Mid rise car lift

I had a Bend Pak Low Rise lift for years in my home shop, the raised height was about 38" and with the single lift cylinder easy to work on . It's about $2,700 If you go for a Midrise it costs about the same as a medium duty four post lift. Whatever you decide be sure it is US Certified there are shoddy and dangerous Chinese units on the market ( look up videos and you'll see the dangers)

I have a CMC wide body that weighs in at almost exactly 2,000 lbs. and installed a BendPak MD-6XP last Summer.  It is “portable” in that you can lift one end with the supplied moving tool (which doubles as the pump stand) and then move it around in your garage to where you want it.  It is pretty heavy at about 1,000 lbs., so you won’t be moving it too much.  I just leave mine under the Speedster and park over it.

It comes with four sets of lift pads (different heights) for the adjustable arms and the pump unit can be positioned up to ten feet from the lift.  It runs on 110 volts but you’ll need a 20 amp outlet/circuit breaker.  It goes from floor to max lift in about 45 seconds.  Time back to the floor depends on how much weight is on it.  If it’s empty it takes a couple of minutes but with a car on it comes down in about 45 seconds.

It can lift up to 48” off the floor, BUT you may be limited by your overhead garage door and opener track.  I can’t lift that high without interference with my roll bar and the door opener track.  Highest I can go is maybe 38” without hitting anything.

Ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them.  

https://www.bendpak.com/car-li...cissor-lifts/md-6xp/

And I agree with Alan about lift quality.  After I got my BendPak one of my neighbors bought something similar from Harbor Freight at their local store but everything about the BendPak is more rugged.

I don't know about that. I've had the Harbor Freight mid-rise lift for 5 years now. It is made VERY well. Welding is first rate, materials are sturdy. The lift weighs 900 pounds.

It's rated for 6000 pounds and lifts 48", but I'm limited by my low 7 foot ceiling. You can either get under with a creeper or a mechanic's seat. It is really nice to bring the car up to work on the engine though, since it kills my back to bend down.

It also cost me about $1300 delivered in 2017, that's HALF the Bend-Pak price. It has two small hydraulic cylinders instead of one big one.

I lifted my 4700 pound Audi with it, my Cayman, several Subarus(Legacy and Impreza), and even the back end of my 6000 pound pickup. Oh yeah, and Spyders too!

My lift pump runs on 220, so I ran an outlet for the lift(20 amp=12 gauge wire). Not a big issue, no way it would cost DOUBLE to run the electric. It uses a gallon(or was it two?) of hydraulic oil. Functionally, it's identical to the Bend-Pak, but it only has one set of lift pads. You move it around the same way. There is a cable-operated safety latch on the pump/wheeled jack unit.

I'm very happy with the performance of the lift, and extremely comfortable with it's safety.

Don't be lift snobs, boys.

@DannyP posted:

Don't be lift snobs, boys.

Would it be OK if I was?

I designed and built my house around a garage that would take a Bendpak APR-10S lift. I'm pretty proud of it.

I'm clearly compensating for something, and I'd hate to give up my bragging rights. It's pretty important that you all think I'm cool.

Ok, I meant mid-rise lift snobs.

I realize we are the "low-hanging fruit", but you know, cut us a break.

Reading this, I suddenly realized I have lift envy...

Buy what you want but please for your safety be sure it is US certified.

@Bob: IM S6 posted:

Reading this, I suddenly realized I have lift envy...

Well, that was kind of my intention, Dr. Carley. I have a Bendpak APR-10S. My pooie don't stinky.

You may kiss the ring.

@Alan Merklin posted:

Buy what you want but please for your safety be sure it is US certified.

I don't see you telling people to buy a certified fire extinguisher.

I'm not telling anyone what to do. But I can tell if something is engineered, constructed, and welded properly. There is nothing wrong with Harbor Freight's mid-rise scissor lift.

It's not the same as their jackstands, which were recalled.

I just got a Harbor Freight recall on my round swivel work seat!  Gives new meaning to getting the shaft.

I have the Ranger 3500 Quick Jack (made by Bend Pak).  It is definitely low-rise.  Lifts to about 28" but higher with rubber cubes.  Paid $800 for open box shipped free and no tax.  Currently seem to be around $1100.   My back regrets not getting a 4 post lift.

@DannyP posted:

I don't see you telling people to buy a certified fire extinguisher.

"Blazecut woulda' saved it!"

I guess it comes down to putting a price on your life. I have 4 lifts in my shop. All of them are over 20 years old. 3 of them are U.S. made and one German made. I never thought once about the safety of the lifts because they are certified and of the best quality that you could buy at that time. There is nothing wrong with a Harbor Freight lift if that is what you want. It is your choice. I think Alan was pointing out the safety concerns that you might not be aware of. Nobody wants to hear of a injury or worse because of a equipment failure

The reason for my adamant post is that I saw the results of Chinese two post lift that came totally apart with a single cab F-150 on it, the bed of the truck caught on a large Snap On rolling box tipping it over and that was what saved the guy from serious injury.....carry on~                                                                                                      Remind me at Carlisle to tell the tale of how a Beetle tipped off an X style in floor lift while replacing floor pans.........

You are comparing apples to oranges, Alan.

This is the same logic as saying all Fords are no good because of the Pinto.

This photo is from June 2018, before I built my 2" thick wooden ramps.

An unknown brand two post lift is NOT even in the same league as the Harbor Freight mid-rise scissor lift.

The mid-rise I have is too small to lift an entire truck, the pads couldn't extend far enough to grab the frame rails.

I do agree about certification, with regards to 2 post(especially these) and 4 post lifts.

FOR OUR PURPOSES, the HF scissor lift is well up to the task of a Speedster or Spyder. I limit my usage to about 3000 pounds, due to the physical size of the lift pad reach.

I feel very safe under and around it. I'm not "putting a price on my life" by using it. Nor do I advocate using it in a commercial shop.

As Jack Reacher says in the new Amazon series, "details matter".

@Richard Gregor I hope my posts help you choose a lift. A mid-rise scissor lift is very helpful for working on "our" little clown cars. Cheers!

This is the Bend Pak Low rise lift I had in my home shop in PA It was awesome and never gave me an ounce of trouble , I simple drove up over the padded ramps until centered, I made 5" blocks to gain additional height while working speedsters.... it easily lifted the Harley F150 truck I had too.  I sold it to Bill Drayer 5 years ago. https://store.bendpak.com/lr-6...;utm_content=General

@Alan Merklin That lift is a LOT different from my Mid-Rise lift.  Mine has dual hydraulic pistons and looks a lot different.  I guess different load ratings and such.

On that Lift Envy thing......  

I can't be envious of a 4-poster because it simply would take up too much of my garage space and be getting in the way all the time, but I find it interesting that most of my old school Hot Rod friends who own lifts here in New England (each one easily as fanatic as most of us replica guys) don't own BendPak lifts.  All of them own vintage Mohawk 2-post lifts - They're made in Amsterdam, NY and are aimed at commercial customers like garages, dealerships and municipalities.

Only one guy out of 8 or 9  bought his Mohawk lift new from Mohawk (he could easily afford it and didn't want to wait for a garage auction).  All of the others got theirs at garage auctions when a mechanic's shop was going out of business, because ALL of the mechanics and garages around here had Mohawk lifts.  They are all 2-post like this (check the right side vertical post in the background):

To say that these lifts are heavy and rugged is a vast understatement.  They don't sell any scissors lifts and their lowest lift rating is 10,000 lbs., so more than what we need.  They are very conservatively rated in their published spec sheets and their stabilizer pads on the bottom are larger in area than BendPak.  Both brands need the same 6"+ reinforced floor thickness and anchor bolts and Mohawk spells it out in detail:

https://mohawklifts.com/librar...lab_Requirements.pdf

They offer commercial 4-post drive-on lifts, but those are for big trucks.  They have a robust comparison brochure, if you want to see how the other half lives.  

https://mohawklifts.com/librar...are_10-12k_Lifts.pdf

My town replaced their DPW building a year ago for the first time in 80 years and installed four big truck rated Mohawks - (2) 2-post and 2 drive-on versions - FOR DUMP TRUCKS!  They're sitting on 12" of rebar-reinforced concrete and could probably hold up the Chrysler building.  

THAT's how the other half lives........  

Gordon, my lift is basically an exact copy of your Bend-Pak. I'd be willing to bet that Harbor Freight purchased one like yours and copied it, as the Asians are wont to do.

I forgot how close they resemble each other until I looked at your photos. Even the pump/reservoir/moving dolly looks the same. I'd bet yours is rated at 6000 pounds or better.

Yup - 6,000 lb. Capacity and whichever one you get, Harbor Freight or Bendpak, it ain’t no picnic trying to move it around your garage.  My puny little 150 lbs. was barely enough to get one end up off the floor with the supplied lever-jack and move-around-thingie.  And even when I got it raised, it kept settling back down and lifting ME off the ground!  A whole lotta grunting and swearing just to move it from one bay to the other.  

It’s hard to get floor traction when your feet are off the ground.

One of my concerns is, the rear weight of the car versus the front? I assume no issue with teetering on a mid rise? Are you guys comfortable working under a mid rise lift? Do you use any other supports as back up - other that the mid rise safety mechanism?

Yep. You'll want to keep the balance of your car top of mind on anything but a 4-post with ramps. As Alan alluded to, it's pretty easy to drop a VW Bug or similar car off a two-post or center X lift if you're not mindful of the car's center of gravity.

Example: In the 1970s and '80s the Fairfield Visiting Nurses Association operated from a fleet of VW Beetles, and my boss Sam at the Urban Arco gas station had the service contract for them. At some point Sam hired his brother Greg as a mechanic (Greg was a chemist by trade) and as luck would have it, one of the VNA Bugs needed some kind of front end work.

Greg hoisted the car up to face height on one of the two old school center post lifts and proceeded to unbolt the front wheels and then the front beam.

–whereupon the car keeled over backwards off the lift, landing hard on its rear bumper.

I totally agree with Ed.  I used to have a pair of "Quickjack" lifts which were pretty easy to move around and set up.  In the early days of owning them I lifted the car once and the nose started to rise off the lifts!

One helluva surprise, that was!

So I moved the car forward about 8" to reposition it on the lifts and it was OK after that.  Eventually, I learned to place the rear lift points under the outside ends of the torsion bars and that shifted the center of gravity towards the front.  

With my scissors lift I place the rear lift pads under the torsion bar end housings and the front end lift pads under the front outside corners of the cockpit (front red boxes).  That seems to keep things balanced with more weight on the front to keep it stable.  These red boxes are good lift points on a pan car.  Don't lift on the middle of the torsion tubes (the yellow X points) unless it's out towards the end caps.   I have moved the rear red boxes backwards to under the torsion bar end cap housings - Those are really rugged and push the center of balance more towards the front of the car making things more stable.  The body subframe carries most of the weight.