Teach me about garage lifts

Can someone school me on garage lifts? I don't know too much about them, but it looks like I'm going to need one coming up. It's only for storage, not for doing any sort of work on any cars.

 

Any suggestions? Good brands? Anything in particular I should be looking for with regard to features at all? Approximate costs? How do I get this thing installed?

 

Thanks in advance.

I am going to get one soon

http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/four-post-lifts/

 

model hd-7w

four post lift is the way to go

You need to take the dimensions of your garage into consideration when you pick a lift. Lots of quality lifts on the market. A 4 post drive on is going to be the most ease of use, and with the drip trays removed you can use it to do some maintenance, but it has a big footprint in your garage. A single post lift might be really nice as well, and it will leave you with more space on one side than the others will. Also, make sure that your garage door will clear it. I have also found two post lifts to be a bit of a pain in the ass with positioning the car and getting the door open.

Get the place that sells the lifts to have a technician come by to measure your garage. Most would charge a fee but the majority would refund the cost when you buy a lift. The tech would measure your place and recommend what is most feasible on satisfying you needs. The tech would also inform you if your garage door needs modifications (e.g. the convention lift unit might get in the way so you would need to switch to a side-mounted direct-drive unit). I agree with the consensus here on 4-posts for storage. It looks and seems the most stable and safe. 2-posts is a pain to position and 1-post doesn't look safe enough (although I'm sure it's engineered properly). Plenty of brands out there; most are made in China but it's straight metal struts so no big deal. I would take a closer look at the pulleys and cables; make sure they are beefy enough for longevity. The lift motor is likely made in Mexico but it's a simple mechanical device so no big deal either. You probably have a choice on either a conventional 110V motor or a 220V one. It's a simple choice of how quick do you want your lift to rise. A 220V motor would, obviously, need proper wiring to make it run whereas a 110V one can simply be plugged into a regular AC outlet but would lift at half the speed. Subject to the seller and the model, you might need to buy an air compressor to drive the lift's locking mechanism. A simple $200 unit would do. I would also buy from brand that had been certified by ANSI for the piece of mind. Not all models from a same brand are ANSI-certified due to their dimensions.

 

I have a pair of Bendpak HD-9's and seem quite happy with them. Hope this helps.

Whats minimum garage height needed for these?

Cliff notes: 4 post for storage, 2 post for maintanence. You can go name brand with Rotary, but others have found success with other brands, I'm sure they'll mention. Congrats and good luck!

Bendpaks are fantastic and generally I would recommend a 4 post drive on. The other types with arms that hold by the chassis aren't fantastic for long term storage and just too much work.

 

Since you live in CA, if your house is fairly new (under 15 years old) I check to make sure your garage floor isn't stamped as a Post-Tension slab. Most likely be at the front of the garage door area and it will be pretty big so hard to miss. If it is, you won't be able to drill into it to anchor the lift without some more serious involvement.

 

If you are going to use it with any regularity then definitely wire it for 220v. They can most likely drop a small sub breaker inside the garage and run some conduit off that to the lift. Also handy if you're the type of guy that would ever want other larger equipment, a welder, etc.

 

You might also have the garage door tracks extended to tuck the door right up to the ceiling and get a side mount garage door opener.

 

You'll love having a lift!

Whats minimum garage height needed for these?

 

Depends on the type of cars of course. Conventional wisdom would have the exotic put on top. But if you are planning on parking one Lambo on top and another at the bottom you need to be careful. One would assume that for a low-slung exotic, the lift height required won't be too high. Not true, unless the bottom car is a Gallardo, Huracan or a classic model other than the CT. Flagship Lambos have scissors doors which need more clearance than cars with regular doors (and hence the additional lift heights) otherwise you would need to crawl out of your flagship Lambo or you simply can't get out.

 

A 14ft ceiling would be the safest bet IMO.

 

 

Forgot to mention: concrete should be at least 3.5" thick with 2,500PSI strength

I have an Eagle 2 post lift and have never had issues. With that being said it is kinda a pain to get in and out of the car with the 2 posts. Will go 4 posts for my next one.

Bendpak or Rotary is the way to go. Here are a couple of pics of mine

 

 

BendPak HD 9 is the way to go. You can get by with 10 ft ceilings depending what 2 cars they are and a assuming you do the side wall mounted rotary lift and a high garage door conversion.

I had to buy a new door lift motor that sits on the wall and they had to raise the tracks to the ceiling. I would measure first to see whats needed so you have enough room for both cars.

mine is a direct lift 4 post BTW

http://www.liftmyrod.com totally worksafe bendpac are great, but some of the other brands are great 4 post for just storage. My buddy got the autolift, works fine. make sure you consider a drip solution or you will runi the lower car's paint.

Bendpak or Rotary is the way to go. Here are a couple of pics of mine

 

 

 

 

You change cars like you change shoes. I don't think you still have any of the cars pictured.

I highly recommend Bendpak. I have a 4 post in my 10' tall garage. Went with a side mount garage unit and raised the tracks to the ceiling--it works great (albeit a little tight).

 

One more...

 

Awesome info and great pics! Need to do some measuring and check out the various models. I was thinking I was set on Bendpak but will check out Rotary now as well.

I should also note that the drip pans are a smart idea but along with what some have said about working on the cars instead of just storage....BendPak does offer some scissor lifts that slide between the tracks (fairly expensive) BUT they also offer a pneumatic version that is around $600 or so. My dad is getting the 4 post and one of the pneumatic lifts so we can work on the mustang wheels/tires/brakes/suspension while it's on the lift.

What is the price range installed for the bendpaks?

I would say $4500 ish for a BendPak, high door conversion, opener, and install/assembly of the lift. Most come with the 220V motor so you will likely need an electrician to wire that up. If you don't mind it being slower, you can request the normal outlet powered motor.

I would say $4500 ish for a BendPak, high door conversion, opener, and install/assembly of the lift. Most come with the 220V motor so you will likely need an electrician to wire that up. If you don't mind it being slower, you can request the normal outlet powered motor.

go pneumatic/hydraulic, flip your car like a pancake!

 

 

But seriously, I cannot stress enough the need for drip trays.

I would say $4500 ish for a BendPak, high door conversion, opener, and install/assembly of the lift. Most come with the 220V motor so you will likely need an electrician to wire that up. If you don't mind it being slower, you can request the normal outlet powered motor.

 

Seems to be about right from what I remember when I had mine installed. I had a normal outlet powered motor and it wasnt too slow, Maybe a minute up or down. My ceiling was a little over 12' tall and I had the rails lifted to the ceiling and the wall mount garage door opener installed just like others have mentioned. I had an X5 then Cayenne Turbo S underneath and a Ruf Rturbo 550 911 up top to give you an idea of height requirements.

Is there such thing as a "low profile" garage lift? I've been told by the company I was ready to purchase from that I am about 3" shy of the ceiling height minimum I need. Even then, I'm about to dump the SL and I have a feeling the car replacing it will be slightly taller, albeit still a coupe.

 

Anyone know about this??

Can someone school me on garage lifts? I don't know too much about them, but it looks like I'm going to need one coming up. It's only for storage, not for doing any sort of work on any cars.

 

Any suggestions? Good brands? Anything in particular I should be looking for with regard to features at all? Approximate costs? How do I get this thing installed?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

D,

I've got a Bendpak in my single bay garage and I love it. I'm going to order another lift for my two bay garage.

Plenty of room to park my Bentley under the lift. If memory serves me I paid

 

 

I ordered it from a dealer in LA , they delivered it and had it installed within a couple hours.

 

Here's a couple pics.

 

What's your ceiling height in that garage, Jeff?