Anyone have a 4 post lift in their garage? Any manufacturer's that you would recommend or that I should stay away from?
I'm planning to build a new garage in the spring. Adding a lift may help reduce my footprint so I can avoid the expense of designing and installing a storm water management system.
My original plan was for a 10' ceiling but based on what I see on a few websites I may need to push that up to 12'.
Any of you that built garages, is there something you wish you had included when you built the garage?

 

I wish I had put a drain in mine. Winter melt off the cars makes a mess.

one thing I’m glad I did install was skylights in the roof. So much more light rather than having to turn on/ off lights every time I walk in.

 

I have a Bend Pac HD-9. I bumped my 8' ceiling to 12'. I also had to re-track my garage door to hug the ceiling. The Bend Pac requires an air supply to unlock the locks. I added 220 volts. You can use 110 volts, but it slows down the lift going up. I added aluminum ramps and very glad I did. It is easier on the back and I did not like the idea of leaving the ramps attached all the time. I know I would walk into one at some point. If you don't spring for the $1,500 plus jack, purchase a jack tray. I opted not to get the Bend Pac jack, but instead use the jack tray in conjunction with a three bag air jack and a jack stand. The total cost for the air jack and a jack stand is under $130. You can go on the Bend Pac website and get the specifications of the lift to see how it will fit your garage. When I built the lift, I mounted the motor and control unit inline with the post to save room. I also made a wall mount for the castors to keep them out of the way when not in use. The Bend Pac fits my wife's Acura SUV as well as my NSX. I store my 68 on top and my 66 on the bottom. The lift is the best "tool" I ever bought. If you are building a garage, plumb in for 220 volts as well as black pipe air lines with drops for air connections and water traps. Good luck. Jerry

 

Definitely go higher on the sidewalls. I just put up a garage. Town rules said no more than 11 ft sidewalls, so I put in a 6" curb on the slab. With the curb, the sill plate, a pre-cut stud and a doubled top plate, my ceiling is approx. 11'-4". I'll be putting up a 2-post lift in a couple weeks and the posts will nestle between two trusses.
Point is, I went the max I could go, and it barely works.
You don't need the post height on a 4-post lift, but you will want the vehicle stacking height.

 

I have two BendPak HD-9's. Really like them. Get the 'wide' version - lots more flexibility if/when you put a wider car on it.

Rule of thumb: You need the height of both cars plus 10" to safely get your cars stacked.....

• 4" for the ramps
• 2" to get it on/off the stops (you can adjust the stops to your needs)
• 2" clearance over the car that will be below it (again, you can adjust the stops)
• 2" clearance between the stacked car and the ceiling for a little extra safety margin.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can do more work on your car with a 2 post vs. a 4 post. 2 post lifts are great, but I much prefer a 4 post lift. Stability, bridge jacks, etc. and you can do anything with a 4 poster.

I recommend letting someone set it up for you. Cost me around $400ish each to set them up. They delivered, set up, took waste away, etc.

Several good brands around. I researched and am glad I got the BendPak's. They make them in 110 or 220v. I got 220v because I had 220 in both side of my garage and wanted a faster lift. You need air to operate the stops - I prefer that over the 'rods', but that's a personal choice.

Best, Paul

PS: get the garage door tucked up to the top with a side mounted garage door motor, etc. They can add one panel to your 'standard' garage door and mount the motor on the side. If you're just building your garage, get them to do it that way. Retro-fitting isn't that expensive. When I added the 2nd lift I think they charge me around $4-500 to add the panel, motor, labor, etc.



Stuff 5 cars in a 3 car garage space. Should I go for 6? :-)


No mechanical work I can't do with my 4 post lift. Bridge jack, etc. make it so you can do anything.

 

I have a Direct-Lift from Derek Weaver, ATL certified. I've had both, a nice 2-poster and now the 4-poster. I believe the 4-poster is the better lift, by a large margin. Stability and the ability to actually move the lift with the car on it. I always used stabilizing posts on the car with the 2-poster, the 4-post is as stable as they come. I used my tractor to unload the unit from my trailer, put the large pieces on 4-wheel dollies, and assembled it totally by myself (and I'm 66).

 

Not sure if you purchased or not. Here are a couple pictures of my Advantage Lift DX9000HD. I bought the air bridge jack, it comes with a sliding jack try also. I also added the LED lighting package. It comes with aluminum ramps standard. These ramps are a big plus being aluminum. My ceilings are 11 feet. I am converting to high lift door tracks with a side winder opener. I'm 5'7" and can stand under the car. It lifts the car 6' to the bottom of the ramp. I live in MA and picked it up to save on deliver and installed it myself with the use of my cherry picker. They have a warehouse in RI. What sold me on this lift is the fact the corners are totally incased by the crossmember. It's not a C channel design. I wrench pretty hard and this thing does not move. Very stable.

 

Thanks, what's your garage ceiling height?

 

I have a 10ft ceiling with my 4-post lift
I have done a lot of work on my 73.
Brakes, exhaust, tire rotations plus others.
Best investment I made. I can clearly walk under the car when I have it up

 

Thanks for all the comments.
There's an Advantage location 20 minutes from me. Most lift companies offer free shipping but picking up would probably be easier.
At first glance Advantage and Bendpak seem comparable. Bendpak accessories are ala carte so the prices are probably close after all the basic add ons.
Looks like Bendpak requires 220v versus 120 for the Advantage. Haven't looked at the electric for the garage yet so I'll need to keep that in mind.
Never knew about side mount garage door openers so I learned something from the posts. I'll definitely be looking at these.
I should have pricing on design #1 this week. Will have to get a cost to push the ceiling to 12'.
Thanks again.

 

You are most welcome. It's 10' 4" on the side with our son's Terrain under it. That allows his Terrain and a C3 or C7 on top of it (height of either is around 48"). It's 10' 6" on the other side.

Hope that helps. Paul

 

I have a 9,000' extra-long and wide Auto Lift brand from Best Buy Automotive (they have a lot of different brands, including Bend-Pak and Dannmar). If you can't do long, definitely get a wide version of whatever you get. Mine was about the most inexpensive unit I found at the time, but I am very satisfied with it. All the welds look great and I have complete confidence in it. Like Ratflinger, I put mine together myself and used pallet forks on the tractor to unload and moved pieces around on wheel dollies. The working ramp is well over 500# so if you don't have the ability to lift that, pay the man to build it. When I researched mine, I read that there are only a few manufacturers and they are all pretty similar with different brand labels. I was very particular about setting it up so the posts were exactly plumb and square. I used trailing arm shims to get to posts plumb. When I load it, I center the load which is critically important to stability.

Advice for the garage...assuming you are using the lift for more than storage: 1) 120v outlet every 6 feet and at least one 240v on every wall, 2) Floor plug for the lift (but you'll need to know what lift you are getting, it's footprint, and which corner the control unit is on), 3) Lighting, lots of it. You'll want 40 candle feet as an absolute minimum (Candle feet = lumens/sq-ft). Green Light Depot has some reasonably priced lighting options although your ceiling might be too low for high bay lights, but they have other options. 4) A sink. I bought a stainless steel restaurant sink with 2 side boards, 5) a 1/2 bath. 6) a beer fridge, 7) Wi-fi access point, 8) sound and video, 9) potable light on wheels to move around under the car, 10) Taller ceilings are better. Raise the garage doors as close to the ceiling as possible and use angled tracks if the ceiling is pitched.

 

My ceiling is 10' 3" which is ok for low vehicles like a corvette. I would go with 12' if not too costly. Consideration to gargle door clearance is a must. I have regular 7ft garage doors which requires the door being closed to operate the lift to max height which is not the most desirable situation. I would include plenty of LED lighting, plenty of outlets, sink, and toilet if feasible.

My lift is a generic low end model identical to the Tuxedo brand sold by Home Depot. Although is has been perfectly adequate for the past five years Id probably go with a better quality lift if I had to do it again. I brought my car hauler trailer to a freight terminal about an hour from my home. They forklifted the lift onto it and I drove the trailer to the front of my garage. I was able to transfer it piece by piece to the install location. I did the same thing for my cousin about a month ago. Regardless of how it is installed I would check the levelness of the lift supported by the cables, resting in the safety notches as well as the posts on a periodic basis. Attention to safely operating the lift is a must. You cannot be to cautious.

I really enjoy having the lift and I feel it has allowed me to continue to work on cars although I have gotten older.

My wife has insisted I not be under the lift unless she is home. I told her if the lift falls on me its not going to matter whether she's home or not.

 

I have a direct lift pro park 8s, totally happy with it. I bought a second bridge so I can have all 4 wheels off. The 12' ceiling would be nice for working on Cars taller than the Vette. I have 8' foot Doors with windows near the top which I really like for the light during the day.

I will say the 4 post lift is not as stable as I would like when working on the Car (I have worked under Commercial 2 post and old school air/hyd center post lifts which are very stable), I have in floor heat so I don't have it bolted to the floor, if you plan on using it mostly for storage it's really solid and the wheels make it very easy to move around. I may borrow a thermal camera from work to see if I can find a location that will allow bolts in the future. You'll be happy you have a lift whichever route you go.


Dave

 

Crazy how much lift pricing has jumped in the last 12 months.

 

The cost of steel is way up compared to a year ago which forces up the cost of these lifts.
I use 48"x120" painted 24 ga steel sheets to make coping, gutter, downspouts and roof edges for our roofing projects. 16 months ago I could buy a sheet for $35- $38. Now they're around $90.

 

Oh I believe it. One Direct Lift jumped $1,000, and Greg Smith Atlas was bought out by ToolTopia and they doubled the price on some, and TRIPLED the price on others.

 

Bendpak HD9 with a low profile rolling Jack 220V. its about a month old tho and it's a game changer around here! I have 14 ft ceilings at the center just for extra assurance. it is too a new build. I had to hurry up and buy it even before
garage was finished just to lock it in at current price! Shipping was free and I had it shipped directly to my installer which he checked for shipping damages if any prior to signing off on it!

 

Holy cow Redcruz1120! I was getting excited about my plans for a somewhat modified pole building but now:



But you did give me some good ideas for the inside of the garage.

 

So, when we moved I went from having a big metal building for a shop to an attached garage. When building our house I told my wife I would compromise,if I had a 3 car front load vs the builder's typical L shaped. I was originally planning for a bendpak gran prix 2 post, but there was a structural wall required between the 2 bay and the 3rd single bay, and the 2 post would cause me to just lose too much floor space. I found the smallest profile 4 post instead: a cheap amazon lift, branded triumph. Its not fancy but it works great, runs off 110v (even though I had dedicated 220v installed), and the posts fit under a standard garage door track. I then picked up 2 sliding bridge jacks (definitely recommend). I like the setup better than working off a 2 post.