Vehicle Lifts: 2-post, 4-post, etc (2 Viewers)

[Waorani]

There's a lot of good lift info here but it seems to be scattered in various workshop threads. Would be nice if lift info was a little more consolidated so here goes. Post up your lift pics, info, questions, etc here and maybe this can become a good general resource for lift info. Bought import Atlas 10K probably 20+ yrs ago at Greg Smith Equipment in Atlanta, GA but never got installed in my old shop due to floor thickness issues. Finally installed at new place a couple of years ago. Did the installation myself, it wasn't that hard.

Would have preferred American made but easier said than done. May try to upgrade someday. Would also like a 4-post but not sure if that'll ever happen.

And you can use your lift for other things like lifting lawn mowers to change blades, lifting a motor into the back of a truck, etc. I made these hooks to take the place of the lift pads and use frequently.

 

[Bob Morazes]

Good Plan
I had a Forward 10K lift installed in my New pole barn in 2017.
Every time I'm in the barn I give it a hug.
No more stones in my back and lost nuts in the dirt.
Creeper hangs on the wall in retirement!
The Lift has performed well and was easy to buy from NAPA. It was installed by Forward as well. At the time the whole package was ~ $5K.
Only draw back was a F350 that I was to change a clutch on.
The arms wouldnt reach the recommended lift points and with the side step the number of extensions needed was WAY too much. Ended up lifting the rear alone and supporting on Jack stands.
And the creeper came out of retirement.

Some days I wish I had bought a four post drive on lift, but only when reaching the frame becomes a challenge.
Bobmo

 

[Waorani]

Love the GMC. I fight width between posts and arm length on mine but I can usually figure something out. Also have trouble with real low vehicles but I guess most lifts do. Friend with a large restomod collection has an older Bend Pak that I really like almost enough to try to upgrade mine. But it's pushing 30yrs old so not sure if the new ones are as nice.

 

[PIP]

One request- When you share your lift information say whether it has rollers inside or plastic slides. That might help people looking at different brands decide if it's the right choice for them, or if it's priced correctly.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Rotary SPOA10 with Trio Arms and Flip-Up Adaptors. That's an asymmetric, 10k lb capacity lift. Rotary accommodates the controls on either post and I had them install mine on the driver's side as that is the "wall" side of the lift. Seemed more natural to me but most shops install the controls on the passenger side. I was very grateful to see that my shop (that I didn't build) has over 6" of concrete in the slab. The lift came with taller Truck Adaptors. These photos show me using them but lately I have just been using the tall side of the flip-ups without the extensions.

I've been very pleased with the lift. Operates very smoothly with no sense of unstableness. Of course I'm pretty careful about the lift points.

 

[Waorani]

Short of building them yourself, are there any quality under lift jack stands. I often lift longer vehicles and would feel better if I had a pair to stabilize each end. There's no flex/movement in the lift and I've never thought anything was about to shift/fall but additional support couldn't hurt. I've asked this question previously and still haven't come up with anything so figured I put it in here too. Previously I got mostly "Harbor Freight." I always regret buying HF stuff other than simple supplies but I went and looked at them anyway - not interested. Friend has a nice pair he bought from O'Reilly years ago but the current ones suck in comparison. And the stands I find online all look like different branding/price on a couple of basic styles.

Besides HF, does anyone have some they like enough to recommend? If not, I guess I'll just end up building some.

 

[PIP]

Short of building them yourself, are there any quality under lift jack stands. I often lift longer vehicles and would feel better if I had a pair to stabilize each end. There's no flex/movement in the lift and I've never thought anything was about to shift/fall but additional support couldn't hurt. I've asked this question previously and still haven't come up with anything so figured I put it in here too. Previously I got mostly "Harbor Freight." I always regret buying HF stuff other than simple supplies but I went and looked at them anyway - not interested. Friend has a nice pair he bought from O'Reilly years ago but the current ones suck in comparison. And the stands I find online all look like different branding/price on a couple of basic styles.

Besides HF, does anyone have some they like enough to recommend? If not, I guess I'll just end up building some.

Just something to keep in mind- Many vehicles are toppled off lifts, destroyed and people severely injured by using those stands under 2 post lifts and forgetting to take them out. So whatever stand you buy or build make sure to paint it a very obnoxious color and hang a tag on the lowering lever that says "remove stand".

I have a few of them I got 20+ years ago with my first lift. They look like cheaper import stuff. They work fine. All they're doing is support 100 lbs or so of weight. Atleast as long as you don't forget they're there.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Short of building them yourself, are there any quality under lift jack stands. I often lift longer vehicles and would feel better if I had a pair to stabilize each end. There's no flex/movement in the lift and I've never thought anything was about to shift/fall but additional support couldn't hurt. I've asked this question previously and still haven't come up with anything so figured I put it in here too. Previously I got mostly "Harbor Freight." I always regret buying HF stuff other than simple supplies but I went and looked at them anyway - not interested. Friend has a nice pair he bought from O'Reilly years ago but the current ones suck in comparison. And the stands I find online all look like different branding/price on a couple of basic styles.

Besides HF, does anyone have some they like enough to recommend? If not, I guess I'll just end up building some.

The only ones I have used were at a friend's professional shop and they were pretty heavy. Having said that, they looked more or less like these, except I don't recall the paint color being quite so "splendid" : OEMTools 24848 OEM Automotive Tools High Reach Jack Stands | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/oes-24848?seid=srese1&ppckw=pmax-tools&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSX1-VRfVNMHCbjH2aGDF1t0mK-Mpuvnfiatr6ZSEzUdcdTpOsqYCH4aApsZEALw_wcB

I found them quite handy at the time for supporting axles as I was changing springs on an '85 4Runner and on my '97 80. I imagine they would also be quite handy for supporting engines and/or transmissions. I never used them for helping to balance/support one end of a vehicle.

 

[Malleus]

There's a lot of good lift info here but it seems to be scattered in various workshop threads. Would be nice if lift info was a little more consolidated so here goes. Post up your lift pics, info, questions, etc here and maybe this can become a good general resource for lift info. Bought import Atlas 10K probably 20+ yrs ago at Greg Smith Equipment in Atlanta, GA but never got installed in my old shop due to floor thickness issues. Finally installed at new place a couple of years ago. Did the installation myself, it wasn't that hard.

Would have preferred American made but easier said than done. May try to upgrade someday. Would also like a 4-post but not sure if that'll ever happen.

View attachment 3382614
View attachment 3382618
View attachment 3382619

And you can use your lift for other things like lifting lawn mowers to change blades, lifting a motor into the back of a truck, etc. I made these hooks to take the place of the lift pads and use frequently.

View attachment 3382620

Great forum idea! I can see why a dedicated for-profit shop would want a four post drive on lift, but why would anyone want one for their personal shop? Assuming you only have one bay for a lift, that is. It seems like the two post is ideal unless you just have loads of space and can afford (every way you look at it) more than one lift. And I can't see the advantage, for other than load capacity, for a four post arch lift. All the dealerships I've seen are using two post arch lifts, exclusively, except for the alignment bay, which has a four post drive-on lift.

What am I missing?

 

[LDowney]

Great forum idea! I can see why a dedicated for-profit shop would want a four post drive on lift, but why would anyone want one for their personal shop? Assuming you only have one bay for a lift, that is. It seems like the two post is ideal unless you just have loads of space and can afford (every way you look at it) more than one lift. And I can't see the advantage, for other than load capacity, for a four post arch lift. All the dealerships I've seen are using two post arch lifts, exclusively, except for the alignment bay, which has a four post drive-on lift.

What am I missing?

I do not fit with your assumption of only one bay in a home shop. My shop has one roll-up door but 3200 sq ft is not limiting once past the door. So in my situation, I am actively considering getting a 4-post lift as a complement to my 2-post.

Why 4-post - I have found that proper positioning/alignment of vehicles with the 2-post lift can be time intensive, especially for shorter wheel base vehicles such as my FJ40s or BJ70s where positioning tolerances seem to be just a couple of inches. This might be just a consideration for me (i.e., I am the slowest student in the school), but it has me considering submitting a purchase request to my bride.
My thought is a 4-post lift would allow me to more quickly get the vehicle up off the floor compared to using the 2-post lift. For small'ish jobs and service tasks, this is where I think the 4-post would shine and be a great addition.

So my projection is that you aren't missing anything, but rather surfacing how diverse the requirements and options may be across this group.

 

[Malleus]

I didn't assume there was only one bay in a home shop. I said my premise was there was only one bay you could put a lift in. Obviously, some people are going to have more than one. If you have more than one bay and room for more than one lift, you're in high cotton.

 

[PIP]

I agree that one lift must be a 2 post. If you have room add a 4 post or a pit.

The major downfall of a 4 post that hasn't been mentioned is the room they take up.when you're not using it. 4 post takes a 10' x 20' area of your shop that cannot be used for anything else.

2 post just has 2 posts to work around.

 

[1911]

2-post is also much handier if you're doing any task that requires removal of wheels.

 

[toy_tek]

Glad to see this thread, subscribed. I'm building a shop now, just had the floor poured 2 weeks ago. Was looking at a Bendpak asymmetrical but that Rotary looks nice.

 

[Waorani]

I have the space (70'x50'). Main thing for me, in addition to same reasons others noted, a 4-post can store 2 vehicles in the same space. Sure if you can have only one, a 2-post is the way to go. But as long as we're wishing - I want one inside and a second outside in an open pole barn so I can pressure wash vehicle undersides.

 

[Bob Morazes]

This is a pic of the minimum stack of adjuster that I needed to lift an F350.
As you can see the frame sweeps up towards the rear axle and the front lift point has hindered by the step.
The arms could not extend to where it was recommended to lift.
I only lifted 1 1/2" and a safety shake of the truck told me I was not taking it any higher.

I also work on a number of Model A's and lifting requires a lot of extensions to clear the mechanical brakes and running boards.
For these reasons a 4 poster would be my friend.

There are attachment's that will lift at the wheels, but 4 of them are very expensive.

Just some things to think about
Bobmo

 

[PAToyota]

Great idea! I'm going to have to make a couple of those!

 

[PAToyota]

Short of building them yourself, are there any quality under lift jack stands.

The Sunex tripod stands are pretty stout: 2 Ton Tripod Underhoist Stand - SUNEX Tools - https://sunextools.com/products/2-ton-tripod-underhoist-stand/

A guy I know has a pair and they're nice.

My only complaint is the bolt-together assembly for the legs - but I understand they do that for shipping or if you want to break it down for storage.

I think I'd be inclined to weld them together - or at least tack the bolts to guarantee nothing is loosening up.

I agree with @PIP - make sure (doubly sure) they've been removed before lowering...

Also that they're just braces - just enough to keep the vehicle from moving and not actually doing any supporting.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

This is a pic of the minimum stack of adjuster that I needed to lift an F350.
As you can see the frame sweeps up towards the rear axle and the front lift point has hindered by the step.
The arms could not extend to where it was recommended to lift.
I only lifted 1 1/2" and a safety shake of the truck told me I was not taking it any higher.

I also work on a number of Model A's and lifting requires a lot of extensions to clear the mechanical brakes and running boards.
For these reasons a 4 poster would be my friend.

There are attachment's that will lift at the wheels, but 4 of them are very expensive.

Just some things to think about
BobmoView attachment 3387274

That doesn’t look very stable. I think these slip on truck adapters would work much better.

 

[Waorani]

I fight the high frame thing too. My Atlas came with multiple 2 and 6 inch pad extensions but more than a two of them and they get wobbly. The Rotary truck adapters look nice. May try to make something like that one day.