2-Post Lift - Minimum Ceiling Height Required?

[Jgordon]

I couldn't find a better forum in which to post this, so here goes.

Just as the title says - I'm designing a garage, and I finally get to put in a lift. Going 2-post as space is a consideration, and most of my work will be wheel rotation, brakes, etc. - need the wheels accessible.

I own three cars that I'd be working on.
- 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser (lifted on 33" tires)
- 1989 911 (lowered)
- 2003 bmw 540 wagon (lowered)

I'm not looking to get a true workshop lift - stand under it and reach up to do the work. Just tired of worming my way under the trucks and cars on a piece of cardboard.

How high do I need my ceiling to be? And are there any suggestions on lifts? I'm looking at BendPak and Rotary, but open to other suggestions.

Thanks.

[blucille]

I bought a used 2-post lift from a Saab dealer that went out of business around 2003, when we moved into this house. The 200 year old barn has just under 10' ceilings.

I can almost stand up when working on a 911, I can crawl around under a small SUV, but easily do brakes and wheel swaps and oil changes on almost anything.

Best bet is to figure out who is going to install the lift and work backwards from there in terms of what might fit and which brand and model you get.

[MTN930]

^^^ I've used a similar lift in a garage w/ 10' ceilings just fine when working on my 911. W/ our larger vehicles I really couldn't stand underneath them but, instead, used an office chair to sit in while working on the vehicles.

It will also depend, though, on what 2-post lift you get. Some have taller posts than others which may determine minimum height.

Many moons ago, in a different house, I boxed the ceiling joists where the car would be on the lift and reinforced the rafters above, removing the joists w/in the boxed area. Doing so allowed me to lift the vehicles to full height to walk around them as the vehicles were partially "in the attic". This, of course, assumes you don't have anything but attic/blank space above your garage.

Good luck.

[junkman300SD]

I built a 30x40 pole barn and found a used 10 ton 2-post lift that had been in a hobby shop from a friend of mine. He referred me to a person who took the lift down, moved it to my place and installed it. Total cost was about $3,000.

My shop has 14" clearance because I wanted to be able to lift anything I wanted. The lift manufactures have minimum and max height specs for current lifts. Definitely go used. Find the person in your area that services lifts for shops. That will be your access to used.

I angled my lift relative to the sides of the shop because I have a single split sliding door and that configuration gave me the most useable space. 30' is wide enough for the lift and 2 other working bays. I have 1 project car in the 1st bay, the 2nd bay free for short term projects and the lift.

Work benches are all the same height and most are on wheels with the top made out of 3/4" plywood that has been varnished for a sealer. I get boxes from a bicycle shop to use to protect the tops so they don't become nasty. One bench has a metal top. All benches have 1 big shelf and all parts from the project go in totes on the shelf. Some benches are 8" and some are 4". You can't have too big a shop or too many benches.

Pour 6-8' of level concrete in front of the doors if you have room in case you want a level surface to work on outside the shop without getting in gravel. A covered leanto is handy also for outside covered storage.

[blucille]

I would suggest an asymmetrical lift, if you just get more room to open doors of the car, etc.

[Cairo94507]

We just broke ground, still grading actually, for a large garage. Going to be 50'x40'x14'. We plan a 2-post asymmetrical arm BendPak lift. That will give us a bit over a foot extra room than required for that lift.

[aoncurly]

Another option is to provide a reinforced concrete pit or depression under the car and put the lift posts in it as well. You can cover the pit with checkered plate or grating when not needed. If starting from scratch, the cheapest, best option is to just build a garage with a ceiling height that you specify taking into consideration the lift height and car height along with how much room you need to stand underneath. Pass the requirements to your contractor so that he can plan on all requirements you have and any other items needed like lift foundations and anchors (they would just thicken the floor slab at the post locations), conduits, electrical requirements, lighting and any embedded items. I would also consult with your lift provider like Bendpak.

[ammonman]

As others have said, decide on the lift first, then design around it. I went with a Challenger brand 2-Post 10K lbs unit in my 40wx30d shop. It required 12'-6" clearance for install so I went with 14' ceiling height. Challenger calls the VLE10 lift a "Versymmetric" as the design of the arms allows vehicles to be lifted symmetrically or asymmetrically with the same lift. Having the ability to lift my 1/2 ton truck and work standing up beneath while still being able to lift front wheel drive vehicles safely is worth every penny. It was about $5k new and installed 3 years ago.

[PeteKz]

JGordon: I've done this twice.

Your ceiling height will be affected by several factors. First is the height of the lift. Most automotive 2-post lifts are between 11 ft and 12 ft tall. Good luck finding a used 2-post lift near you. I tried that route when I moved to the Portland area 4 years ago. Maybe one per year came up. And the buyer had to remove it. In your case, you won't know how tall it is until you get it, and I don't think you want to hold up your shop construction for that.

Next factor is how high you want to lift a vehicle. You want to lift high enough that you can walk and stand under it without whacking your head. You may not lift it to full height all the time, but at times you will.

Next factor is what vehicles you want to lift. A 911 is not tall, so you can lift it high without hitting the safety shut off bar on the lift. However, if. you want to lift an SUV or pickup truck, you want a somewhat taller lift--closer to 12' than 11'.

Since you are building a new shop, I recommend you plan for a 12' or slightly higher ceiling to allow you to buy a 12' lift. If you are building a pole barn style, the roof trusses are usually set 12ft apart, so you can set up the lift in b3tween the roof trusses, and thus lift the vehicle up between the trusses, so the bottoms of the trusses can be somewhat lower than 12'.

Weight capacity: Don't worry about it. A capacity of 7000lbs or more will lift up to a 2500/250 series pickup truck. Most of them are rated for 9000 lbs, which is good for anything up to medium duty trucks.

Minimum height: This is important if you have one or more low cars like I do. Make sure you can swing the arms under the car. Otherwise you'll have to place 2X8 boards or something to drive the car up on, to swing the arms under.

Two types: those with a base plate and those with a top cross bar. The base plate or the top bar carry hydraulic lines and cables from one side to the other. I strongly prefer the top cross bar because the top bar holds the columns in positive alignment which makes them more stable. It also holds a safety shutoff bar, so that you don't lift the roof of the vehicle into the cross bar or the ceiling. It's also easier to maneuver the vehicle between the columns when you don't have a base plate in the way.

When I bought a new lift, I bought from Greg Smith Equipment, which is now Tooltopia. Their prices are as good as any I've seen, and they have warehouses around the country to either ship to you, or you can pickup yourself. The Atlas brand they sell is from China, but it appears tough enough for commercial usage, and I know a couple shops who have used them for 10 years without trouble. A home or farm mechanic will not wear them out. Here's the web site:
https://www.tooltopia.com/brands/atlas-automotive-equipment.html

Here's the one I bought: https://www.tooltopia.com/atexh-9kohx-fpd.html

[gled49]

My 2 post Direct-Lift DL9 has an overall height of 11’, you decide how much room you need above it.

[chrismorse]

I'm very happy with the Rotary twin post, asymmetric.
As others have said, Used can save you a bunch. I talked with my local FLAPS and learned that a local independent shop was closing and i went down and talked with the owner, I offered $1000 cash. They took it down and helped load it into my truck.

In particular, i like the ability to walk under the car/truck without ducking or having to scoot or crawl under it.
Additionally, (as has been posted), there are two basic types, top bar and bottom cross over. The bottom cross over allows nearly unlimited vehicle height to lift, BUT, it is a constant annoyance, a tripping hazard, makes it harder to roll cars in or out, could be in the way of a trans jack or adjustable support post and it makes clean up a bit more difficult.
The top cross over has the automatic stop bar that keeps from the car hitting the cross bar, or roof/ceiling framing.
I would opt for the 14 foot height, so you can lift vehicles with the hood open, as i just did with my wifes benze, which has the ability to open the hood straight up, (so i could install a chain fall to lift the head assembly off).
Don't forget to allow room for an overhead door, tracks and opener. Doors, hoods, campers and lumber racks on trucks need room to get the vehicle to full height.
I lucked out and had a three bay garage, with 10 foot plates and scissor trusses, I still had to move the opener and track up for clearance.
Another consideration is placement. Give yourself a bit of extra room for walking around the end of the vehicle and extra long vehicles.
I would recommend additional concrete footings under the post locations and an extra few bars of #4 or 5 reinforcement.
Finally, thinking ahead, you could run the main power, air lines or additional electricity to power up tools - in the concrete, at the post location(s).
My concrete floor was not reinforced and had a few cracks, so i cut out a 10 x 12 foot section, dug footings, doweled into the old concrete to tie in a new grid of rebar.

chris