Best Lift for Home Use?

[Maritime-elf]

I am thinking about purchasing a lift to assist in maintenance of my Delorean. I am rationalizing it on the basis I can use it for the other cars as well(at least that is how I am selling it to the wife) anyway, I am curious does anyone here have their own at home car lift? If so what brand/type. What are your thoughts on it. I have been looking at the MAXJAX Portable https://www.maxjaxusa.com/dannmar-maxjax-standard-package.html?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5eef-6iq4QIVkFuGCh30PwzeEAAYASAAEgKDlfD_BwE, which is a semi permanent type. I would be grateful for any thoughts the community has on the subject.

[opethmike]

Talk to SpittyBug; I believe he has a Maxx Jax.

[DARCOM]

I have a Maxx Jax , well the one that does not use rods Dannmar MX6. Its ok, but being 6,2 i always have to have my head tilted to one side while working on something.

[Maritime-elf]

I have a Maxx Jax , well the one that does not use rods Dannmar MX6. Its ok, but being 6,2 i always have to have my head tilted to one side while working on something.

Thank You! Have you had any problems with it? Do you use it for other vehicles as well?
I am 5'5" in boots, so its safe to assume I won't be hitting my head?

[mark w]

I have a floor drive over kind, Bendpak LR-60.

https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/low-rise-scissor-lifts/lr-60/

with the wheel kit you can move it around the garage or pull it outside. It can even lift my F150 pickup.

[DARCOM]

Thank You! Have you had any problems with it? Do you use it for other vehicles as well?
I am 5'5" in boots, so its safe to assume I won't be hitting my head?Yes all my cars. The lift is rated at 6000 pounds. The image I posted is the lift at max height. I also use stablelize bars on the front and back when under the cars to keep it solid.

Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk

[David T]

Choosing a lift depends on a lot of factors. How good is the floor in your garage and how much ceiling height do you have? What electric is available? Do you want to store a car on a lift or only use it for working on the car? If you get a 4 post lift try to get one with a full, complete tubes and not just a bent up channel for the posts. Examine the locking system, your life and your car will depend on it.

[Chris 16409]

This is the lift I have. It works great. It's a good alternative if you don't have a slab that is thick enough or a garage ceiling that is high enough for a conventional lift. It's easy to store away when not needed.

[Maritime-elf]

I have a floor drive over kind, Bendpak LR-60.

https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/low-rise-scissor-lifts/lr-60/

with the wheel kit you can move it around the garage or pull it outside. It can even lift my F150 pickup.

The Bendpak looks nice in that it lays flat for storage. I am a little worried about getting one that bolts into the garage floor as I do not know the thickness of PSI of the Garage concrete.

[Spittybug]

I have no complaints on my MaxJax. One thing to keep in mind is that your garage door opener (if you have one) will be the limiting factor on how how you can raise the car. Best to not have one or to have one of the kind that mounts onto the axle.

You will have to drill into your slab (and avoid any tension cables or rebar.....), hammer home a female receiver and in my case, epoxy around the rim of the new holes to fill any chip out. I leave mine in place since it is the only car in my garage. I remove one tower every now and then easily enough. It's heavy, has never given me any problems and is well made. I have zero fear when underneath it.

You'll find you take better care of your car and perform more preventative maintenance once you have the convenience of a lift. My other car is a F-350 which won't fit in the garage, so I haven't lifted it. I've had a Saab 93 and a Versa up on it without issue.

[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.

5958859589595905959159592595935959459595

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.

5958859589595905959159592595935959459595

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]

59604596035960559606

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 .