Author Topic: Garage lift (Read 17549 times)

Jonny B · « **on:** December 13, 2003, 14:43:52 »

I currently stuff four vehicles into a three car garage and am considering a parking lift, so that one car is stored over the other. Do any of the forum members have experience with such a device? What do I need to consider (clearance overhead, clearance side to side, garage door opener etc)? I have not made any contacts with any of the numerous vendors listed in Hemmings. Any words of wisdom on reliability, ease of operation and the like? Any vendor experience would be also helpful.
Thanks.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

n/a · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2003, 22:59:42 »

I am delighted to address this topic..my roommate has a company that sells and services garage lifts. Here's what I know: if you are in the USA, buy one made in the USA- a Challenger or Whip. The good ones have heavy chains in the columns instead of cables, which stretch more. Avoid the foreign stuff like Stendhoi and Nussbaum; parts have to be obtained from overseas and are very expensive, also finding someone to work on one is difficult. You should get a working lift, not just a storage one, as you will end up using it to work on the cars as well. Buy the best one you can afford, and have it put in by someone who knows what he is doing. If you are in the area of Baltimore or Washington, email me and I will hook you up if desired.

Jonny B · « **Reply #2 on:** December 15, 2003, 06:34:38 »

Jim,

I do not have information on either of the two lifts you mentioned. Do you have a web site or e-mail for either? I am in the early stages of the process, but I would like to get something by spring.

Thanks.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

peterm · « **Reply #3 on:** December 15, 2003, 13:04:42 »

I beg to differ. Here I am in this NY winter all the road grime, salt, oil, antifreeze etc will drip down to the lower car. I like my closed lift. I have commercial and there are considerations in terms of garage height etc.

pkiefert · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2003, 17:42:38 »

my brother bought one of these on ebay and installed it himself in a 3 car new garage. The ceiling rafter design had to be altered to allow full vertical lift movement. Also he had additional concrete reinforcement poured at the post mounting positions. Then its mostly drilling holes for the expansion bolts and assembling it. Oh, and the garage door opener had to be changed to go up the angle of the roof rather than horizontally as is normally done. It is american made and has the chain design Jim mentions. He's happy with it. He's been in auto/truck business for 30 years so he didn't buy junk.
I'm pretty sure this current ebay auction is the same one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43998&item=2448956835

It did come from texas. The parts will fit in the back of a full size pickup and its darned heavy. Good luck.

Jonny B · « **Reply #5 on:** December 17, 2003, 06:20:07 »

Thanks all, my first step, as you have pointed out, is to get the garage door modified to allow for the increased height of the hoist and car. I found a coworker has one installed and I am going to go see it. I found a number of references in Hemmings, and you have pointed me to an equal number more.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

n/a · « **Reply #6 on:** December 17, 2003, 17:14:53 »

I do not have web addresses for Whip or Challenger; if you call Bill he can give you contact info for them. His number is 410 507 1533.

Jonny B · « **Reply #7 on:** December 20, 2003, 19:34:25 »

Thanks for the reference. I will check when I get back from the Holidays.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

Jonny B · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2004, 13:39:04 »

Thanks for all the help on this. I ended up with a Backyard Buddy. These folks are right in my back yard, Warren Ohio. I visited the factory, got a tour, and bought the lift (standard four post). I still need to get the garage door modified, but that is in the works too.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

France · « **Reply #9 on:** August 09, 2007, 08:33:52 »

Hi Guys,

I'm reviving this topic that has been dormant for some years. Our two-car Sarasota garage soon needs to add an XJS stacked above the E-Type. We are looking at 4-post lifts--I've looked at RotaryLift, American Lifts, and several more. Anyone have recent experience? I appreciate the comments below on chain vs. cable. Any other considerations? Were the concrete reinforcements to the slab just a precaution? The car stacked on the four posts doesn't seem like that much weight, when evenly distributed.

Hmmm... does that mean I could make room for another W113 above Carling in my slot? Dangerous thought...

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

jpsenft · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2007, 15:55:29 »

I have a Autolifter 4 post cable lift in one of my 3 bays...normal width, 8 ft height garage. I can put my DeLorean on top, and back the 230sl with the top down up to the windshield. It's a tight puzzle fit, but does keep these two cars in one bay.
My lift did not need any reinforcement on floor, as each corner sits on about a 1 foot square pad, free standing. Have the 110 volt model. No problems at all. Actually, the only problem was in the delivery...the freight truck backed in, told me I had 45 minutes to unload, stated he could not help because he was union, and sat down.
I scrambled to get a couple of guys to at least slide the package out, and drop it using a floor jack. Then the driver left.

1965 230SL
Silver Spring, Maryland

France · « **Reply #11 on:** August 10, 2007, 02:40:17 »

Thanks...Unfortunately, their website is defunct and someone on a the CrossedFlags forum found that they were out of business (as of 3/07) when he tried to get a lift from them for his garage.

Any other experiences out there?

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

Sigman · « **Reply #12 on:** August 10, 2007, 10:55:53 »

I'm doing some research on lifts right now because my garage needs to be rebuilt. Form what I've seen/heard, RotaryLift seems to be a reliable lift. My Audi dealership uses RotaryLift. They said they are pretty happy with it. I'm eyeing the two-post low-ceiling lift.

Michael

--------
Michael Lara
mike@mikelarasgarage.com
1969 280SL 4-spd -- 717 (Papyrus White ext) 904 (Dark Blue int)

cascadia · « **Reply #13 on:** August 10, 2007, 11:04:20 »

I've had a Rotary Lift for about 3 years and have been very satisfied with it. After doing a lot of comparison shopping I decided to spend a little more and get the best.
http://rotarylift.com/

Bob G ✝︎ · « **Reply #14 on:** August 10, 2007, 13:03:07 »

I am another Pagoda owner and looking to ad two forur post lifts to my garage. I saw the link to Rotory lifts but they do not have an eccessory Buddy lifts has the has a hydrolic lift that slides from front to back to raise the wheels to do brake or suspension work. I am going to contact the distributor in my area for Rotory lifts Peterson in the long beach area and requested literature and pricing.
I also have a German lift that uses air bags and lifts up to 6000 pounds but only goes up 33 inches and because of the plate below it uses stations and rubber pads. I thing a four post two cars storage lift is the way to go. After recoving from back surgury last april bending down is not an option any more. So long to jack stands and floor jacks.
Bob Geco

66andBlue · « **Reply #15 on:** August 10, 2007, 14:48:55 »

Cascadia,
did you buy the "Revolution" model for the "home enthusiast" [Trice, is that you??

] which is designed for storage and maintenance, or one of their commercial units? http://rotarylift.com/products/revolution/
Bob G.
it appears that they do offer jack trays to raise the vehicle off the runway for tire rotation, etc.

Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic

cascadia · « **Reply #16 on:** August 10, 2007, 14:59:37 »

I bought their basic commercial 2 post asymetrical lift, it ran about $3000 installed. I bought it through a local distributor sells service station equipment. The field tech that installed it had been doing installations for over 15 years, I felt it was worth paying the extra installation fee for the piece of mind of that came with it. Comes in handy while spending time under 2 tons of car.

France · « **Reply #17 on:** August 11, 2007, 01:18:32 »

Yeah, that's me--the home enthusiast! (Alfred knows the state of our ridiculous stable; just increased last month by a race Porsche *HE* bought with the excuse that *I* needed another car. Would this work with any wife you know??)

I am just afraid that HIS lift will give me the excuse to order my own for another Pagoda.

Cascadia, with a two-post lift you are lifting the car from the jack points, no? Boy, that seems to put a lot of strain on small points... and it is bolted to the garage floor? I was looking at the 4-posters that just sit on big square feet.

This is really interesting to hear everyone's experiences...

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

cascadia · « **Reply #18 on:** August 11, 2007, 11:10:02 »

Trice, for a Pagoda on a 2 post lift I position the front lift pads under the rails next to the transmission and the rears under the trailing arm mounting points. The lift itself is bolted to the concrete floor with about a dozen large anchor bolts.

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Author Topic: Garage lift (Read 17549 times)

n/a

peterm

pkiefert

n/a

Bob G ✝︎