Devil Boy

Very inspiring. I'm looking to buy a house soon and a good garage is on top of my list.

Chris from Cali

Doing a complete car swap (i.e. move the top car to bottom and vice versa) takes about 5 minutes (literally). Coming down is very quick - it's a regulated hydraulic drop. Coming up takes a little longer since the motor has to build up hydraulic pressure for the rams. I'd say <10 sec to come down, +/- 30 to go up.

I gave a photo and a scale model of the Gulf 917 to my builder and he matched it. I'll have to go in the garage to check the paint codes.

Just make sure you set aside a good budget.


Then double it. You'll think of all kinds of cool stuff as you're going. My only regret is not doing more hi-loft storage, but the bins that are down are my books/magazines that'll go into the library when it's built out.

Traffic53

Ha! chris, are you sure you didn't buy a lift that- by the looks of it- will surely fail?

since none of us have ever seen a lift design like that, it can't possibly be safe. in fact, i'm not sure that unit even exists!

nicely done, sir.

kosmo

Nice. Luv the gulf theme.
That blue is tranquil.

Chris from Cali

I'm certainly hoping you're being facetious. There's a reason it's not a common lift:

$$$$$$$

Believe me, that's not a boast, that's a cry of pain from my wallet. I didn't want to skimp, and I knew it wasn't going to be used for oil changes, so I went with the best.

Chris from Cali

Thanks - it looks 100x better than unfinished drywall and bare concrete.

DreamCarrera

Why do you feel the need to taunt me??? HAHA

El Fredo

My wife caught me looking at your post! Not good!
Told me that wasnt gonna happen!

Jackson22

Wow. Love it!

kosmo

Used to see those lifts all over parking lots in NYC.
is the door manual or do you have a side mounted opener?

VW would be very happy to see your choice of cars!

Chris from Cali

Yep - this company makes a ton of the NYC storage lifts. It has a direct-drive (coil-spring) mounted just inside the garage. I relocated the tracks to clear the higher car in the lift.

As for VW, it's ironic that VW/Audi USA is about 5 minutes from where I live. I drive by their HQ everyday. I want a discount next time.

Wolfk

Chris,
Very cool garage and lift. Just wondering what made you go with that style lift vs. the conventional 4 post. Yours is more compact, no doubt.

TommyV44

Tell her the same thing when she looks at the next pair of shoes.........then run for the hills!

Tom

TommyV44

If it costs more it's for a reason! Why does everything I want cost more?????

Tom

Chris from Cali

The primary reason was because it's designed and built as a storage lift, not a service lift. It's inherently stable, doesn't use locking collars/pins, and doesn't require the hydraulics/motor to be functional to be safe (i.e. not dropping the car). Additionally, it's incredibly well-built, and driving onto a ramp is super-easy to do my weekly swaps.

The 4-post lift I originally considered (as all 4-posts are) is intended as a service lift - it goes up, car gets serviced, it goes down. While some of the better 4-posters are good at storage, this lift is better. Also, you don't need a 12-18-24" slab to install the Harding Steel lift. The bolts into the floor are strictly to keep it from sliding if I hit it wrong/hard.

Believe me, I would have rather spent $4K on the BendPak I was looking at, but it will pay off in the end...