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Help me find a lift for my Garage

I'm not really sure about losing half of my upstairs workshop. I'd be losing a lot of square footage and floor space which is surprisingly at a premium in a 24'x24' garage. If I stick with putting the lift in the car port then I wouldn't lose any space.
 
I wouldn't cut the floor. That upstairs will make an awesome wood shop.
Which you will need when you finally get around to finishing that stepside bed correctly.:waytogo:
 
I am thinking maybe you should blow apart that lean to and modify the pitch of the roof, maybe move the whole roof some.

I understand cash flow completely but it might be difficult to use the PO space and have it match your needs completely.

Might need some thinking outside the box to make this work for you.
 
If the floor is more important to you, then you should think about opening up the floor and building a steel hatch that opens up. You still have your floor when you need it and it folds open for cars on the lift.
 
What about adding 10' to the back of the carport and offsetting a 2 post lift to the back where it'd be generally out of the way for every day parking but still useful for lift projects?
 
skunked said:
If the floor is more important to you, then you should think about opening up the floor and building a steel hatch that opens up. You still have your floor when you need it and it folds open for cars on the lift.
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that's I the out of the box thinking I was thinking about.
 
Chevy305 said:
What about adding 10' to the back of the carport and offsetting a 2 post lift to the back where it'd be generally out of the way for every day parking but still useful for lift projects?
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The the carport not extend the whole length of the shed?
 
beags86 said:
The the carport not extend the whole length of the shed?
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No it is the whole length of the garage 24' long. I park my crew cab short bed Silverado in there and it's 20' long which the hitch ball in. Once I put the garage doors on it that I already have, it'd be just enough room to walk around it on both sides. So lengthening the carport would net me work space around it and the 2 post lift wouldn't be right at the drivers door making getting in and out every day a royal pain in the ass.
However, I can only extend it maybe 10' because the grade drops off rapidly after that and the property line runs close by.
 
I don't think that extra 10 feet is gonna do you any good. The amount of labor and skill required to do the job right, and not have it look funky as hell. You might as well just put it off and save for a proper shop addition.
 
I am hi jacking this thread, as there are already a few people in here that probably know the answers.

I am at a simler spot as @Chevy305, I just purchased a property with a existing shed. Sometime this year I plan on putting in a lift. I have looked at other forums/webpages with various results.

Does anyone know what the minimum concrete thickness needs to be for a two post lift?

What are the lift brands to steer clear of?

Since I do not know what the existing concrete is, should I plan on busting up a areas that the two post will sit on and pour a deeper footing?
If so how deep?

I am thinking that if the floor isn't thick enough or has enough PSI, I can bust a few holes and dig two holes a couple feet thick and re pour a big footing.
I would rather spend money now, even if it's in the thousands then kill myself or have my lift fail and drop whatever I have on the lift.


It looks like the general thickness needs to be 4 inches. And have a minimum psi requirement of 3,000
 
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Yes 4" of 3000 psi is minimum. I had the guy pour 5-5.5 inches. But in reality I'd feel a lot better with 6 or more, especially since my next lift will be a 12k so I can lift my dmax. I'd drill a few pilot holes as a feeler. Find the lift you want then figure out the concrete requirements. Different brands have different foot prints, hence different concrete requirements.


My lift is old. It's a bear b52 8k, which is a rebranded hydralift. It is a symmetrical lift which sometimes makes it hard to open the doors on shorter vehicles. @ktmoutfront has a similar model. I was planning on getting a 9k from Greg smith equipment, then this one fell into my lap for insanely cheap, like you will hate me cheap. Mine is a baseplate style, lots of people hate them but I don't mind. Still way better than jack stands. Just stay away from the cheaper lifts, if you can get a brand new 10k for $900-1000 run away. There is probably more steel in half of one of my posts then a whole cheaper lift.
 
I am looking at the Greg Smith 9k

Honestly right now I really thinking I'll pour two new pads for the posts.
I would rather spend few weekends with a concrete saw and a shovel then half something fail because I trusted the previous owners concrete job.
Nothing against him but he built a storage shed. I'm building a shop.

I like the idea of putting a proper imbed in the concrete with anchor bolts coming through the concrete.
 
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my shop came with a eagle brand china pile of crap . . . . when I upgrade its going to be a rotary . I used them for years with no problems .

and a good 10k 2post lift should have no problem with a dmax or cummins or power stroke . my crappy eagle has picked dmax crew cabs 4x4 and cummins 4x4 crew cab . it was o.k. but I would fell safer with a rotory as I used a 10k rotory for years picking these up .

also when you jump to a 12k the height for celling requirement will be a lot more so check the specs before hand .
 
I did the big footings with steel and placed anchor bolts on my 12k at the old place. The one I have now is in 6" concrete with drilled anchor bolts. It's only a 7k, but twice the metal as the new 7k lifts.
 
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