lifts, again

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-1253 Paul Rollins and brian shorey both commented on lifts- in-ground 
centerpost, which Paul favors, and anchored two-post, which brian favors.

As I said in AD7-1251 "Any lift is nicer than no lift, but give the options a 
hard look"; and some of the points made against four-posters bear further 
comment.

bs: "the biggest disadvantage of a two post lift, in my experience, is that 
you
sometimes can't open the doors all the way."

Agree, except I would say "usually" instead of "sometimes". And it applies to 
the car parked underneath, (if so used) as well as to the car being serviced.

bs: "i think if you're looking to do body work, rocker repair, etc, then a 
four post lift is your best bet."

Agree, but I would add paintwork and general cleanup. The four-post gives 
unimpeded access to both sides, front, rear, and bottom, all of which are 
useful for various work.

P.R.: (centerpost is)"Eay to work on suspension, brakes, wheels and tires, as 
they are not supporting the car when it is off the floor."
b.s: "my two post lift allows this as well, so i don't see this as an 
advantage."
J.H. routine on four-posters; one uses two "bridges" and four bottle-jacks 
and/or jack-stands on the bridges.

P.R.: "How often would one move one of these, anyhow? Could one move an 
above-the-floor unit with a car on it?"

Yes, some are designed to do precisely that, and it is a selling-point. 

P.R.: "(centerpost) Can't store another car under it. Probably the only 
strong benefit of the above-the-floor, unit. But, the above-the-floor unit 
only does this with an above-average ceiling height."

Not necessarily true. One of the selling points offered by some four-post 
manufacturers (and which checks out) is that in a normal two-car garage with 
an eight-foot ceiling it is entirely practical to load a car, swing the lift 
(with car on it) ninety degrees, move it to the end of the garage, raise 
enough to clear a hood or trunk, and then park two cars nosed (or tailed) 
under the lifted car. Wouldn't work with a Ford Expedition, but it could be 
handy for some people who have one normally summer-only car, one normally 
winter-only car, and one general purpose (or spouse, station, etc) 
year-rounder.

One other minor factor favoring the four-post over the two-post is the ease 
of fitting drip pans. It wouldn't matter if the upper car never leaked, or 
you didn't care about the lower car, but with drip-pans in a four-post there 
is no problem. Don't know how you would do it with a two-post.

The full access to both sides, both ends, and all of the underneath was a 
compelling case for me. The mobility also permits some serious advantages in 
special cases, however. I have a place where serious side setback limits 
restrict me to a narrow two-car garage, but allow double depth; and neatly 
relating a garage to an existing house imposes (and allows) other unique 
conditions. There are six cars in it at the moment; eventually part will be 
an in-and-out garage, part a project-car work area, part long-term storage, 
and accommodating six cars will be a snap, seven cars a squeeze. It wouldn't 
work nearly as well if I couldn't easily move the lift from one bay to 
another, or shift it six inches to allow a squeeze-through. With a 
center-post, it would be strictly a four-car space. 

Paul remarked that the center-posts are cheap, because "Gas stations are 
taking them out to convert the old lube room to a mini mart. The lifts are 
going to the dump. Find a local business that services this equipment in auto 
shops and they can probably find one that is being removed." When I was 
shopping the market some years ago there were a few badly corroded and dented 
lift-cylinders around, and some old two-post and four-post lifts which were 
being replaced with newer ones. Areas with modest-growth economies may have 
old gas stations taking centerpost lifts out to convert the old lube room to 
a mini mart, but that isn't the way it happens here.

I would say again, any lift is nicer than no lift, but give the options a 
hard look.

John H. 

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