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While excellent for storage, the double lifts are not good for doing a lot of work on the vehicles. Oil changes and exhaust work are about it. Wheel access is difficult. If storage is your main concern, hard to beat. Have always had very good service from BendPak lifts.
I bought a new Bendpak less than a year ago and have been very pleased with the quality. While mine is a two post 10,000#, if I were in the market for a 4 post I'd order one from Bendpak.
I actually prefer a 4 post. I've had 4 different Direct Lifts at various homes and all have done well. All my buddies bought them too after using mine.
I like just parking my car on the lift. I have the rolling jack on it that slides the entire length. Just jack it up and do anything you want with wheels/brakes/suspension..whatever. You can even place it on jackstands while on the lift if you want to and there is always the jack tray and a bottle jack on it too.
I've never bolted mine to the floor...in fact I like the casters that come with it to allow you to move the lift anywhere you want. A buddy of mine has a big concrete pad behind his shop. He rolls the lift outside once a year and puts his cars up on them and washes them off outside! Pretty handy. My new shop has a similar pad going out the back door for the same thing.
If I was doing nothing but brake jobs I suppose I'd like the 2 post....but I really pull wheels on my Vette and daily drivers very seldom. Plus I prefer the stability of the 4 post.
I actually prefer a 4 post. I've had 4 different Direct Lifts at various homes and all have done well. All my buddies bought them too after using mine.
I like just parking my car on the lift. I have the rolling jack on it that slides the entire length. Just jack it up and do anything you want with wheels/brakes/suspension..whatever. You can even place it on jackstands while on the lift if you want to and there is always the jack tray and a bottle jack on it too.
I've never bolted mine to the floor...in fact I like the casters that come with it to allow you to move the lift anywhere you want. A buddy of mine has a big concrete pad behind his shop. He rolls the lift outside once a year and puts his cars up on them and washes them off outside! Pretty handy. My new shop has a similar pad going out the back door for the same thing.
If I was doing nothing but brake jobs I suppose I'd like the 2 post....but I really pull wheels on my Vette and daily drivers very seldom. Plus I prefer the stability of the 4 post.
JIM
I went through the pros and cons and decided that cleaning a frame, pulling wheels to do detailing and the fact that I'm 6'4" and too old to duck under a couple of 20' long x 24" wide ramps was a little much while working on my car under a 4 poster. Forehead scars are not in my future. Thankfully, I have enough room here in earthquake country where I don't have to keep a car in the air no matter how safe the manufacturers say they are.
There are so many car guys in our little town ,one of the largest clubs in ca, I see many lifts and many having no-names, and owners save Big $ . If you look and I have you cant tell the difference from big name ones that other people have up here. Mine cost me $1695.00 delivered ,not set up , friends helped .But some people have to have the company name.
While excellent for storage, the double lifts are not good for doing a lot of work on the vehicles. Oil changes and exhaust work are about it. Wheel access is difficult. If storage is your main concern, hard to beat. Have always had very good service from BendPak lifts.
I run a Bendpak HD-9W and to get around the item of "wheel access" bought the rolling jack and when positioned under the frame lifts wheels (front or back) for brake jobs, detailing and even suspension work
I bought one from the lift superstore, saw it at car auction and was able to ask all the questions I wanted and look at the lift hands on, I belive delivered with alum. ramps and hydraulic bridge jack it was just under $3k, with jack tray and 3 drain/drip trays all steel.
Very pleased with the build quality, works flawlessly.
Another vote for the Bend Pac HD-9W. I bought one and installed it myself a few years ago. I would strongly suggest that you purchase the aluminum ramps. They are very light and store in between the rails. I also bought the castors to move the lift around depending upon what car I am working on or job I am doing. I am getting way to old to crawl around under cars anymore. Jerry
I would go for the bend pack also, especially seeing it's $4750.00 cheaper. I have been working under lifts since 1986 when I purchased the 1st one for my little shop, wore out several, especially the hydraulics, never had one fail, Those double wide things scare the heck out of me but I am sure they are safe.
10k seems very high when you can get get 5 single car lifts for that. Have you thought about getting two single car lifts and save well over 50%. I had a backyard buddy and it was great and easy to install and could have added a second in my two car garage if I stayed in that home.
Last edited by 90sundevil; 01-12-2016 at 08:53 AM.
After wanting a lift for years I pulled the trigger last summer. I really liked the Backyard Buddy but they had gotten a little out of my price range. At Carlisle I ran into a Advance Lift on display. After looking it over I liked what I saw and then had a buddy who owns Backyard Buddy look at it. His take was the same as mine this was BB reverse engineered and then improved. It has great features (alu. ramps, double safety locks, powder coat paint, & more), the welding looks good as well as the rest of the workmanship. These lifts are manufactured in China and the company makes no bones about it. They say they designed the lift and have it built by a company they have used for years and trust.
I think mine was $3,225 delivered plus $50 to have local rollback operator get it off the semi and drop it in my garage. I put the lift together completely by myself in about there or four hours with a couple of floor jacks and an engine lift.
1. Aluminum ramps...the steel tend to be ball busters...not impossible but my back likes the aluminum better.
2. If you get wheel kit to move it around, do not get metal wheels...they are terrible and difficult at best to move, get the poly? wheels.....they are much easier to work with.
01-11-2016, 05:25 PM
opinion on car lifts
