willy19592:
Sounds like this should work well for you. Pay careful attention to this line in the installation guide:
"...Tighten each anchor bolt, two or three turns on average. If anchors do not tighten to 100 ft-lbs. installation torque, replace the concrete under each column base with a 4' x 4' x 6" thick 3,000 PSI minimum concrete pad keyed under and flush with the top of the existing floor. Allow concrete to cure before installing lift and anchors - typically 2 to 3 weeks."
Enjoy!
willy19592:
After you have this for a while, please post an update. I'd be particularly interested in knowing whether the portablility is truly a useful aspect, or if it was just difficult enough that they essentially become permanent.
This is the exact lift I have (not my pic though):
Even if I wanted the 2 post obstruction in my tiny garage my 3" 1970s slab wouldn't take the load.
SVreX wrote: I'd still take my commercial grade $750 lift. I'd put limiters on it to not go through the ceiling, then later plan on raising the ceiling (My walls in my last shop were only 8' tall and the lift worked fine with a cathedral ceiling). The nice thing is you can take it with you if you ever move (I've moved mine twice).
First problem: In my garage, if I had a 2-post lift, I wouldn't be able to walk around my car when the lift was in use. Because the posts would be against the side walls... and the arms would make it so I'd be crawling under or over them when the car was in the air.
Second: I'd have to position the lift in a location so it wouldn't interfere with my garage door. Why is that an issue for me? Well, with my current lift, I'll be able to park one car in the back of the garage during the winter and be able to leave it there and still be able to use my lift for servicing the daily driver.
My point is all lift designs have pluses and minuses and no one design is perfect for every situation. The garage I originally bought my lift to use in is just large enough to have made any of the three standard designs possible (although still height-limited). But after thinking of what we would use the lift for most of the time and what the garage is used for the rest of the time (car parking), the scissor-lift remained as the most practical design for our needs. Being able to roll it out of the way when not needed was a major plus. Her garage is large enough that she can park 3 cars side-by-side in the two bays. A permanently mounted 2-post lift would make that impossible.
Question: Are you suggesting this thing can lift things like a 2 post up to 4' high, without needing to be secured to the floor? I'm missing that part.
Believe it or not, yes, this is how my lift works: It's not attached to the floor. If I lived in California - no freakin' way would I trust it during an earthquake... but here in the relatively geologically stable Northeast, it's not an issue... as scary as it looks at first glance, it's actually surprisingly solid when in use... even with a car at full height.
I use one of these:
But my cars all have real bumpers.
It's easy to make pads to lift on the doorsills as well.
Thing only cost me $75.00 used.
Shawn
Trans_Maro wrote: I use one of these:
Real bumpers and sill height is the issue with using those with modern cars. A friend of mine has one her hubby uses for dirt-track cars... although they did pick up a used 2-post lift a couple of years ago... but their shop is about 10x the size of mine... with a 14' ceiling.
The main reason I have the air bumper jack is the 8' ceilings in my shop.
No room for a hoist at all.
Shawn
Trans_Maro wrote: I use one of these:
hehe I was trying to explain those to my Son, I used to work with those all the time, I aint seen one in years, and I often wondered if I could retro a pair of those to lift the yadas from the side.
we have it up and running! The 2 lifts came last thursday, and I drove one down to my buddy in Palatine We started working on setting it up on monday, I layed it out and drilled some holes between my real job, and tuesday I bolted it down. Last night my son hooked up the hydraulics, and today I tweaked the columns to perfection. So far I like it.. lol It is easy enough to move, I dont see that as an issue
Looks great, it's a luxury tool that becomes a necessity after you're used to it. Congrats!
In reply to RussellH:
Willy, Thanks for the feedback. Looks very nice as I'm considering one also...but I have a question.
My concern is the anchoring. I'm leery of removing and refastening bolts to shields (anchors) that might eventually spin loose from the concrete . Specifically I'm wondering if occasional torquing and untorquing bolts from these anchors might eventually create a sloppy hole/loose anchor. As a contractor in some cases we use epoxy to secure anchor shields to concrete holes, but am wondering what hardware and system is called for with this lift. Thanks.
In reply to uponroof: Willy,
Just found this youtube vid regarding MaxJax installation. The 6:20 mark in this 10 minute vid shows anchor/bolt installation, which is the old friction fit method... via 3 pound hammer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kXzzrufv_M
Next question being concrete density as hammering shields into concrete isn't the best system when utilizing an old or thin pad. I'm guessing they call for 3000 concrete with a minimum of 6 inches in depth (?).
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