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shop lift recommendations

spika

spika

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Hi all...my apologies for my long absence...it's been a very busy fall...
I'm considering investing in a hydraulic 2 post lift to put in the home shop...any suggestions as to which ones are rated the highest, ones to stay away from, or features I need to make sure it has? Any personal experience would be helpful. Thanks!
 
I'm thinking about putting a pitt that's about 3 feet deep in the floor of my garage. (When I get around to pouring a floor, that is...) That way I can make sure the underside stays nice and clean, also!
 
I purchased a Rotary Assymetrical 10 ton 2 post lift about 6 years ago. At the time I did research and it was the only American made lift (Indianapolis Indiana) that is actually weight tested.

It is the best tool I have ever purchased. As a Certified Welding Inspector the first thing I did when I got it out of the crate was to inspect all the welds. All the welds are excellent. In regards to the rest of the build quality I am also pleased.

In regards to assembly they offer local rep's. that can assemble the lift for you. I did it myself and it was a one man job with the exception of needing to have a buddy come over and help me stand up each post, which took about 4 minutes. The rest of the assembly took less than a day.

Good luck with your selection.

Here's a photo of when I first installed the lift.
100_3558.jpg
 
Wow, you keep your place NEAT. How did those telephone wire insulators escape kids plinking with their 22's? I also chose the American made Rotary lifts, a 9000# 2 post lift and a 12,000# 4 post. The drive on is very quick and easy and we use it the most but if one has just one then the twin post is the way to go since you can do brake and suspension work plus all else. We made very long auxillary ramps for the drive on one so we can raise low, low cars. The arms from a twin post won't fit under them.
 
A bit of the american dream !

Thats a nice workshop you have there , clean , and an very systematic keeping of your tools and things and a functional 10 t.lift . Can i ask you what this model aprox. cost in the US , just curious to know !

Thanks fore sharing Martinius.
 
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Blueflame236 said:
Thats a nice workshop you have there , clean , and an very systematic keeping of your tools and things and a functional 10 t.lift . Can i ask you what this model aprox. cost in the US , just curious to know !

Thanks fore sharing Martinius.
Click to expand...

A place for everything and everything in it's place.

The price of the lift is somewhere around $3,500 to $4,000 as I recall. I found this link and it seems to confirm my cob-webbed memory: http://ahclifts.com/product_info.php?cPath=31&products_id=84

The first shop photo is so sanitary because the shop and the lift were both brand new at the time. 6 years later it's still nice, but the floor has a bit of an orange hue now, and some stains from my ole '65 C10 marking it's territory and from misc. welding projects. I also added a hi-tech vehicle-to-lift alignment system... a.k.a. duct tape and a wall mounted rear view mirror :D which works excellent!

2878906570103882008IZVSor_fs.jpg


I also have a 4 post lift, it only gets used a couple times a year. It is basically used to store my trailer, to give room for one more vehicle in the outbuilding. It is a cheapo Chines built model I bought from Greg Smith Equipment Company http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/4-Post-Lifts . It was less than $2,000. It is slow and not nearly as nice, from a finish quality perspective, as the Rotary. The welds though are good and it is built very strong. That being said I have never lifted anything but my 5 ft x 10 ft trailer with it. It also has rollers that allow it to be rolled around, which is pretty nifty!
100_6660.jpg


Hope this all helps ya'll in making your decision.

John
 
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" A Place For Everything "

And my stuff is all over the place.... :D .

Anyone who's ever lived in a poor Rural Farm Cummunity , knows what my City place looks like , I like it just fine :p .

Your shop makes me drool .
 
A nice working shop gives much working plessure !

I know that a good working facility gives a lot of working plessure when tools and parts are stored in a good way wich i think you have done very well , i like your workshop solution very well. My son and me have allready been looking at some 10 t. lift solution and found one like yours fore a reasonable price . I will look very carefully at the welding quality when buying one as this is an important critera. I will ad some pictures when our temporary workshop solution is ready.

Thank you once again for sharing Martinius.
 
Thanks for the input and information, guys. That rotary looks pretty sweet. I think the 2 post version would be the most useful to me for working on suspensions, rear ends, etc. How does that model work...does it have a hydraulic cylinder on each side that pulls a roller chain over a top sprocket, so as the cylinder gets longer it pulls the lift up?
Tom
 
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