ricks993

I am about to pull the trigger on a Dannmar 2 post portable lift, anyone have any experience with this lift??? Would you recommend it????

firesm

If you are referring to the Maxjax, I have had one for a couple of years and it's been great. Here is a thread I posted about it. You'll find a lot of info on it if you do a search here and also on the garage journal forum.

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...post-lift.html

ricks993

Steve
Yes it is the max jack. Thanks for the thread; I ordered one this afternoon, it will arrive next week!! Now I have to check my garage concrete thickness and then nothing will stop me from taking the complete car apart!!!!
I also have to decide if I want to place the passenger side post closer to the wall and leave it as you mentioned. And only store the driver side post when not in use??
OR; Place the passenger side post further into the driving bay, giving you more room on the passenger side to work on the car. But always having to remove both posts for storage???
Your passenger side post (in the link) looks close to the wall and I would be able to use that bay without removing the post for storage but do you have room to work to that side of a car on your lift?
I hope that was not confusing???

firesm

Yes that's the problem with things like this that are designed to make things easier and save time - they end up making more work and taking up more of your time! (kind of like computers...)

No, not confusing. I have a three car garage. One double door and one single. The maxjax is put in the bay where the single door is. If I would have moved it over a few more inches I would have had a problem when raising the car to the highest level - it would have hit the tracks for the garage door. This could be avoided by changing the tracks to the door so that it slides straight up - but the cost of that and changing the door opener to that style made it prohibitive. Plus it would have been too far into the parking area for the two car side of the garage - not allowing me to park both our daily drivers inside - another important consideration in my northern climate. I have no problem working on the passenger side of the car and removing/installing wheels etc..

963K993

Ricks - I spent a lot of time laying out the posts. Hopefully this can save you some trouble.

I work on a rolling stool which you'll need on this short lift and have a rolling parts cart. It's real nice to be able to get both around each post. Tight to the wall may be aggravating.

I assembled the posts and arms, rolled them into place and put my cars between them before I started drilling. I ended up going with a spread quite a bit wider than recommended. Otherwise I would have had to kick in the rear arms, roll the car forward and and then kick in the front arms because of the short wheelbase. I can get you the dimension when I go over if you like.

If you have enough room in your shop, set the posts where you can get the car all the way in and open the doors without hitting the posts. If you can do that, you may never have to move either post unless you're doing a project other than your car.

If you're not experienced at drilling concrete and setting anchors, make a 3/4" plywood template of the base, tapcon it to the floor and then use it to guide your drill bit. Just an 1/8" of bit float in opposite directions will screw up the works. Hope this helps.

ricks993

Thanks for the tips; I don’t want to drill holes twice!! I look forward to being able to actually use a lift after many years of wanting one!!!!!

Crimson Nape Racing

I keep the post next to the wall in all the time (the base is about 6" from the wall) and there is no problem being too close to the wall. The only problem I had was several of the concrete inserts did not set properly and I had to get them out (total pita) and replace them with epoxy anchors. When I move and do this again I will use all epoxy anchors. A little more $ but easier and sturdier.

IXLR8

Yes. I didn't see a need for a lift on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, so for that reason, I wanted a lift that would be out of the way until I needed it.

I have my MaxJax all assembled and working (no hydraulic leaks at fittings and performed bleeding process on cylinders) but I have yet to install it (I don't trust my concrete floor).

Observations:

• it could have been crated far better for shipping. Numerous scrapes and gouges in the claimed powder coated paint.
• fasteners had to be bought because supplied fasteners were too short or not suitable for the purpose (no big deal).
• had to cut a protruding threaded rod on the flow divider to get a wrench on a hydraulic fitting - did someone at Dannmar not assemble one of these yet?
• its the little things - one tube for the lift arms has the welded seam on the bottom...the other tube has it in plain view at the top. Attention to detail is lacking.

Some pics showing the crated MaxJax as received and some other component pics.

My MaxJax Install - Placement - Installation - Custom Install thread.

Of concern...most lifts have locks every 4 to 6 inches and as they rise, they lock. I'm wondering why the MaxJax doesn't and that has me worried about any failure that would cause loss of hydraulic fluid while the lift is in transit. This is more of a concern for the car, not the operator, since nobody should be under the vehicle during operation of any lift.

So my gears started spinning and I have a design in my noggin that I hope to implement on my lift some day; I have too many projects already on the go and in memory storage. No mods to any of the MaxJax components themselves, just a nice and simple add-on.