[grumpyvette]

this should help
ID STRONGLY SUGGEST NOT BUYING A CHINESE BUILT LIFT AND BUYING FROM AN AMERICAN MANUFACTURER
/KEEP IN MIND THAT PARTS AVAILABILITY IN THE FUTURE AN SERVICE IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN SAVING A FEW BUCKS ON THE UP FRONT COST
BTW I bought the lift design and brand and model I did after closely inspecting several brands at several dealerships and repair shops and asking about repairs and support and if they had any problems after years of use, the lift I sellected had rave reviews

Auto lifts

http://www.autolift.org/

http://www.autolift.org/purchase_considerations.pdf

http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm

http://www.geminilift.com/

http://www.ben-pearson.com/automotive-lifts.shtml

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/racks/index.htm

http://www.challengerlifts.com/products.shtml

www.directlift.com

www.backyardbuddy.com

www.autolifts.com

http://www.westernhoist.com/

www.stingerlifts.com

www.doublepark.net

www.mohawklifts.com

www.autolifters.com

http://www.bendpak.com/

http://www.bendpak.com/product_info.isg?products_id=881

http://www.rotarylift.com/

http://eagleequip.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=LI

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26

ok having just gone thru this , Id point out that theres a HUGE differance in the REPLACEMENT PARTS availability and TECH SUPPORT availability and getting the lift installed correctly between the americam made and chinese built lifts, you probably DON,T WANT a 12,000 lb lift unless you excluesively work on larger trucks as the lift arms may not have the necessary clearance to use on low slung cars
a 9000 lb lift will handle almost all personal cars/trucks

heres what I finally bought and had installed, keep in mind that the higher the lifts weight rateing the larger the arms need to be and the more difficult it will be to use on low groound clearance cars like corvettes/camaros ETC. and youll rarely find personal cars/trucks over 6000lbs in weight with most being well under 4000-4500lbs

heres the lift I purchased, I felt it was the best value, HAD THE BEST SERVICE SUPPORT AND BEST ACCESS UNDER THE CAR, ACCESS TO THE WHEELS, TRANSMISSION,EXHAUST, etc.

http://www.ben-pearson.com/9000si.shtml

old pictures taken the first week I had the lift while I was sticking stuff from the old shop in my new garage

 

[grumpyvette]

IF MONEYS TIGHT, (ISN,T IT ALWAYS) I used these for MANY YEARS before I could afford a lift and had a decent garage...
my shop had two 4 ton floor jacks and 6 of the 12 ton jack stands, 4 of these 12 ton jack stands makes access easy, and on sale they are $55 a pair, before I got a lift I used them almost constantly now that I have a lift I STILL USE THEM FREQUENTLY as theres little advantage to the lift at times simply because working under the car with a mechanics floor roller

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924


4 OF THESE 12 TON JACK STANDS (above) are FAR SUPPERIOR to the more comon 3-6 ton versions, and on a LEVEL CONCRETE FLOOR provide excellent access, under a corvette for most work

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26

a DECENT MECHANICS creeper HELPS
{I welded up my own after the wheels on one I purchased proved to be crappy

 

[grumpyvette]

"I have been looking for a lift for a while but my problem is my garage is not high enough for a full lift. What I want is a low rise or mid rise portable lift I can store under the car and it will be low enough to drive over when not is use. When I need it I can raise it up and have access to the underside of the car. Does anyone have one of these and which would you recommend. This is for a home garage. Thanks"

this will do everything you asked for in a low clearance garage

http://kwiklift.com/commercial.htm

http://kwiklift.com/Options.htm

down

up

Ive used them at a couple friends garages that only had the comon 8 ft ceiling height double garages, and they work really well, but I used the heavy duty version so I don,t know about the standard versions

 

[rabiddawg]

I settled on a bend pak lift after sending the eagle lift back due to shoddy welds and what seemed to be thin material.
heres mine in action

 

[B Hetzel]

The race shop I worked in had a Bend Pak, very high quality.
When I looked at the Direct Lift, etc., the cost was about $2k , the BendPak with free shipping was $2,400. Seems to me that the $400 extra would be worth it.
I'm gonna take a look at Pearson, too.

 

[TimAT]

I purchased a Kwik-Lift a month ago. Hands down, it's a great tool. Gets the Vette up so I can get under it, I don't have to worry about a jackstand failing or shaking the car off the stands.

I got the standard model, but it's still stout enough I can run my 1-ton on it for oil changes and such. Just can't raise the whole truck. But why anyway? It's tall enough.

One of the things I liked is that it will fold down and rest flat on the floor. In that mode the car is about 6" up. Great for working underhood- easier on the back.

I was lookng at 30k to add-on a garage for a 4-post- without being able to get any return on the investment in the form of property value.

:cheers:

 

[grumpyvette]

"I was lookng at 30k to add-on a garage for a 4-post- without being able to get any return on the investment in the form of property value. "


I wish that was true here!

I built my 36ft x 74 ft sq , 16 ft tall garage and installed a lift and they upped my property assessed value 286 K, even thow I can prove it cost me only 112K to build it

 

[TimAT]

Pictures

I got around to getting pictures of the Kwiklift-

If I built the add-on garage, I would have had a major hassle with city codes, and then the increase in taxes. I feel your pain there Grumpy!!

 

[whisper3H]

IF MONEYS TIGHT, (ISN,T IT ALWAYS) I used these for MANY YEARS before I could afford a lift and had a decent garage...
my shop had two 4 ton floor jacks and 6 of the 12 ton jack stands, 4 of these 12 ton jack stands makes access easy, and on sale they are $55 a pair, before I got a lift I used them almost constantly now that I have a lift I STILL USE THEM FREQUENTLY as theres little advantage to the lift at times simply because working under the car with a mechanics floor roller

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924


4 OF THESE 12 TON JACK STANDS (above) are FAR SUPPERIOR to the more comon 3-6 ton versions, and on a LEVEL CONCRETE FLOOR provide excellent access, under a corvette for most work

a DECENT MECHANICS creeper HELPS
{I welded up my own after the wheels on one I purchased proved to be crappy

Harbor Freight is the cheapest stuff you can buy (tool wise) its all imported crap that breaks after one use.

 

[Chuck A]

very nice lifts:thumbsup:

 

[Bob88]

Got mine from direct lift. Best thing I ever bought.

 

[grumpyvette]

"Harbor Freight is the cheapest stuff you can buy (tool wise) its all imported crap that breaks after one use."

WHILE thats TRUE of much of the crap they sell :agree: ITS NOT EVEN close too TRUE on the 12 ton jack stands,
THEY ARE AN EXCEPTION!!
IVE had 6 in the shop for well over 10 years now and HUNDREDS of times in use and they are just as good now as the day I bought them

PROBABLY because they are low tech, EASY TO MAKE and steels fairly cheap
If youve used a set of (4) of those 12 ton rated stands to work under your corvette, youll have a differant and possitive opinion of at least that one HF offering:thumbsup:

 

[grumpyvette]

KEEP IN MIND THAT IF THE COMPANY YOUR DEALING WITH...

DOES NOT HAVE,their physical ADDRESS displayed,
THATS A HUGE RED FLAG.........PROBABLY an EXCELLENT indicator to avoid them


IF they DON'T advertize their lifts as
ALI certified/validated by ETL
THATS A HUGE RED FLAG.........

IF THERES NO LOCAL DEALER
IF theres NO LOCAL INSTALLER AND REPAIR
THATS A HUGE RED FLAG.........

TAKE THE TIME TO DO RESEARCH and FIND OUT WHAT SEVERAL PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS THINK, HOW LONG THE COMPANYS BEEN IN BUSINESS , ETC.

remember the price is only one factor, theres no gain in getting a good price on JUNK that can,t be repaired, something that parts are not going to be available for in a few years or something that will sooner or later get you killed, due to crappy workmanship or design or something being made out of marginally crappy steel, or thin steel to save weight but costing your lift strength......theres a GOOD REASON ITS CHEAPER, ITS WORTH A GOOD DEAL LESS AND IN MOST OF THE CASES, you TEND too GET what you pay for!
what have you gained if the damn lift stops working and you can,t get it repaired or fails and you or your car is seriously damaged or totaled, will that grear low price off set ,being crippled for life or dead

 

[B Hetzel]

Harbor Freight is the cheapest stuff you can buy (tool wise) its all imported crap that breaks after one use.

There's a boatload on stuff you can get from HF that's good enough for a personal shop. Especially tools that aren't used every day.

I don't buy socket sets, wrenchs or anything electrical/hydraulic/air operated from them. BUT:

The 12 ton jack stands are a great value for the sale price of $55.

I've also bought:
The $7 mechanics roller seat, 4 years old now, if it breaks, I'll throw it away.
The $75 bench brake for bending sheet metal, works really well compared to others at $225
They're cheapo manual tire changer $39. I've changer over 20 sets of race car tires (13 inch slicks) with it and it hasn't broke. The tire guys at the track charge $50 per set, I saved $960 so far.
They're $22 truck bed extender for hauling 12 ft. 2x6's, it's cheap, it works, the other stores had one for $60

Yea, there's a lot of cheap stuff but..................

 

[muddpile]

Up here we have a Canadian version of Harbor Freight called "Princess Auto". Very similar, and again I buy stuff like jackstands, engine stands, magnetic trays/pickups, etc. off them. Things that are easy to make, hard to screw up and cheap.