I’ve made up my mind that I’m going to be buying a 4 post lift in the near future. Looking for something that will handle my heaviest of vehicles, which is my 04 Dodge 2500 CTD. I figure a weight rating of 9-10k should do it. Purpose of lift is to make maintenance easier, but primarily to increase garage storage. I had my garage built 24x24 with an interior ceiling height of about 13’6” so I’m good to go height wise.

Question:
So which manufacturer? Cost us always a consideration and I may or may not assemble it myself, depending on cost. Feel free to write one in as well. Thanks as always, for the help.

Choices:
Bendpak
Triumph
Titan
Tuxedo
Amgo
Challenger

 

I’m no mechanic so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I have a Rotary 10. It’s a 2 post. I can do any type of suspension work and store a vehicle on it. It is not as ideal for storing a car but I am not limited like a 4 post where you have to keep the tires on the vehicle.

I purchased mine used, 1 year old, for $2,000 and installed it by myself. Ideally it is a 2 person job.

A 9 or 10k will lift any 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

I just went through this last summer. I went with a 4 post lift and ultimately chose a Forward EFP9. It was between that and a Bendpak. The dimensions of the Forward are what sold me. The width between the posts was slightly wider than my garage door opening, which was what I wanted. Everything else was narrower. I’ve been very happy with it. I also had it delivered and assembled by a local service station co. Worth every penny.

I am familiar with Bendpak and Rotary, which are good. I've never heard of the others. I question why you want a four-post. Your stated purpose, to put a vehicle up on and make more floor space, is about all they are good for. Unless you put air jacks on each end - for which you also need an air source - you can't do anything that requires your wheels or suspension hang free. A two-post asymmetrical …



… is a lot more useful. With two-posts, I also dislike the kind that has cables running across the floor between the columns with a shield over them.



They generally get in the way and are right where you need to put a transmission jack.

Tgrs, very hood point, I will take that into consideration for certain. Thanks!

Egregor, I’ve already got an air supply, which many of the 4 posts use to engage the safety locks. I don’t believe my concrete is thick enough for a 2 post. With a 4 post it doesn’t need to be securely anchored to the floor, and I could always easily move it if I wanted. Adding air jacks isn’t too costly. I also don’t care for the suspension hanging and I definitely need drip trays beneath the car going up top to minimize fluids falling on the car below. I also want the convenience of driving up, not having to bend down and maneuver the lifting arms.

I've had a bendpack 10,000 lb. lift in my shop for about 8 years. It's the asymetric 2 post and I've used it on everything from my F250, VW bug, and bobcat toolcat, and lawnmower.

It installed as advertised and I can't imagine anything more versatile.

Tommy

If I had my choice I'd probably get a Challenger two post, 9,000 lb or larger.

Used to stock replacement pads for Benwil, Rotary and Challenger. Sometimes had to find other parts like restraint arms, limit switches.

All three are good, but Challenger was what I liked the best.

Can someone please explain the symmetric vs asymmetric? Oh I know what the words mean .
But in this context why would you prefer/need one vs the other.

Thanks

I put a Rotary 2-post 12,000lb lift at my business to service trucks. One weighs 10k empty. We installed it ourselves. Been using it for about ten years and very happy with it. Some of the Chinese brand are crap and fail at their rated capacity.

Asymmetric means you can open the doors easier. I prefer the even balance of a symmetric 2-post lift.

Don't have one, don't know much about them but a guy I watch on YouTube (Vice Grip Garage) bought one from WildFire Lifts. He seems to really like it. You can even get a rolling bridge jack with it as an accessory, which seems like a real handy thing to have.

2 post Rotary SPOA10; not sure why you'd want a 4 post lift. I lift a '62 Vette, '67 'Healey, '14 Ram 1500 crew cab, '20 X3 BMW, '18 Polaris Ranger 1000, and my '19 Bullitt with this great lift.

I went through this decision process recently and decided on an Advantage Lift DX-9000 HD. They offer longer and higher weight capacity lifts as well of course. After seeing the lift in person at Barrett Jackson Scottsdale, I was sold. Many of the other residential oriented lifts on the market use a C-Channel sort of design as opposed to a fully boxed in columns, which add a fair amount of stability to the whole set up when things are not bolted down. The difference between shipping cost and cost to install is maybe $500 so I had the lift installed professionally. The crew that came out did a great job, and would be out of the same warehouse in PA that would service you. Add a rolling bridge jack like I did and there's very few jobs you can't do on a 4 post vs a 2 post. Plus storage is a snap, just drive up and lift. Also these lifts don't require air to pop the locks, they use a simple lever and rod set up. I've been extremely happy with mine and the company was great to work with.

Sometimes I hate you guys.

I have this one:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mxj-5175331

Just can’t use it with a pickup truck.

It is however, mobile and you can put it in the corner when not in use.

I have a 10,000lb Atlas 2 post lift. Been using it for a couple of years.

LBAR that looks like everything I’m looking fir in a lift. Competitively priced as well. I’ll have to give them a look. Thanks.

4-post 9000 pound Bendpak.



I have 10' walls with a scissor trussed ceiling and my lift is almost against the wall. As such I can't lift my 2WD half-ton truck all the way to the top. I have the caster kit so I can move the lift, but I've never done so.

quote:

Originally posted by apf383:
LBAR that looks like everything I’m looking fir in a lift. Competitively priced as well. I’ll have to give them a look. Thanks.

My pleasure, sent you an email with a contact over there. Would love to know what you decide on and how you make out!

While it appears you're already headed in the right direction, I'll add the following....

My research has revealed that there are [3] essentially identical lifts of the design posted by 'LBAR15' on the market, as follows:

The Advantage Lift DX-9000-HD --> https://www.advantagelifts.com...ts/advantage-dx-9000

The GrandPrix GP-9F by BendPak --> https://www.bendpak.com/car-li...ur-post-lifts/gp-9f/

The Wildfire Lifts WF9000 --> https://www.wildfirelifts.com WF9000 Std.

One difference between these three lifts is that the Wildfire Lift comes with Steel Approach Ramps, compared to the Aluminum Ramps included with the other two. Obviously a strength vs. weight consideration, but definitely something to consider beyond the price. There may be other differences, but nothing jumps out at me at this point. Of course, I'm not that close to purchasing one at this point either...

While I don't have one (yet), I definitely prefer the fully boxed columns and the contained/sleeve design of the risers for these lifts. Additionally, the rolling jack tray and optional trolley jack allow for almost any service you'd undertake on these 4 Post Lifts.

Here's a video an informative video from Vice Grip Garage on the Wildfire Lift:

I had been dreaming of a lift for years. I wanted a four post lift for storage vs. being able to work on suspension/brakes etc.

I have a single car garage separate from our two car garage, so I was able to take over the entire space. There are plenty of homeowner grade lifts under $3K, most of which of imported materials, including Bendpak. In my research, the only USA made lift was some outfit in Ohio and it was $6K vs Bendpak's for $3K.

I lucked out and found a used lift locally on Craigslist. From what the seller stated and from my research, it is a US manufactured unit. I did find the motor was assembled in Mexico. I also visited a shop in Los Angeles that built their own lifts, but used imported, off the shelf power units.

Looks like you're leaning toward a four lift post. Invest in the jack bridge and you should be fine. My lift also included the casters and steel ramps. The casters are really nice, but in a single car garage, they're useless and I eventually bolted my down (super easy). The steel ramps are pretty heavy (70#?). Mine is 110v which makes lifts kinda slow, but I'm OK with that because I only lift maybe two or three times a month. I've also raised my garage door rails about 12" to put the raised garage door panels about 3" from the ceiling. I then converted to a Liftmaster side mounted door opener.