4 posts lift in garage

[rach]

Hi all
wanting to get some of your experiences on putting a 4 posts lift in the garage
I will need to adjust the garage door , somebody told me i need to replace all springs, wires, tracks , pulleys in order to raise that god damn door, and its going to cost 2k to do that, ...is that true? any one here that knows someone that can do that for me?
thanks

[BerserkerCatSplat]

You will need extended tracks and longer wires at the very least. If you're not adding extra door sections, I don't see why you would need new springs as the weight hasn't changed. AndyL may know more as he worked in that business.

[rach]

yup same door, no added weights.
but the controller in the middle might need to be moved as well?

[C4S]

I am so regret to get the 4 posts lift ... too late!

It works awesome! I was hesitating for so long, because I was worrying about the same thing, if I have to "modify" my garage .. (money part is ok, but hassle..)

However, after the guy came in to look at my garage, I needed to do nothing! Just put the lift in the double side instead of the single side, nothing need to modify! The lift just sit on the side, the garage opener is still in the middle, but it is not on the way!

Best $3,500 (something like that) to spend ..

[HiTempguy1]

Why 4 post?

2 post is better for working on cars IMO, 4 post for storing cars. 2 post takes up less room and is more useable (again, IMO).

[Skrilla]

I had a guy come in to look at mine for a 4 post. Said there was nothing I needed to change, nice thing about the 4 post is they don't need to be mounted/bolted down. Just plug in and go!

[rach]

do you have his contact? did he bring it in and setup for you?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I should have mentioned, you can get away without changing any door stuff if your current door rests above the roof level of a vehicle on the lift (in the raised position) when open.

[ercchry]

Why 4 post?

2 post is better for working on cars IMO, 4 post for storing cars. 2 post takes up less room and is more useable (again, IMO).

you need to modify the slab for 2 post... more cost

[88CRX]

What lift have you guys gone with?

[Buster]

you need to modify the slab for 2 post... more cost

4 post lifts are for car enthusiasts

[ExtraSlow]

Get a 5 post. Because that's one more.

[That.Guy.S30]

Get a 5 post. Because that's one more.

Make sure it's fully loaded but with some options missing.

[killramos]

You guys are absolutely Savage.

[Buster]

Make sure it's fully loaded but with some options missing.

i nearly spit my freshly sipped coke zero.

[rach]

I am so regret to get the 4 posts lift ... too late!

It works awesome! I was hesitating for so long, because I was worrying about the same thing, if I have to "modify" my garage .. (money part is ok, but hassle..)

However, after the guy came in to look at my garage, I needed to do nothing! Just put the lift in the double side instead of the single side, nothing need to modify! The lift just sit on the side, the garage opener is still in the middle, but it is not on the way!

Best $3,500 (something like that) to spend ..

mind sharing a pic? i want to see how you position the lift so that you dont have to modify the doors, i can put it between the double garage and single garage, that might be done without modifying doors, but not sure if i have enough room to park another car in the double or not

[HiTempguy1]

4 post lifts are for car enthusiasts

Correct. I'm glad everyone on Beyond has started to accept a common nomenclature to differentiate between the various car peoples.

[infamous]

Make sure it's fully loaded but with some options missing.

thanks. i spit my coffee all over my fucking keyboard and monitor. :rofl:

[GOnSHO]

I am looking at a 4 post as well. Liftpro was by far the best price with delivery included, extra couple hundo for setup. AND it has castors you can put down to roll it somewhere else if i want (empty of course)

My garage is a standard oversized 2 car, 9' ceiling.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I am looking at a 4 post as well. Liftpro was by far the best price with delivery included, extra couple hundo for setup. AND it has castors you can put down to roll it somewhere else if i want (empty of course)

My garage is a standard oversized 2 car, 9" ceiling.

9"? Man, how do you fit a car in there?

I have a standard 2-car w/ 10' ceilings. I plan on getting a 4-post, for storage reasons more than anything, but I know that I will need to modify the door.

[GOnSHO]

hahah I knew that was coming before i got a chance to update it.

yea mine is more for storage than anything. My uncle actually has an extra 4 post he wont be using so i may get a free one! HA

[C4S]

Ok .. will try to take some photos, full of R/C toys now during summer .. lol

[J-hop]

hahah I knew that was coming before i got a chance to update it.

yea mine is more for storage than anything. My uncle actually has an extra 4 post he wont be using so i may get a free one! HA

With 9ft ceilings are you able to get a second car underneath for storage?

[88CRX]

With 9ft ceilings are you able to get a second car underneath for storage?

If you have 2 short cars yes. But its pushing it, just google it, tons on images online for different cars and ceiling heights.

9'-3" ceiling:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/attachments/c1-and-c2-corvettes/48186741d1501790797-ceiling-height-w-4-post-lift-001-5.jpg

9'-9" ceilng:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/attachments/c1-and-c2-corvettes/47695196d1335241948-ceiling-height-w-4-post-lift-parking.jpg

9'-8" ceiling:
http://www.codrus.com/cars/fd/miata-fd-lift3.jpg

[88CRX]

Also what lifts are people using and what did they pay installed?

Benpack being the best but $$$$$?
Lots of Lift Kings but questionable quality?

Doesn't seem to much other information out there on 4 post lifts.

[JustinL]

I bought a BendPak from Babco. They bring it to their warehouse and I had to bring a trailer to pick it up. The pieces are very heavy and I used an engine hoist to help move them around. For the install, I had some friends over and we put it together in a day. I had to spend some more time on my own installing the air lines and adjusting things, but once the big pieces are up it's not too hard to do that stuff. Once assembled it seems like a good quality lift and I bolted mine to the floor because I'm never going to be moving it around in the garage and bolting the feet does make it more solid.

[J-hop]

If you have 2 short cars yes. But its pushing it, just google it, tons on images online for different cars and ceiling heights.

9'-3" ceiling:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/attachments/c1-and-c2-corvettes/48186741d1501790797-ceiling-height-w-4-post-lift-001-5.jpg

9'-9" ceilng:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/attachments/c1-and-c2-corvettes/47695196d1335241948-ceiling-height-w-4-post-lift-parking.jpg

9'-8" ceiling:
http://www.codrus.com/cars/fd/miata-fd-lift3.jpg

Yea not so simple as looking at pictures though, I’m sure it’s super dependent on the lift ie where the safety lock points are, thickness of the supporting platform beams. That 9’3” looks like it would be terrible and it almost looks like he would not be able to get the cars out very easily. Unless it’s an optical illusion he looks to only be able to get that door partially up.

I am interested to see Gonsho’s setup and how he managed it with a 9’ ceiling

I’ve got a 9’ ceiling and no way am I getting another car under my mustang haha.

[cars5431]

I have a lift pro in my garage with low ceilings. Can’t get a car underneath but makes it nice to work on(slide around with stool with no issues ). For the garage door I added a dummy panel and raised up the tracks and motor to be just a couple inches of ceiling. Pending what springs you currently have you may need new springs if you go this route. I paid someone to do it and it wasn’t to bad at all. If I did it again I’d probably go side mount instead but no issues with this way. 82593

[J-hop]

I have a lift pro in my garage with low ceilings. Can’t get a car underneath but makes it nice to work on(slide around with stool with no issues ). For the garage door I added a dummy panel and raised up the tracks and motor to be just a couple inches of ceiling. Pending what springs you currently have you may need new springs if you go this route. I paid someone to do it and it wasn’t to bad at all. If I did it again I’d probably go side mount instead but no issues with this way. 82593

I like what you’re doing there, looks really good. I have thought about getting a lift just for ease of working, wish I had a taller garage so I could store another car but such is life!

[Maxt]

I bought a BendPak from Babco. They bring it to their warehouse and I had to bring a trailer to pick it up. The pieces are very heavy and I used an engine hoist to help move them around. For the install, I had some friends over and we put it together in a day. I had to spend some more time on my own installing the air lines and adjusting things, but once the big pieces are up it's not too hard to do that stuff. Once assembled it seems like a good quality lift and I bolted mine to the floor because I'm never going to be moving it around in the garage and bolting the feet does make it more solid.
I just bought another BendPak, I am leaving my old one in my old shop, they are really heavy to move around. I had no issues with mine at all over 7 years, solid lift. The one I had was the 14,000 lb extra tall so I could walk right underneath it, or drive a full sized truck under it.
They have the shipping weight as 2100lbs, but to me, there is no way its that light. I couldn't even lift one end of the bundle with my skid steer, and their power tailgate refused to move with the end on it. I ended up doing a trailer pickup as well and breaking the bundle open then using the skid steer to do the piece by piece move.

[Maxx Mazda]

How much weight can a skid steer lift anyways?

[Maxt]

How much weight can a skid steer lift anyways?

I had the bucket off so it was good for 1600-1700 lbs.

[AndyL]

You will need extended tracks and longer wires at the very least. If you're not adding extra door sections, I don't see why you would need new springs as the weight hasn't changed. AndyL may know more as he worked in that business.

I thought I replied already...
Long and Short answer... Standard lift - springs loosing torque basically at the same rate the doors coming up. Those 2-3 wraps on the edge of the drum accomodate a gear change so to speak so the lifting force remains the same on the vertical listing section.

So if you're going high lift - yes new springs, drums, cables, as you need the drums that will accomodate the extra vertical travel so that the door operates in a balanced manner in the vertical travel section. Once the weight starts coming off in the horizontal tracks - then you're on flat portion of the drum.

There's some lovely math to make it work, and sometimes you need to fall back on to find a combination that works as the apps and calculators won't tell you simply switching to a different drum can solve some of the challenges and in some cases just switching brands of drums.

Funny enough I just tossed 5-6 books of spring and drum calculations in the fire pit last night... No clue why I still had them. Lol

Is that clear as mud?

[ExtraSlow]

Solid maybe, but probably, unless not, and if your guy can fuck around to make it work maybe not. That the summary?

[AndyL]

By the book, drums, springs, cables for sure.

But sometimes for low lift (just need 3-4") there's ways to make it cheaper.

[Maxt]

I have to do the door magic as well, I ordered high lift and mylargest door was a standard lift, it got installed but I need to change it.

[rach]

Just a quick update, moved the lift king into garage, no need to modify doors, but the car needs to be backed in to the lift in order to park another car under.
will leave it as it is for now

[g-m]

Nobody with a 2 post? Curious about the cost, as hitemp said, way better for working

[88CRX]

Nobody with a 2 post? Curious about the cost, as hitemp said, way better for working

Significantly more expensive AND you need thicker concrete slab to accommodate (even more $$).

[mrsingh]

I have a lift pro in my garage with low ceilings. Can’t get a car underneath but makes it nice to work on(slide around with stool with no issues ). For the garage door I added a dummy panel and raised up the tracks and motor to be just a couple inches of ceiling. Pending what springs you currently have you may need new springs if you go this route. I paid someone to do it and it wasn’t to bad at all. If I did it again I’d probably go side mount instead but no issues with this way. 82593

What is the height of your ceiling?

[soloracer]

What do you guys think of these?

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/maxjax-2-post-vehicle-lift/A-p8275612e

[GOnSHO]

Princess auto id be a bit worried about and again, you need minimum 4" concrete and to drill holes into it.

4 post just sits on top of the concrete and spreads the weight out better.

[rach]

4 posts is the way to go, easy to move around in the garage, and no need to dril holes

[BerserkerCatSplat]

What do you guys think of these?

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/maxjax-2-post-vehicle-lift/A-p8275612e

As far as mid-rise 2-post lifts go, I'd have no problem with a MaxJax, they're very popular units. Costco had them on their website for a bit cheaper than PA, not sure if they still do. Make sure your slab meets spec, if not you can just cut out a couple of squares and reinforce it with rebar and thicker concrete in the spots you plan to mount them. The Garage Journal forum has tons of install threads for mid-rise 2-post lifts and all kinds of info on fasteners and whatnot.

[cars5431]

Just over 9ft

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What is the height of your ceiling?

9ft 5 inches