Hi all. Reaching out to anyone out there that has a garage lift installed. I am posting this in the 997 section so may get slam for it but I have a 997 and figure someone with a 997 on a lift in their garage would replicate what I am trying to do. Here's a little info. I have a 3 car garage and looking to fit four cars in it. Nothing special there. The lift would be used for long term storage. My research indicate four post is preferred over the two posts lift for my need. I would not be doing much more than oil changes (maybe some other minor things) with the lift. Leaning towards Bend Pak but I think they are wired for 220v. Would prefer 110v. Other suggestions are welcome. Garage height is 135 inches. Door height is 96 inches.
I am in the Los Angeles area. Would be awesome if I can see one in person.
Here is a list of the cars will be off an on the lift.
1996 BMW 318ic, 2003 Benz c320, 2011 997.2.
I believe all 3 cars are 54" tall or less.
Thanks in advance!! Any info would be appreciated.

 

I have the BendPak HD-9. My ceiling is slightly lower than yours. I can park my 997 on it and pull my 335i under it or vice versa. The key to mine working was the clearance on the garage door opening unit. I have about 6 inches of clearance when the car is up on the lift. That is 6 inches on the hood due to garage door opening unit and 6 inches on the roof from the ceiling. Get dimension specifications from Bend Pak and measure your garage twice. I have had my lift for two years and have been extremely pleased with its performance. I got the 220V version, but they make a 110V as well.

 

I have a BendPak 2 post and live in the LA area. I garage was built to accommodate the lift and it works great. I can recommend a good company to install if needed. The only negative a find with the 2 post is that the posts are in the way of opening the doors all the way. Send me a PM for more info.

 

I have a backyard buddy 4-post. Could have probably got something lesser stout than this, but my wife needed assurances that these things won't just collapse and fall! I got the 7' , 7,000lb model. (They have 6', 7' and 8' clearance versions) with the full deck option. My logic is that if there are no cars to go on there in the future when all my kids are gone, the full deck can serve as snowblower and lawnmower storage too. It runs on 110v and when it is not used I just keep it unplugged. I didn't have a ceiling clearance issue. I am pretty sure I can put an Escalade up there!

Feel free to PM me for more details or pictures if you're going down this road.

 

I also chose a Backyard Buddy after a long search. Try www.garagejournal.com. The posts there are the best source on the internet for this type of thing. Incredible resource, and some awe inspiring garages.

 

Take a look at a Mohawk asymmetrical lift (with hydraulics in the slab)

 

I have a back yard buddy. Love it...

 

By the way, there were some discussions a while back on a group buy - maybe there are some useful information for you here...

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...group-buy.html

 

I have an EZ Car Lift http://www.ezcarlift.com/ - I really like it. It's easy to use and works great. It will lift from 3 to 26 inches. I've had it for about a year or more and have had no problems with it. Their optional drive-over kit includes low profile ramps that accomodate the low clearance of my aerokit very well.

 

Limiting factor is the height of the garage door when it's open. Door rails need to be extended to raise the distance of the open door from the floor to at least eleven feet if you want to be able to put a car on the lift and raise it enough to get another car under it while the door is open. Two 54" cars plus the thickness of the deck on the lift itself is at a minimum 114" or 9.5' with no clearance at all under the lift so you'll need a combined clearance of at least another foot or more of between the open garage door and the car on top and the lift deck and the car on the bottom. Your current door arangement won't let you raise a car on the lift more than 38" off the ground. Enough for an F 1 car but not much else assuming you'll want to open the door to get the car on the bottom in and out of the garage.

 

Thanks to all for your input. It never cease to amaze me how helpful 6speed members are. After further research, I am now pretty sure I will be going with Bend Pak HD-9. It turns out that my local indy shop has this brand in use and they are very pleased with it. I figure if it's good enough for a professional shop, it must be overkill for home use.

To Cutters68,
Thanks for your 110v comment. I did verify with Benk Pak today and the 110v is available.

To diviter,
Too bad you don't have the 4 posts version. I'd be all over that. Do you mind sharing the company you used to do the installation?

To dadio,
Good point on the dimensional stack up. Looks like I will need to re-do my roll up door too.

Anyone knows a good garage door guy in or around 91355??

Hey you guys with the Back Yard Buddy. Did you had other to pick from? What made you go that route? I did a google search today on "backyard buddy failure" and found something about a cable failure. Not sure if I believe it but it's out there.

Once again, thank to all for your input. The info is quite overwhelming (in a good way). Hate to say it but I'd rather do my son's kindergarten homework.

 

I have been thinking of getting a Backyard Buddy to Stack my Porsches but I worry about what happens in an earthquake. Any thoughts about that?

 

I just did a thread in the garage section about my new HD-9. My 3-car garage is now a 4-car!

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...installed.html

Does everything it says on the tin. You do need compressed air to lower it.

It was available in 110v, but I elected to get a 220v line run to the garage so I can buy 220v toys in the future.

Definitely budget for having your garage door tracks raised and a jack shaft opener.

 

NikosF,
I checked out your thread. Great write up. Quick question. Was there a particular reason you chose to shim up the columns with washers instead of adjusting the internal ladders to compensate for the floor slope?

 

Slick - good question. My installers recommended doing it this way.

They recommended against messing with the ladders, since the safeties need to be at the same level ('lined up') when the lift is raised or lowered. If you adjusted them separately then they would be staggered.