install one your self have 5 crazy strong backed friends or a tractor. Dang those things are heavy. Also make sure you floor is thick enough. 4inch min. for the 8K lift. 6inch is better. Mine was 4.5inch thick and after just over 2 years the floor was starting to crack under one of the post. But then I had a car on that lift every day for almost the entire 2 years it was installed.

DR

Dave,

After our discussion about your lift when you were here a few weeks ago I am truly sorry to hear of these new developments. I know that has to be bummer for you.

After all those issues I would push hard to see if your supplier will take the first one back in exchange for the correct one.

For others looking at lifts this is one example where bigger is not always better.

Anything over 8-10K lbs is all anyone here should ever need unless they are working on buses, big rigs or dump trucks.

My 8K Rotary (same lift now sold as 9K cap with new sticker) will lift my 1-ton F-350 Dually Crew Cab Long Bed 4x4 with ease. Unforunately I can't lift it too far because it is so long it sticks out the garage door

sendarius

Well, that's what I get for believing what I read on the web.

Spoke to a sales rep, and the "special" is over, the next one up is out of stock, and the one up from that is $3100 AUD - with clear floor it is $3200 AUD. So the difference is $100 AUD. That's 3% not the 25% I was seeing.

Looks like I will be:
a) buying a clear floor option
b) spending more than I expected
c) checking other potential suppliers before I flash the credit card.

Glenn M

Besides working on the car I want to store one on it and have one underneath. My understanding is that the two post lifts aren't good due to the suspension hanging.

Two post would be the way to go if all I needed was to work on the car.

Glenn

dr bob

Steve--

The market here is somewhat competitive, but in a wavering economy --everything-- is negotiable. There's a slew of cheapo lifts made in Asia, selling here for $1500US or less. Asia is closer to you, but demand may not be enough to make your local dealers hungry enough to price them competitively with US numbers. The Bend-Pak lift I have an eye on is made somewaht locally (90 mins or less from here) and costs 50% more than the imported models. Rumors are that they are worth the extra cost. After all the design and spec work on my garage structure, the difference in lift cost is lost down in the noise somewhere.

dr bob

Glenn--

The weight is born by the safety latches when a car is elevated. The hydraulics and cables get the car up there, but you lower it until the safeties are set. Cables in theory don't do anything except balance uneven loading from side to side when lifting. I guess the thing that makes storage on a two-post a bit challenging is that the suspended car always has the suspension stretched and hanging on the extension stops in the shocks. There has to be an accessory set of trays that could be set on and engaged with the arms so the weight is on the tires when lifted. I know there are side pads for frame lifting, no reason to believe that a longer version of those couldn't work for what you want. Then it's the best of both worlds. Here in the area where the ground vibrates a lot, I'm not sure I'd want to leave a car up on a two-post lift for storage. That's a local issue though.

sendarius

Sssssh, don't let my wife hear that.

linderpat

Dr Bob - what is the harm in having the suspension dangling, especially with the wheels removed? (my car has been suspended on jack stands w/o the wheels for a month now)