Partially true. The weight is dispersed over the 4 posts so not one single post is responsible for the entire 3500#.

 

I have an "in ground lift", single post like in an old gas station, but I would have bought this side post lift in a minute. No reason it wouldn't hold the weight of the car over time. Is metal fatige your concern? It's gotta be over built to some degree. It is rated for 6000 lbs and your going to put a 3400 lb Porsche on it right?

 

+1 on the Direct Lift.
I bought the 8000OH for about $1250 FOB their factory. My wife was going to a sales meeting last year about 10 miles from their place so she just took my F-350 up there and the guys loaded into the bed no problem.
We installed it over the winter and it took my guys about 4 hours never having done one before. It helps to have a backhoe to lift the colums up as they're freakin' heavy!

 

In SoCal I would definitely do what you suggest of course you're probably going to have to hire a structural engineering firm apply for a butload of permits have 20 inspections and hopefully you'll get it installed before you're too old to use it. J/K

For the rest of us w/o earthquake concerns any properly poured and prepped ground bearing slab made with 4" of 3000 PSI concrete will work. Keep in mind that 3000# per square inch is the structural strength of the concrete once cured and the plates on the bottom of these are at least 12" x 12" (144sq. in. * 3000PSI = 432,000# of support) way more than the weight of the lift and car (~1600+3000= 4600/2= 2300#/base plate).

We've had several of these installed after the fact for clients who decided that they wanted one and have never had any problem with the regular slab. The biggest issue is of course head room clearance..

 

What is the minimum ceiling heighth that works?

 

Basically height of car A + height of car B + 5". With 2 GT3s, that would be just under 9'. Be sure your garage door doesn't open into the space where a car will be.

 

Be sure to look at the specs of the lift you are interested in.
Many of the lifts are about 12 feet tall although you can get shorter ones.

 

Bend Pak HD9-ST with all the bells and whistles installed under 4k. I also seriously considered the Back Yard Buddy but I could justify the extra cost. I have 11' cielings and a Liftmaster shaft driven garage door opener. Sorry for the small pic, I'll have to get better shots later.

 

Air....what do you mean by all the bells and whistles? Where did you order through? I am in the market and making a decision this week and from what I have found the Bend Pak is a bit more than 4K with all the "bells and whistles" installed. If you prefer, shoot me a PM. Thanks!

 

Hi Dell,

Here were my cost,
Product Manufactor Vendor Cost Quantity Total
HD-9ST BendPak ASE $2,374.00 1 $2,374.00
RJ45 Rolling Jack "" ASE $1,081.00 1 $1,081.00
Portable Wheel Kit '''' ASE $290.00 1 $290.00
Plastic Drip Trays "" ASE $99.00 1 $99.00
$3,844.00

ASE = Automotive Service Equipment - http://www.asedeals.com/lifts2.html and http://www.asedeals.com/garage_lift.html for the HD series.

It is rated up to 9k lbs. and comes in 4 variations. The Portable wheel kit allows my to roll the whole rack w/wo the car into the middle of the garge to work on both sides at the same time. The rolling jack limits me to lifting either the front or back one end at a time but I can live with that. I use my standard Craftman 15gal compressor and standard 110 electricity. Gets the car up in 45 seconds to a height of 6 feet, and I can still use my air tools. Give them a call, they were great to work with and call them for updated pricing, they always have a sale going on. Shipping was free from the West Coast and a local company charged me $400 to install it. So it's technically a hair over 4k. I did not need the Air/Electric station so I did not pick that up.

Here is a link to better pics, excuse the mess please - http://forums.audiworld.com/midatlan...s/214121.phtml

 

I'm bummed. I have less than 8½' from floor to ceiling in my garage. No room for a lift that I could park another car under....

 

My problem as well.... It forced me to move the "3" to a garage at the track. I'm not complaining, as heading out there is like a visit to Disneyland...

I am looking at installing a Bend Pak scissor lift as I really just want to be able to work on the corners...

Great thread guys. Thanks for all the 4-post info...

-B

 

What about a scissor lift? Has anyone had any experience with one? Recommendations? Thanks.

 

Just got the Direct Lift 7000 lb. unit from Greg Smith Equipment. Costs were:
$2200 for the lift with drip pans (3), and sliding jack
$ 600 delivery and installation
$ 700 parts and labor for high lift extension for garage door (door now opens about 9" from ceiling)
$3500 total

The unit looks and works fine. I was originally going to get the American made Back Yard Buddy but could not justify the $2600 price difference. My installer has done many of the Direct Lifts and told me there've been no problems with his installs.

 

This is the Direct Lift 7000 lb unit, installed a few days ago. One hiccup was a loose fitting which caused a small hydraulic leak, everything looks OK now. Some photos show my 3 along with friend Iain Bryant's 996TT, I am waiting for the 911SC to show up in a few days.