WARNING: Garage Porn - Checkout what the Pornsche owner did - //fatlace.com/2013/01/jack-olsens-porsche-911rsr-garage/

I'll do something off of CL eventually, lifts can be had for $600 if you know how to lurk... 2 mast is my preference, I think you could shorten the posts up if you need to on some models

Another kind of lift to consider (big $) is by SEFAC //www.sefac.com/ - you just roll a mast out to each tire where ever the car (Railroad car) is and lift it up. Or move the house higher so you can stack more Mini's - you need 3 phase power too...

A 4 post lift can be used in a garage of 9'6" or so, but you'll be limited as to the types of cars you can store (low height cars like Minis, Lotii, etc.) Forget parking a Mini and a SUV, or even a Accord. A Lotus Elise and an Mini can co-exist in such a low ceiling.

The other factor is, if your storage space is underneath the garage door, you may need to re-do the garage doors so they fold up as close as possible to the ceiling to maximize clearance. Most conventional garage door mountings leave 12-18" of space between the garage door and the ceiling. The type of mounting that reduces that space, increasing clearance, usually needs a spring loaded central pivot for the door (instead of the two side-attached springs of a "normal" mount) and a side-mount garage door opener, if you must have one.

If there's nothing above the ceiling of the garage (no structural or other vital pieces, just empty space) you can punch holes in the ceiling drywall to accomodate a tall 2 post lift. You will still be limited in terms of clearance for tall vehicles of course, and also you have to be careful about the thickness of the concrete slab you set the 2-post lift on. It's not so critical with a 4 post lift, since those have 4 surfaces to distribute the weight and don't need to be bolted in. But the 2 post lift must be bolted down, and I believe you need a minimum of 6" slab thickness for safety for the capacity of lift typically found in a home garage.

 

 

I like the maxJax idea.... ( and the portability )...but don't like the fact that you'd have to wheel yourself around...or kneel.
There must be one that'll utilize every inch of 108" ( 9ft )..enabling one to stand up ( i'm not that tall..lol )

The MaxJax is about the best option if you have a low ceiling I went from an 8' ceiling to 11'5" after a major reno. My Craigslist Hoist was adjustable but only down to 12' After that I had to drill some new holes to get it even lower and have the cables shortened. All worked out in the end for me !!!

Mousy

Yeah I thought the same, shipping is about $300. Guess I should find out about the suspension to figure out 4 post versus 2 post.

Thanks for the input.

Wow! Your Craigslist lift is great, that definately wouldn't fit in the garage at home though. Love the pictures!

Never heard of the MaxJax lift, must be living under a rock. Love the idea although I would like to park a car underneath as well as work on them. I will try and get a price on it as an option, it is definately innovative.. Mmmmmm so many choices.

Thanks for the lead Mousy

There is the Max Jax //www.maxjaxusa.com/ I found a used 2 post on Craigslist , $1200 for an 11,000 Lb Had to shorten it as I only ended up with 11'5" ceiling . Added some paint and stickers............

Mousy

Are there any hoists out there that will work with a 9' ceiling?

The first one in this thread will work with 8'2"...but it's not open on the bottom...so can't use it to work on the car.

He'll you could probably just park the wheels on the jack points haha. 

1400 doesn't seem terrible to me price wise honestly. But then there is shipping. That looks like the ones I've used in army hobby shops. But like bluedragon was saying. The suspension after a while may become an issue. I'm sheer that could be easily remedied.

If the lift were ALI certified, I'd feel pretty good about it. Not all quality lifts are ALI certified, but very few (if any) bad lifts have that certification.

For those small side-lifts earlier in the thread - my question would be how do you load them? The Mini is small, but I don't think it could be driven on to those lifts, especially as close as they are to the wall. I have a four post lift and the Mini fits well on it. But the Mini isn't quite small enough to fit 2 on a normal lift. 

Remember with a 2 post lift, there's no designed means to catch oil leaks and keep them from despoiling the car beneath (not to mention the possibility of suspension damage from unloaded suspension arms drooping downwards - though I'm not sure how serious a problem that would be, especially for a simple vehicle like a Mini.) I imagine the amount of stress on non-metallic bushings would be the key point.

 

The HR 8000 that I mention above seems like a helluva good price but that doesn't mean it's a good one. Theres a guy reviewing it that has a Lambo and recommends it highly, but he could just be peddling them for the manufacturer. Here's a link:

//www.lamboweb.com/Repairs_Section/All_Repairs_Lift.htm

A bit of both. I have to work on the underside of the car but it would be nice to park my other classic, which shall not be mentioned, underneath. Do you have any brand that you can maybe recommend or maybe have experience with? Just at the research stage right now.

Honestly I hadn't begun research yet. This thread made me poke around a bit but no brands Orr ideas as of yet. Got any suggestions?

I guess the question you have to ask yourself is what do you want the lift for.

If you want to store your cars then a 4 post would be my choice... but if you want to work on the car, get a 2 post lift. 

wevebeenhad,

Just curious, are you looking at any specific kind or brand? And be careful BIG AL is watching from Ontario eh!

I plan on installing one in the next few years to work on/ store  one of two classics

Cdn?!?! Some sort of fake money?! Haha I'm kidding don't take offense.  

i have seen several companys around the ashseville n.c. area offer the two post lift installed for 1995.00

This concept is used in Japanese parking garages, except 3-4 high.