2 post lift help

[caddyman]

Hello,
     I'm finaly going to buy a 2 post lift for my garage..  I've wanted one for WAY to long..  I did a search and there wasn't much discussed on this topic here..  I'm thinking about a 10K Rotary or a Bendpak.  And then Rotary makes a cheaper Revolution lift thats a possibility.   I just wanna be able to lift my Caddys with peace of mind to know they aren't going to fall off a cheap weak lift.  I've been looking around on the internet and every lift manufacture swears they got the best lift.  So thaught I'd put a feeler out here..  So whats the best lift to lift these huge cars I love so much.?   Thanks Chris S.

[curly]

I had Rotary lifts in my shop.  When we built a new shop in 94, I spec'd 3 new lifts, Rotary 7000 lb Asymmetrical lifts, above ground, 2 post.  They worked great for lifting my 41 and 50 Cad, but I couldn't lift my 59 due to the way the frame is designed.  I have seen photos of 59s on a 2 post lift, so it can be done, but I don't know how.(and I wasn't taking any chances by experimenting!)
IIRC, Rotary recommended a 4 inch concrete base.

One of my lifts was outside (covered) and two were inside. Never had any trouble with them, and I should point out it was a High School Auto shop, not my personal shop.  Students can be hard on things    but the lifts were great.

A buddy put a newer rotary in around 2005, same as mine but the design included a opaque oil reservoir that couldn't hold up to the Az heat.  His tank only lasted about 2 years.  He had some trouble getting it fixed.


I haven't priced lifts lately, but I do remember that the rotary lifts cost less than $4k each, delivered and installed back in 94. I thought that was a smoking price!

Obviously, I would recommend Rotary.  I would caution you to check out Rotary and any other lift to see if it has a circuit board in the lift controls.  I know several shops that have those in their lifts, and when they fail, the replacement cost (parts,not labor) is north of $1,000.  The ones I used had a simple pushbutton to raise, and oil pressure release lever to lower.

T Lewis

[D.Yaros]

As I am lucky enough to have one, I shall throw my 2 cents in.

I do not think you can go wrong with Rotary.  It makes good equip.  There are a lot of Bend Pak owners/users out there also.  Talk to folk who own/use each to get their perspective.  If my choice were limited to these two, my personal preference would be for a Rotary; solely based on its reputation.

For me, the telling point is the warranty.  The longer the warranty the more confident the manufacturer is in the quality of the product.  I want them to stand behind it, if I am going to stand under it!

Make sure it is American made.  Nuff said!

I do not know that you need a 10K lift.  That is a bit of overkill, isn't it?  What Caddy weighs 5 tons?

In my case, I went with a used product.  That may seem a bit scary to some, but I have no regrets at all.  I got more for less by doing so.  My lift came from a closed tech training institute.  I found the seller/supplier on the net.

Mine is a Mohawk A7, 7,500 lb. asymmetrical.  Mohawk warrants these lifts for 5 years.  Find another manufacturer that does that.  Each column weighs 1,000 lbs.  It lifts/holds my '55 Coupe de Ville just fine.

Standing under a lift sure beats crawling around on the cold, hard concrete floor! 

[76eldo]

I have a 9000 lb 2 post lift made by Western. I have had my 60' cadillac on it more than once.
You have to be precise in setting the pads but it is possible with mine.

I bought it used from my mechanic when he rented out a portion of his shop to a Detailer who wanted clear floor space.

Rotary is a good brand but I would stick with the regular line, not a cheaper version for obvious reasons.

Having a lift in your garage makes it so much nicer to work on your cars, you will never regret spending the money on a quality lift.

Brian

[TJ Hopland]

I suppose the circuit board thing has to do with some overcomplicated limit and safety switches?   
All I have seen have had the simple push button and lever combo.

I have seen used ones go for as little as $200.  Look and see if you can find some sort of local auction site / house that deals with liquidations.  Especially now days there always seems to be a shop closing down.  A friend of mine ended up with a lift, tire changer, 100 gal 2 stage compressor, brake lathe, and one of those now antique Sun analyzer contraptions for $2200.   It was all older stuff but it all looked to be good quality and not abused.   He just works on older cars anyway.  Things like the tire machine cant be used in a regular shop anymore because they damage aluminum wheels but I guess they work great on steel not to mention only goes to 16.5".  The Sun thing is pretty cool, it has a update calibration sticker on it from 84.     

[Jeff Wilk]

Look into Eagle Manufacturing lifts as well.  I have 2 Four post lifts and they work great on the 59, and 75 Fleetwoods I have.  Not a two post, but the firm makes them as well.

J Wilk

[gene harl]

I have a western 9000 lbs whith over head cables.. I got it used for $1000  and installed my self.. Works great.. lifts my 51 cad ,,56 cad..94 dodge cummins pickup with no problems  ...gene harl  clc22406

[76eldo]

Mine was 1500.00 plus 600.00 to take it down, move it to my garage and reinstall it.

I would highly recommend professional for safety reasons. I know my limitations and since there is the potential of death not to mention severe damage to your car, I would not work under a car on a lift I installed.

Get someone that works on this stuff every day for a living.

Brian

[Wayne Womble 12210]

I still like my two poster low ceiling model the best.




I actually have two Rotary 7000 lb. and a Western.  They are all fine and will lift most anything within reason.

[62droptop]

i have a 2 post like in the last picture, can support any car ,as long as you have a saw handy!

i too have been looking at a 2 poster
i found some portable ones that would work in my limited space and still leave my floor open when i am not using it
the portable ones are like a pump jack that is used to move skids aroound a warehouse ,except have a lifting mechanism on them
they come under the car from only one side
the thing i like about this kind is i can also use in my driveway when needed

what ever you buy, this is definately not a place for crappy Chinese or offshore crappy manufacturing processes!

[Chuck Swanson]

As I am lucky enough to have one, I shall throw my 2 cents in.

I do not think you can go wrong with Rotary.  It makes good equip.  There are a lot of Bend Pak owners/users out there also.  Talk to folk who own/use each to get their perspective.  If my choice were limited to these two, my personal preference would be for a Rotary; solely based on its reputation.

For me, the telling point is the warranty.  The longer the warranty the more confident the manufacturer is in the quality of the product.  I want them to stand behind it, if I am going to stand under it!

Make sure it is American made.  Nuff said!

I do not know that you need a 10K lift.  That is a bit of overkill, isn't it?  What Caddy weighs 5 tons?

Ditto!  I have had a Rotary (7000lb) for last 3 years with my '66 Caddy vert on top of my '67 Nova.  I got the 4-post lift though.  I can move around with casters if needed and do not need to bolt to floor.

[bcroe]

I also recommend the Rotary 10,000 lb.  The best doesn't cost much more. 
Its almost 14' tall, and you need some clearance over that.  Make sure you
have good concrete, I think 4.5" (higher strength) is required.  A floor full
of cracks means pour new. 

Once you have the lift, you'll need a few other new tools.  Bruce Roe

[TJ Hopland]

I like Wayne's picture.  He has got the wheel chocks and 2 posts, what could be safer?   Also appears as though he is welding on the fuel tank.  What could go wrong?

Bruce, there is something wrong with your shop, I don't see any junk in it. 
What good is a shop if you dont fill it so full of junk that there is no longer room to work?

[bcroe]

Bruce, there is something wrong with your shop, I don't see any junk in it.  What good
is a shop if you dont fill it so full of junk that there is no longer room to work?

OK, I was afraid someone would point that out.  The picture is only weeks after I bought
the place, put in the lift & used it long before I finished moving.  You can see a long piece
of cardboard that held lift parts.  Here is what it looks like today.  That speck of red to the
right of the lift is my 4 X 4 27 hp snow blower/mower, essential on these hills.  The tall
thing to the left, behind the red tool box is disguised as another bench.  Actually it has
retractable wheels, and serves as a scaffold to work on the 15' ceiling. 

And if you think this is cozy, you should see the 3rd building with 2 stories stuffed.  Bruce Roe

[caddyman]

Well it sure kinda sounds that Rotary is winning here..  I agree Rotary has a reputation thats been around a while and they've always made a good quality american made lift.  But reputations have ways of changing you know..  And I've seen videos on youtube showing that the bendpaks are made of a thicker metal than the rotarys now.  But I've read that Bendpaks break to..  And when they are welded together they aren't always built to dimensions just right..  Like one arm will be lower than the other 3.
   Out of all this I've read that Mohawk is the best but not worth all the extra money it takes to buy one. 
    I'm going to look into western also but it looks to me that Rotary is winning here so thats what I'm going to get.  And going to get the 10K just to be on the safe side.  I've spent thousands of hours on my back on the cold cement under my caddys..  So I've definatly paid my dues for this thing..      Thanks guys..  Chris S.

[Jim Beard]

I agree about the concrete, at least 4.5" of good solid concrete without cracks and it has to be level between them. As for the type of lift I would go for one with the asymmetrical design with turned columns of american manufacture of course. This makes it very easy to get in and out of you car once it is in position on the lift and get the pneumatic safety disengage option. It is totally worth it. Once you have your lift installed it is also a good idea to periodically check and tighten the anchors to make sure none have loosened. I would also go with a 7000lb lift. That way your buddy cannot use your lift for his dumptruck.

[76eldo]

No one has mentioned Backyard Buddy.  They claim to be all manufactured in USA with all USA steel.
My mechanic uses Rotary, and I agree about the turned columns, which give you more room to open the car doors.
Brian

[Jim Stamper]

     If concrete thickness is questionable, how about putting down a large sheet of metal, say 1" under the each upright to spread the load a bit? It could be big and thick as it need be to do the job. It would cost some, and be a bear to put into position because anything thick enough to be useful is going to be heavy, but so would breaking up a floor to pour a thicker floor. Has anyone tried this or have any comments?

     I am confident my floor is thick enough, but, if, and or when I get one I intend to investigate fastening the upper ends of the posts to one walls' plate. The other post to the carrying timber that runs along the other side of the bay and has it's own posts for support, and use them as additional load bearing support and just to ease my mind on tipping. I know they shouldn't tip, but even in New England we have the occasional earthquake. With a thing like a lift that I am going to be under, I tend to think in terms of both belt and suspenders.

                                                                                                          Jim Stamper, CLC#13470

[D.Yaros]

Mine was 1500.00 plus 600.00 to take it down, move it to my garage and reinstall it.

I would highly recommend professional for safety reasons. I know my limitations and since there is the potential of death not to mention severe damage to your car, I would not work under a car on a lift I installed.

Get someone that works on this stuff every day for a living.

Brian

I heartily second this recommendation.  At first I considered do the install myself.  As I watched the guys struggle to get the columns off the flat bed truck with gantry crane, and into the garage bay, I was glad I reconsidered the DIY decision!

[TJ Hopland]

I remember being in one guys shop with a 2 poster that had what looked like train rail attached at the base.  I presume this was to distribute load on the thin concrete?