2 post lift recommendations

I got an eagle lift.... depends on what you want to do. FOW uses Rotary lifts. What ever you get make sure its asymetrical so you can open doors easily. It's widely accepted that Mohawk makes the best lifts but your gonna pay for it.

 

You think Mohawk is better then Rotary?

We have a 4 post Rotary at the office.........

 

I didn't say Mohawk was better than Rotary. I said it's widely accepted. I researched buying a lift for a year before I took the plunge. In my opinion for what I spent what I got is the best lift for me. I'm not running a business with it.

 

I wasn't arguing the point.......... Just the opposite

You said " It's widely accepted that Mohawk makes the best lifts but your gonna pay for it."

So if they make the best, I was just asking why you felt that way. I haven't done much research at all.

I know there are a few lift companies that make residential lifts that are not comparable to the Rotary. I've just never had any experience with Mohawk, that's why I asked.

 

No problem. when I was researching buying a lift I spoke with several manufacturers including Mohawk. All the other guys all but conceded that mohawk was better in almost every way. But, at double, triple and quadruple the price most played up the value factor over Mohawk. I look at Mohawk seriously, but I could wrap my mind around 7-12K for something I could get for 3K. I know a few folks who have them and swear by them. Same with Rotary. It was simply more lift than I really needed.

 

I have a really nice one post lift. Totally transportable, you can move it around to any part of the car w/o moving the car. Really nice one - think it is made by Craftsman. Darron two of these welded together would make a nice 2 post lift.....

 

I just bought a two post lift that is also an alignment lift with runways.......

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it.

I bought it because:

1. It was a Rotary and I know how solid they are
2. I wanted the 2 rolling jacks

 

i use a foward[texas co.] 10,ooo A .with 10 k being wider and lower it works for me.this is a proff lift that is made to go up n down for many years.[$3400].you are able to switch arms from side to side so you can enter lift foward or backwards.ive used mohawk rotary they are all good machines.the best thing i ever did was get a portable 4 post drive on.makes work on newer cars a blessing.ever work on a car door without having to bendover. good luck forza

 

I'm sure some people buy them.... I was talked out of it by Eagle and they sell the same thing. It's called a Mechanix. Cheaply made overseas with the gears and hydraulics coming from here. The basic difference was the quality of constuction with the lift itself. Thinner steel, not reinforced, not as good a warranty... for a few hundred more I'd rather have the confort of knowing the lift's not going to bend in half if i put too much stress on it. YMMV...

................or you could go Aeriola's redneck rigged solution....

 

Start asking around for lift suppliers in your area.

I've got a ~10 years old assymetric clear floor lift made by Nussbaum. Typical German engineering. While rated for 7K, I'm pretty sure they used the same mechanicals for their 10K & 15K lifts & just went with higher hp pumps.

Birdman has a quite a bit newer Rotary lift, again, assymetric clear-floor. Nicely made.

We both bought our lifts used from garage supply wholesalers who had taken them in trade on newer lifts. We negotiated installation as part of the purchase. Were hard to beat for ~$2200 delivered & installed.

BTW, since the SUVs have gotton so big, & there are a lot of small trucks out there, 10K now seems to be the std lift for new installations.

 

I bought a Rotary because a car dealer I talked to claimed they tried others and the rotary was their favorite, but I don't think they tried a Mowhawk. I saw several Mowhawks at another dealership and boy are they built.

 

I agree. if you are going to get a 2 post it's best to go assymetric and with a clear floor configuration. Mohawk does have a neat twist on the two post. They have this option you can get called the speed lane that is basically two ramp fittings that let you drive onto the lift just like a 4 post.... I haven't seen that anywhere else... I was going to go the same way Verell but those kinda deals go quick around here.

 

That's just like what I purchased on a used Rotary w/ alignment.

 

Are all four wheels off the ground (pretty cool if they are)? The Mowhawk one is is similar to the low profile lifts that FOW uses. All four wheels still hang. Only the body is lifted.

 

No, it's like driving on a four post......... but it has 2 rolling jacks to lift the wheels off.

 

That's even better..... do they detach? Will they fit anything other than a rotary lift? That's the perfect solution to storing your car with another below if you need to. hmmm. you got me thinking now about getting some.

 

S class


Hopefully

Can't build a larger garage like some people!!!

 

A 550 eventually. But If I can raise the whole car without having to "engineer" some wooden boards that would be sweet. Right now i'd have to remove the wheels and let the suspension hang... not good.

 

I installed a Bend-Pak about 4 years ago - asymmetrical, clear floor, 10K capacity. Cost about $2200 delivered. Most of the dealers in Reno have Bend-Paks, they are made in California and have US hydraulics. I'm no expert, but the engineering looks pretty good to me.

Two boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and about a gallon of coffee got a 6-man working party over here to install it. These farm boys know about heavy equipment! They did such a good job I even bought pizza afterward.

One regret - it would have been nice to have the wide floor model. even with the asymmetrical posts things get kinda tight - remember you place the car center of gravity between the posts. On Fcars that may block the door from opening. My full size truck just about fit between the posts.

 

Darron,
For what it's worth I have a shop full of rotary lifts (9000#) and they work great and are built very well. There is also local support to repair them in the area. We also have two 4 post Rotary lifts, and I usually use them when I work on my car. If you get 4 posts with the rolling jacks underneath, they work very nicely. As a bonus, the ramps double as a work bench which is handy when doing suspension and brake work. If I were buying just one, it would be a 4 post. That way you can use it for everything including alignments if needed.

John

 

I like the Mohawk SpeedLane idea. Have been thinking about making something like it out of loading ramps.

Does it lift by the wheels, or just fit flat under the body pan? Ahh, this explains it:
http://www.atlanticautosuppliers.com/pdf_files/mohawk_lifts/brochures/speedlane.pdf
(edit) This explains it even better, it's the Mohawk Speedlane Manual:
http://mohawklifts.com/library/manuals/speedlane.pdf

You slide rubber pads in place to pick up the correct spots on the frame. Hmm, looks like it adds about an inch to the lift arms. That'll most likely be a problem for Ferraris. I suspect you'll need to support & extend the rear ramps & put something under the front to keep it from droping down so far. Still a good idea.

BTW, if you're designing a garage for a lift, have 1" or 1.5" deep recesses poured into the floor for the posts. That way the lift arms can come all the wsy down to the ground. My lift posts have ~10mm thick steel mounting plates that sit on top of the garage floor. The arms come down until the bottom of the arm touches the plate. If I could have mounted the posts in recesses, the arms would fit under the car w/o me having to drive it up onto boards.