Car Lift.. 2 Post/4 Post? Your Experience

[Macdon221]

Good Day All,

Looking to put a lift in my garage. I have 14 foot ceilings. 110 or 220 V power is available.

The purpose is mostly to get the car up out of the way for winter to store items underneath....but also to eventually do some work on the car.

What's your experience with either and what brands/features do you recommend?

Thanks

Macdon221

 

[Sam69sat]

I'd feel WAY better (safer) storing on a 4 post. Might not be as convenient for working on the car but still pretty good.

 

[tubalcain]

The thickness and quality of the concrete floor is important. With a floor, 4 inches or more made with 6 bag concrete and a good gravel base, I'd go with a two post. You get more floor space under it. It's wise to consider that you might want to put a wider vehicle up in the future.

 

[gkent]

4-posts are for storage, 2-posts are for working.

 

[Kern Dog]

No concrete from a bag is going to be adequate for a 2 post lift.
You need a minimum of 6 inches of thickness to safely support a 2 post lift and rebar in the concrete is strongly recommended. The rock in commercially mixed concrete is often 3/4" crushed gravel and is far bigger than what you'd find in any bag of concrete. Why would you even post that?
4 post lifts can be used on a slab with concrete at 4" of depth.
I have a 2 post because I wanted something that left the entire underside of the car accessible. The 4 post units have the drive on ramps that prove to be obstacles that can be hard to work around. You can get special jacks to still get the tires off and do brake and suspension work but you still have to work around the ramps being in the way.

 

[YY1]

It depends on what type of work you plan to do.

I plan to do front end and alignment work as well as brake work.

Any alignment rack I've ever worked on has either been a 4 post or a scissor.
As stated you can get movable jacks to get the wheels off the ramps.

If I were pulling engines from the bottom on the K frame or changing a lot of axles, a 2 post would probably be a better choice.

 

[Cranky]

No concrete from a bag is going to be adequate for a 2 post lift.
You need a minimum of 6 inches of thickness to safely support a 2 post lift and rebar in the concrete is strongly recommended. The rock in commercially mixed concrete is often 3/4" crushed gravel and is far bigger than what you'd find in any bag of concrete. Why would you even post that?
4 post lifts can be used on a slab with concrete at 4" of depth.
I have a 2 post because I wanted something that left the entire underside of the car accessible. The 4 post units have the drive on ramps that prove to be obstacles that can be hard to work around. You can get special jacks to still get the tires off and do brake and suspension work but you still have to work around the ramps being in the way.

The reference to 6 bag.....around here, it's called 6 sack cement and it's about how much cement is in the mix and has nothing to do with Sackcrete or Quikrete. 5 sack and even lower is usually what's poured around my parts for drive ways and garages.

 

[Kern Dog]

Okay.
I did know a guy that used to cheap out and buy actual bags of concrete for his various jobs...

 

[INTMD8]

I have an older Bend pak 2-post and it's been great. Not a single problem in over 10 years. They recommend 4.25" minimum thickness 3000psi concrete.

I've had cars on it for many months at a time.

Would get a 4 post if I was only using it for storage but would not do any work on it myself.

 

[Cranky]

Okay.
I did know a guy that used to cheap out and buy actual bags of concrete for his various jobs...

They have their place for doing small jobs or repairs. I've used it before too but not to pour a slab. It would probably cost a LOT more to do a large slab using bagged cement.

 

[PlymCrazy]

I have a 2-post Rotary, 10,000lb asymmetrical lift. I have 12' ceilings and the lift clears by about 2-3 inches.
A bit overkill with concrete in the work area the lift is installed in. 7" deep, 5000psi concrete 14' x 18'. I have the lift installed smack dab in the center of that area.
The rest of the shop is 4" thick IIRC.
It's the first lift I've ever owned and ever used. Been two years now and I love it. Now I want a 4-post to gain some floor space back.
And you mentioned electric? I ran 220V to run my lift.

 

[ruffcut]

The reference to 6 bag.....around here, it's called 6 sack cement and it's about how much cement is in the mix and has nothing to do with Sackcrete or Quikrete. 5 sack and even lower is usually what's poured around my parts for drive ways and garages.

In years gone by, 5 bag or 6 bag mix was the term used for concrete here also, with 5 bag for footings and 6 bag for floors etc. Now it's 3000 psi, and so on. ruffcut

 

[Kern Dog]

I have a 2-post Rotary, 10,000lb asymmetrical lift. I have 12' ceilings and the lift clears by about 2-3 inches.
A bit overkill with concrete in the work area the lift is installed in. 7" deep, 5000psi concrete 14' x 18'. I have the lift installed smack dab in the center of that area.
The rest of the shop is 4" thick IIRC.
It's the first lift I've ever owned and ever used. Been two years now and I love it. Now I want a 4-post to gain some floor space back.
And you mentioned electric? I ran 220V to run my lift.

You want to see overkill?

24 x 24 16" deep at my shop!
Yeah....I played it safe on my own place!

 

[Cranky]

In years gone by, 5 bag or 6 bag mix was the term used for concrete here also, with 5 bag for footings and 6 bag for floors etc. Now it's 3000 psi, and so on. ruffcut

Been awhile since I've been around concrete work.....isn't something I like to do either lol.

 

[Cranky]

You want to see overkill?

View attachment 1537370

24 x 24 16" deep at my shop!
Yeah....I played it safe on my own place!

Needs mo steel!

 

[Kern Dog]

I went in after that picture was taken and slipped in rebar at the bottom.

 

[Cranky]

I went in after that picture was taken and slipped in rebar at the bottom.

Ya sure

 

[Cranky]

I went in after that picture was taken and slipped in rebar at the bottom.

Years back there was a crew that would set forms and after the inspector came in and checked it off, they would move all the steel etc over to the next form just before the concrete trucks showed up.....until they got caught. They had the concrete company in on it too until they didn't.

 

[PlymCrazy]

You want to see overkill?

View attachment 1537370

24 x 24 16" deep at my shop!
Yeah....I played it safe on my own place!

Yup, I gotta say that should suffice
And I was bracing myself for someone to say something snide about excess in response to how much concrete I had poured. But you done did good with yours, wow.
Never being exposed to a lift myself prior to this, I felt I had to go above and beyond with securing it just for my own peace of mind. It took me a little bit to feel comfortable being underneath it.

 

[Cranky]

Yup, I gotta say that should suffice
And I was bracing myself for someone to say something snide about excess in response to how much concrete I had poured. But you done did good with yours, wow.
Never being exposed to a lift myself prior to this, I felt I had to go above and beyond with securing it just for my own peace of mind. It took me a little bit to feel comfortable being underneath it.

I have some fairly heavy machines on my slab....ones I didn't plan on but so far, the slab is holding them. Of course a 2 post lift will have a LOT more PSI per square inch but still, a 4" slab does pretty good so long as what's underneath is good. I have some roots of a big tree lifting my driveway in one area and you can really tell from the sound there's nothing under the concrete anymore but so far, the shop slab hasn't displayed any of those kinds of sounds....yet.