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I'm a fan. Been using mine for several years now. Wanted a two or four-post lift but garage ceiling is too low. The QuickJack lift is great to have on hand.
+1 on the photo. Do you have to use a jack to raise the lift so as to attach the casters?
Shuffle puzzle garage. Kinda cool how many cars you can place in the garage.
The mountain range in the background is nice!
Plus it took me a moment to "get the pun" with the California license plate...
I googled the lift model and this is the best picture on the casters I could find.
It is ingenious design, where you attach the brackets/casters to posts with pins and then you lower the lift floor, who's weight will cantilever posts off the ground.
Lift is 7' tall, so goes under garage door just fine.
Having it roll-able made for several uses, like when I brought 3000 lb garden sculptures and had to unload them fast for trailer return. I raised the floor 1/2 way up, pushed the trailer under, strap the sculptures to lift floor and lifted it all to drive trailer away.
BTW having truck & trailer, I picked up the lift at local warehouse for $200 easy discount.
The only sad truth is that when you are DIY hobbyist 900 sq-ft garage is just too small.
For most maintenance items, wouldn't the quick jack or 2 post lift be better? The 4 post lift seems mostly for storage.
The two post would probably be better, maybe cheaper. But you have to bolt it to the floor. The four post doesn't need to be and also serves as storage and there's a jack option which allows you to lift the tires off the ramp. I guess it depends how much space you need/have. Plus if you're changing your oil, the ramps are probably quicker, just drive up and start working, no need to line up the jacking points on a 2 post lift.
Well in that case I just use an old $20 jack that I got probably 10+ years ago at Sears, about $30 now. Then I have a couple of regular jack stands. I usually just have the jack support the car, take the rod out so no one trips over it and position the jack stand in case the jack fails. Regular jack stands these days are $30-$40.
Don't count standard garage slab will qualify for 2 post lift
I replaced pretty complex OM642 engine using 4-post and never had a desire for 2-post lift.
IMHO 2-post is good for tire/brake shop and that's about it.
all you need for 7000lb 2 post is 4" 3000 PSI concrete which is pretty much standard around here..
lowest denominator will get you killed. You need to take core samples and crush them to determine if you have that strength concrete, and the pour was indeed 4" throughout.
Then you need to rely on the proper fastener installation so they do not pull out under load. Not my cup of tea and a project I would only hire out, so I had someone to sue if it all went to hell.
I'm an architect and have some experience with observing poor installations of many such things. 4 Post reduces that stress on the slab considerably.
Spend 25 years in construction on West Coast and yet have to see a concrete slab without crack.
If they crack under "their own weight" what you can expect from anchors under big stress?
Main problem with the industry is that concrete contractor are not using vibration for slab pouring. Such concrete will never have good consistency.
Oh well the engineer in me says no issue in my detached garage.
Read instructions they tell you when installing (drilling and tightening anchors) if slab is acceptable.
very interesting reads - I read 3 or so manufacturers instructions.
I will say if anyone is worried contact a local civil engineer or concrete supplier for them to review.
Drilling hole somewhere to find thickness is not a big deal.
I will say if anyone is worried contact a local civil engineer or concrete supplier for them to review.
Drilling hole somewhere to find thickness is not a big deal.
Doesn't look like you know much about industry.
Concrete supplier can be a lady with 2-weeks sale training.
Engineer will not drill, nor test your concrete.
You'd have to hire sample drilling Co, and send the chunks to lab.
Still even if you manage to install 2-post lift safely, why run all the hassle only to increase risk, while loosing portability?
4-post lifts are cheaper, although between Chinese and Mexican manufacturers, it is hard to compare the value.
My Chinese lift had couple of assemble flaws, with 1 potential for disaster, but nothing I could not fix in couple of hr spend on reassemble.
If you have residential post-tensioned concrete slab, then drilling thru that concrete could be disastrous, as those cables could snap and cause death plus destruction to property. I'm not an engineer, but I know this because recently I had a hot water leak under my foundation. One of the options to repair this was to X-ray the area where the leak was occurring in order to not drill and sever embedded tension cables. So, I'd say the 4-post would be an appropriate option in that case and also for reasons outlined by Kajtec and KEY.
Have not bought one yet - Still researching what I want and where I want to place it in garage.
I am not worried about garage as it was designed to house a race car trailer and tractor truck
I am an engineer ... and do know the industry around where I live as I use them.
Our concrete companies have techs on staff as they come to sites to take samples and test in their labs.
I do not have a post tension slab
Our local Civil engineers come out and would check slab for thickness for a fee of course.
Different state different laws and industry practices.
I saw your review of the lift and cable rubbing hydraulic fitting... Well done review ..
Crappy design to me so I am leary of that brand...
Also notice they tend to be damaged a lot in shipping.
It's good to research and draw your conclusions. I know you won't install something that may be a danger to yourself or someone else. Careful inspection of the existing conditions is paramount and you know this. Who would think that a garage slab may have post-tensioning in it? Yet, I'm sure there are installers out there or plumbers, etc who have drilled right through a post-tensioned slab and suffered the consequences of opening a huge can of whoop-***.
Quick story- I had a project in the lower level of the Museum Of Science and Industry here in Chicago and we had to saw cut the concrete floor for extensive new under slab plumbing. We assumed we would find a 5-6 inch slab. Wrong. The building was constructed for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 and for whatever reason the concrete was 18" thick. The contractor had to use giant road saw blades to cut it. inspect and verify.
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Also notice they tend to be damaged a lot in shipping.
Not really. Chinese weld special crate for shipping, so the floors are bolted on top & bottom, when all smaller stuff is packed between.
The crate is so impressive that with 20 minutes of welding and chunk of granite it made very strong patio table.
I don't know why I even get involved in these debates, but here goes....
While everything mentioned about 4-post lifts is correct, for my money they're pointless. What good is a lift where you can't remove the wheels to rotate tires, do a brake job, or anything? The only thing they're good for is storage (and in a normal garage you're NOT getting a second car underneath them) and oil changes. Sorry but 90% of the work I do on my cars requires removing a wheel or four, and I do ALL the work on my cars. You're definitely not getting an engine out on a 4-post lift. Why pay double for something with 10% of the utility?
Best bet for my money is the two-post with a crossbar, which reduces the lift height somewhat but also greatly reduces the axial load on the concrete anchors. Or, as much of a "band-aid" as it may be, the Quick Jacks.
Oh and if you're drilling into concrete, you're using a masonry bit and a hammer drill, and NO masonry bit is cutting through pre-tension cables, and really, who's got pre-stressed concrete in their garage floor? Is that really a thing? That's for bridge spans and stuff.
No reason at all for a flame suit. I think we are all very civil here and I certainly understand everyone has there own preferences. I’d like to see your setup, so post some photos. I do everything with 4 jack stands and a rolling low profile jack, so pretty low tech. I have jacking rails on my Shelby that allow me to raise the entire side of the car at one time to place 2 jack stands. Go to the other side jack it up and place the other 2 stands. I can have the car completely off the ground in 5 minutes. No lift
I only have 2 of the Rennstands above, no room or money for a lift of any kind. If I need to get all four wheels off the ground I'm working under a floor jack. Although, your rail you mention gives me an idea, I could probably fab up a rail for this car that lets me lift one whole side at a time with one jack.
This is what I have. If you could fab something like that for the W212 it would be a big hit. The problem with getting most cars completely off the ground is being able to jack it from a point away from the factory jacking points so you can use those points for placement of your jack stands. These rails mount into existing holes on the chassis and literally take 20 minutes to install. A game changer.
. You're definitely not getting an engine out on a 4-post lift..
You can tell me that again.
For tire rotation I can put central jack and lift front or rear, but even big garage is not giving you that much space around to play with it.
Having floor jack, I prefer to do it on driveway. That also saves me lifting the wheels.
Yeah, I am thinking just some 4"x2" square (ok, ok, rectangular) steel tubing running the distance between the two jack points, with little "pads" of 2x2 welded to fit into the factory jack points at either end. Only question for me would be 1. keeping it thin enough that you could actually fit a jack under it and 2. thick enough that it doesn't bend in the middle and you just end up jacking your car up by the middle of the rocker panel anyway. Hmm, I might need to play with this.
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