My first lift - Two or Four Post? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

rmasteller · #1 11-02-2020, 02:52 PM

Once I sell my 450SL, I'll be down to 4 cars for the 3 car garage. I'd like to get them all under roof, so I want to get a lift. If it was just for storage, it would be a no-brainer to get a 4 post. But, I do maintenance and repairs on my cars, and I believe a 2 post is preferred for that, since that's what is in every repair garage, dealership service bay.

So what do you guys in this restoration and long-term build forum use, and why?

Roncallo · #2 11-02-2020, 09:31 PM

My take on this. Full disclosure I have a Bendpak 4 post.

If you need to store cars and work on cars at a more leisurely rate, 4 post is the way to go.

If you are going to make money with the lift 2 post is the way to go.

Ultimately the 4 post cost more because you really do need a bridge jack to be reasonably productive.

If you plan on getting two lifts. First one 4 post second one 2 post.

rmasteller · #3 11-08-2020, 05:35 PM

Anyone use this style (not necessarily this brand) of lift? Looks to be a good solution for common maintenance - tires, brakes, oil changes, etc. Maybe one of these in my daily driver bay and a 4 post in my hobby car bay?
https://www.quickjack.com/

Roncallo · #4 11-09-2020, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmasteller

Anyone use this style (not necessarily this brand) of lift? Looks to be a good solution for common maintenance - tires, brakes, oil changes, etc. Maybe one of these in my daily driver bay and a 4 post in my hobby car bay?
https://www.quickjack.com/

I haven't used these but for about $300 - $400 more you can get a mid rise https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-TD6MR-Portable-Scissor-Lift

or a two post.

https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-9KOHX

If portability of a two post is a concern there is also the max jack, but a little more dough.

https://www.maxjax.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA7qP9BRCLARIsABDaZzjqrhIs6LRpHoJU_1GqRBzFyPSC0Ve3T3shW_un4u_M6Rh0gjcMukkaAnEkEALw_wcB

strelnik · #5 11-09-2020, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmasteller

Anyone use this style (not necessarily this brand) of lift? Looks to be a good solution for common maintenance - tires, brakes, oil changes, etc. Maybe one of these in my daily driver bay and a 4 post in my hobby car bay?
https://www.quickjack.com/

One friend of mine bought this and got rid of it soon after.

1. You can't jack up to full extent, it's just too flimsy.

2. We built 5" tall platforms out of 2x12s to place under each tire and dropped the car onto them

If that's the case, why spend $1500+? For a jack? I could get a real good one for that.

Personally, I'm saving up for a four post that you drive on.

My life is worth the extra cash.

gottarollwithit · #6 11-09-2020, 10:04 PM

I've had this same dilemma and put some time into this problem.

Ask yourself, what do you intend on using the lift for and how often? Got a lot of years left in you to turn wrenches? How thick is the slab in your garage??? How much height clearance is in your garage??? I have almost 11' of clearance and need more. (Not all cars are short and sleek) Better yet, what is your budget??

First off, if you're going to bolt the lift to the floor, you're gonna need some space around the foot of the lift. Can't remember the actual number, but it was about 12-18" surrounding the foot. Can't just bolt it down and have it flush against a wall and on the edge of your slab. Also, you need a minimum slab thickness, some are 4 or 6" min.

If you're really gonna wrench, pay to get a 2 post, make sure your slab is spot on, get the lift delivered and professionally installed. It's gonna hurt your wallet once, but it's only once

If you're only into mild wrenching, changing oil, and paying others for major services, just get a QuickJack and call it good. If you need the extra parking space and partake in mild wrenching, get a 4 post, have it delivered, and plop it in your garage.

Lastly, what's your garage door situation?? At the very least, 4 or 2 post, you're gonna need a wall mounted garage door opener... think LiftMaster 8500 or Chamberlain RJ040... Plus, if you're a classy Benz man, you're probably gonna want to have a new electrical outlet for your opener and your garage door rails raised, slammed to the ceiling, that way you can lift your car and have your garage door open.

Knowing all of this, i bought a single column lift by Tuxedo, picked it up from a freight station, assembled it with a cherry picker from HF, and installed a wall mounted Lift Master, yet didn't modify my garage door rails or concrete slab in any way. I think i'm in it for around 4k, maybe less. Such a PITA using a single post instead of a 2 post.

If i could do it again, i'd go 2 post and eat it for whatever the cost, probably in excess of 10k. My slab is super thin and would need to be cut, dug out, repoured, etc. As for the lift itself, i'd probably have just gone with a BendPak - they're under 3k and you can get 6' of clearance underneath. If you don't feel safe underneath, you're never gonna use it BUT, you can get high clearance jack stands from HF for 90 bucks, so that's solved...

rmasteller · #7 11-10-2020, 11:32 AM

I have 11'6" of height in the garage. The garage door openers are MasterLift, mounted on the walls next (connected) to the door springs/rods. The garage doors go up to the ceiling. I have a blank plate on the wall waiting to get an appropriate receptacle installed for whatever I end up buying.

I'm 54, so I have a few more good years of wrenching. I do maintenance, simple repairs, and would like to do more advanced stuff. I have a 230SL that needs a lot of care and restoration, and I'd like to do more of that now that I will have the space and lift.

I want a 4 post because I do want to store an extra car under roof. I may end up having to decide if I want something like the QuickLift in another bay, or if I should get a jack bridge for a 4 post.

gottarollwithit · #8 11-11-2020, 07:36 AM

11’ 6” might be a tight depending on what you’re putting underneath.

Remember, regardless of how well your garage door is slammed to the ceiling, it’s going to eat up a few inches. Also, when you get near the ceiling, it can be mighty sphincter constricting... There’s nothing stopping you from squishing your roof in. Plus, you always want to keep a little room above the roof in order to lift more, so you can disengage the “lock” on the lift if you have one (equivalent to disengaging a built jack stand).

Status of your concrete slab? If you can simply mount a 2 post to it right now, that’s probably your best way forward. Wrenching will be much easier

Remember, you can always store your car outside if you screw this up. It’s not easy to offload and rid yourself of a 3000lb 4 post lift that’s bolted to your floor

Roncallo · #9 11-11-2020, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmasteller

I have 11'6" of height in the garage. The garage door openers are MasterLift, mounted on the walls next (connected) to the door springs/rods. The garage doors go up to the ceiling. I have a blank plate on the wall waiting to get an appropriate receptacle installed for whatever I end up buying.

I'm 54, so I have a few more good years of wrenching. I do maintenance, simple repairs, and would like to do more advanced stuff. I have a 230SL that needs a lot of care and restoration, and I'd like to do more of that now that I will have the space and lift.

I want a 4 post because I do want to store an extra car under roof. I may end up having to decide if I want something like the QuickLift in another bay, or if I should get a jack bridge for a 4 post.

I had ~9' 6" garage with an 8' door, but the center was about 14'. I was able to remove some ceiling joists in the area where the cars would be high. I had to reinforce those areas using microlam beams laid down sideways along the sides of the garage to tie in all the remaining ceiling joists. I left about 18" of ceiling joist to nail the microlam to. I also moved the cut ceiling joist to about 2/3rds high. I also extended my garage door to roll up over the ceiling joists using a false panel. With that I was able to use a standard Craftsman door opener.

Also a 4 post lift without a bridge jack is pretty closes to useless for working on cars. And a 2 post lift can be used to store cars, although you have to be more careful with drip control.

If I had to do it again, I would still get the 4 post. Based on my age and the way and speed I work on cars. It is nice not having to bend down to set the lift up. I'm also considering a 2 post as a second lift. That decision is coming down to do I want to give up floor space.

gottarollwithit · #10 11-11-2020, 10:21 PM

9’6” is a bit low. Any probs getting the car high enough to walk under? I think when we’re talkin height, a lot depends on what you’re lifting. The body of my Jeep is easily a foot taller than most of my sedans

rmasteller · #11 11-12-2020, 04:09 PM

For the height, I'd be putting the 1966 230SL (needs work to get back on the road) on top and the 1997 E300D (daily driver) on the bottom. Neighboring garage bay has wife's SUV. The third bay is physically separate and has the Jeep Wrangler in it.

Controlling drip from above was mentioned, and that's a good point. I've seen drip pans spanning the ramps of a 4 post lift. I'm not sure what could be done with a 2 post lift.

The SL will have to get to an operational state before I can change the lift from static storage to dynamic service space. That's why I asked about the Quick Lift style solution - I thought about putting it in the Jeep bay because I could use it on any car while the SL is "stuck" on the 4-post storage lift.

Sounds like I'm headed down the path of a 4 post lift with a supplemental solution as well.

Oh, and the garage floor is a standard 4" pour. That's another thing that makes me nervous about a 2 post lift.

Nice discussion, guys! Thanks!

Roncallo · #12 11-14-2020, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gottarollwithit

9’6” is a bit low. Any probs getting the car high enough to walk under? I think when we’re talkin height, a lot depends on what you’re lifting. The body of my Jeep is easily a foot taller than most of my sedans

I cut out the ceiling beams in the area where the high part of the car would be.

See the pictures.

Notice the cut ceiling beams in the second picture. Also notice the microlam beam under the cut ceiling beams. Also notice how the garage door goes up over the ceiling.