Two post lift opinions

barnfind said:
I would consider adding 1/4 or 1/2 inch steel plate under the posts if I was concerned about the ability of the concrete to handle the load.
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I thought about that as it would give a bigger footprint onto the concrete.

And rockfla, dangit you obviously know your stuff. With a piece of 1/2" plate under the hoist, perhaps 6" larger all around and steel braces up top, my 4" slab should be sufficient?

There IS an alternative... I was offered this 4 post lift for free here on the island. It has SUCH a great look, but dismantling, reassembly, (safety?) all come into play. Maybe if I was 10-20 years younger and broke....
 

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GB SISSON said:
I thought about that as it would give a bigger footprint onto the concrete.

And rockfla, dangit you obviously know your stuff. With a piece of 1/2" plate under the hoist, perhaps 6" larger all around and steel braces up top, my 4" slab should be sufficient?

There IS an alternative... I was offered this 4 post lift for free here on the island. It has SUCH a great look, but dismantling, reassembly, (safety?) all come into play. Maybe if I was 10-20 years younger and broke....
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528313
 
That thing looks "industrial". For the price, it deserves a close look. As to disassembly, etc. I picked up my lift when I was 79 and installed it in less than a week with the help of a 73 year old friend and my "Cherry Picker" (we took our time). Doing it ourselves means we are familiar with it and how it works, which can't be a bad thing.
 
I had 4” of good concrete that has rebar through out and this is how I anchored the top. That trolley beam is 11’-3” from the floor. I’m 5’-7” and have plenty of room under a full size truck. I plan to buy a four post to put in another building for storage and long term projects.......Mark
 

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I have a 9’ ceiling, live in a one story townhouse duplex, I’m not allowed any modifications beyond the drywall. I decided on a Quickjack 5000TL, it’ll work for me.
 
flatford8 said:
I had 4” of good concrete that has rebar through out and this is how I anchored the top. That trolley beam is 11’-3” from the floor. I’m 5’-7” and have plenty of room under a full size truck. I plan to buy a four post to put in another building for storage and long term projects.......Mark
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528314
 
My lift has a fairly good sized footprint that i guess is about 18" square with 6 if not 8 anchoring holes so it's quite substantial from the start. My lift also has a channel bar that runs between the post at the top with about an 1-1/2 bar/tube that runs on the underside of it (not sure what it is for). The wire for the lift locks and hose for the hydraulic cylinder all run inside the channel BUT it also supports the post from leaning inward. Think about it guys, the "majority" of the force on you lift is downward, the main function of the anchors is really lateral movement....now yes there is potentially "SOME" pull but my frame of reference is my lift and that support bar/channel on mine aids in any inward force on the tops of my posts SO its all "down force" once you get a load on it!!!! The anchors just keep it on one place "Basically"


I'll get better more detailed pictures tonight, these pictures where right after mine was installed


ALSO for you guys.... every so often I always check the tightness of the nuts on the anchors just make sure everything is snug and I haven't had ANY failure of any kind!!!! A good habit to get into AND can never be TO safe!!!



As an aside, my lift was adjustable up or down, 12' was the shortest and there were holes for mine to go up to 12'6". My joist are right at 12'6" and my installer wasn't keen on going 12'6" (NO room for error) so he suggested staying at 12', I wish I had that extra 6" as I am 6'1 and that extra 6" for me would be perfect as some vehicles height I have to hunch over slightly be cause of it!!!!!
 

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Rockfla has done a great job talking about anchor bolts.

I want to add that if an interface plate is used between the lift post anchors and the concrete, to prevent pullout of these anchors you must add anchors around the perimeter of the added plate. If you don't, and there is tipping, the bolts are going to be levered (large moment arm) by contact of the plate edge back to the anchor bolts. Anchor bolt manufacturer's installation requirements regarding edge distance and depth must be followed. My experience is from equipment and pipe supports in power plants.

Glenn
 
Or you could cheat, lay down some 3/4” plate steel to distribute the load, go for full penetration around each base plate and epoxy the exposed metal after treating with OSPHO
 
glennpm said:
Rockfla has done a great job talking about anchor bolts.

I want to add that if an interface plate is used between the lift post anchors and the concrete, to prevent pullout of these anchors you must add anchors around the perimeter of the added plate. If you don't, and there is tipping, the bolts are going to be levered (large moment arm) by contact of the plate edge back to the anchor bolts. Anchor bolt manufacturer's installation requirements regarding edge distance and depth must be followed. My experience is from equipment and pipe supports in power plants.

Glenn
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Glenn is correct that proper edge distance AND set depth is critical AS WELL AS the hole diameter. I always double check the drill bit "BEFORE" I drill the hole. The hole diameter "should" be the same as the diameter of the anchor being used for wedge anchors. The edge distance, for car lift purposes, GENERALLY is a none issue as most lifts are installed well away from the edge of a slab although a close inspection of your slab and installation spot is in order to make sure you have NO stress cracking OR mix issues from the pour. Good call Glenn!!!
 
Here are a few more pictures of my base and support at the top of my post!!
 

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One thing to note is the quality of the 2-post lift, the thickness of the steel used, etc.. For years companies like "Atlas" have copied BendPak. I have a BendPak - and the steel is considerably thicker than the "same colored" Atlas. BendPak used to paint all their lifts Blue and Yellow . . . and so did the various copies. I've noticed that BendPak has now changed their color scheme - to I believe "grey" . . . probably to set themselves apart from all the clones.

Inspect a few different lifts from different companies. You'll get an idea as to quality/price differences.
 
Good discussion on lifts. Still learning about the used lift I installed in the shop. A tool that most of us needed years ago and are now getting these for our work. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Like most things in mechanics, do some research, set some goals, Check the specs, and do some shopping. I am looking forward to using this tool to save some hours crawling around on the floor under vehicles. John Kelley would have appreciated having this lift when we were working on his 42 Ford in the shop last year too.

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Figured I better get this picture in there since Robert posted his car and lift.
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FYI: This 12000 lb truck lift at full height extension fits nicely under the dropped ceiling fan in the 15 foot high bay of the shop. (with 2 inches to spare) . Setting on 1- 1/2 of steel shim plate on the drain side of the sloped floor. It has seven 3/4 diameter wedge anchor bolts in the base of each column. These bolts are 5-1/2 inch long on the high side and 7-1/2 long on the drain (shimmed) side. The floor is 8 inches thick under the lift area. Rest of floor is 5 inches thick.

Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
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Chris, Is that in your new building, or off to the side in the big shop. Dang, it sure looks nice in there. You run a first rate operation there at the sugar works.
 
GB,
The lift is in the big shop in the high bay area. The new mini shop is already packed with tractors of various sizes. (8 in there, plus my lawn mower show equipment). It only has 10'-0" ceiling height in the new building. It definitely has freed up some space in the big shop too. (Humm maybe can think about another toy at some point!)
The 2 post lift made it a lot easier to work on a rolling stool, at just the right height, to complete the worn out tie-rod end on the F250 (FYI: weight on that truck is around 9000 lbs).

GB nice picture of a Jailbar on the back of the Early V8 times book last month!
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
Another note to "new" left owners.


You "HAVE" to use "BOTH" arms to lift "anything" you cannot just use one side to lift with. Ask me how I know. I tried lifting a Milling machine (before I got my gantry crane) with just one side, not a good. Hydraulic fluid started shooting out the other side ram!!! SO lift with BOTH sides only!!!!!
 
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