AUTOLIFT FOUR POST LIFT

I would go to the autolift(dot)org site, and make sure the lift you buy is ALI certified. The certification doesn't mean that it's better than another non-certified brand or model. It just means that the company paid to have it tested, and that it passed a series of required safety tests. I felt like it gave me a piece of mind when I bought my lift. I went with the "direct lift" from Gregsmithequipment. I bought the heavy duty one, that is also extra long, extra wide, extra high. I really like it a lot! And it was certified, plus cheaper than a lot of competitors. Direct lift was made by Rotary lift, but I'm not sure if they are still made, and/or certified.
The lifts that I currently like a lot are the Bendpak models. As I mentioned prior, check for the ALI certification, because they don't test all of the models from each manufacturer. That doesn't mean that the non tested models are any worse, but if I were buying, I would get a tested model.

 

I bought a Prokar on-line--4post storage lift--works great--$1895. Neighbor has another brand--paid twice as much--almost the exact same machine.

 

Mine is a pro park 8 plus bought from Greg smith equipment. It is made in china, but certified, designed and supporTed by a US public company (Dover corp). I've had it about 5 years and never had any issues.

 

I bought mine from panther lifts for less than 2k. It's worked perfect for the 5+ years I've had it.

 

I have the earlier model, Pro Park 7 (7000 lb lift). No problem and works great. Also, bought from Greg Smith Equipment.

 

Hi guys! Great info about buying a certified one - question for you guys is who did you have install the four post lift? Did you get a commercial contractor to do it? I'm told it is not that easy and requires 2 guys to do it - and one contractor told me it requires someone with a high bond / insurance or something of that nature to do it.

Any advice or what type of person i need to call that can do this? I'm told it's not hard to do it...

 

I have two four post lifts in my garage. My neighbor and I installed the first one. He and I both purchased them at the same time and helped each other out. We did not have any problems doing it. Some of the parts are HEAVY so be prepared with extra hands or a hand truck or furniture dollies to move them around. The second one I had a recommended installer do the work for a number of reasons. I think my neighbor and I did a better job "tuning" the cables, level, and safety mechanisms. Having installed one I understood how they worked and was able to tweak it after a few up and down cycles under load.

One of the main reasons I had an installer do it was for delivery reasons. These things are big and heavy and are tough to get off a truck as the lift gate is not big enough or strong enough to handle them. Therefore you need to somehow get them off a truck and then get them home. I had my first one delivered to work and asked the warehouse guys to get it off the truck and then load them onto my trailer. This was a major hassle. My installer picked up the lift from a freight depot and installed it all for $600 I think. Well worth it to me. We are getting ready to build a new house. I will call the installer to move the lifts for me.

 

My four pot lift was all crated and they are quite long and heavy. I hired a tow truck company with a flat bed truck to pick-up and deliver my lift to my garage. Once in my driveway, they lined it up in front of the garage door. I had them slowly lower the crate. I had a furniture dolly with wheels ready and they put the end on the dolly. As they slid it off the truck, the dolly moved into the garage and it was placed inside the garage. Now I could work totally in the garage and move the pieces around with furniture dollies and lift the ends with a two wheeled hand truck.

It does take longer than listed to put it together and definitely two people are necessary to lift and position parts. Take to the time to adjust and fine tune the mechanisms after it is complete. Once you have the final position, I put shims under each post to level them and put two bolts in concrete anchors to fix the posts into a permanent position.

 

I bought my 4 post lift from Panther over 8 years ago, about $2K. The only things that needed service in 2 years is one cable (of 4) and one activation valve. Both standard items.

I had it shipped to Oakland port, rented a flatbed truck, went to Oakland and it was put on the flatbed for me using a fork lift. I drove it home, parked in front of the house and three friends came over the next day to help install it. We unpacked it one piece at a time, took it into the garage, and did the install in 1 day. Later on, I shimmed the posts and put anchors into the garage floor to level it. Very glad I had it for 8 years now.

 

I chose a bendpak as I do use the rolling jacks to elevate the car while on the lift. Been very happy with my choice.

 

was going to get bendpak, but am slowly getting convinced to switch to advantage lifts.
very well made, nice construction.

 

They’re prob all made in China to some extent, so just make sure it has the certifications which I’m sure all will due to liability issues.
The place I bought mine from referred me to an installer, delivery and installation was a few hundred $, which was well worth it as it also saved me the hassle and expense of delivery. Heres the thing: the installer told me he actually charges more if it was already delivered. When I saw him install it, it made sense. He had it loaded strategically loaded and organized onto his trailer in order so that he could back it into my garage and begin assembly. I was amazed, it was a 1person job due to his planning.

 

I bought an Eagle 4 poster 17 years ago for around $2800. I did not anchor it and I am still using it. It took me about 7 hours to assemble it in my garage. All I needed was 2 floor jacks and a johnson bar. Oh tools were nothing out of the ordinary.