Car Lifts (for personal garage use)... Thoughts needed

[merbesfield]

I purchased a BendPak XPR-10ACX back in 2009; this is the wide, asymmectric two post lift. I've been very happy with it and recommend it.

Thanks!

Lee
302340

This sounds like a really good lift. I think the biggest question some needs to ask; are you storing a vehicle or working on a vehicle. Is service then two post, if store, four post ramp.

[302340]

Hi Mark!

I agree with you. For storing vehicles, we use our BendPak HD-9 4 post. This is also a wide version, but one of the beams can be moved inward for narrower vehicles. I read an article a number of years ago where a gentleman used a two-post lift for storing a rare, all-original car (less than 100 miles on it from the factory) but ended up damaging the suspension from the wheels & shocks sagging down. We use the 2 post only for servicing, but use the 4 post as all purpose.

Some updated photos. ...

Thanks!

Lee
302340

[merbesfield]

Hi Mark!

I agree with you. For storing vehicles, we use our BendPak HD-9 4 post. This is also a wide version, but one of the beams can be moved inward for narrower vehicles. I read an article a number of years ago where a gentleman used a two-post lift for storing a rare, all-original car (less than 100 miles on it from the factory) but ended up damaging the suspension from the wheels & shocks sagging down. We use the 2 post only for servicing, but use the 4 post as all purpose.

Some updated photos. ...

Thanks!

Lee
302340

That looks like the perfect solution. I never looked at specs of our four post lift, which is really for servicing our trucks, but the ramp themselves are very wide. Getting to certain areas of a small car can be difficult, which is why the two post like you have is better. I definitely need to add a two post like yours to our shop. At home it would have to be a four post for all the reasons previously stated.

[mrgreystone]

Hello everyone, I have spent the past hour reading old threads on garage lifts without finding a great answer to what I was looking for.
I am in the midst of researching 4-post garage lifts for my home. Safety is my number one concern. Are there any lifts that are able to be locked out? I want to be sure that I am the only one who can operate the lift, and that my two children can not accidentally (or intentionally) operate it. Do any lifts have a master key switch (or similar idea)?
Also, I have read where Bend-Pak has special locks integrated into their lifts as an added measure of safety in the event of a cable break. Are there any other "above and beyond" safety features I should be looking for?
In terms of quality and reliability, is Bend-Pak generally considered the benchmark?
Just to reiterate, safety is my top priority. I need to feel 100% comfortable with whichever lift I choose to install at my home so that I can rest easy when my children are out in the garage.
Thank you in advance!

[ejboyd5]

Check with the major industrial supply houses for lockout devices such as: https://www.grainger.com/category/sa...ockout-devices

[Bill Simmeth]

Not touching the "is Bend-Pak the benchmark" question. Plenty of debates in other forums about the different brands...

Regards the lock-out question I had similar concerns when I got my lift a decade ago as my then 11 year old son was car obsessed and mechanically inquisitive. So, I dropped the power cable from the ceiling, installed twist-lock plugs inline and used a Master Lock Plug Lock to secure the power while out of service. Cheap $10 peace-of-mind.

Fast forward a decade and the son is still car-obsessed, a much better shoe than me and a hell of a wrench, so I happily leave it plugged in.

[Greg D.]

Was gonna suggest the same thing - a plug lock...

Also unless they know how to operate the lift, once you set it on its stops, it's pretty safe because it's held up by physical locks and residual hydraulic pressure. To unlock it and lower it (which I imagine is your primary concern), you'd have to first raise the lift past the locks, and hold the unlock lever in position while you lower. It's unlikely you kids would know how to do that unless you showed them. And if they do learn, now they know how to do it safely... All this to say it's not a "star wars" door that will drop on you like a guillotine at light speed ;-0

But the plug lock is about all you can do that I can think of, and it would prevent them lifting the top car into the ceiling, for instance.


PS: To answer other aspects of your question, I've owned 2x brands 4 post and 2 other brands scissor lifts over the years due to moves (you do not move with a 4 post lift unless you are a masochist) and frankly never noticed flagrant differences in technology or safety between brands. Just colors and finish styles...

4 post lifts in my experience are very safe, I'd sleep under one without a care in the world. They are stable, moveable, and you leave the top car locked on physical stops and on residual hydraulic pressure. I can see failure to "lift" due to a burned out motor, which would be a problem unlocking your car (raising it a bit to undo the stops) to get it down, but not really catastrophic failure on a lowering. Even if a line blew I imagine it would lower a tad faster but not catastrophically so. Enjoy !

[gled49]

I’m a service lift guy, stackers don’t cut it for anything but storage. G

[tfiv]

Hello everyone, I have spent the past hour reading old threads on garage lifts without finding a great answer to what I was looking for.
I am in the midst of researching 4-post garage lifts for my home. Safety is my number one concern. Are there any lifts that are able to be locked out? I want to be sure that I am the only one who can operate the lift, and that my two children can not accidentally (or intentionally) operate it. Do any lifts have a master key switch (or similar idea)?
Also, I have read where Bend-Pak has special locks integrated into their lifts as an added measure of safety in the event of a cable break. Are there any other "above and beyond" safety features I should be looking for?
In terms of quality and reliability, is Bend-Pak generally considered the benchmark?
Just to reiterate, safety is my top priority. I need to feel 100% comfortable with whichever lift I choose to install at my home so that I can rest easy when my children are out in the garage.
Thank you in advance!

I would teach them how to operate it. Then they can appreciate the potential hazards for themselves. Those four post lifts creak, and the dogs bang - they'll probably be scared of it. My father taught me how to safely put car on jack stands before I was strong enough to even do it myself. He went over everything, blocking, uneven ground, etc. Same with the Ithaca pump 12 gauge in the master bedroom closet!

[curtisaa]

I’m a service lift guy, stackers don’t cut it for anything but storage. G

Ageed…...They have their use but not for someone that wants to perform service items