So far mine has been good. Definitely not up to the quality level of a Rotary or Bend Pak but perfectly serviceable for home shop.
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
New 4 post car lift
- Thread starter Shawn
- Start date
rampage
3/4 ton status
I still regret not being at a friends former shop that was sold by the owner ,who leased it to him on a monthly basis..
He had three lifts ,one was a crappy two post one rated only at 6,000 lbs ,it had a floor plate with a motorcycle type chain under it that powered two acme thread posts with big brass "nuts" on the lift arms to raise the vehicle..
It was made in Italy,and no new parts could be had for it--I remember they had to pay about $500 to have two new brass acme thread "nuts" made for it--I passed on that one ,even for free!..it was scary and more than once a car got stuck on it when it threw the chain...if the power went out,you had to spin the motor pulley by hand to lower a car too...
Another "lift" there was a crappy "mid rise" type that only lifted the vehicle about 3 feet off the floor by the frame,it was not much more than a hydraulic cylinder with a platform..my friend hated it,said it's best use was to make driveshafts into bananas,or crush rocker panels..passed on that one too,even for free..may have made a good motorcycle or lawn tractor lift,but I didn't want it..
The one I wanted ,was their "alignment lift" that had two wide diamond plate rails or ramps ,you just drove up on them,and it had two 10,000 lb rolling air powered jacks to lift the vehicle off the ramps ..though it was a bit awkward to work under if you were installing a transmission,it was 1000% better than NO lift,and it had a 11,000 lb capacity,so it could handle a dually easily...
They also had the alignment machine to go with it..had the turntables for the front wheels,etc..
Another customer happened to be at the shop as they were dismantling all the old lifts and equipment,the new owner said "I'm buying all brand new stuff,so all this
is getting scrapped tomorrow,unless someone gets it out of here today..
The customer called a guy with a ramp truck to come get the alignment lift...friend never thought to call and ask me if I'd want it,would have been perfect for my quonset garage..he was too busy clearing out all his tools and other stuff..
The guy who ended up with it never did put it in his garage--he had a few medical setbacks,and it ended up sitting in the woods for several years next to his garage..was JUNK by the time I heard he was going to lose the place to the bank,and someone hauled it off for scrap shortly after that..
I had offered to buy it from him for $500 the day he had it brought to his property too,but he refused to sell it..
Another bummer was at the friends shop,there was a Miller MIG welder that they paid over $1500 for only a few years earlier,and a 10 HP generator the boss owned,that sat with gas in it too long..
My friend assumed he was keeping the welder and generator,I said he should just take it--he could always give it back if he said "hey,where's my welder & generator"--but he didn't dare too..
About a year later his old boss came by my friends "new" shop,and looked around and said "where's the welder"?--my friend said "that was YOURS,I left it there !..
"You Idiot!--I sold the building AND all the contents,you should have taken everything !--that new owner probably either scrapped it or gave it away"...he even went up the street to his old shop and asked what happened to them,and the new owner just shrugged and said "I assumed he took them--or someone did!"..."I bought all brand new equipment"..
...
My older brother bought a big two post lift,I think a 12,000 lb one,I asked what he was going to do with his old one (that was also nice,but not as big capacity)--"Oh,it's already spoken for,one of my friends bought it"........thanks...
I can get a "like new hardly used" Rotary lift from a local guy who deals with hydraulic equipment for about $2500 installed..
My friend got a like new Rotary from him installed about 2 years ago,it was at a landscaper's shop who barely used it at all--he took out his old P-O-S "Global" lift that broke down often and installed the Rotary for $2500...
I would go that route if I ever had the money--every used lift I see online "cheap" is either beat to hell,or some unheard of brand,or has missing pieces and is already all apart..I'm not up to installing one myself anyways now..but I still want one!.
He had three lifts ,one was a crappy two post one rated only at 6,000 lbs ,it had a floor plate with a motorcycle type chain under it that powered two acme thread posts with big brass "nuts" on the lift arms to raise the vehicle..
It was made in Italy,and no new parts could be had for it--I remember they had to pay about $500 to have two new brass acme thread "nuts" made for it--I passed on that one ,even for free!..it was scary and more than once a car got stuck on it when it threw the chain...if the power went out,you had to spin the motor pulley by hand to lower a car too...
Another "lift" there was a crappy "mid rise" type that only lifted the vehicle about 3 feet off the floor by the frame,it was not much more than a hydraulic cylinder with a platform..my friend hated it,said it's best use was to make driveshafts into bananas,or crush rocker panels..passed on that one too,even for free..may have made a good motorcycle or lawn tractor lift,but I didn't want it..
The one I wanted ,was their "alignment lift" that had two wide diamond plate rails or ramps ,you just drove up on them,and it had two 10,000 lb rolling air powered jacks to lift the vehicle off the ramps ..though it was a bit awkward to work under if you were installing a transmission,it was 1000% better than NO lift,and it had a 11,000 lb capacity,so it could handle a dually easily...
They also had the alignment machine to go with it..had the turntables for the front wheels,etc..
Another customer happened to be at the shop as they were dismantling all the old lifts and equipment,the new owner said "I'm buying all brand new stuff,so all this
is getting scrapped tomorrow,unless someone gets it out of here today..The customer called a guy with a ramp truck to come get the alignment lift...friend never thought to call and ask me if I'd want it,would have been perfect for my quonset garage..he was too busy clearing out all his tools and other stuff..
The guy who ended up with it never did put it in his garage--he had a few medical setbacks,and it ended up sitting in the woods for several years next to his garage..was JUNK by the time I heard he was going to lose the place to the bank,and someone hauled it off for scrap shortly after that..
I had offered to buy it from him for $500 the day he had it brought to his property too,but he refused to sell it..
Another bummer was at the friends shop,there was a Miller MIG welder that they paid over $1500 for only a few years earlier,and a 10 HP generator the boss owned,that sat with gas in it too long..
My friend assumed he was keeping the welder and generator,I said he should just take it--he could always give it back if he said "hey,where's my welder & generator"--but he didn't dare too..
About a year later his old boss came by my friends "new" shop,and looked around and said "where's the welder"?--my friend said "that was YOURS,I left it there !..
"You Idiot!--I sold the building AND all the contents,you should have taken everything !--that new owner probably either scrapped it or gave it away"...he even went up the street to his old shop and asked what happened to them,and the new owner just shrugged and said "I assumed he took them--or someone did!"..."I bought all brand new equipment"..
...My older brother bought a big two post lift,I think a 12,000 lb one,I asked what he was going to do with his old one (that was also nice,but not as big capacity)--"Oh,it's already spoken for,one of my friends bought it"........thanks...
I can get a "like new hardly used" Rotary lift from a local guy who deals with hydraulic equipment for about $2500 installed..
My friend got a like new Rotary from him installed about 2 years ago,it was at a landscaper's shop who barely used it at all--he took out his old P-O-S "Global" lift that broke down often and installed the Rotary for $2500...
I would go that route if I ever had the money--every used lift I see online "cheap" is either beat to hell,or some unheard of brand,or has missing pieces and is already all apart..I'm not up to installing one myself anyways now..but I still want one!.
I still regret not being at a friends former shop that was sold by the owner ,who leased it to him on a monthly basis..
He had three lifts ,one was a crappy two post one rated only at 6,000 lbs ,it had a floor plate with a motorcycle type chain under it that powered two acme thread posts with big brass "nuts" on the lift arms to raise the vehicle..
It was made in Italy,and no new parts could be had for it--I remember they had to pay about $500 to have two new brass acme thread "nuts" made for it--I passed on that one ,even for free!..it was scary and more than once a car got stuck on it when it threw the chain...if the power went out,you had to spin the motor pulley by hand to lower a car too...
Another "lift" there was a crappy "mid rise" type that only lifted the vehicle about 3 feet off the floor by the frame,it was not much more than a hydraulic cylinder with a platform..my friend hated it,said it's best use was to make driveshafts into bananas,or crush rocker panels..passed on that one too,even for free..may have made a good motorcycle or lawn tractor lift,but I didn't want it..
The one I wanted ,was their "alignment lift" that had two wide diamond plate rails or ramps ,you just drove up on them,and it had two 10,000 lb rolling air powered jacks to lift the vehicle off the ramps ..though it was a bit awkward to work under if you were installing a transmission,it was 1000% better than NO lift,and it had a 11,000 lb capacity,so it could handle a dually easily...
They also had the alignment machine to go with it..had the turntables for the front wheels,etc..
Another customer happened to be at the shop as they were dismantling all the old lifts and equipment,the new owner said "I'm buying all brand new stuff,so all this
The customer called a guy with a ramp truck to come get the alignment lift...friend never thought to call and ask me if I'd want it,would have been perfect for my quonset garage..he was too busy clearing out all his tools and other stuff..
The guy who ended up with it never did put it in his garage--he had a few medical setbacks,and it ended up sitting in the woods for several years next to his garage..was JUNK by the time I heard he was going to lose the place to the bank,and someone hauled it off for scrap shortly after that..
I had offered to buy it from him for $500 the day he had it brought to his property too,but he refused to sell it..
Another bummer was at the friends shop,there was a Miller MIG welder that they paid over $1500 for only a few years earlier,and a 10 HP generator the boss owned,that sat with gas in it too long..
My friend assumed he was keeping the welder and generator,I said he should just take it--he could always give it back if he said "hey,where's my welder & generator"--but he didn't dare too..
About a year later his old boss came by my friends "new" shop,and looked around and said "where's the welder"?--my friend said "that was YOURS,I left it there !..
"You Idiot!--I sold the building AND all the contents,you should have taken everything !--that new owner probably either scrapped it or gave it away"...he even went up the street to his old shop and asked what happened to them,and the new owner just shrugged and said "I assumed he took them--or someone did!"..."I bought all brand new equipment"..
My older brother bought a big two post lift,I think a 12,000 lb one,I asked what he was going to do with his old one (that was also nice,but not as big capacity)--"Oh,it's already spoken for,one of my friends bought it"........thanks...
I can get a "like new hardly used" Rotary lift from a local guy who deals with hydraulic equipment for about $2500 installed..
My friend got a like new Rotary from him installed about 2 years ago,it was at a landscaper's shop who barely used it at all--he took out his old P-O-S "Global" lift that broke down often and installed the Rotary for $2500...
I would go that route if I ever had the money--every used lift I see online "cheap" is either beat to hell,or some unheard of brand,or has missing pieces and is already all apart..I'm not up to installing one myself anyways now..but I still want one!.
There's always going to be some deals out there. Just have to be there at the right time with cash or have friends look around for you. Honestly I would have not got this lift so soon if I didn't tell my buddy I was eventually going to get one.
I did get it installed in its place. I still need to move/sell some stuff around it but for now its good.
I had hoped to get a lift for my garage back when I built it in 1992,but the money ran out--there wouldn't even be a asphalt driveway extension to reach the garage from my driveway,if my dad hadn't put out the $1000 it costed just to put in about a 20 foot addition to the driveway..
He wanted another 12 feet added to the entire width of it (110 feet long) at the same time,so he had both done at the same time..
I'm far too arthritic and old to be crawling around under a vehicle now,ten minutes and I'm "done",and if I kneel at all,my knees will ache for a week,even getting back up from kneeling is tough,if I can,I grab onto something and use my arms to pull myself up..
I'd be buying a lift if my house's roof wasn't focked,and the chimney wasn't ready to lose two top courses of bricks and the "cap"...
I'd also be in the market for another square body to plow with if I could use the money saved for the house repairs ,but I cannot put off having those issues taken care of ASAP....
If I get much worse physically,I may end up having to sell everything and "give up" having anything,no sense in having a "fleet" and a bunch of garden tractors if your too crippled up to work on or use them any more..a lift would at least make it easier and more comfortable to maintain the vehicles,and I'd be less likely to keep putting off repairs and half-assing them to keep them going,and fix them "right"...
He wanted another 12 feet added to the entire width of it (110 feet long) at the same time,so he had both done at the same time..
I'm far too arthritic and old to be crawling around under a vehicle now,ten minutes and I'm "done",and if I kneel at all,my knees will ache for a week,even getting back up from kneeling is tough,if I can,I grab onto something and use my arms to pull myself up..
I'd be buying a lift if my house's roof wasn't focked,and the chimney wasn't ready to lose two top courses of bricks and the "cap"...
I'd also be in the market for another square body to plow with if I could use the money saved for the house repairs ,but I cannot put off having those issues taken care of ASAP....
If I get much worse physically,I may end up having to sell everything and "give up" having anything,no sense in having a "fleet" and a bunch of garden tractors if your too crippled up to work on or use them any more..a lift would at least make it easier and more comfortable to maintain the vehicles,and I'd be less likely to keep putting off repairs and half-assing them to keep them going,and fix them "right"...
@Shawn what are the interior dimensions of that space where the lift is? (Including ceiling height) Looks like a great space
Trying get an idea of the interior garage dimensions needs. That looks like probably minimum amount of space you would want in order to be able to open car/trucks doors on both sides without hitting walls (not crammed)
Trying get an idea of the interior garage dimensions needs. That looks like probably minimum amount of space you would want in order to be able to open car/trucks doors on both sides without hitting walls (not crammed)
I hear that. Been spending a fortune on this new house with furniture, landscaping, etc.
Your health is key. I'm trying to do everything possible for longevity but its catches up to you sooner or later. My mom was never into excercise and now shes having issues getting around. Her leg keeps going out and she falls. Granted shes almost 80 but its been getting worse and now I'm looking at all options including moving her closer to me.
The 4th single bay is approximately 18x13, 11 feet high. It's a little wider which is nice.
here is my buddys brand new one we just put together .
pair of corvettes for the winter .
pair of corvettes for the winter .
Last edited:
chulisohombre
1/2 ton status
Very cool. I’d love to have one as well. I’d have to cut down my loft to get enough room but it would be awesome to have.
