Portable scissor lifts
Discussion
vanquish spirit said:
Hi, I am thinking of buying one of the portable scissor lifts that are on the market. have not a clue which company makes the best/sfaest and which format to buy. Anyone got any advice for me please? thx
These guys have got all you need. Can thoroughly recommend.miniman said:
"These guys" being... ?
Whoops! Meant to add ....http://www.cjautos.org.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/cj...
I bought a Clarke hydraulic lift several years ago.
Cost about £1000.
Lifted my old Jeep Cherokee, but that was right on its limit.
On the minus side, because the frame and ram sit under the car, it makes access hopeless for gearboxes and exhausts on front engine/RWD cars. Conversely, it is fine for mid engined cars and FWD cars.
Having said that, with a bit of fiddling I was able to do the manifolds and exhausts on a V6 Capri.
On the plus side it was relatively inexpensive and is good if you are short of space, as I was at the time.
Lifts about a metre. Good for brakes and oil changes.
If I had my time over again, I would buy a two post lift instead.
Cost about £1000.
Lifted my old Jeep Cherokee, but that was right on its limit.
On the minus side, because the frame and ram sit under the car, it makes access hopeless for gearboxes and exhausts on front engine/RWD cars. Conversely, it is fine for mid engined cars and FWD cars.
Having said that, with a bit of fiddling I was able to do the manifolds and exhausts on a V6 Capri.
On the plus side it was relatively inexpensive and is good if you are short of space, as I was at the time.
Lifts about a metre. Good for brakes and oil changes.
If I had my time over again, I would buy a two post lift instead.
I think you need a lift with two sides and a space in the middle..
http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/garage_scissor...
http://www.strongmantools.co.uk/html/PS3002.php
Etc.
ETA: The automech one I see is £1500, I'll be getting one in the next year I hope!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MOBILE-SCISSOR-CAR-LIFT-VEHI...
http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/garage_scissor...
http://www.strongmantools.co.uk/html/PS3002.php
Etc.
ETA: The automech one I see is £1500, I'll be getting one in the next year I hope!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MOBILE-SCISSOR-CAR-LIFT-VEHI...
Edited by Globs on Saturday 26th February 21:58
Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, the drive-on type aren't portable? The CJ one shown above is portable via a trolley/handle thing (although it seems it's probably too heavy to do anything other than roll about on a driveway).
I've also been looking at these and the roller-type of widget. Completely undecided at the moment...
I've also been looking at these and the roller-type of widget. Completely undecided at the moment...
55allgold said:
Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, the drive-on type aren't portable? The CJ one shown above is portable via a trolley/handle thing (although it seems it's probably too heavy to do anything other than roll about on a driveway).
I've also been looking at these and the roller-type of widget. Completely undecided at the moment...
The Automotech ones have a mobile kit - which allows you to wheel them around. Not portable as much as 'moveable'. I need 'moveable' because a 2 poster fixes the space in the garage too much, with moveable a push plus perhaps a few strips of wood means it's not in the way anymore.I've also been looking at these and the roller-type of widget. Completely undecided at the moment...
I like the restoration ramps idea - very neat. Not so good for engine/gearbox removal by jacking/ramping perhaps - and you are stuck with the wheels _on_, but neat all the same.
Mine is supposed to be portable.
But the best you can do is trundle it backwards and forwards on the garage floor.
When I moved house, it took four strong men to lift it onto the wagon.
Ground clearance can be a problem.
Oddly enough, my Esprit will clear it without problem. But my old Alfa GTV and one of my old Minis wouldn't go over it without planks on either side.
If you have space and can afford it, the two post lifts are much more versatile.
But the best you can do is trundle it backwards and forwards on the garage floor.
When I moved house, it took four strong men to lift it onto the wagon.
Ground clearance can be a problem.
Oddly enough, my Esprit will clear it without problem. But my old Alfa GTV and one of my old Minis wouldn't go over it without planks on either side.
If you have space and can afford it, the two post lifts are much more versatile.
Pat H said:
If you have space and can afford it, the two post lifts are much more versatile.
With a two/four poster I'd be worried about not wanting the lift in the way sometimes - that's the only issue. This is a double garage - a two poster would just always leave one side for the lift IMO - what do you think?
ha! well by definition so do you! got to check out all the information I can. It does seem the ideal is a 2 poster, but I dont really have the ideal space for this. One other thing I worry about is that a lot of these portable lifts, seem to lift off the sills of a car. Now when you are restoring a rust bucket, the sills are not going to be very good for that purpose, there again I suppose that applies to a 2 poster as well. Food for thought. Just concerned that if I buy a portable I will feel I should have gone the whole hog and got a 2 post. Ah well
vanquish spirit said:
One other thing I worry about is that a lot of these portable lifts, seem to lift off the sills of a car. Now when you are restoring a rust bucket, the sills are not going to be very good for that purpose, there again I suppose that applies to a 2 poster as well.
Looking at the Automotech one (the one I'm most likely to end up with) it looks like there is the choice of sills or wheels. I think some two posters may be adaptable too?davethebunny said:
These things seem to be operated by 4 HiLift/Farm jacks, one at each corner. What I can't work out is do you have to have 4 people to operate them, or if you do it on your own do you have to constantly walk around bringing it up one click at a time from each corner in sequence? If so, it would take ages to get the thing in the air, wouldn't it?Gaspode said:
davethebunny said:
These things seem to be operated by 4 HiLift/Farm jacks, one at each corner. What I can't work out is do you have to have 4 people to operate them, or if you do it on your own do you have to constantly walk around bringing it up one click at a time from each corner in sequence? If so, it would take ages to get the thing in the air, wouldn't it?These things have always looked useful, although there may be some safety issues?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-Display-Ramps-Stands-Aut...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-Display-Ramps-Stands-Aut...
dave de roxby said:
These things have always looked useful, although there may be some safety issues?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-Display-Ramps-Stands-Aut...
I could never buy anything from someone who wrote an Ebay ad like that!!!!http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-Display-Ramps-Stands-Aut...
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