Garage Ramps , lifters etc
Discussion
Ive had my house up for sale for a few months now and having had it all fall through after 3 months I'm looking at possibly staying where I am. One of the main reasons for moving ,for me anyway is to get a larger garage. So my existing garage is probably best described as a garage and a half not quite a double but comfarttable enough to get my car in and open one door fully with a bit to spare.
My problem is I want to get another toy in there, so who has fitted post lifts or something similar?. What are people's experience of this scenario is it worth the bother or should I just move?. Not interested in these underground lifts either as the civils would be a nightmare and cost to high.
Cheers
Steve
My problem is I want to get another toy in there, so who has fitted post lifts or something similar?. What are people's experience of this scenario is it worth the bother or should I just move?. Not interested in these underground lifts either as the civils would be a nightmare and cost to high.
Cheers
Steve
I went through this many years ago... I knew that although I could have made our existing garage a bit bigger, and higher, and then install a four post lift. But it was always going to be a compromise... it would always be difficult to work on the car, getting the cars in and out, all the rest of it...
In the end we moved. It took ages to find what we wanted, but in the end we did. that was 17 years ago. Looking back it was a good decision.
In the end we moved. It took ages to find what we wanted, but in the end we did. that was 17 years ago. Looking back it was a good decision.
Glow Worm needed a lift a while back and this is the thread that was started.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
More in this thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
and again here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
More in this thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
and again here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
megamaniac said:
Buy a single post or two post ramp, much less space used and easier for MST maintenance jobs.
The problem with a single post, and to a certain degree a two post hoist in a domestic garage is the floors are rarely thick or strong enough to sustain the loading... That is unless its been specifically laid to cater for it.When I checked mine it was barely 2 inches thick in the middle, although fortunately it had been reinforced. still to weak for a two poster though.
In the end I went for a mid height hoist. No point in going any higher as the height in the garage is limited. The advantage is I can still use it as a double garage as I can drive the cars over it and park them side by side.
Well for a start, there are two Hydraulic units...
But on the base of the hoist you can just about see a line of thick metal bars, and on the "X" pieces there are a pair of Pneumatic activators that form the safety devices. in the event of either a hydraulic OR pneumatic failure, OF both, there is a positive means of locking the hoist in the position it fails in.
In fact you have to raise the hoist 2 inches to disengage the failure lock before it will come down... If I leave a car in the air for any period, I disconnect the air and allow the hoist to rest on the lock stops to take any strain off they hydraulics.
its pretty safe!
But on the base of the hoist you can just about see a line of thick metal bars, and on the "X" pieces there are a pair of Pneumatic activators that form the safety devices. in the event of either a hydraulic OR pneumatic failure, OF both, there is a positive means of locking the hoist in the position it fails in.
In fact you have to raise the hoist 2 inches to disengage the failure lock before it will come down... If I leave a car in the air for any period, I disconnect the air and allow the hoist to rest on the lock stops to take any strain off they hydraulics.
its pretty safe!
sone said:
....so who has fitted post lifts or something similar?. What are people's experience of this scenario is it worth the bother or should I just move?.
Me...luckily my garage is pretty high so it works well for me, although I still can't use the full height just yet:
The choice for me was to either widen the garage doors to accommodate both cars, or go upwards and gain a ramp too...not a difficult choice!
I chose a 4-post lift because my main requirement was storage so it was easier to drive straight onto a 4-post than mess about positioning a 2-post lift. Also, I just don't trust the 2-posters for long term storage.
Mine is a 3-phase ramp operated through an inverter, not a cheap set up but it's a good solid bit of kit.
wrinx
I'm thinking of getting a lift too, a mid rise one like this: http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/m...
Couple of things though. Even though it's not on posts, it still puts a lot of weight on a small area, so I'm also concerned about having to cut and re-pour the concrete just to be sure.
Secondly, the garage floor is sloped slightly for drainage, I'm quite sure this would require a perfectly flat floor.
Thoughts & advice?
Couple of things though. Even though it's not on posts, it still puts a lot of weight on a small area, so I'm also concerned about having to cut and re-pour the concrete just to be sure.
Secondly, the garage floor is sloped slightly for drainage, I'm quite sure this would require a perfectly flat floor.
Thoughts & advice?
Bob_Defly said:
I'm thinking of getting a lift too, a mid rise one like this: http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/specialty-lifts/m...
Couple of things though. Even though it's not on posts, it still puts a lot of weight on a small area, so I'm also concerned about having to cut and re-pour the concrete just to be sure.
Secondly, the garage floor is sloped slightly for drainage, I'm quite sure this would require a perfectly flat floor.
Thoughts & advice?
I think on most floors this type of hoist would be ok. All the loads are in compression, unlike single and two poster where loads can be in tension (on the securing bolts) when you have say a heavy engined car, high in the air.Couple of things though. Even though it's not on posts, it still puts a lot of weight on a small area, so I'm also concerned about having to cut and re-pour the concrete just to be sure.
Secondly, the garage floor is sloped slightly for drainage, I'm quite sure this would require a perfectly flat floor.
Thoughts & advice?
As for the slope of the floor, I guess that depends on how much it slopes.... Mine slopes 50 mm over about 6 meters and I have used a simmilar hoist on there borrowed from a mate.
He still has his, in fact it's bolted to the floor in the centre of the garage. He has a large piece of 6mm metal plate on the floor, which has a couple of brackets on the front which secures the front edge of the hoist. The rear rollers run on the steel plate as it goes up and down which makes it very smooth in operation, and nice and stable. He also used it outside on the drive for many years before he built his double garage.
I was going to recommend Strongman Tools http://www.strongmantools.co.uk/ but I notice you are in Canada... its a bit far to ship!
I also notice you have an Exige... Just remember there are three jacking points on those... its important to only use point A and C when lifting the car on a hoist... If you use A and B the results are not good as you can see...
unfortunately jacking point C is covered by the under tray which males life a little difficult as the tray is a pain to get off unless you have a hoist! I overcame this by cutting a 60mm hole either side in the under tray and making a couple of blocks out of nylon to go up through the hole and therefore lift directly on the jacking point. you can just about see this on the picture. I found a couple of plastic bungs to cover the holes.
Edited by buzzer on Monday 10th September 07:55
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff