Garage Ramps?

I think you'd be better off just using jack stands or a mid rise lift. Alternatively, you can look into the kwiklift, but it's overpriced for what you get imo.

 

Peter, what is your ceiling height? The Mohawk I bought can go in a 8' ceiling if I recall correct. Or there is Maxjak. You don;t need to have the car go full height, you can use a roller chair to work on the car only a few feet up.

 

That's a big reason why I got the Mohawk - it's Asymetric (did you see my thread?)

 

I have chased garage lifts for awhile now. I have a 14' ceiling so height is not the issue but safety and clutter are concerns.

The two post lifts really should have 6"+ pads poured to support the posts and ensure they do not collapse inward under load. I have little interest in tearing up garage floor to do that. In addition I do not want the doors hitting the posts.

I do not need the portability of this lift, but the concept is probably where I am heading (and adding steel runners under the moving lifting wheels):

BendPak MD-6XP Mid Rise Lift, 6,000 Lb. Capacity, Portable

I question the amount of access of this lift and our ability to remove the aero panels....but checking now.

 

Rather than the BendPak go for the Dannmar Cadet 6000XL Mid-Rise Scissor Car Lift. It is the exact same lift as the BendPak but cost less.

 

Thanks. They looked the same but wasn't sure.

Heard good things on BendPak...but as a private label manufacturer, I know how the game is played.

 

Yes, I talked to a guy a Best But Automotive and he informed me that the difference has something to do with the warrantee. I could not verify that from on line documents, but when I down loaded the manuals for both they are identical from page 6 to 29. The other pages are just fluff.

 

Most don't need 6". Mohawk spec is 4.5" - I have 4" but no plans to lift the 7000 lbs capacity and they certainly have a safety factor...

The asymetric allows the doors to open.

Only issue is Mohawk is very expensive ($5700 ish) and they don't do a good job painting or shipping. If you want the lift to look brand new, it won't.

 

Peter. My garage is probably the most undersized garage out there and I got a bend oak 4 post lift in. My ceiling height is 100 inches and my posts are up against the wall.

If you want a 4 post lift I bet you can make it work

 

Scissor lift like they said is really useful at home, has other uses also

 

I totally get what your trying to do. I made my own set exactly like you describe then bought aluminum trailer ramps to drive up onto them. All I can say is it was scary at best. Once your up it's fine but driving a car up 18" - 24" off the ground made me very nervous. I stacked them next to the wall on top of each other when I wasn't using them. Anyway, I have since moved and have a lift so I ditched them. Kwiklift was my only alternative at the time as well and I decided they were overpriced also.

 

Would love to see pictures.

I'd probably go for a scissor lift as others have done in here. Also the two post makes me a bit nervous being on a post tension slab.

 

I bought an “EZ Car Lift” as an alternative to the other lifts. Cost is about 2K, powered by a drill motor, stores under the car or breaks down for storage. Lifts the car over 2 feet and has unobstructed access underneath. Great for maintenance, but I don’t know it will work for an engine out service.
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Here are some pics of my garage.

The keys here are a few.

1) It is not only the height of your ceiling and the spec height of the lift. If you are planning on stacking cars you need to do the math on the height of the cars you are going to stack. You also need to take into account that the "windows" on the locking mechanism within the lift do not allow precise location of the lift within the 100". They are located in 4" increments and that needs to be taken into account.

I my situation the TR6 and 355 height allowed the overall to work, either way. I have marks on the post next to the pump and know where to stop.

2) This point was a big "oh no!" on my install. Having done the math as above over and over, I ordered and took delivery of the lift. The night I got it I raised the posts in all four corners and sighed a big sigh of relief that it would fit and went to bed with the posts in their vertical positions.

The next morning as my wife left the house and opened the garage door their was a huge kaboom and her screech. I went out and found the right rear post on the ground. DUH! I had forgot to account for the raised garage door in that location effectively lowering the ceiling!

So I have a 1000lbs of steel unpacked in my garage that I cant use. Well after some careful calculation and thought and a couple hiccups that I will leave out of the story, I cut that post with a abrasive disk on a mitre saw and had the cable shortened and swaged, etc. and all is well now.

Bend pak informed me that the warranty is void on doing this and they were a bit astounded when I inquired about getting the shorthened cable from them. They wouldnt provide it for that reason.

Anyway. One year later and all is well and I use it all the time with care and forethought every time I do. My expensive bicycles sit in front of the 355 on the floor and I almost forgot to move them once.

A story that just happened to a local friend who has had a lift for many years. Old corvette on top Porsche on the bottom. Changing tires on the Porsche for a track event, jacked the porsche up under the lift and creased his roof. In a hurry and not being methodical.
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Holy crap that's tight LOL. Do you cringe every time you open the garage door that close the p-cars windshield?

and now I feel foolish, because that's not a p-car LOL

 

No. I know where my marks are as I said. Once you release the cable tension and it sits on the locks , it can't move. So it's in the same spot every time.

Oh yes. Another aha for me because of that garage door is that I have to bsck the upper car in for storage in order to get the full height of the car clear of the door.

When working on the 355 I put it on the lift front first and have my mark for door opening allowance. It's not as high as it could be but with a roller seat it's fine.

If it's winter and I have the door closed and heat on, I'll raise it higher and unplug the garage door.

 

A friend of mine has a 2 post lift that he can get the car up 4 feet. Perfect height for roller carts and can do anything I want to under the car.

 

I have the bendpak md6-xp and highly recommend it. You have plenty of access and it fits in normal height garages. I had a pit cut and recessed mine but you can use it right on the garage floor with ramps which is what I was doing previously.

 

MaxJack portable lift is an excellent choice.
Inexpensive, easy to install, portable enough you can move it if you want to.
Will lift your car to whatever your ceiling height will allow.
I use mine all the time and absolutely love it for that low ceiling garage.