I'm usually pretty good with SEARCH here for finding stuff. Know someone had mentioned scissor jacks before but can't find it. Troy has couple photos recently listed with shots of one (stole one and posted below). I'm building 34x40' barn and like the recess shown in Troy's. Need to figure how large to make it before the concrete is poured - and how thick concrete should be around the indent. Think I once found the lift on Harbor Freight for under $2k.
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Apparently there's a pretty good thread on this over on rennlist. Bryan (pictured here with me in the blue) told me that there is a pretty good description posted there.
Cheers,
Anand
Hi Wolfgang,
I think Larry Jowdy has the set up that you have in mind, contact him through this forum.
Yup, I saw Larry's hole in the garage last year. As is the usual case, I'm sure Larry would be happy to expound. He told me he was lucky to have some cheap CA labor to do the dirty work.
I'm still kicking myself for not knowing about these jacks 3 or so years ago when I was building my garage...I might still be saving for the lift about now, but probably could have had the hole done pretty easily back then. BTW, the garage no longer looks that neat.
Cutting the hole in the cement is the easy part, as long as you don't have one of those 'cable tension' slab floors.
How thick is the slab?
Ted
Friend of mine placed his scissors jack directly on floor and put a 2 x 8 on either side of it . Works like a charm . He can move the jack anywhere in the garage and still have full use of it. Also no hole in the floor to deal with /trip over / keep clean and fill in when house is sold.
Ron - Yours looks like it sticks up 3 1/2-4 inches so a frame make out of 2x4s would work with maybe just 1/2 inch sticking up. I'll read HF manual up but it says its 7" high - most cars would have difficulty with that! Whoohoo "on sale" for a little more than 25% off. $1799 down to $1399 plus $89 extra shipping. A not so generous 90 day warranty. Greg Smith has a 110v one for $1495 with 2 year warranty - HF is 220v.
http://www.harborfreight.com/6...ssor-lift-91315.html
Greg, Is that HF scissors lift a 'low rise' (about a 25" height) or a 'mid rise' (about 45" height?
You need a lot of ceiling height and a lot more $$ for a 'high rise' that you can stand upright under...But for about the same $$ a two post can be had that you can walk about under without the interference of the scissor arms.
I periodically comb the Internet searching for a 'used' mid-rise.
There's one in the mid Atlantic (Virginia? Maryland?) for $800 but it's 'pick up' only...
I already have the little padded seat caster wheeled scoot about...Just have to find something I can scoot under!
Carl:
If I recall, the blue lift from Harbor Freight that Greg posted above has a max lift height of 56".
56 1/2 " according to HF. I did see some new 2 post lifts for $1500. Might be easy to find used - thx for that thought.
http://www.eagleequip.com/product/MTP-9F.html
Geeze - shipping weight is near double the scissors!
I do have 13' height at eves (but in FL the pitch is only 12:3) -- how about those storage lifts where you can park a car under one. Assume you could use it for a work lift rack too?
My neighbor installed 3 storage lifts in his home garage and uses them for servicing all the time. Once the car's up in the air, what the heck?
56 inch lifting height for $13something?? Wow, I'll need a taller caster wheeled 'scoot about'... and I can get rid of the knee pads.
Bob, keep on good terms with your neighbor with the overkill of THREE LIFTS in his garage...Maybe when Spring comes you should suck up to him and mow his grass. At least invite him over for a beer & burger now and then.
Valentine's day is just around the corner...Maybe flowers?
Greg, A spacious garage at 13 feet at the eves?... Way to go
That double post is beautiful. With a 60" lift you could put wheels on a bar stool and wrench away to your heart's content. The shipping expense is mind boggling though.
Maybe there's something similar through a local dealer?
Yeah Carl! This guy has an "eclectic" collection. Dodge Prowler, S2000, MX5, Lexus (2), C6 Vette. Waiting on a second, new Vette to be built. He will see it come off the line, they will detail it, and he takes delivery at the Corvette Museum.
Holy Jeez Bob! You must live in a high rent neighborhood.
Forget the "burger"...you'll have to go for thick cut tenderloin and a side of fresh potato salad with a lot of mayonnaise and little specks of green things in it!
Am I the only one that would be nervous about climbing under a car on a Harbor Freight Lift? My light weight Chinese H/F jack lasted maybe 3 uses and still limps along but was not high-quality be any measure. It does not lift like it should any more. Yes, I always use jack stands when needed but I only buy tarps and sh&t there that are OK when failing.
Greg, you need to focus on finishing your car!
Lurker,
It sounds like you had problems with a hydraulic manual pumping floor jack with a leaking valve.
These 'scissor lifts' have safety notches that click into several height positions...preventing it from collapsing.
Sometime ago I saw a Youtube demo of unique 'sitting height lifted' wheel dollies that bolted to the brakes and had a lateral adjustable support bar between the front and rear dollies that allowed the car to be rolled about the garage in total safety. The neat thing is that the entire underside was obstruction free.
I wish I'd taken note of his web-site, but maybe someone in SOC land is familiar with it. The four of them were expen$ive...But if you study the demo you'll realize that with a plasma cutter, welding skills, a drill press, and a truck load of steel goodies they're very, veeery, fabricatible!!...(is that a word?)
A friend of mine has a storage facility where he can store 50-60 cars, mostly hot rods and classics, and he uses a set of these to maneuver them into place (he stores them close together and only he moves them around).
http://www.summitracing.com/se...dollies?autoview=SKU
They are in the $450-$500 each range, but he only needs one set as they go on and off in seconds and then allow you to push the car in any direction - much like how Cory moves his cars around in his garage to maximize space use.
Harbor Freight has a deal on those right now. Normally $109.99, they have an advertised reduced proce of $79.99 then find yourself a few 25% off coupons (you can only use one coupon at a time)...brings the cost to $59.99, a pretty good deal. Just bought a couple for my garage, they work fine.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1...eel-dolly-67287.html
Great price Bruce...but with only two how would you 'slide' a car about?
I use something like these for my MG. Saoem as Cory uses for Hoopty.
$60 a pair
http://www.harborfreight.com/2...e-dollies-67338.html
The style Bruce and Gordon posted go on and off faster. But because they only contact the tire in two spots, I would not want to leave a car sitting on them. I roll my TD up against the garage wall, so I cannot drop her off the dollies once positioned.
You mean like this...
Carl,
I have a fold-up stairway to the garage attic that is sometimes blocked below. I can get quite a bit of movement on the front or rear to get access to the attic when I need it. The jacks are easy to use and you can do a font or rear lift/move to get quite a bit more room when needed. With three cars in a 2-car garage it's not neccessary/possible to get alot of movement. Wanting to spend $120 rather than $240 was another consideration.
Paul,
My Speedster and Track-T are very low in the front. To use a floorjack I would have to drive the cars up on ramps before putting them on the other rollers. The lifts Gordon and I posted do not require a floor jack. Easy, peezy to use.
As Rich stated, I do have a scissor lift. Got mine from Greg Smith sales. It weighs in around 1200 pounds and I recessed it into the floor. When I'm not using the lift, I cover up the center with a piece of 3/4" plywood with braces in its center so I can drive over the plywood.
It's a handy item and I use it all the time.
