I am interested in purchasing a car lift for my garage to store 2 corvettes. Can anyone suggest a quality lift. My garage height is 10'9". From what i see online it looks like it will work. Does anyone own one? Is there a certain brand thats best? How much do they cost?
Sure could use a little help with information on this.

 

For primarily storage, a four-poster is best.

I really like the Bend Pak HD-9 I bought a few years ago. It is definitely the defining accessory of the garage and has allowed me to not only do things I would have not otherwise tried without a lift, but has made living in a cold climate with three cars easier (warmer winter morning starts!). The HD-9 is available in both 110V and 220V but I opted for the 220V version for faster upward travel, although, I doubt it makes a lot of difference to the residential owner.

I looked at American-made (if that was discernable) lifts. My list was All-American Lifts, Bend Pak, Revolution (Rotary) and Backyard Buddy. Bend Pak seemed the logical choice although, you need to have a small compressed air supply to run the lock release system which I already had so it was not an issue.

My ceiling is 10 feet high and I park one C5 under and one C5 on the lift.








Here are my lift's dimensions.


Here are a couple of threads I posted on my Bend Pak HD-9 installation.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1468748

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1470876

I will only speak to the two types / brands of 4-post lift I am most familiar with - the AutoLifters which a friend of mine owned (AL now out of business but being produced by former AL employees - same design as the BYB) and the Bend Pak HD-9 I currently own. I spent many a weekend under the AutoLifters (7K lb. cap.) over a few years and have owned my HD-9 (9K lb. cap.) for more than 2 years.

The AL uses the fully boxed post section with collar-style crossbeam ends while the BP has a C-channel post design with internal runners that slide on ladder locks suspended from the top caps.

There seems to be a perception that the C-channels can spread under load, but that's not how these lifts work. There is virtually no side load on the posts and certainly nothing to splay the channels apart during raising or lowering. Basically, they are cable and pulley systems with crossbeam and column supports to manage the transmitted loads. What's important is that the members remain stationary (rigid) and no one corner binds - or lets loose - during the lifting or lowering process, destabilizing the equilibrium enough to allow one of the posts to tip too far.

The posts can actually tilt in/out a certain amount without destabilizing the lift and toppling it. I've seen this happen twice in person - once on the AL lift when one of the manual lever-actuated locks didn't engage while lowering and the other the first time I actuated my BP and one of the cables was still too loose. Both times, the tilt in the post was completely recoverable because the lift was not allowed to travel beyond one lock level. Remember that the entire mechanism is tied together with a tensioned cable system and tends to want to stay tied together rather than spread out.

I have noticed that neither design has more tendency for the corner attachments to decouple from the post or allow post tilt. Both designs are quite secure. What I have noted are the differences in lock designs which is the reason I went with my BP. The BP has a double lock system - the first is a pneumatically-actuated, "normally-closed" set of ladder locks. These are the primaries and the only way for these to allow the lift to lower is to keep one's hand on the release button and hydraulic release continuously and simultaneously until the lowest lock is passed.

The secondary, "slack-cable" set of locks are purely for safety. Should a cable break or go slack for any reason, that corner lock will release and automatically lock into the next detent, not allowing that corner to drop uncontrolled. This was the failure suffered a couple of years ago by an AL lift with pictures posted here.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1419373

I'll qualify that link by saying that could have been prevented with proper maintenance and replacement of a faulty pulley setup that the manufacturer warned of. But it does illustrate that, ultimately, it's up to the owner/operator to safely install, maintain and operate his lift.

My buddy's AutoLifters. Note the collar-style beam ends.


The channel and ladder setup on my HD-9. You can see the air-cylinder-enabled main lock and the spring/lever pulley secondary safety.


Also, high quality components and construction are vital when weighing the issues of cost and safety. My Bend Pak is made in America with solid engineering backed by decades of commercial lift design and construction, high-strength, high-quality components and great workmanship, including beautiful welds. The cost was comparable to it's competitors too.

I spent a lot of time researching lifts before ordering mine and I still believe I'd make the same choice today that I did when I chose the BP. Others have their own thoughts and opinions - and requirements. As I mentioned above, my decision was between the All American, the Revolution (Rotary), the Backyard Buddy and Bend Pak. Cost was not the primary factor, safety was. Check all the certification and testing that a manufacturer does on it's lifts - that alone is a very educational process.

Whatever your choice is, have a healthy respect for the potentially dangerous piece of heavy equipment that a lift is. Safety should be foremost on your mind always when working around a lift. That behavior alone should keep it a safe and fun piece of equipment to own.

As always, this is JMHO.

 

great write up on the bend-pak and other lifts thanks for the info

 

Thank you very much. you sure can't get a better answer than that. your garage looks great and the cars do too! you have been very helpful and I can't wait to purchase my Bend Pak. 2 more questions.
Did you have too modify your garage door opener?
how much do the lifts cost?
Thanks again, your the reason Corvette Forum is the best site for info.

 

I bought a Backyard Buddy 4 poster about 7 years ago,,,primarily for the same reasons Patches bought the bend pack. I bought it at the Funfest as they were using them for installs that year. Solid 4X4 steel post with safety lug slots cut in the post VS. many others formed sheet steel legs with the safety latch lugs just spot welded on. BB is probably one of the more expensive ones but American made,,and VERY solid and stable with the car up or down!! I'm very happy with it as at my age I much prefer walking under the car to crawling and scooting under it!!

 

Did not have to modify the opener as it's in the center of the garage and does not obstruct the lift whatsoever. The door is 8' high so I did not have it raised but I do park the Vette on top backed in so as to have more clearance over the hood for the door to open over.

4-post lift prices I've seen range from $1600 for some of the Chinese-made imports to over $5000 for one of the American-made brands. Typical American-made pricing is ~$2000-$2600 for the base lift. My Bend Pak was ~$2400 base price. It is a wider than most (they have a version 17" narrower) and has a higher capacity than most as well at 9000 lbs. vs. 7000 lbs.

 

I also have the Bend Pac HD-9...5 years and no problems...great quality & made in the USA...

 

I also have a BEND PAK HD9 series. This is my third home shop lift in twelve years.

Whatever you decide to buy, make sure you've done your homework and research. Every manufacturer should provide you with information in the mail or via a website. Compare structural/standard features, warranty, service parts availability, options, etc.

Also, look for ALI and ETL certifications on the lift. Those are independent testing certifications on automotive lifts. By the way, a commercial grade lift doesn't cost much more than a hobby grade and will be engineered for better load capacities.

Your pride and joy will be on top and you'll be beneath the lift, so don't go cheapest on this purchase.

If ceiling height or power is an issue, check out KWIK LIFT as an option.

 

Me too, me too!

Patches and Captej were influential in my decision to buy the BendPak HD-9.. You really do need the extra width of the HD-9 for a Z (don't know what you drive).

My garage height is 10' 6" and unlike Patches, I didn't think to build this side of the garage with an 18' or 20' wide 'main' door. Mine is 16' and as you can see, the HD-9 takes more than 1/2 the width. No trouble, my mid-size SUV or my wife's sedan easily fit in that spot.

I park my SUV on the lift ramps every day.

4 posts aren't exactly optimal for wheel removal, but do remarkably well for other maintenance. See Captej's threads showing his HD-9 with a rolling/sliding bridge jack.

Really couldn't be happier - it's an invaluable tool and IMO, the best lift on the market.

 

I have a 2 post lift, not that ideal for storing another car, but the company is really good and have really good customer service. They have 4 post lifts too. I paid $1890 shipped to my door. its a Complete Hydraulic lift.

 

2 post from www.gregsmithequipment.com here. I love it. Had my buds C5 up on it np's. Will have my C5 on it one day(shopping now). It's the low-clearance model as my ceilings are only 10'. I also mounted it at a 90deg angle to the 3 car garage. So I can put 4 cars in and not have the doors of the cars hitting the lift columns. Also, using this method keeps the lift behind the garage door tracks/motors so I didnt' have to modify anything. I can either back in or pull in. Backing in is the easiest.


My daughters Passat goes to the right of the 98M3.

Don

 

I thought BendPaks were blue??

 

If you're referring to the black lift w/ red ramps and runways just above, it says "AUTOLIFTERS" on the passenger side run way. That's a different manufacturer, but w/o the secondary safety air locking feature.

If you're referring to the image of the single column above, that does appear to BEND PAK. My HD9 came in blue because I ordered it that way. I do believe that BEND PAK does or did offer some powder coating options, but I cannot find information on their current website.

 

I need to get one of those bendpak lifts.

 

Bend-Paks come in the blue color from the factory unless you request - and pay extra for - a different color. The blue sorta' clashed with my garage color scheme so I requested a black paint job.

 

Patches,
How stable is the Bend Pak lift when raised with a vehicle on it? I've never seen any at shows where they are up and loaded to check this out. Does yours have much movement when you shake one of the posts? I saw a recent post someone made on their Direct Lift 4 poster, in which they indicated that it was not very stable when raised and loaded. Just wondered about the Bend Pak.

 

Four-posters are designed to be stable in free-standing mode. I did eventually bolt mine down for even better stability though. Note how the pads are bolted to the concrete in the pic below. Here's a thread detailing how I did it.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...tml?highlight=

 

I also have an HD9 four post BEND PAK lift. Previously, I've had a SUPERLIFT. Neither were bolted down to the concrete because I like being able to move the lift around the shop on the optional casters.

The BEND PAK w/o a vehicle is "unstable", ie you can easily move the columns side to side. In fact with the casters attached, the columns are lifted off the concrete by about 1/2" and really flop around.

With a vehicle on the lift, the columns are very stable w/o any such movement. The large pads attribute to the stability. I feel completely confident standing beneath the lift with a vehicle on top of it.

 

How do you guys take all 4 wheels off?

 

Easy. I use a scissors jack on the jacking bridge I got with the lift (they sell pneumatic and air-hydraulic lift bridges that will lift one end of the car as well) to lift one end of the car and pull the wheels off. Only takes a couple of minutes.