The Panther

Trying to find a lift that will fit in my garage. The ceiling is 10' high but I have a beam running the width of the garage that is only 100 inches tall. Picture below.

I would use the lift mainly to store a car...C4 up top C5 below. I am thinking a four post would fit since the posts would not touch the beam and the car hood would be below it. I can raise the garage door opener motor and rails to around 100 inches.



Any ideas?

k24556

Here is my install. Is your garage deep enough so that the beam would clear the roof? If so, then you will be OK. Other wise, 100 inches is not enough.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...post-lift.html

crease-guard

If you want a two post, get a MaxJax by Dannmar. It's a mid lift, goes to about 48 inches and specifically made to be able to be moved out of the way and for low ceiling clearance. I have one out where I keep my track car and it's worth every penny. You just get a creeper seat and you can scoot under the car just fine. It's not as nice as a full size and being able to walk under it but it's a very nice compromise and allows you to pull the wheels, work on the suspension. You can do everything a full size lift can do except stand up.

If it's just for storage mainly, then a 4 post is the way to go.

Jay

sperkins

4-post all the way. Mine has paid for itself 4 times over - literally.
I bought a cheap Chinese one 4 years ago and it has worked flawlessly and I use it almost daily. Whatever you do, be sure to get a sliding center jack (or two).

JDIllon

I have a 4 post and love it. You may also be able to back one car on a 4 post and put the hood under the beam, and it may work better. Check these guys out
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/4-Post-Lifts great stuff at great prices. JD

The Panther

The beam would be at the base of the windshield, but even with the garage door motor raised, the max I could get(estimating) would be 105 inches of clearance. The c4 and c5 look to be 47 inches tall each. Anyone have a four post with this type of clearance. The c4 would be on stored on top year round.

stevensa

Not to jack your thread, but how do you remove suspension/driveline components with the four post? It seems like it would be a pain to manuever the subframes out etc. Also how do you put the car on jackstands on the lift to remove wheels, etc?

waddisme

Did some quick research and the Maxjax seems pretty good option for low ceilings. It doesn't get the car up for standing distance, but for most maintenance/track prep, it seems . Did not find any failure instances.

Falcon

On my 4 post lift, I jack the car up and put 8'' blocks of wood under the frame. I have pieces of wood that's cut to fit into cutouts on the bottom of the rocker panels.

kmagvette

You are in good shape. My ceiling is 102" on a good day. My four post lift is capable of putting the car through the ceiling if I turn my brain completely off. For me, in order to get max lift, I need the car to be positioned such that the roof is between lights. Solution is silly simple with side benefits. I have marked the required tire positions on the lift...move the car to the right place...no problems.

Bonus. With the car at that position, I also have marked the floor for jack stand positions...lift the car, place jack stands in position with a 2x6 spanning them, lower the car and the wheels are up in the air.

To maximize your lift, ditch the overhead door opener for a wall mount shaft drive model to get additional lift.

If you go four post, a really wide one like the Bend-Pak HD-9 give access to everything under the car ... has 44" between the runways and my truck fits on it.

The Panther

Good advice on the wall mount opener. Didn't even know those existed. That should give me plenty of clearance

stevensa

Indeed, I need to look into those.

drivinhard

they are much much quieter to. I have 2 of them in my shop

Dolfan

This may help you. I've had a scissor, Max Jax , and 4 post. I've documented much of the process and thoughts here.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75488

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121855

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67229

I really like the Max Jax and use it for all my work.

68sixspeed

Liftmaster 3800 is very popular, I have a pair of them and they operate 10'x10' 2" thick insulated doors with no problem.

I just put a 4 post rotary revolution in over the weekend, very happy with that. I have 12'6 ceilings but I noticed already with a car on it I don't run all the way up to the ceiling, it just gets too high to work on the car. (all the blood running out of your arms reaching way up all the time) The only one where the extra height is nice is putting a truck or SUV up. I think you'll be fine for a car with the 10' ceilings, just watch that beam and maybe modify things for a safety switch so you can't crush the car.

2 GTOs

My garage is only about 17.5 feet deep and 20 wide. The garage doors are offset so there is no room to open the passenger door in one bay. The other bay has about 4 steps that protrude into the garage. The distance from the edge of the door to the wall is only about 4-6 inches.

I would really like to get a professional in to see if a 4 post can fit in the space. Any suggestions for a reputable place in north nj?

kmagvette

I am happy with my Bend Pak ... second page has floor foot prints of various models http://www.bendpak.com/HD_9C.pdf

I put my lift together alone...well, me and my engine hoist / shop crane. If interested, search for the manual online. Installation instructions are very well written and the lift goes together easily; I had zero lift experience prior to my purchase.

fatbillybob

My solution in a 3 car garage with low beam, was to run the lift parallel to the low beam and just back the car into the garage swing a 90* into the lift bay. The other advantage of doing this is that I postion the lift towers between the stalls so that 3 cars can still be parked head in when the lift is empty. Twin posts are in more pro shops than any other kind of lift. There is a reason for that versitility.

ZR1 MK

Panther
My 2 car garage looks similar to yours.

I raised the door opener, extended the rails, built an extra panel from 16 gauge joists and trimmed the beam a small amount for windsheild clearance. You could order a garage door panel in lieu a fabbed unit.

My c4 is on the 4 post lift with my wifes car below. Here previous car was 54" high, but her new car is 56" high. At 56" the tolerances got real small, but work.

I figure your two Corvettes will fit better as the cars hgt is smaller.

If you need pics with dimensions (ceiling hgt and beam location) on my setup, send me your contact info to private message with email address.

69427

In my previous house I had a low ceiling in the garage, along with the usual door raising issue. I just backed the top car in, and the garage door would raise and move above the fenders and hood, and stop before getting close to the windshield. Plenty of room under the lift for the other car.