4 post lifts

I'm normally working alone in the shop and the lift has become invaluable. First off I'm not under a vehicle that is on a jack, or jack stands but it is in the air high enough to work with ease. Any tool is as safe as its user so be careful and use it safely. It, (they are), is built to do the job without a lawsuit.

Here's what I would have done differently if I were buying today. I would buy from

because I know his company and he normally has the best price and he is in the automobile service tool business. The new lift would have the full floor (or at least 1/2), no drip pans, or dollies, a jacking tray (bridge) and aluminum ramps.

My reasons are I don't move it so why have the dollys? You're going to lift the ramps more than you expect so get the lighter ramps.

With the floor I can put my mower and lawn tractor on it and keep my cars on the ground except right now and for the last few months the '72 has been up there. It will make a place for your ramps so they aren't sticking out for you to bump into with your head. It keeps them off the floor where you can trip over them. Although I welded the corners and a drain plug in one floor unit to use as a drain I've never used that feature.

I use the jacking bridge to set my drain pan on while I drain the oil, seldom use it to jack anything.

Most likely you'll get the plastic drain pans and I do use them when I put a car under another one.

Unloading it is an effort, I used a large backhoe and it was all it could do to pick it up out of the semi.

After 10 years of using it I took it apart this summer and checked all cables, pulleys, and their shafts for wear and lubricated them and put it back together. It showed no signs of wear and gave me peace of mind for the next 10 years. One of the pulleys had a slight misalignment and raised a sharp edge that I removed but that is all I could find after many lifts.

Good luck.

Why no drip pans?

My problem, although a pleasant one, is that I have too many vehicles LOL I have 6 toys that I'd like to keep tucked away in as small a space as possible that will still give me a little elbow room.

When I moved to my house, a perk was a 32x48 garage, about 17 foot of which is walled off as a workshop and the rest open floor space. Unfortunately, it had an unfinished bay without a floor, no electricity other than a single wire that had been shallow buried from the house, and some of the beams were water damaged and the structure was questionable.

So, using wheel dollies, I crammed my four best in the space, left the projects outside, and waited until i could get it fixed. I recently managed to pour the floor on the last bay, replaced the beams and shored it up structurally, installed full (and ample) electrical service, and installed enough lighting to see everything at hand.

I had sufficient room to add all of the cars, but I'm back to being too cramped for doing much of anything else . My long term plan is to eventually add another bay to the building, but I'll have to save my pennies for a while before that happens.

Looking at the link you gave me, I drooled over this:

But I don't have a clue what hoops I'd have to go thru to break down and haul something like that 8 hours thru several states back to my place. And it looks like a really tight fit for bigger type vehicles.

So, I'll look more at their 4 post offering. I have a chopped 34 Ford and a 71 vette that I think would fit cozily in one, as long as I'm comfortable that it won't come crashing down on either my head or each other.

I'm also researching the best (and safest) way to heat the thing now, and do some other things, so I may be back with more noob questions.

My BIL is a contractor who unfortunately (for him) can't store his equipment at his own house so he keeps it at mine. That's good for me, because it means I have use of a large Cat backhoe and skidloader whenever I need it, so I think I'm covered better than most at getting it unloaded.

Thanks for your time, tom

They are cheap, thin plastic junk that just gets in the way. Much rather use the lift floor but since the pans came in the package I use them some times.

I have 4 that I drive and keep 6 under roof with the help of the lift.

Check out the safety locks on the one you are looking at and the one on the site I had in my reply. The only one I've seen fail was your first consideration, made in Mexico and sold under many names. Plus they have flame cut edges that will not hold paint and allowes rust to start. The one that failed had a C3 Corvette on it and one underneath and dropped when no one was around, somewhere North of $50k damage and it was setteled in court, company would not back their product.

Same here, need to get my Mustang done and have a '50 Chevy coupe right behind that. Winter is wasted on small things so I'm insulating it now and sealing every thing I can to allow me to heat it this winter. I'm stuck with electric heat and will most likely use a radiant heater.

They should do it, my problem was only one lifter and the driver was not required to help and complied with that by setting in the cab.

I have had the Direct Lift for almost 10 years.

complaints About $2200 delivered and set up, with sales tax USE THE SAFETY STOPS I believe that's what they are there for. Never had any problems and am very satisfied I have a 30x30 garage, 10ft walls with catherdral ceiling It allows my C-3 to be sent up to full height when on top and my 57 Sedan Delivery to be about 2 notches from the top. Plenty of working room either way

Good luck