Garage Lifts - In your opinion, which is the best and safest?

[The Stig]

Hello all,

I was hoping to build a second garage to house the GTM and tools, (and the cobra when I'm able to order it). But my Home Owners Association is a BIG PITA! So I'm temporarily moving to Plan B.

In order to make a little room in my garage, I'm thinking of having a garage lift installed that I can use to park two cars on one side and still have the daily driver safely tucked away as well. Model-A on top, GTM parked below.

I know that I want a solid 4-post lift, and I've sort of narrowed it down between "Bend-Pak" 8000 lb and "DannMar" 7000 lb lift. I believe the website was Automotive Service Equipment (www.asedeals.com).

I've noticed that there are some of you who have lifts in your garages, and I'd really like to hear your thoughts, before I go an choose something that I might regret.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

[Mike N]

Very timely thread. I am in the market for a lift so will be watching this one carefully.

Mike I just moved to Mooresville, just off Perth Road a little north of Stumpy Creek, where are you located? A group of us meet at the Mooresville Steak and Shake on the second Saturday of the month (this Saturday 10th) at 8:30am for breakfast if you wanted to swing by.

[Jeff Collins]

Things to look for are quality first, ceiling height requirements, lift height, what will fit under it at full lift, how high is the ramp when fully lifted. This distance from the ceiling tells you how tall your top car can be. Get a jack and jack tray so you can remove wheels on the lift if you want to. Caster option makes the lift easy to move around once assembled. Drip pans are a good idea too. You can put one up by yourself but a friend is good to have. The company that made my lift is unfortunately no longer in business. Most of these lifts appear fairly flimsy when there is nothing on them, but once they are loaded they work real well. As far brands I don't have real preference but the above mentioned tips are some things to consider before deciding. Also I have had good luck buying lifts off of ebay and craigslist to save a few bucks.

[Kalstar]

I have a 4 post in the garage, best 1700.00 Craigslist purchase I have made. The make of mine is superlifts. It has the upgraded 220 pump but if I purchased it new, I would have stuck with 110v (slightly slower) but no wiring for the 220. I have 11 foot clearance to the garage door opener and can easily walk under the Vette when it is all the way up and the GTM is 10 inches less in height. When the wife's Jeep is up on the lift for an oil change I can not stand up all the way I usually lower it down to where I can roll around on the shop stool and do what I need seated. I will post pix with the car up to see clearance if you would like.

http://www.superlifts.com/fourpostlifts/black_max.html

[livingston]

Bought the 8000XLT from American Automotive Equipment about 3 years ago and I love it. It's wired to 110V-20amp and takes about 45 sec for cobra to get to full height.
Lift has 82" under ramps and 99" between posts. You can fit an 8' wide trailer under hoist and pull that engine out of your flat bottom if you desire. Also you can take boat
off trailer for paint and still keep cobra up top. I also park my F-150 under with plenty of room to spare. Ceiling height in my garage is 9'-4" front and back and 13'-8" at
center. Take a look.

http://www.americanautomotiveequipme.../ss7000xlt.htm

[dbusa]

Now a days you have to watch where they're made - I've heard that at least one of the top name brands, that was made in the usa is now being made in china. Are chinese lifts good or bad? Will they last as long? Are they as safe? - Unfortunately, a lot of the steel, parts etc are imported from other countries including china - even if the lift is made in usa. What bothers me is that in this case one of the top names is importing cheaper quality/cost lifts at the good old made in usa by us workers and us parts at the top prices - living off it's name so to speak. Unfortunately a true quality made in usa lift is going to cost 2 or 3 times what the imported lifts cost. Not saying that 1000- 2000 priced lifts aren't worth the money - maybe they wont last as long, they may be more prone to motor / pump problems, hydraulic leaks, may not be as smooth or fast - but as long as they have good working safety interlocks, they should work ok for most. I'm seeing more and more companies marketing lifts that look identical , under different names - are there really that many companys making and marketing them , or more likely a few companies ( located in china) making the same lift for re - branding by us distributors.

I bought a two post 9000lb assymetric lift from AES - and may buy a 4 post from them next - they where out of texas, and even though there advertising gave you the impression they where american made, I'm pretty sure the lift was imported. Any lift can fail - usually from lack of maintenance or operator error, such as overloading, unbalanced load, etc.

Again, you'll get a lot of opinions on what's best and brand names - just beware that some of the brand names are now being made overseas, so you may be paying for the name , not the product. good luck

[Radkat]

Look into "Backyard Buddy". They may be a little more expensive than some, but they are all American steel, etc. They are
solid as a rock and as far as I understand, they never have had a lift come down on another car. They have the 4-post lifts and you can
purchase wheels to move it around if you want, no need to bolt it into the floor.

[beeman]

I have a 4 post in the garage, best 1700.00 Craigslist purchase I have made. The make of mine is superlifts. It has the upgraded 220 pump but if I purchased it new, I would have stuck with 110v (slightly slower) but no wiring for the 220. I have 11 foot clearance to the garage door opener and can easily walk under the Vette when it is all the way up and the GTM is 10 inches less in height. When the wife's Jeep is up on the lift for an oil change I can not stand up all the way I usually lower it down to where I can roll around on the shop stool and do what I need seated. I will post pix with the car up to see clearance if you would like.

http://www.superlifts.com/fourpostlifts/black_max.html

Superlifts here too. 110V. No issues, not super slow either. Quite an upgrade from jack stands.
Dave

[Rick Williams]

Here's the one I have. http://www.directlift.com/Pro-Park-8...ift-P44C9.aspx

Looking at the web site it appears the price has gone up a bit but when I bought mine I think I paid around $1,800 when they were running a sale. It came with a slider jack, two jack trays, two drip trays, ramps, and castors. I don't know where it was made but it's sturdy and safe enough for me. I really like being able to set the height from low enough to work sitting on my shop stool to high enough that I can barely reach. The castors are great for moving the lift around and it's free standing. No need for concrete anchors. Some of the pieces are heavy and I'm a 98 lb weakling but I was able to assemble it alone using my engine hoist and some straps.

Wait for a sale and you'll get all the options plus a lower price. Also, I believe they have a distributor in Atlanta so you might save on shipping compared to other companies.

Edit: I just went back to their web site to see what the jack would cost and it's $550. WOW! Mine came with the lift. Here's the link to the jack you need. http://www.directlift.com/Pro-Jack-3500-P45C18.aspx

[first time builder]

Four weeks ago installed a American auto eqip 4 post. Very happy with it went with the 110 version. WE ordered it on a special July 4th 1800 $ with the drip trays, jack tray.Ramps and casters. Delivery was slow (boat from China I guess) .Works great. But be prepared to get at least 3 buddies to lift the main drive on platforms. Took about 5 hours with 4 guys to put together. You probably could put together with two guys and an engine hoist.
I have seen the Backyard buddy and it IS the nicest ,best one I have seen but its over 3000 $
Kenny

[Monty_GTM]

I have to say that my lift is the single most useful item I have ver purchased. Mine is a 4 post from (US made) Rotary. Their enthusiast line is made by Revolution Lift. It's incredibly solid, has removeable wheels that can be used to move it around even when there's a car on it. A 6' person can walk fully upright under it and it came with all the jack and drip trays. http://www.revolutionlift.com/4-Post-Lifts-C4.aspx You can order it in whatever color you want too.

[The Stig]

I appreciate the info guys. It sure gives me something to sort through and make a good choice!

Much appreciated.

Mike

[Richard Oben]

I have a 4 post from Autolifters (out of business) they were close so there was no freight. I prefer the lift parts to be external not internal. Not sure who makes them that way any more, it is just stronger than the internal.

Get the drip trays and get a couple (two, one for the rear and one for the front) of Jack trays or jacks.

http://www.backyardbuddy.com/side-by-side-comparison/

I know two posts are external, but it makes sense to me to be safer. The down side is external cables, your choice. Richard.