Got a Lift... get one

So was galloping Gertie. :rofl:

Just kidding. It’s useful to know that it is stable. When we move I want a lift of some kind in the garage. If the ceiling won’t allow a post lift I’d consider one like you have.

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I’ve used one of those with a 1998 Ford Explorer on it (2 tons) I was surprised how stable it really is. There’s a small amount of movement on two post lifts also, so this has a little bit of movement also, but no more than a two post.
I had thought about these before buying my 4post but I needed storage space so I went with the 4 post.

US engineers for Gertie…:wink:

It cost £1100 (circa $14-1500)

Not bad 'tall. Way cheaper than a lift. Is it a back breaker to tear it down and lean against a wall for storage? I unfortunately only have a single stall garage.

I find a forklift comes in handy sometimes.
Saves contortions when finishing some welding on the underframe !
Peter B.

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I believe @chuck_goolsbee has a similar one and he has reported it works well. Maybe he will grace us with an opinion!

You are dead-on correct, to utilize tall jack stands when under it.

There is NEVER ‘too much safe,’ whilst under something that can smoosh ya.

Its designed to stay on the floor as it would be very heavy to lift and stand on its side.
It is a low profile so I just drive over it.

I know what you are saying, but it does have the hydraulic lock as well as the mechanical lock.
I don’t wear kitchen foil when using a microwave…perhaps I should to be on the extra safe side? :wink:

Its not so much for a collapse of the mechnism… its to add safety in case of wobble.

It is unbelievably stable…trust me. absolutely no wobble whatsoever

Be that as it may, I personally would not get under it w/o jack stands at the corners.

I have seen and been around them: stable they may be, but…belts AND suspenders are never a bad idea.

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For 4-posters… here’s a lift trick that worked well for me.

I needed the car to be perfectly level for alignment measurements. I had done this before on the floor but thought if I could do it on the lift it would be more comfortable - turned out to be easier to.

With the car in place, I used a laser level to set the 4 corners of the ramps such that where the tires sat was perfectly level. The adjustment was done with shims (washers and sockets) at 3 corner stops (high corner needs no shim):

Much easier than dealing with the vagaries of a poured floor and you do it all while standing up (my knees and back thank me for that).

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Good advise, thank you.
My 4-post has the “stops” hanging from the top of each the four posts, each with an adjustment nut. I know for a fact they could do with being adjusted.
Cheers … Ole

Yes. I have a scissor lift from Harbor Freight. I think I bought it for about $800 based on a suggestion from another person here on JL about 15 years ago now. It was an online deal, that with a coupon and a one-time discount brought the price down from $1200 to $800. I love it and use it all the time.

I recently acquired a four-post lift for “stacking” parked cars from thw widow of a local car guy. She just wanted it gone from her garage and my step-son and I had one heck of a time dissasembling it, loading it on my trailer and moving it to my shop, where it still sits on the trailer. Hopefully soon it will be reassembled.

Ole - I adjust the hanging stops on my BendPak about once a year as the cables do stretch a bit over time (and vary a bit with changes in temperature). It’s an easy process as the instruction manual is very thorough (yes, I’m an engineering geek who actually reads instruction manuals).

You know what they say about real men, manuals and computer backups ? :joy:
I always consult the manual, decide it’s crap and persevere blind folded :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

:joy::rofl::sunglasses: