Guys,

I am in the midst of planning out a design for my new 1 car garage and I am toying with the idea of having a lift. I am in the city in a row home so I have height and size restrictions.

How high to I need the ceilings need to be to fit a 4 post lift in the garage?

How much does an average 4 post lift cost?

TIA

 

I was able to store a Mustang over a Thunderbird with 10'6" ceilings at my last house. I could not put the lift all the way up, so standing under it required crouching, but it worked just fine for storing cars. The 13' ceiling in my new house leaves plenty of room to put the lift all the way up. It looks like 12' would be plenty of height.

If you're looking for a four post, look at Backyard Buddy. I bought a Perfect Park 7000, which was the best at the time (ten years ago), but Backyard Buddy has made countless improvements since then. If I were to do it again, that's what I would buy.

I haven't priced lifts in a long time. Mine was $2,500 shipped to my door.

One last word of advice...spend the extra money for the aluminum ramps. The steel ones are heavy!

 

Man if fit those 2 in with 10'6 I might be able to get it done! I have a lexus is350 and the porsche would be on top. I have 10' now but if I could excavate a few feet down to make it fit that would be nice!

I tried to get on Backyard buddy's sight, not very operational but I have heard good things about them. Anyone know how much?

 

my backyard buddy, larger size, with castors, drip trays, aluminum extended ramps, key lock, jack tray, deliverary and installed around 5.5K

probably could get it drop shipped, reg size, no options for around 3K

 

dang that is expensive. I may have to nix that idea

 

I know a guy that is a major distribator for I believe Bend Pak
a good four post lift with some nice options is only like 2k

dont know how the quality is compared to BackYard Buddy, but the price to just store cars kicks its ***

 

pay attention to delivary and other charges, they can add up. Also look where the steel is from, US steel is supposed to be much better than chinese steel. My set up is sort of the best you can do in a 4 poster. What's safety worth? Not to mention my 03 M5 which is underneath!!

 

i have eagle lifts now .one tall and longer and one shorter in both height and length. the last set i had in the last house were i believe ameralift.funny they all seem to look alike . from some research it appears that several distributors use the same manufacturers and rebadge them . i am looking for a three tier lift at a reasonable price . the cheapest i have found is 17.5k. i am not willing to do that . search eagle lifts . they work fine . ditto on the aluminum ramps.i have casters and never used them.
hope this helps.
be careful of the garage door opener.also how far down the door is from the ceiling in the up position. if you have that type of door.

 

Very helpful advice guys, thanks!

 

3 tier???

Ild like to see that, got a link??

 

I purchased a backyard buddy about four years ago. I has the aluminum ramps,(you need these because they're longer and will help prevent a painful front spoiler rub), two drip trays, two jack trays, and a carrier for the hydrolic motor(this allows you to lift the car for storage and then wheel the motor to a remote location. My unit was about $3,500. I was able to get some features @ no cost by telling them that I was dealing with Eagle and they were playing ball. I had to rent a flatbed to transport it from the truck terminal to my home for about $70. It's a dream to detail a car on a lift, no bending down and you can do the inside of the wheels from under the car.

 

I am not sure with the 4 post, but I have a 2 post in my garage and I had to have the cement dug up, and poured deeper. I think normal houses are 3 or 4 inchs deep, I have 12 inches deep. I think they said 6 or 8 inches was the minimum recommended but I wanted a little bit of a safety buffer. However since the 4 post has a more even weight distribution you may be fine with the 3-4 inch cement most garages have. Also, my lift is I believe 12ft tall. I know they make shorter ones for garages with smaller cealings.

 

damn you guys have some serious lifts!

 

and yet not one pic

 

Sorry about that. Here's one of my Perfect Park. It's not a great picture, but it's what I have...



You can also see it in the background of this picture of one of my ill advised projects...