So I started installing my 4 post lift

[Catfish]

Working by myself this afternoon. My concrete in this shop is horrible, so I decided to just stay a foot away from any cracks. Well. That put my lift almost exactly between the two bay doors.....not good. So I jerry rigged a laser level as a transit and shot some red beams around just seeing how bad the concrete is in a more proper area....over an inch low and lots of cracks in that area. So I called a cement contractor and told him I need a couple 18" squares cut in my floor and then dug down a couple feet. I'm thinking the two posts on the low side will be much happier on pillars rather then huge shims. This lift takes up some serious real estate. Without the ramps, it's almost 18 feet long and almost 11 feet wide.

 

[polara71]

Thats the best way to do it....

 

[detmatt]

I have to get me one of those.

 

[Zymurgy]

Nice, I was all ready to buy a lift 2 years ago and then I found my 300, there went that money.

 

[polara71]

Why did you need a lift Mike?

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The post do not need to be level with each other (on the same level floor plane) just plumb, square to each other and the proper spacing. The height difference is taken up in the adjustments.


Alan

 

[Zymurgy]

Why did you need a lift Mike?

I have always wanted one. I had restored my very first car I bought at 17, a MGB. I thought I would finally buy one, to make it easier to work on my cars. I really enjoyed the restoration, so when the 300 came around, well he rest is history.

I am hooked on c-bodies now, have no interest in owning or restoring any other. It is all you guys fault.

 

[Catfish]

The post do not need to be level with each other (on the same level floor plane) just plumb, square to each other and the proper spacing. The height difference is taken up in the adjustments.


Alan

Really? Nothing will bind? The instructions seemed pretty adamant about it and they even included a lot of shims. Regardless, my concrete is bad in that area so I have no choice but to pour some pillars.

 

[livininharrow]

Working by myself this afternoon. My concrete in this shop is horrible, so I decided to just stay a foot away from any cracks. Well. That put my lift almost exactly between the two bay doors.....not good. So I jerry rigged a laser level as a transit and shot some red beams around just seeing how bad the concrete is in a more proper area....over an inch low and lots of cracks in that area. So I called a cement contractor and told him I need a couple 18" squares cut in my floor and then dug down a couple feet. I'm thinking the two posts on the low side will be much happier on pillars rather then huge shims. This lift takes up some serious real estate. Without the ramps, it's almost 18 feet long and almost 11 feet wide.

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i recently installed a 4 poster not long ago all by myself. used a 12 volt winch from rafters to lift up the long heavy cross beams. your lift seems awfully wide. mine is roughly 9 feet wide. but then again i dont plan on working on trucks. good luck with the assembly. and i would never be without one again. ceiling is high enough i gain another parking spot.

 

[Catfish]

I have my skid steer to install those runways.....they are really heavy. One of the reasons I wanted a four post was for the double parking space. My ceiling is twelve foot, so two cars should do well stacked there. This lift is wide, wide enough to run my dually on if needed I suppose. Perhaps because it's a 14,000 pound lift they just assume people will need it wider? Not sure, but it takes up too much room.

 

[bulldogchesty]

Very nice. I think I just got a semi.

 

[bluefury361]

My buddys four post camewith a set of dolly wheels that can be attached to allow the hoist to be moved to a different location, (within the shop), if desired.

It's been my experience that a twin post hoist, (with legs that pivot and lift on the frame), is so much more versitial. For one, they take up much less room. They provide full access to the underside of a vehicle, No jacks needed to remove tires/brakes, etc. Great for lifting bodys off of a frame also. And one can still stack/store two vehicles.

At this point of my life I have no plans on installing any more lifts. But if I were it would be a twin post.

 

[Catfish]

I weighed the two post/four post thing for quite awhile. Reasons I liked the four post: safety, storage, and the ability to have a crappier concrete floor. The two post does make suspension work easier, but my four post does have two rolling air jacks that completely lift the car off of the runways for tires and suspension work.

how do you store a car on a two post? Storing with a completely unloaded suspension is about the worst thing you can do to all of your suspension bushings.

But #1 for me was safety. I work alone in the shop two miles from the house. The wife and I both felt best about the four post. Two post does have some benefits, but the rolling jacks negate most of those. Other than removing bodies from frames, but my Mopars don't have frames.

 

[bajajoaquin]

..... I work alone in the shop two miles from the house. .....

I really hope that means you have property big enough to have two miles of distance from one end to the other. I love living in the city, but that would be... awesome.

 

[Catfish]

I really hope that means you have property big enough to have two miles of distance from one end to the other. I love living in the city, but that would be... awesome.

No, I live in town and we have a 30x48 garage there but our daily cars fill that. We own 10 acres on the edge of town as well where I have two larger shops. One is cold storage for trailers and the other is a 50x50 that I keep the classic mopars and the two mustangs in along with anything else that needs heat in the winter. So I do have drive out to shop to work. The plus side is, once I'm out there I tend to actually work and stay busy.

 

[livininharrow]

I weighed the two post/four post thing for quite awhile. Reasons I liked the four post: safety, storage, and the ability to have a crappier concrete floor. The two post does make suspension work easier, but my four post does have two rolling air jacks that completely lift the car off of the runways for tires and suspension work.

how do you store a car on a two post? Storing with a completely unloaded suspension is about the worst thing you can do to all of your suspension bushings.

But #1 for me was safety. I work alone in the shop two miles from the house. The wife and I both felt best about the four post. Two post does have some benefits, but the rolling jacks negate most of those. Other than removing bodies from frames, but my Mopars don't have frames.

not to mention the fact you have to have room under your car to swing the arms to lift it. i have two cars where they are too low for a two poster to work. totally useless for me.