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Hi JT, this is just my 2 cents. I did a ton of research before buying my lift and the one I bought (unfortunately the company is no longer around) was a column over column type lift. This is the safest and most secure. There are a bunch of what is referred to as a C channel lift where the lift rides inside a channel that is held in place by the tension of a bolt. Over time that channel can stretch and the lift can fail. I am not a fan of Bendpaks lifts even though they are headquartered not that far from me. I have several friends with their lifts and they require compressed air to run the lock mechanism and if you don't have really good air moisture control the locks can get stuck. As far a movability I can't speak to that as the lift I have is dual car lift. All American steel and hydraulics and has served me well. I have looked at Wildfire lifts as they are the new iteration of Backyard Buddy. That is the type of design I recommend. Good Luck.
Just took a look at the Wildfire lifts and I'm impressed with the quality and features. They come with jack tray, drip trays, end stops, ramps, and casters to easily move them.
I forgot to mention the jack bridges that are easily used for lifting for suspension/wheel removal. They may be a bit more then others but I would rather pay more for something that I know will hold up when I am under it or have a vehicle under it. For me, I use a ratchet tie down strap at opposite corners of the stored vehicle since I went through the 1994 earthquake and had a car bounce off the garage wall at my other house and leave 2x4 dents in the side of it.
I'm in the market for a 4 post lift but know less than nothing about the ones that are currently available.
I'm looking for suggestions and what to look for in a lift.
Can you easily move one when it's not needed?
Is there an option to jack up and remove a wheel while on the lift?
It would go in my crowded 30' x 50' x 12' shop so mobility is important.
JT
I researched for nearly a year before pulling the trigger on a 4post, prior to that I had an American made 12k lb 2-post.
There are many options and to narrow down the selection you need to determine your needs/wants, especially price. In terms of lifts, you get what you pay for in quality and most important safety. As GG stated above, boxed column lifts are the safety on the market, hands down. Many cheaper Chinese lifts are all made in the same factory, just with different stickers. If you are after the lowest priced lift, find the cheapest one you can find as they are all the same. Many have had good luck with Direct Lifts and are also certified.
There are only 3-4 Boxed column lifts on the market lasted I checked......Backyard Buddy (who now is owned by Advantage Lifts), Advantage Lifts, Bendpack GP-9XLT, and Wildfire. Out of those only Backyard Buddy is made in the USA, and only BackYard Buddy and Advantage are 3rd party ALI tested and Certified. The Wildfire lifts are a copy of the Advantage ( company founders used to work for Advantage) but at the time of my purchase there were issues with corners cut ( may have been resolved now) with motor, bearings, etc. Nice to see Wildfire now provides aluminum ramps, before they were steel. Wildfire are also not certified which was a deal breaker for me.
I pulled the trigger on Advantage and this thing is stout. I feel completely safe under it and it has a lock on each column as well as secondary locks. I think any of the above would serve your needs well.
I have a Bend Pack with a 9K pound capacity. I love it. The lift comes with casters so it can be moved. I built a wall mount to store the casters. My lift can be used on 110 or 220 volts. I wired up a 220 outlet and the lift moves up very quickly. If you get the Bend Pack, you will need a compressor to unlock the locks. Whatever lift you purchase, get the aluminum ramps, your back will thank you. I would also get two jack plates to make it easier to do wheel and suspension work. I also bought a three ton three bag air jack. I use in on the lift and it works very well. The air jack cost about $110 delivered. It will lift to 18" in about 5 to 10 seconds. Jerry
I'm on my 4th Direct Lift ( I moved a lot and folks kept wanting to buy the lift with the house). Friends also have them. Never had an issue with them and we all actually use them for serious work...not just storage. They come with wheels so moving them is no big deal. I have the rolling jack plus a jack tray. I can put the car on jackstands while on the lift if needed. If doing brakes or something it's easy to use the rolling jack. If I'm just doing one wheel I often just set my aluminum floor jack on the ramp and lift that wheel.
Have a 4 Post Lift by Triumph. 8000 lb. Friends also have these and others have Advantage. Used mostly for storage. I've had mine for about 3 years and I happy with it. I like that mine came with aluminum ramps standard instead of the up charge for these like most. Instructions are terrible or out of date so you need to use common sense when assembling. Check out online videos.
Things to consider: Shipped weight. How to to get it off the delivery truck. Move from delivery truck to garage. Is this delivered to a warehouse / drop off point. Then you have it loaded on a trailer? Unloading if from the trailer. Tools / equipment needed to assemble. Extra person(s) is helpful.
I rented an 18' tilt bed trailer. Had the warehouse load it on the trailer. Jacked up the ends of the lift and placed furniture movers under each end. Attached a come-along to lift and front of the trailer. Tilted trailer and rolled the lift into my pole barn. Wife & I assembled the lift in a day.
I bought mine from Complete Hydraulic in central Indiana several years ago. It has gizmos with wheel dollies that hook onto the lift so that you can roll it wherever you want (it's heavy, so it better be on flat surface!). It's been a good lift and has very solid safety stops on it.
P.S. You don't need to bolt the legs down to the concrete. If the concrete isn't exactly level, put some 1/2" thick firm rubber pads under each leg and it will remain sable and take up any uneven floor issues. I got a heavy rubber pad from Lowe's and cut pads from it for the lift legs.
Have a 4 Post Lift by Triumph. 8000 lb. Friends also have these and others have Advantage. Used mostly for storage. I've had mine for about 3 years and I happy with it. I like that mine came with aluminum ramps standard instead of the up charge for these like most. Instructions are terrible or out of date so you need to use common sense when assembling. Check out online videos.
Things to consider: Shipped weight. How to to get it off the delivery truck. Move from delivery truck to garage. Is this delivered to a warehouse / drop off point. Then you have it loaded on a trailer? Unloading if from the trailer. Tools / equipment needed to assemble. Extra person(s) is helpful.
I rented an 18' tilt bed trailer. Had the warehouse load it on the trailer. Jacked up the ends of the lift and placed furniture movers under each end. Attached a come-along to lift and front of the trailer. Tilted trailer and rolled the lift into my pole barn. Wife & I assembled the lift in a day.
I think I can handle the unloading part. Unloaded that vertical machining center with jacks, come-a-longs, cribbing and a bit of head scratching
Worth equipment out of Mansfield, Tx. Their lifts are overbuilt, easy to repair. When one of my cylinders started leaking on a 20 year old twin post. I rebuilt both cylinders without removing from lift in about 3 hours. Seal kits were $30.00 each.
Their 4 post lifts have jack trays, or rolling scissor jacks. Nothing like having a work bench under every wheel for brake jobs.
I went with the Champion XLT. The package included a caster system (very easy to use), sliding air jack for tires etc, steel tool tray.., lightweight aluminum ramps, delivery & install for about $7,200.
These are of my lift before I finished the Pole Barn. Barn has 10' ceiling. When the C3 is on the lift in the air I have to remove the antenna or it would be about a foot thru the ceiling. Cars are about 8" from the ceiling. The homemade ramps allow me to get the C7 & C5 on the lift. If I didn't do this the front spoilers wold hit the cross brace.
4 Post Lift
