Car/Truck Lift

Makinchips208

Makinchips208

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Minuteman
Sep 20, 2021
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3,601
Idaho
#1
Looking for info, options, and recommendations for an auto lift. This is for private use, although I suspect word will spread and it will get used a bit, maybe even as side hustle doing vehicle maintenance. Who knows.

A. Needs to be able to lift a Chevy crew cab duramax 4x4. (Not sure the vehicle weight)

B. Must be a two post, (Does not want a 4 post)

C. There is no restriction on height, we have very high ceiling.

So, the questions…

1. 10,000lb or 12,000lb? Or?

2. Asymmetrical vs Symmetrical ? Pros and cons? (We may want to be able to put vehicles in either direction)

Brands?

Thanks for reading!
Thanks for any input!
 
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#3
Ok, am doing that. Waiting on a call back from a shop that’s closing and has a 12k bendpack for $9000
And also a rotary 10k lift for $7500

Seems a little high for used. But only 2 years old.
 
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#5
Ceiling height might not be in play, but how about your concrete floor thickness? Be a shame to have a post fold over and drop a vehicle on someone
 
#8
I know of a couple of cases where people had hydraulic car lifts with the mechanical stuff in a pit. When they went to sell the property the banks would not offer a mortgage to potential buyers due to environmental concerns.
 
#9
I put in a Twin Busch 2 post a few years ago. It was stupid cheap, German made, and works well. It picked up my yukon 2500xl with 8.1l like it was nothing. There was a local dealer near me so I picked it up in person. Seems their only contact is on fuckbook these days?
 
#10
We use Rotary in ground lifts at work. Rotary lifts are reliable but they are expensive. My lift is rated for 10k pounds. Picking up my 1/2 ton Silverado is about the max size and weight I would go with this lift. I wouldn't try and pick up a 1 ton truck with it. If your truck is bigger than 1/2 ton get the 12,000 lift.

Asymmetrical vs Symmetrical. The main difference being one lift has shorter arms in the front of the lift and the other has arms of equal length. If you have the room get a lift that has arms of equal length. Its easier to work inside the truck if the front doors don't run into the side posts. Also, I would feel safer picking up a full size truck centered between two post.
 
#12
Asymmetrical, above ground twin post lifts ( the ones with shorter arms in front and longer arms in the back) have always been the most difficult for me to work on. Just getting in and out of the car you have to be carful the door dose not hit the post. If you need to do work on the front doors or interior the post can get in the way with the car racked.

If you have an above ground twin post lift with arms of equal length work on the front doors and interior is easier as you have more leeway on where you can position the car, on the rack, with the doors open.

If you can afford it an in ground twin post lift is my rack of choice for cars and most trucks up to 1/2 ton. I work mostly on mid to full size import cars.

 
#14
Sometimes you need to get in and out of the vehicle while on the lift. Done it so many time for various reasons.

I agree get a symmetrical/ equal arm length. Wish I could remember the exact name of the lifts at the last shop I worked at, I liked them better than others I have used.
 
#15
I have a Rotary two post, 10,000lb, with asymmetrical arms. It's about ten years old and haven't had any issues, at all, except sometimes wishing the short arms were longer. It hasn't prevented me from getting the job done, though.
 
#17
I would not get a 10k lift for a diesel. 12k minimum. I've lifted diesel trucks at work with a 10k and it was far from ideal. They move too much while in the air. Even using a pole jack on the rear to stabilize the vehicle was uncomfortable.

Three stage arms are nice too. I don't remember what we use at work. I know some are rotary, some are BendPak, and I think we have another brand for the 20k lifts.
 
#19
Which ever lift you decide to get, I recommend you get one certified by the Automotive Lift Institute. It will give you peace of mind from the safety standpoint and hopefully better quality. A lot of the manufacturers sell those that are certified and those that are not.

I have a Gemini 4 post 12000 lb lift and I love it. I use if for storage so that was the choice of a 4 post lift. I have worked off of inground lifts, both drive on and single cylinder with 4 arms. I have buddy that has a drive on and two post. I see advantages to both, it just depends on what your are doing with them.

If you watch you can get some really good deals on used lifts, but it can be a gamble. My buddies two post was about 20% of the original price and it was only two years old and very little use. But he always finds those kind of deals.
 
#20
Nice! A close friend had a drive on 4 post that was great for his use. Mostly exhaust systems. And transmissions etc.

for our use we definitely want a two post.

I didn’t know about certifications. I’ll look into that.
 
#21
I just finished putting in an Atlas PV12PX 2 post lift. It's a 12K symmetrical style, extra wide and extra tall so there is plenty of extra room for doors to open and mirrors to clear. I've set mine for a 14' ceiling but it will go another foot taller.

Very beefy and very well made. I'll probably never need the 12K limit but I usually lean towards heavy duty instead of good enough. Being symmetrical you can put your vehicle on either direction unlike the asymmetrical which is one direction only.

Topstrap
 
#22
Yes. For example: let's say I was replacing a drivers window motor. It's very convenient to have the car at a comfortable working hight rather than sitting on the floor and changing it. Almost every car that comes into the shop gets put on the lift. If it were something like a brake light bulb then no the car wouldn't be on the lift.

Having a lift to work on cars makes life so much easier.
 
#23
I have the Atlas 9K two post. Was about to install a 4-post primarily for extra car parking, with twin scissor bridge jacks for tire swaps when the transmission in my truck shit the bed, and it’s easier to do the R&R as a cab off…ergo, back to a two post.



It was $4600 installed…almost half the price of the 4-post I had planned, so a big savings, but I lose the extra car storage. Also got some trans jacks plus an oil drain thrown in to boot.

Gets a pretty good workout between my cars and friends/family…





If I had to do it again, I’d have gone 12K as well to get the slightly wider setup…16’ headers, so height isn’t an issue in this garage.

I have asymmetrical arms, but am swapping out the two longer ones for shorter ones for more flexibility on the lighter vehicles I typically have up on the lift.

One other thing: make sure your floor is designed for the load. My garage floor is over 12” thick, and I had the contractor use the highest psi concrete he could get (8K maybe?), and double the rebar in that area. Overkill for sure, but I don’t want to deal with settling or cracks 10 years from now.
 
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#24
Nice! So it looks like even though it’s asymmetrical you can still point vehicles either way? Unless the car is light enough it simply doesn’t matter?

Yes we will do whatever is necessary in the floor.



Also @DarnYankeeUSMC you probably got some lift input?
 
#25
Yes… I position the vehicles so the center of gravity as close to centered as I can get it, and the weight is as close to centered between the posts as possible too; so both fore/aft and left/right.

For the mid-engined Porsche, I back it in to put the engine over the shorter arms.
 
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#29

Use your neighbors. That's what I do. I did have the trailer to bring it home when he bought it and I helped with the install. 😁 I also have a few friends that run shops that I can use one if they are not swamped with work. Which is pretty rare.
My garage is only 9.5 feet high so I don't have the height for one.
 
#30
10K Challenger here, was the most USA made lift at the time other than Mohawk. Rotary was my 2nd choice.

Unless you personally know a used lift, I'd stay away. In a pro setting, they get cycled a lot and loaded all kinds of ways by different users who don't care.
 
#32
I see Atlas 9k lifts spec for a minimum 4" slab, BendPak 10AP for a 4.25" slab.

I'm sure 6" would be mo'betta (and looks to be the minimum for 12k lifts) but would 5" be sufficient margin for a general DIYer that will be lifting at most a half-ton pickup weighing 5500lb or so?
 
#33
I prefer 4 post but thats just preference. Mine is a Rotary 12K rated. Bought used. A good source is your local lift service businesses. They know the good used and available lifts in your area usually. Buy something decent and not Chinesium and put enough reinforced concrete to set it. Lifts are dangerous. My shop ceiling is 13'3" and that is plenty for my 3500 and cabless tractors.
 
#35

A bunch of years ago, I put a backyard buddy in the shop. It was easily capable of lifting a modern vehicle. But was way too short for the stuff I work on and very stressed out, trying to lift it. I think it was rated for 8000 pounds and 5000 was barely Moving. And on occasion when it got to the top, it would lock up and I couldn’t lift it to unlock the safeties. It was a damn nice unit and one of my guys ended up buying it and uses it for modern cars and old brass area cars that don’t weigh much. And it’s been fantastic for him.

It’s definitely not the cheapest on the market and it doesn’t do what I wanted. But it’s good.

By the way, it’s a four post lift not a two post. Much easier to set up and more stable.

Cheers.
 
#36
If you’re pouring new, go as deep as your wallet allows… If retrofitting, I’d cut out twice the area think you need for the anchors and again, go as deep as you can reasonably afford. I wouldn’t anchor anything that might kill me into less than 6” of concrete.

8” is my personal minimum, and I went to 12” for the garage slab. Ridiculously over built, but I sleep better.
 
#38
I have a 12k symmetrical Bendpak. I've picked up a duramax like you mentioned with no problems. I've picked up several welding trucks with huge fabricated steel beds and Lincoln SA200 machines etc.
You also mentioned you would want to lift trucks facing either direction, you're not doing that with Asymmetrical.
Don't think you're going to lift a car with one of these racks though, cars are too low. I have a 10k asymmetrical for cars, and sometimes I wish I had a 7 or 8k for the little ones.
 
#42
Yeah if you plan to lift cars as well, you're gonna need 2 racks. There are 4-posters though, with drive-on ramps, that will pick them all up. But the kicker there is the required extra underframe jacks to clear the wheels off the ramps.

ETA: I bought mine from these people

When they were delivered they came on a flatbed 18-wheeler. My racks were buried under 5 or 6 other racks on the trailer. My tractor at the time was not big enough to unload all those lifts off the trailer, the bed of which was about neck-high. Had to borrow my neighbors backhoe to move the other lifts and get mine off the trailer. Make sure you have proper equipment available for unloading when delivered.
 
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#43

These are amazing for working on class 8 trucks. It's a shame most shops are too cheap to buy them. They are a big investment but they make it so much quicker and easier to shit like clutch and transmission jobs.

 
#44
I found the best prices on lifts at my local O'Reilly's.


Definitely cut, cage, pin, and pour footers. If you have the room I'd cut 3x3 squares, pull in a skid steer and auger some 18" holes 3-4' deep. Put together a rebar cage, and pour the best concrete you can get. Have some L anchors on a template and tie them in.
No relying on old concrete or wedge anchors.
 
#45
Mohawk is most likely the route I'll be going. It depends I'll either go way overkill on weight rating and 4 post. Or bite the bullet and shell out some coin on a 2 post Mohawk.

I do not trust dinky little 2 post lifts. And pickup trucks are heavy as shit these days. I haven't weighed mine by itself in a long time, but I bet I run around at probably 11,000+ lbs now.

From what I'm reading Bendpak isn't what it used to be. Having said that I've been around a bunch of lifts some of them no names, and none of them were dropping cars left and right. I did see a 4 post alignment rack with a bent tube. My understanding is it was never overloaded and the tube still bent. It's all damn dangerous. So is life, but I like overkill when it comes to lifts.
 
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