Best Lift for Home Use?

[mluder]

Depending where you live you might try reaching out to specialists who sell to automotive dealers or repair shops. Often they have used lifts in really good condition for reasonable prices. They will also be able to give you advice on the electrical and structural needs and handle install. Most will require a 220 volt dedicated circuit and a slab thickness of 4 inches min. However I would defer to the installer and perhaps even a local structural engineer to be certain.

In regards to overhead door openers... Depending on your ceiling height you could have the track rerouted to a more vertical lift. In addition there are jack shaft style openers that mount on the wall right at the door and do not need to be overhead.

As with anything your budget will determine the best route for you.

Cheers
Steve

[Nicholas R]

Depending where you live you might try reaching out to specialists who sell to automotive dealers or repair shops. Often they have used lifts in really good condition for reasonable prices. They will also be able to give you advice on the electrical and structural needs and handle install. Most will require a 220 volt dedicated circuit and a slab thickness of 4 inches min. However I would defer to the installer and perhaps even a local structural engineer to be certain.

In regards to overhead door openers... Depending on your ceiling height you could have the track rerouted to a more vertical lift. In addition there are jack shaft style openers that mount on the wall right at the door and do not need to be overhead.

As with anything your budget will determine the best route for you.

Cheers
Steve

I spent about 3 years trying to figure out what lift to buy, and before all else, one question is most important: how tall is your ceiling. You can control almost everything else to some degree, but unless you're going to raise the roof, you can't change the ceiling. If you have a low ceiling, you're pretty much stuck with a max jack, or some other half lift system. I feel like 10' is fine for any lift. 9' is getting kind of close. My co-worker has a four post in his 9' garage and it's pretty tight. Luckily he's into Porsche's and BMWs.

Once you get past this, the important questions are:
-what do you intend to use the lift for? Maintenance only? Storage only? Maintenance and storage?
-what do you know about your concrete? How thick is it; 3", 4", 5"? How strong is it; 2500psi, 3000psi, 3500psi? Does it have rebar in it? Are you willing to have your slab tested or re-poured to get the lift you want?
-what kind of vehicles do you intend to put on it? Short sports cars? Big trucks? Something in between?
-what kind of garage door do you have? How tall is it? Where is the opener? Can you make changes if necessary?
-do you want the lift to be permanent? Temporary? Movable?

For me, the answers all pointed toward a 4 post lift:
-My ceiling is 10'4" and both the DeLorean and my Opel GT can go all the way to the top without issue.
-Being in Florida I knew I likely only had ~2500psi concrete, and I'm sure that even though the slab was supposed to be 4", it likely varied larger and smaller. The 4 post meant I didn't need to anchor to the concrete so the concrete didn't matter.
-I needed to raise my garage door from 7' to ~9' to get the clearance I wanted. Though it wasn't necessarily a requirement, I also changed from a center door opener, to a corner jack-rod opener. This was pretty much a weekend's worth of work to get the door raised, the new opener installed, and everything adjusted accordingly.
-I mostly wanted it for maintenance and didn't think I'd use it for storage. I was wrong. Since I've had the lift, I've never used my second garage bay for cars. I've been amazed at how much bigger it's made my garage feel. I absolutely love having the cars stacked now, rather than parked next to each other.
-I also do quite a bit of maintenance with the lift, so I have the runway jack that runs down the center of the lift that allows you to jack up the car. I also have lift oriented tools now like a lift transmission jack, lift oil/fluid basin, tool cart, etc.
-I couldn't decide exactly where I wanted the lift so the 4 post is great because you can move it with the casters. In fact the first time it was assembled, I decided it needed rotated, so I rolled it from the garage, into the driveway, spun it, and brought it back in the garage.

If I had a dedicated shop with a lot more floor space, chances are I would consider a 2 post as they're geared a bit more for heavy maintenance, but so far I've yet to have any work I couldn't do on my 4 post. This includes a full exhaust rework on the Opel, pulling the transmission twice on the DeLorean, lots of suspension and brake work, about a dozen oil changes, and more. For my home garage, I'd always choose the 4 post.

Lift 0.JPGLift0.JPGLift.jpgLift 2.jpgLift 3.jpgLift 4.jpgLift 5.jpgOpener.JPG

EDIT: On a side note, the distributor for Direct Lift where I bought my lift is in Ft. Meyers. It was about a 3.5hr trip for me to pick up the lift, but it looks like it'd only be about 1.5-2hrs for you.

[dodint]

I am currently building a garage addition with a lift in mind. We're going with a 12ft ceiling to cover all bases.

[David T]

If you are building, the ultimate is 14 foot ceilings, a high lift garage door with the operator turning the torsion bar, 4-6" slab, 220 volt power, heat, and an epoxy painted floor. You should also plan for as much room as possible so you can walk around and store stuff on the sides. Lighting is also important, today there are so many choices with LED type lighting. You need some kind of lighting underneath the lift, lighting on the ceiling is not enough. Get plenty of outlets. Other nice things include a central vac and an air line. Always be careful and alert when operating the lift. Double-check that ALL of the locks are engaged. There are plenty of videos and pictures of garage disasters with lifts on the internet so don't add to it.

[mluder]

I spent about 3 years trying to figure out what lift to buy, and before all else, one question is most important: how tall is your ceiling. You can control almost everything else to some degree, but unless you're going to raise the roof, you can't change the ceiling. If you have a low ceiling, you're pretty much stuck with a max jack, or some other half lift system. I feel like 10' is fine for any lift. 9' is getting kind of close. My co-worker has a four post in his 9' garage and it's pretty tight. Luckily he's into Porsche's and BMWs.

Once you get past this, the important questions are:
-what do you intend to use the lift for? Maintenance only? Storage only? Maintenance and storage?
-what do you know about your concrete? How thick is it; 3", 4", 5"? How strong is it; 2500psi, 3000psi, 3500psi? Does it have rebar in it? Are you willing to have your slab tested or re-poured to get the lift you want?
-what kind of vehicles do you intend to put on it? Short sports cars? Big trucks? Something in between?
-what kind of garage door do you have? How tall is it? Where is the opener? Can you make changes if necessary?
-do you want the lift to be permanent? Temporary? Movable?

For me, the answers all pointed toward a 4 post lift:
-My ceiling is 10'4" and both the DeLorean and my Opel GT can go all the way to the top without issue.
-Being in Florida I knew I likely only had ~2500psi concrete, and I'm sure that even though the slab was supposed to be 4", it likely varied larger and smaller. The 4 post meant I didn't need to anchor to the concrete so the concrete didn't matter.
-I needed to raise my garage door from 7' to ~9' to get the clearance I wanted. Though it wasn't necessarily a requirement, I also changed from a center door opener, to a corner jack-rod opener. This was pretty much a weekend's worth of work to get the door raised, the new opener installed, and everything adjusted accordingly.
-I mostly wanted it for maintenance and didn't think I'd use it for storage. I was wrong. Since I've had the lift, I've never used my second garage bay for cars. I've been amazed at how much bigger it's made my garage feel. I absolutely love having the cars stacked now, rather than parked next to each other.
-I also do quite a bit of maintenance with the lift, so I have the runway jack that runs down the center of the lift that allows you to jack up the car. I also have lift oriented tools now like a lift transmission jack, lift oil/fluid basin, tool cart, etc.
-I couldn't decide exactly where I wanted the lift so the 4 post is great because you can move it with the casters. In fact the first time it was assembled, I decided it needed rotated, so I rolled it from the garage, into the driveway, spun it, and brought it back in the garage.

If I had a dedicated shop with a lot more floor space, chances are I would consider a 2 post as they're geared a bit more for heavy maintenance, but so far I've yet to have any work I couldn't do on my 4 post. This includes a full exhaust rework on the Opel, pulling the transmission twice on the DeLorean, lots of suspension and brake work, about a dozen oil changes, and more. For my home garage, I'd always choose the 4 post.

Lift 0.JPGLift0.JPGLift.jpgLift 2.jpgLift 3.jpgLift 4.jpgLift 5.jpgOpener.JPG

EDIT: On a side note, the distributor for Direct Lift where I bought my lift is in Ft. Meyers. It was about a 3.5hr trip for me to pick up the lift, but it looks like it'd only be about 1.5-2hrs for you.

Listen to this guy... he's an engineer...

Cheers
Steven

[powerline84]

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Benpack md6xp. I love it. I put a sheet of 3-16 plate under it then used some 1/4 angle and snuck concrete anchors to have a solid edge to keep it aligned or push it to if it moves . Works for residential garage . U can move it if u need to . Collapses down to nothing . I can drive minis and deloreans over it and can access 90 %of the car. I need to relocate my garage door motor but that's it .