Garage lift recommendations

[bigjae46]

Hello. Any suggestions on a 4 post lift for garage for storing cars. Pros and cons. I see some in $3000 range

A 4 post is pretty straight forward and low risk. 2 post lifts see higher loads and the risk of failure is higher because...its 2 posts instead of 4.

[Jackaustin]

"Yeah, I meant they were easier because you just drive on. At least with my BendPak, to actually get it on to the 2 post I had to jack the car and lower it onto blocks, so the arms could get under. Getting the car on or off the lift was 10-15 min on each end of the project. With the 4 post, I just drive on and lift. If I’m wheels off, it takes ~5 min to get the quick jacks under, especially with my ceiling sam setup.

Hello. Any suggestions on a 4 post lift for garage for storing cars. Pros and cons. I see some in $3000 range

[eacmen]

I know the length of the driveway and I know how much higher it is in the back. From there it's simple trigonometry, arctangent in a calculator and go.

I will probably add rubber mats underneath the qj, the driveway is kinda rough...

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The rubber mats underneath the QJ is going to make adjustment position extremely difficult. You're better off just letting the bottom of the QJ get scratched up and touching it up with some spray paint once in a while to avoid rust.

When lowering the car on the QJ on the decline I would highly recommend getting into the habit of setting heavy tire chalks. One of my friends had a car roll down his driveway even with the e-brake set when taking it off jack stands. He ended up cutting a concrete square and setting a steel D-ring in the pavement then using chains with the tow eye as extra precaution.

[Altaran]

How are you calculating the grade? I don't think 2.5 should be an issue but you want to be confident in your measurement.

I would orient it so the hydraulic lines are pointed toward the downhill. So the QJ would be lifting against the grade and you won't experience a shift in CG toward the decline.

I know the length of the driveway and I know how much higher it is in the back. From there it's simple trigonometry, arctangent in a calculator and go.

I will probably add rubber mats underneath the qj, the driveway is kinda rough...

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[eacmen]

I was about to add that you do want to orient the QJ so that it arcs "uphill" so, as you said, the hoses point downhill.

I used an 8 foot level, and measured how much I lifted the lower end off the ground to get it level. With that measurement, I used arctan to calculate the degrees.

8 ft is a decent span which should cover most wheelbases.

If you wanted to double check you could either use a laser level and yardstick and measure the height delta at various points or get some clear tubing and a friend to done quick water level.

I've made mistakes before where small mistakes at small spans propagate at large mistakes at longer spans.

[elbert]

How are you calculating the grade? I don't think 2.5 should be an issue but you want to be confident in your measurement.

I would orient it so the hydraulic lines are pointed toward the downhill. So the QJ would be lifting against the grade and you won't experience a shift in CG toward the decline.

I was about to add that you do want to orient the QJ so that it arcs "uphill" so, as you said, the hoses point downhill.

I used an 8 foot level, and measured how much I lifted the lower end off the ground to get it level. With that measurement, I used arctan to calculate the degrees. So in my case, it was roughly 3 inches over 96 inches.

[eacmen]

How are you calculating the grade? I don't think 2.5 should be an issue but you want to be confident in your measurement.

I would orient it so the hydraulic lines are pointed toward the downhill. So the QJ would be lifting against the grade and you won't experience a shift in CG toward the decline.

[elbert]

Reviving an old thread:

Has anyone used a quickjack (or another brand of this type) on a driveway with a slight incline? Quickjack says 2° max, I calculated mine at 2.45.

I know it's less than ideal, but unfortunately it's the only place where I can leave it sitting for a night or two...

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Quickjack's US website says 3 degrees (see question #8)

https://quickjack.com/top-9-questions-about-quickjack/?srsltid=AfmBOoq2oGIuszERjSNPLSq1-B2jpSr0KVSGxHUfUDQNyRcOpTG3scZ3

My driveway is just under 2 degrees. The Quickjack is very stable. I'll probably never use regular jackstands again.

[Altaran]

Reviving an old thread:

Has anyone used a quickjack (or another brand of this type) on a driveway with a slight incline? Quickjack says 2° max, I calculated mine at 2.45.

I know it's less than ideal, but unfortunately it's the only place where I can leave it sitting for a night or two...

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[Bayern///M3]

Built a new house and shop in 2022/23 and installed a Atlas FM9SL https://www.atlasautoequipment.com/p...tionary/fm-9sl

Absolutely love it!

[George Hill]

What’s up with that s62 wagon George Hill? Hot!!

Thanks, car I built for a client a couple years ago, really sweet setup.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMOJrEApsbC/?igshid=YmM0MjE2YWMzOA==

There’s also an Euro S50 swapped touring, a S54 swapped touring and an S54 swapped E36 in that pic too, lots of fun projects.

[Cronenberged]

Yea for real I would love a grey wagon.

[tlow98]

What’s up with that s62 wagon George Hill? Hot!

George was not trying to argue. I was.

Just kidding

Happy Friday all. I like seeing how industrious some of you are with your 4 posts!

[George Hill]

Really not trying to argue...2 post is ideal for mechanics. Most of us are not. I don't pull engines on weekends or do customer work. 4 post is great for everything I need to ever do with the car, and I do wrench a fair bit. But I also need to store cars, and 4-post does that way better than 2 post. I simply don't understand how this conversation took this turn?

I don't think anyone is arguing, I just think there is a misconception to DIY'ers and the like that a 2 post is "hard" to use. If you only park your E46 (whatever) on it you'll easily learn the placement of the car pretty quick and even then the car doesn't have to be 100% in the exact perfect spot. I can safely rack the same car in a window of +/- 6" side to side and +/- 12" front to back (maybe more).

I think the biggest factor for someone with a neighborhood garage is how thick the concrete is. A 4 post is going to work on pretty much anything where as a 2 post is going to need to meet some minimum specs and I'd imagine most non-custom homes are likely going to have thin garage slabs.

But with that said...

You can easily store a car on a 2 post.
You can easily work on some items on a 4 post.

If you primarily need it to wrench get a 2.
If you primarily need it to store a car and/or you switch out cars often then get a 4.

I have (2) 2 posts and am planning to buy a 3rd lift. The 3rd will be a 4 post so I can store cars AND do suspension work that needs the weight of the vehicle on it.

Different tools, different applications. Just like anything once you have "something" and you start using it you either adapt to its short comings or start over.

[TexaZ3]

This is the way


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This is the way.