School me on a lift (the shop kind, not the Savvy kind)

1904-06LJR

1904-06LJR

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Doesn't appear to be a thread on this. You can imagine the results when I type in "lift". My back literally screams at me every time I'm under the cars/Jeeps on a creeper. I'm finally going to spend the coin and buy a lift. My shop walls are 12' and when I poured the slab, we went 6" thick. But, now is the time for research before making such a large tool purchase. I think I'm headed towards a 2-post, 9k pounds. There are quite a few companies out there from Craiglist, to Amazon, to buying used. What's good? Open top? Closed Top? A YouTube video I watched says everything comes from China now. Is that true??

Anyways...for those that have one or are in the know, I'd love to hear what you have to say and what you recommend.

Thanks!
 
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1904-06LJR said:
What's good?
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I'm partial to Rotary brand lifts, but mainly because I'm familiar with them. I'm sure other brands are perfectly acceptable, too, but I don't know which ones.

1904-06LJR said:
Open top? Closed Top?
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If by open top you mean no horizontal tie between columns, I've never used an open top, so no opinion on that. Closed top is fine, but you either need the safety switch that won't allow you to crinkle a tall vehicle's roof, or you need to be very careful.

1904-06LJR said:
A YouTube video I watched says everything comes from China now. Is that true??
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[Your Mom's Voice=on]Do you believe everything you see on YouTube?[Your Mom's Voice=off] :ROFLMAO: My Rotary was made in Indiana.

1904-06LJR said:
Anyways...for those that have one or are in the know, I'd love to hear what you have to say and what you recommend.
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Well, I don't know if I'm "in the know" or not, but I will opine, nevertheless. I like the asymmetric lifts because it's easier for an older feller like me to get out of the vehicle once it's in position. With a Rotary lift, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one because they are well-made and parts are readily available. It's what I did. In fact, I didn't pay cash for mine. I bartered for it - cost me about 6 hours of work fighting a building code violation for a friend's newly-built Ford auto service center (50 lifts in that monstrosity!) I also had to remove it from his shop myself (which was fine by me - someone else wouldn't have cared about damaging it). After about a year of use, I had to rebuild the leaky cylinders, which was messy, but not difficult. Other than that, it's been trouble-free. If you're mechanically inclined, taking them down, putting them up, and repairing/adjusting them isn't terribly difficult, but you do need a forklift to take them down or put them up. I suppose with enough guys you could do it without, but I wouldn't recommend that.
 
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@sab Thank you very much for your comments. Yes, open top is no horizontal bar across the top. With only a 12' ceiling, I figure that would lift the vehicle a bit higher since the side stantions are usually shorter on the open tops. Your YouTube comment was funny, which is why I asked. Yes, very mechanically inclined and I'm the "family fleet" mechanic, which is why I was able to sell this purchase to the accountant (wife). I can't stand labor rates these days just for simple PM service/oil changes. I will look into Rotary brands. Benpak and Olympic have been the other popular ones I'm seeing. Still need to research them out too.

Can you explain more on the asymmetrical party you are talking about?
 
1904-06LJR said:
@sab Thank you very much for your comments. Yes, open top is no horizontal bar across the top. With only a 12' ceiling, I figure that would lift the vehicle a bit higher since the side stantions are usually shorter on the open tops. Your YouTube comment was funny, which is why I asked. Yes, very mechanically inclined and I'm the "family fleet" mechanic, which is why I was able to sell this purchase to the accountant (wife). I can't stand labor rates these days just for simple PM service/oil changes. I will look into Rotary brands. Benpak and Olympic have been the other popular ones I'm seeing. Still need to research them out too.

Can you explain more on the asymmetrical party you are talking about?
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Challenger lifts is the one being pushed on all the Youtube channels.
 
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Nevermind, I just watched a video on Rotary's website about symmetrical and asymmetrical.... that's neat!
 
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Apparition said:
Updated to challenger, typed the wrong name by accident.
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The Champions actually looked pretty good though. I was expecting to pay around 5k and they are below that range... This is exactly what I mean though, so many brands out there. I have a buddy who's friend is an installer. Gonna set up a call with him to get his take. I know he's said before there's some junk out there so that phone call will be helpful for sure....
 
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1904-06LJR said:
The Champions actually looked pretty good though. I was expecting to pay around 5k and they are below that range... This is exactly what I mean though, so many brands out there. I have a buddy who's friend is an installer. Gonna set up a call with him to get his take. I know he's said before there's some junk out there so that phone call will be helpful for sure....
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Finally found a page with all the people they have pushing them

https://www.challengerlifts.com/challenger-community/
 
The 24 Hell and Back crew.....It's just missing LiteBrite 😆 I wonder though, remember the scam with all the articles written in JP magazine pushing Smittybilt stuff? Is it just another "I'm getting free shit to say good things" kinda thing??
 
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1904-06LJR said:
Is it just another "I'm getting free shit to say good things" kinda thing??
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I've watched most of those Youtubers, most from when they first showed up. None seem too picky about who's stuff they hawk (in fact, I think Michelle, the person who really controls what FabRats do, will sell anything for a buck.) They started by hawking anything they got for free, but these days, they seem to hawk stuff only when they get paid. I don't take anything they hawk as a reliable endorsement.

That said, I think Challenger lifts are pretty good lifts. Some are even made in the USA.
 
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sab said:
I've watched most of those Youtubers, most from when they first showed up. None seem too picky about who's stuff they hawk (in fact, I think Michelle, the person who really controls what FabRats do, will sell anything for a buck.) They started by hawking anything they got for free, but these days, they seem to hawk stuff only when they get paid. I don't take anything they hawk as a reliable endorsement.

That said, I think Challenger lifts are pretty good lifts. Some are even made in the USA.
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It's obvious after seeing them switching between Yankum Ropes and Freedom winch line. Warn to Badlands. Milestars, BF Goodrich and now some are wheeling Firestones in Moab. I don't trust any of them.

But the lifts they use, seem to work.
 
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I have a BendPak 2 post 10K asymmetrical lift. It needs 14’ of height and 6” of concrete. Its been a game changer for me. Because of the ease with which I can access things, I’ll take on nearly any project now.

I agree w/ @sab about the utility of asymmetric style lifts.

I think 2 post is the most useful. But, if I ever build a bigger shop, I’d like a 4 post as a 2nd lift. They can be used for doing things requiring the vehicle at ride height and can be used for storage (one on and and one below).

I recommend a decent safety margin with regard to capacity. My 8K tow rig seems like as much as I’d want on my 10K lift. The lift picks the truck up fine, but definitely sways a little when you’re yanking on things unless you stabilize it with a 1500# pole jack or 2, which I highly recommend buying when you get the lift. In addition to stabilizing a heavy rig, they are also very helpful for any number of other things (cycling suspension, holding up your drive train when the T-case skid is off, installing rock sliders, and so on…)

The BendPak quality is OK. I’ve had a slightly leaky cylinder since day 1 but it works well and reliably. Lastly, price. Pre-COVID, mine was just over $3K, new. Now, they are almost double that at just under $6K.

Hope that helps.
 
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Woodrow said:
...if I ever build a bigger shop, I’d like a 4 post as a 2nd lift. They...can be used for storage (one on and and one below).
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So can a two-post lift, but it is limited to certain vehicle types. My lift is in a 40' deep bay. I've had the LJ in front, my 98 Impreza on the lift, and my wife's 21 Impreza below the lift. My Expedition and LJ, however, aren't vehicles that allow stacking, either on the lift or below...
 
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Atlas, 10k, 2 post, asymmetrical here. I have zero complaints with the lift and would buy again. I do suggest buying only certified lifts, as they are built to better standards, plenty of info out there on this. And like @Woodrow stated, get yourself at least 2 pole jacks, I use mine almost every time I lift a vehicle.

As for the shutoff/cable tray I like mine being overhead. I didn’t want it on the ground and me having to walk/work around it.
 
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I bought an old 1980's Rotary for $700 and love it. I found it on Craigslist...a shop was upgrading and selling off the old stuff. I can't stand working on my back either. The one thing I would add is to have a high garage door and a jack shaft garage door opener. In the summer I can keep the door open with the jeep on the lift no problem. Old, crusty, and made in the USA.

lift.jpg


lift 2.jpg


lift 3.jpg
 
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You guys with the tall garages and lots of space make me so jealous.

I have to share the garage with my wife's car, and only have an 8ft ceiling, so I ended up with a set of quick jacks. Better than nothing, but still end up on my back, and block access from the sides.
PXL_20221001_160946227.jpg
 
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Another option for low ceilings is to dig a pit. I had a buddy with one of those that had an entrance from the basement, where he could keep tools readily accessible. It can be a good option.
 
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Granite said:
Another option for low ceilings is to dig a pit. I had a buddy with one of those that had an entrance from the basement, where he could keep tools readily accessible. It can be a good option.
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Man, a pit with a set of QuickJacks would be kind of awesome.
 
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