2 post or four post lift?

mosquito13 · Dec 23, 2014

Pouring a slab in back of the house for a lift. Been watching craigs list and can get either 2 or 4 post used fairly readly for 1-2k . Leaning towards a two post, but guy has a four post for sale of 1,ooo right now. Is the jacking of the car on the lift to work on wheels/brakes that much of a pain, or is the roll on worth it hassle ?

dieseldazzle · Dec 23, 2014

I had a two post in my garage and loved it. I could only go 6 foot high and Im nearly 6ft4 so that was a pain but i had it in a garage that was only 11ft3 inch tall.

4 inch slab

mopar 3 B · Dec 23, 2014

I would be more appt to go with the four post if wide enough to park under it. Could always build supports for suspension work.

Sixpaksteve · Dec 23, 2014

mosquito13 said:
Pouring a slab in back of the house for a lift. Been watching craigs list and can get either 2 or 4 post used fairly readly for 1-2k . Leaning towards a two post, but guy has a four post for sale of 1,ooo right now. Is the jacking of the car on the lift to work on wheels/brakes that much of a pain, or is the roll on worth it hassle ?

I've got a 4 post and luv it. If the lift is going to be used 75% or more of the time just to store a vehicle on it, I think the 4 is the way to go since it's easier on your suspension IMHO.

And mine came with a heavy gauge steel, sliding tray that fits in between the wheels. If I have to raise a wheel or one end of the car while it's on the lift, I slide the tray into position, put a bottle jack inside of it and raise what I need raised.

300 · Dec 23, 2014

You'll love a 4 post, especially if you have 2 cars

HawkRod · Dec 23, 2014

I agree with what others have said. A four post is generally better for less frequent work on the car and for parking cars underneath as well.

I have a two post lift, and I love it. I do store cars underneath it, but to do that, I hang a piece of steel roofing to protect from drips. With a 4 post, you can buy drip trays the slide right in.

The benefit of a two post is nothing beats it when you are working on the car. Full access to everything under the car is awesome. I also used it to remove and to reinstall my K-Member. I doubt you could do that with a four post.

dvw · Dec 23, 2014

As a guy who's worked on cars since 1974, 2 post all the way. Takes up less room. Easier to work on the car by FAR. You can get at the undercarriage to wash, work on brakes, suspension, etc. I park a car under mine with no issue. No advantage to a 4 post except you don't have to set the arms to raise the car. Don't do it.
Doug

Lowhound · Dec 23, 2014

Ive got to say to go with a 2 post myself. I think its better for doing general maintenance & other jobs. I got mine a few years ago & have zero regrets so far. Only way I would get a 4 post is if I was storing a couple of cars but Im still in the process of restoring my Bee now.

Darter6 · Dec 24, 2014

I have both, 2 post for work and 4 post for storage. When working with the 4 post I'm always banging my head or find it hard to reach in spots.Just a thought..

Seax440Dodge · Dec 24, 2014

I've read a few of these 2 post vs 4 post debates (as I am in the market for a lift), and it always seems to come down to space vs access to everything. 4 post guys bring up rack jacks but jeez, I can buy a new 2 post for the cost of the rack jack (Challenger lift's version is over 2 grand!!!)

So I'm thinking 2 post for me, the only problem I have is that I don't have a clue how thick my concrete is

mosquito13 · Dec 24, 2014

This is going up in the elements and just for working on cars. Storage of vehicles is not a consideration in which lift to get. no ones mentioning big pro's for the four post besides storage . So its a two poster for me. There is a place in Palmetto Fla. that has new ones for 1500 and there are three two posters on craigs list right now locally. Will pick up something after zmas and before new years... funny note is i got started thinking about lift to make welding in stiffners ez'r and this is the one case the four post has the upper hand...

coloradodave · Dec 24, 2014

Don't know concrete thickness?
That's a problem that a drill and a 1/2" masonry drill bit could solve very easily. Drill a through hole; take a piece of coat hanger and bend a 1/4" "L" on the bottom; drop it in the hole and 'hook' the bottom of the concrete; mark the top of the concrete on the hanger; remove hanger from the hole and measure. Waalaa! Problem no more...

BarrsRestoration · Dec 25, 2014

coloradodave said:
Don't know concrete thickness?
That's a problem that a drill and a 1/2" masonry drill bit could solve very easily. Drill a through hole; take a piece of coat hanger and bend a 1/4" "L" on the bottom; drop it in the hole and 'hook' the bottom of the concrete; mark the top of the concrete on the hanger; remove hanger from the hole and measure. Waalaa! Problem no more...

X2.

BIGSHCLUNK · Dec 25, 2014

I have a 2 post my buddy has a 4. I've used both many times. For me really depends on the job your doing, but I'm leaning toward my 2 post

BarrsRestoration · Dec 26, 2014

FWIW, when I was researching 2 posts lifts for my shop I saw that the minimum concrete thickness required was 4". That was for lifts rated 8K lbs. or less. 10K lifts are going to require at least 6" concrete. There is also a p.s.i. rating for concrete. In my case I needed a min. of 6" rated at 3000 p.s.i., and my blueprints showed I was safe. If your concrete pad is questionable, a 4 post may be your safest option.

cdkmbjones · Jan 3, 2015

Just my 2 cents but the decision for me would come down to a couple of factors - Space - how much do you have to take up with the lift, Cost - obvious, and really, what do you intend to do with the lift. While that last one might sound silly - I can tell you what i did and why. I am limited on space at my house on a tiny 1/3 acre residential property and a 20-30 detached garage that I use to work on cars. My focus has been on restoration work so I need to be able to work all around the car so having posts in the way just wouldn't work. I have a rotisserie that I use and found my best "fit" for a lift was a large under car scissor lift. It folds flat to the floor ( I have seen guys even make a recess in the concrete for the lift to fold completely flat) It lifts that car 5 feet off the ground which while not ideal for a 6ft guy to work under the car often, does allow for most mechanical work to be done easily. It also allows me to lift the car with zero interference right onto the rotisserie then I drop the lift flat and can swivel the car 360 deg. So - for me if I were to purchase any additional lifts it would be a set of portables for outside the shop.
Chris

pat1969charger · Jan 4, 2015

I have a two post in my 30x30 garage, I agree for storage a 4 post is best but I work at a garage where we have two posts and one 4 post for alignments and the 4 post is a pain for any suspension work or doing a brake job say on a vehicle with floating rotors that are siezed on it is extremely hard to get at the back of the rotor to pound it off. Also you will be able to drop out a rearend on one. So of your looking for a hoist to do mostly mechanical work I would stick with a two post. Plus takes up a lot less space when not in use.

cudatom · Jan 5, 2015

dvw said:
As a guy who's worked on cars since 1974, 2 post all the way. Takes up less room. Easier to work on the car by FAR. You can get at the undercarriage to wash, work on brakes, suspension, etc. I park a car under mine with no issue. No advantage to a 4 post except you don't have to set the arms to raise the car. Don't do it.
Doug

I haven't found any 2 post that takes up less floor space than a 4 post. I realize that instead of 2 post there are 4 but the post are much further apart.
I have 1 location I can put a lift and still be able to get the other cars in the shop. I have to be able to drive straight onto the lift. It would have to be as far to the right of the overhead door opening as possible. The 4 post would permit me to drive a 2nd car in the garage to the left of the lift(the 4 post are 105"). I could even then put the car on dollies and slide it over and drive another car in. A 2 post will not let me get the 2 other cars in the garage (the post are 145" apart). With a 4 post I can actually get 4 cars in a 3 car garage.
I do realize that a 4 post can pose challenges for certain jobs but have usually found ways to work around most but not all.
My best advise lay out where you plan on putting the lift and then see how it will impact future plans.

jjschm · Jan 20, 2015

I am looking into a Ben Pearson lift, does anyone know if you can 'park' a second car under it? It looks like it operates a bit differently than the other 4 posts I've seen as it has a brace across the top.

Thanks,
Jon

hemi#1 · Jan 20, 2015

in our shop we have two 2 post lifts that we got for $1100.00 ea. you can park another car underneath it. in the body bay we have a portable sissors lift I can do brakes, tires, oil changesand for the body work it brings the rocker panels to 53" off the floor and 6000# cap. and I got it for$700.00

2 post or four post lift?

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