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Yes, I agree with you exactly. It only LOOKS unstable, but the narrowness is a drawback for me.
Stan's looks like it would handle my projects exactly, if I put it outdoors.
And 6' height, wow. I have a bad back and although I always did everything lying on my back, it would now be nice to work on rocker panels, exhaust, undercarriage welding, trans etc while standing or sitting.
Stan, do you know the cost and where I could look into your Eagle model...and do you think I could leave it outside?
Thanks for your reponses.
These were made in Burleson, Texas once upon a time...as far as I know they are no longer in business. In fact I believe the original company was bought out.
The Eagle name survived ...but I don't believe this model lift is available anywhere now.
...but, yes it could be left outside if hydraulic hoses were protected from constant rv exposure.
This would be what I would get in your position or something similar...
Actually I wouldn't either...my Corvette is on jack stands as we speak. 100% availability. All you need is a good floor jack, and adjustable headrest creeper, adjustable jack stands...and a rolling brake stool.
You can work inside, outside, under the car, on the engine, on the body..anywhere on the car...in this position.
I didn't change anything when going back and forth top to bottom....seat tracks for instance. ..or A/c lines, ...or transmission linkage, ..or headers and exhaust,..or whatever. Actually the car is at a much more comfortable height for many things...with 100% toes to car accessibility all way round.
To simple to be popular theses days though..
Oh, well.
PS.
I pulled the transmission in less than 30 minutes where it sits....with Harbor Freight's best Walker/Lincoln cloned transmission jack.
No back or neck strain...no difficulty focusing my progressive lens glasses...perfectly rested when I rolled out from under the car with the transmission.
...oh and I forget about all the hours it took to insulate the underside. I would be in bed for a week if I tried all that under my lift.
..and last, your dog won't try to pee on the tires in this position...LOL!
Last edited by Stan's Customs; 04-11-2016 at 09:57 PM.
Been shopping for lifts myself and that BendPak looks better for my low garage ceiling. I really like the idea of sliding the lift panels together under the car when not used. Will they clear a Corvette? But will those lift surfaces/flats contact/interfear with anything else under the car or body side panels as they raise the car?
So I had to look at the BendPak w/s for specs. But no lowered height or even weight. Price is almost twice that of an entry level 2 post lift.
Measured my jacks stands and my vette is only 13" off the ground. Man I've been crawling under that all these years no wonder I'm getting annoyed with it. I really want 40" clearance as my garage can support that. But Jegs has sale on 24" alum stands now with some wood plank I could get the car another couple inches higher. That would give me another foot of crawl space. But will need a floor jack adapter to lift the car that high. So for $250 I can get another foot of lift/space. Thinking to at least try it before looking higher.
Thx for posting though as it looks to be a good fit for what I need.
You probably wouldn't think that you can get it higher than is comfortable to work under pretty easily...but you can!
When I realized I was turning on my side to reach way up...I figured it out. I actually had to lower my jack stands a couple of notches to get the perfect height for all around working/reach comfort.....it could have easily been considerably higher than pictured.
I have a fairly high lift jack. But if you don't ... a 4x4x6 wood block will cradle in the jack pad..and raise it a bunch more if you really need to. Just jack it up as high as it will and secure with jack stands before you add the block....then go further.
Stan
Last edited by Stan's Customs; 04-11-2016 at 10:27 PM.
Unfortunately my lower back problem would not allow me to sit bent over like that or get up from a creeper position after any length of time, however standing under 6' lift or sitting under a car raised up 45" would be possible.
Still thinking the Bendpak is best answer, unless I could get that Eagle SL-6000 used.
Thanks
Unfortunately my lower back problem would not allow me to sit bent over like that or get up from a creeper position after any length of time, however standing under 6' lift or sitting under a car raised up 45" would be possible.
Still thinking the Bendpak is best answer, unless I could get that Eagle SL-6000 used.
Thanks
Sit bent over? I sit bolt up right on a brake stool and roll all round the car.
Sounds like we both have severe back problems ...so I feel your pain.
I've had 5 MRI's on my back the last 10 months. Lower back is causing the left leg to go numb...and the neck area is so painful I'm having resort to pain management to be able to function at all. But I'm reluctant to have surgery just yet...especially on my neck. The success rate there is 50/50 according to my surgeon.
Looking up...is out of the question for very long...but I can lay on a creeper and look up with a neck support creeper pretty good.
My lower back has improved with therapy...and I'm able to roll off a creeper and get up which was very hard to do for a while...but at least possible. Unlike looking up...
Gettin' old is a biotch ain't it?
Stan...
Last edited by Stan's Customs; 04-11-2016 at 10:44 PM.
Stan, I don't want to turn this into an old guy ailment rant but I've been through a load of Drs and they all say neck/spine surgery is far more sucessful because the weight on that area is only around 10 lbs (your head). The weight on your lower back can be 100lbs or more....far lower sucess rate. No guarantees at all!
I need to have a rocker panel at eyesight level, no slight bending down of the upper spine.
I can bend my neck backwards, forward is what causes problems.
Stan, I don't want to turn this into an old guy ailment rant but I've been through a load of Drs and they all say neck/spine surgery is far more sucessful because the weight on that area is only around 10 lbs (your head). The weight on your lower back can be 100lbs or more....far lower sucess rate. No guarantees at all!
I need to have a rocker panel at eyesight level, no slight bending down of the upper spine.
I can bend my neck backwards, forward is what causes problems.
10-4 on that..
I guess it depends on the damage too....I have a close friend that had neck surgery, can't turn his head left and right very far now, and says he wishes he hadn't done it.
So I'm scared to try it till I have no other choice.
To bad you don't live down the road from me...you could own this Eagle lift... I don't use it much obviously.
Bend Pac is great equipment...you can't go wrong there...probably a better company than Eagle these days
Thanks Stan. If you want to email or PM me about what I've learned about back surgery, feel free to. I have a sister-in-law who had her neck done and is perfect now.
Go to the top in the neurosurgery world to ask questions....nothing less.
Good luck!
Joseph, I ran into several 48" height scissor racks when shopping for mine.... they did'nt go full height, which I needed, but there were several and they were not expensive. We used to use them specifically for tire and brake work....super fast and stable. Google 48" scissor lift or 48" lift and you should be able to find something. Having a lift at home makes working on an old car fun again....when I got mine at 51, I was done gravel-backing.
Check out the Max Jax. A short 2-post. Works in a 8' ceiling garage.
I have a Dann-Marr Max Jax. it's easy to install in a 6 inch plus concrete floor, and you can remove it from the floor and roll it away. Mounts on concrete anchors. Relatively unobtrusive. The "splitter" that divides the oil between the two posts requires attention to bleeding the two hydraulic columns to keep them level.
I'm with you in the fact that any lift is better then no lift at all.
I too had a low ceiling in our garage. I went back to the engineer who engineered the trusses and determined a resolve that worked where I didn't have to pull off the trusses and the roof.
Obviously, I did pull off the sheetrock on the ceiling, added struts and engineered scabbards which consisted of three sheets of plywood per truss.
It was a bit of costs involved, but the payoff in the end was well worth it!
And although, there are limitations to the 4 post, it's still far greater then anything I have worked with before.
I inquired about the Mohawk usl-6000 several months ago and they notified me it was no longer in production. Looks like a great system but no longer in production.
Originally Posted by GTOguy
I use a Mowhawk usl-6000 full height portable scissor lift at home. I love it. Parked over it, it takes up no space. Safe and full access, too. Expensive, but worth it. Biggest plus is no posts to take up space and full access to the car everywhere. I had my ceiling raised so I could go up the full 6 plus feet, though. These portable lifts are plenty safe and need no anchoring. Bend-pak is an industry standard, so no worries there. Been using all types of lifts daily as a pro for over 35 years.....
So far the only one that fits me better than my originally posted mid-rise BenPak is Stan's 6' Eagle that is no longer made. All of BendPak's attributes....and full height!
You can try shopping the classifieds.....several of my friends got lucky and scored some nice lifts very cheaply that were well-used but in great working condition. That was my first course of action, but the timing was wrong and I struck out. The Mowhawk I got cost $5300....about twice what a twin post or 3x what a cheap 4 post would have cost, but it's all in what works for you in your situation. Good luck on your hunt!
I'm with you in the fact that any lift is better then no lift at all.
I too had a low ceiling in our garage. I went back to the engineer who engineered the trusses and determined a resolve that worked where I didn't have to pull off the trusses and the roof.
Obviously, I did pull off the sheetrock on the ceiling, added struts and engineered scabbards which consisted of three sheets of plywood per truss.
It was a bit of costs involved, but the payoff in the end was well worth it!
And although, there are limitations to the 4 post, it's still far greater then anything I have worked with before.
I simply do not wish to lay on concrete anymore!
I too prefer the 4 post lifts...and wish I had ceiling clearance for one.
But most scissor lifts, with a few exceptions, aren't useful enough for the expense imho. They are still hard on the ol' bod to do some things.
I researched 4 post lifts last year (thought I had ny scissor sold, which fell thru) with full intensions of buying one.
I have a double wide RV shed for my 40' RV, which I planned on pouring a slab and installing a covered 4 post lift on the adjoining side.
Last edited by Stan's Customs; 04-14-2016 at 02:10 PM.
Before lifts were as inexpensive and plentiful, I built my dream
4+ car garage. My brilliant idea was to run a steel Ibeam across its entire width to avoid support posts that might interfere with my car doors.
Times change and everywhere you look they're selling lifts. I can't open up the ceiling to build a box upstairs for the height of a two post lift (which I'd love to have) because I'd need an architect/engineer to figure how to cut the steel beam and brace it to a perpendicular Ibeam.
Which brought me to placing a lift outside the garage.
I have to agree with my wife that the beautiful, paver, landscaped yard would be an odd place to have a large ugly 8-10' pair of posts in.
However, this BendPak model would lay flat and could even be rolled back into the garage if necessary.
The plan was pretty well decided until I saw Stan's full height version....as opposed to the mid-height BP.
Now I'm on a quest to find an Eagle SL-6000.
Let me know if any of you helpful members find one!
Thanks again
04-11-2016, 09:40 PM
Stan
I inquired about the Mohawk usl-6000 several months ago and they notified me it was no longer in production. Looks like a great system but no longer in production. 