Tips for low clearance lift ?

[Deschodt]

Wondering if someone has fresh (recent) advice on low clearance lifts...

I've had a few lifts over the past 15y years:
- a low rise with 2 pads: Easy to drive on (it is its own ramp so you just drive over) but hard to position the car precisely over the right lift points sometimes, depending on wheelbase and the wheel hitting the ramp slope.
- A low rise with swinging arms: Ideal for positioning lift points, but a PITA to drive over, requiring ugly home made wood ramps - I hated those, they took a lot of space
- a 4 post: Best of all but I no longer have the clearance...

I was hoping that in the years since I had those, someone might have come out with a super thin mid rise with moveable arms... I'm not seeing one... I have at most 5"under the lowest P-car and I'd like to avoid the whole ramp thing - can't dig the floor either (my bedroom is below it, house on a slope). Ideas ?

PS: Found an old pic:

Basically something like this lift (compact, with extending arms) but thin enough that I can drive a low 912 over it without the need for ramps..



PPS: I'm open to using plastic floor tiles around the thing, that would buy me 10mm of clearance max though... Still need something fairly flat... Or I'll have to go back to the standard midrise with pads...I remember this worked well with my 356 at the time, but not with the 911, wheelbase wise.

[widebody911]

"Raise" the rest of the floor by adding an inclined slab on top of the existing slab. This is similar to the ramp idea, but without the ghetto-ness of the ramps.

[scottmandue]

I have no help with your lift idea but I am so stealing that idea of making a ramp out of 1x8's. Even with the low rider floor jack it is almost impossible to get a jack point on my lowered Miata.

[Deschodt]

You're welcome to the idea, I stole it from this board myself. It's not an elegant solution however. The thing is always in the way, it gets dirty and nasty fast, and if you make it narrow you are always aiming your car an inch off, if wide you'll stumble on it ;-)

"raising" the rest is a good idea but this is a hillside house, california wood crap, and the garage is above my BR. Adding 3" of concrete all around might not be recommended structurally, weight wise ?

[Chocaholic]

Fill bedroom with concrete, then install any lift you want. You can sleep when you're dead. Or, in the garage.

Someone needed to provide a practical solution...sheesh. What's wrong with you guys?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by widebody911

but without the ghetto-ness of the ramps.

Hey... yo... don't hate the playa!