Seeking advice - garage lift
 

Hi all,

Lu sent me the following link this morning regarding a lift for our garage.
http://www.backyardbuddy.com

She knows I'd like to have a lift some day for working on our cars. Lu would like to see me stack the 911s so she can put the Honduh in the garage, too. Scraping ice off the windows and warming up the car this morning was another reminder to her about the value proposition.

Anyway, I wonder if this type of lift is more or less suitable than what some of you currently have, or than other units that are available. We have a tall ceiling so this or other types of lifts should be workable. Lu thinks it's about $2k for this unit. Don't know for sure.

Thanks for your advice...

That's what I've been trying to convince my wife with.....so far no luck.

I'll keep chipping away though......one day she'll give in :twisted:

I should note though.....I'm surprised I've made it this far :)

As for the lift, I'm gonna go with a two post like Kurt's.

Watch out for that garage door. I know you've got high ceilings, but your garage door may cut Dino's head off :shock:

-Justin

Edit: If that happens I'd be willing to take your 2.4 :D

Gee, thanks a lot for your help buddy. :evil: :wink:

You're absolutely right, Justin. I'll need to address the way my garage door rolls up. Thanks!

I did some research on this a couple of week ago - we are having a house built. There are a couple of others: www.autolifters.com and www.eagleequip.com. Someone also has one called a "Rotary" I think. I wish you good luck and would love to see the photos when you have some!

I think the big thing with storage is that you should have the 4 post. I have read that that 2 post is really for work only and if it's parked for a long time on the lift, the frame takes undue stress (supposedly). Porsches are kinda small and I don't know what size is your Honda, but can you squeeze all three into the space in a pinch?

Nope, it's a modern two-car garage...meaning it's all you can do to put two 911's in it, have a workbench and room for the mini-fridge. It also has the twin doors with a pillar in the middle...nice enough from an architectural point of view but useless for letting you work on cars with plenty of room side-to-side.

Would a two or four post lift be undesireable from the aspect of dangling the suspension (while supporting the body) for long periods of time?

With a 4 poster, you drive it on and off. It rests on the wheels like it would rest on the ground.

A good driver, could squeeze a 911 in the middle of the garage (directly behind the post!) Of course, I'm saying this as a non-garage owner and a not-very-good-yet 911 driver! :wink:

Take a look at Kurts. He has a lift designed for less headroom & I thought the price beat Backyard & Eagle all to hell. We have the “Rotary Brand”. A very nice 9K lb. capacity professional lift, that included delivery & installation, & was quite a bit more $$ than is really necessary for a home shop. My wife bought it for me for my birthday.
Most garage doors aren’t the problem, it’s the frames & if you place the lift correctly & lower the door before raising the car you should not have any problems. Obviously this would preclude using the space below to store another car if lift is all the way up or get one beside it for that matter. A double door only has the interference problem on one side. Kurt’s garage is a lot deeper than mine :cry: , but if you look at our placements you will see what I mean right away. Would Lu “buy” you not knowing this before you installed the lift?
Most 4 posters can be mounted on casters & advertise that you can turn them sideways & store 2 cars under them. One bonus might be that it fits your garage sideways & up w/out interfering w/door operation!
I think a 2 post would store a coupe OK but not a cab or Targa. Remember, to store under a 4 post you need to clear the wheels, ramps & supports so it has the lift higher to get a car under. A 2 pole’s supports fit between the wheels so you only need to clear the wheels at full suspension drop.

Bendpack. $2300 to my door for an equal arm, 220Volt, 2 post, 9000# cap lift that will install in well under 9 feet. The best part is that the lift pad surface will go from 4 inches off the floor to 6 feet 6 inches. This lets me drive even my low riding 912S right on the lift without any extra jacking. When I lift the car all the way up to full lock it is too high to work on. You will need 4 inch thick concrete to mount. I have a BFHammer drill and the bit needed and it took me, by myself, about 5 hours to fully install. It is easy to see how thich the pad is. Just drill a hole all the way through and measure with a coat hanger with a little "L" bent on the end.

A 2 post is far better for working on cars. 4 post lets you store the car on it's wheels and most require no instlation other than a bunch of assembly.

But... I figured out a way for under $100 worth of steel to make a set of ramps for my 2 post that will make it work just like a 4 post! Best of both worlds. :P

When I get a lift later this spring, I'm getting one like Kurt's - a 2-post since I want full and open access to the underside of the car and over/under storage is a secondary consideration though it can be done.. It's sweet.

There is one large advantage to some of the 4-posters I haven't heard anyone mention yet though. Many of them come with roller kits, making the entire lift movable, with or without the car on the lift :shock: . I can think of more than a few advantages to that, while the 2-posts are fixed.

Still getting a 2-post however...

Keith