RebekahsZ Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) My office manager was over-contributing to my 401K and just found the mistake and had to refund me before the first of the year. Its like getting an extra tax refund! So, I'm suddenly rich and want to get two lifts for my new 30W X 36D shop, which has 13' ceilings and a pair of 10' doors. The lift bays are already wired for 220V. This was something I was saving for, but now that I'm sitting on the necessary funds I'm ready to get the purchase done. Plan: (1) 4-post lift for doing alignments, welding exhaust and car storage, (1) 2-post lift for doing major demo work and repairs. The parking plan is to park my daily driver S10 truck under the 4-post with the Z overhead, and to set up the 2-post with a wide enough drive-thru clearance to allow me to park my dual-axle 18' open car hauler trailer between the uprights during the off-season. Even though they are more expensive, I have settled on Bendpak because they offer the lowest loading height when it comes to the 4-post lift. Their ramps are only 4-1/2" above grade, whereas most of the other brands have ramps that are 7" above grade. I'm figuring on buying extended loading ramps to further facilitate my ability to get a lowered car onto the lift. Question: The 9,000 pound 4-post alignment lift with all the alignment bells and whistles is only $900 more than the 7,000 pound lift. If this lift is intended to help with the building of race cars and supporting my racing program, would you guys get the alignment lift? Any drawbacks that I'm not considering? Edited January 8, 2016 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Does the alignment one go high enough to park another car under? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 It really helps to have built-in jacks on the 4-post, like the sliding ones in the middle of Hunter racks, especially if you plan on doing alignments. Looks like Bendpak has bridge jacks as an option for some lifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 I am considering the bridge jacks but I'm worried that they may be too tall in the down position to drive the car over...anybody have any experience on that? Im still searching for that height/clearance specification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatnow123 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) it's easier to get it and install it and not need it than it is to not get it and then later want it. So I'd go spend the extra on the alignment lift alone with the extra capacity. Also, I'd call and ask about a discount since you are buying two of them to offset the cost of the upgrade. Any chance one of your neighbors is selling their house? Edited January 8, 2016 by whatnow123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 I would love to replace the psycho who lives next door! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Very very cool. If height is a concern, a flush mount unit would be pretty useful. The dyno shop I went to had a 4 post lift flush mounted to lift cars onto the dyno. They had some stanced/slammed cars that came in and had no problem getting them on. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55006 Has a pretty nice center lift. Anyways, would be very cool to see how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 My only feedback is you might ask about lift speed. A friend of mine has a bendpack 9K lift and it is much slower than my 7K 2 post lift. I know this sounds silly but it is amazing how long it takes to lift the car off the ground. Perhaps not an issue on the 4 post lifts. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) I've been doing research all day. These are Bendpak product numbers: I want the heighth (to park a truck underneath) and width of the HD-7500BLX (to store the trailer up against the ceiling), and the alignment fixtures of the HD9AE (cause I can't leave my suspension alone). However, while the wide setting of the HD-7500BLX (a boat trailer lift) is wide enough to accommodate my car hauler, the narrow setting is too wide for my Z (the wheels will be half-off the ramps)! I'm gonna call Bendpak on Mon to see if they do custom assemblies. Another option is to make narrow-er track dollies to put the trailer on. I've decided I AM getting the sliding ramp jacks. Edited January 10, 2016 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 We've got Bendpak 4 post in the shop and we can slide the ramps all the way to the center. We can go as narrow or as wide as we want or slide the ramps all to one side of the four post unit - which comes in handy when working on the shop lights. And, as I mentioned in my PM, I would not spend the money on the air jacks the slide in the center of the lift. We had those and we pulled then off because they were more in the way then anything else. I made 2" X 10" crossbars that I put bottle jacks and jack stands on if I need to lift the ends or sides of the car. The crossbars move easily and I can lift them off if they get in the way. I can also build car specific supports (S30, 356, 911) to hold the chassis when the suspension is off the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Awesome! I'm gonna clear out the crap in the shop and start taping this out on the floor. Tomorrow I will try to find out if they will put alignment ramps on the boat lift chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1969honda Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) I've worked with a few different brands of four post lifts, I would take John's advice and stay away from the center jacks. Even a stock height Honda, or a supercharged Pontiac Grand Prix can get hung up on those stupid jacks if they have custom exhausts. Plus they are always blocking something in the middle of the lift when you walk under there to work, so you have to slide the heavy thing out of the way and remember not to hit your head. Just my two cents... Edited January 11, 2016 by 1969honda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornedcow Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 You can store a car on the two post lift too, and have lots more floor room to work with vs. a 4 post. Of course, racking a car vs. driving on a 4 post takes more time to set the arms, etc. My garage is 30x40, very similar size. Are your doors on the longer wall or the shorter wall? My garage is deep since the door is on the short wall. If I cleaned really well I could fit 6 cars in it (with 2 up in the air). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Hmmm. I'm so thankful for the input. I really appreciate the photos too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 You also need to have at least a 6" thick concrete floor with 3,000 psi concrete. Most home garage floors are 4". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornedcow Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Rotary only states that 4" is required for up to a 10k lift, as long as it is a reinforced 3000psi mix. Nonetheless, I have deep footers under my 10k lift and about 5" under the 9k lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) Great. The floor is a foot thick with 3,000 psi concrete. I designed the shop specifically for lifts. I have electrical 220 already waiting at the ceiling to power the lifts and will lay out my compressed air system once the lifts are in place. I called and talked to the little girl in Sales who said she would ask the engineers and get back to me. I asked her about combining the strengths of all three models. Edited January 12, 2016 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Bad news. Bendpak won't mix and match components for me. So, I'm looking hard at the boat lifts: HD7500-BLX (lift height to 82") or HD7500-PBX (lift height 111"). The lower lift costs about $4,000; higher lift costs over $7,000, so I'm likely not about that, plus some of the catalog photos show guy wires on the tallest lift. I sure wish the damn alignment lifts went higher than 70"! Gotta get back to cleaning the shop so I can tape-out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) The lifting capacity of each lift is reduced as the wheelbase of the vehicle decreases. The capacity of the HD7500-BLX (tall boat lift) is reduced to between 3,000# (95" wheelbase) and 1,875# (80" wheelbase), so for our 90" wheelbase S30 cars, the max capacity is 2842#. I'm sorry; I'm just not comfortable with that. So, that reduces my 4-post lift options to either the HD-9AE alignment lift (127" width, 70" rise) or the HD-9XW (110" width, 82" rise). I sure wish they would mix columns and runways! If I apply the same math to a 9000# lift, I get between 4500# and 2250#. If I run the numbers for 90" wheelbase, that allows me 4263# capacity. Argh! After long deliberation, my lead choice for the 4-post lift is again the HD-9AE. I get the best width and the alignment features. I lose lift rise. We went out and measured our Honda Odyssey: if I take the cross bars off the rooftop luggage rack, it will fit under the 70" lift that the HD-9AE offers. My lowered S10 tow vehicle is only 56" tall. So the wider lift will allow me to whip into the garage faster with less concern about knocking a mirror off. If I ever go to a full-size tow vehicle, it looks like it will need the lowering treatment too. If I can design a dolly system that will fit my trailer axles and go in-between the current tires, I will be able to get the car-hauler up onto the 4-post lift, something that would not be possible with the higher-lifting, but narrower HD-9XW. I will tape the foot plates out tomorrow on the floor of the garage to finalize that decision. Oh yeah, the alignment lift loading height is 6-1/2", so I'm ordering the longer 48" ramps, and may have to have them extended even more to get the car up there without ripping an airdam off. I would SO like to be able to get the car up there with the 3" airdam clearance I am aligning my suspension around. Now, onto the 2-post lift: EVERYBODY to the man, has told me to get an ASYMMETRIC 2-post lift. Bendpak's smallest asymmetric lift is a 10k unit. Since we like to lower our cars, I'm gonna get the low-profile series. That yields the XPR-10A-LP model 2-post lift. The drive thru width of that lift in the wide configuration with the arms down is only 102", and my car hauler trailer is right at 103" wide (argh!) But, if I raise the arms up and out of the way, the drive-thru clearance goes up to 112", so the trailer can go in just fine. I'm taping it all out tomorrow. I may even use some 2X4s to model the columns out in the garage so that I can verify that the two lifts won't be all up on top of each other, limiting door opening, walking around, etc. It is, after all, only a 30'W X 36'D garage. After that, its price and shipping comparison. Maybe I'll have something ordered in the next week. I have part of Monday off, so who knows? Thanks for everybody's input and for putting up with my indecision. It's a lot of dang money and fulfillment of a life-long dream. All this to work on a car that I paid $900 for 27 years ago! Edited January 17, 2016 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-E Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 My longtime mechanic friend has a 3 hoist shop, 2 are rotary asymmetrical, and they can swing under a car with 4" of clearance just fine, they regularly work on pickups so the ass can hang out without affecting room towards the wall... they are nice to work on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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