Car lifts

After researching a few, I ended up buying the Direct Lift Pro Park 7. The backyard buddy is was nice but was double the price without the free stuff that comes with the Pro Park. (casters, drip trays and jack tray) Beware of "made in the USA" line. Most of the lift companies out source parts to third world countries. As long as a certain percentage of the parts are made in the USA, they can label it as such. Deceptive if you ask me. I have been happy with it and it fits in my 9' high ceiling garage stacking two Panteras. Check this website, the comparison page and video are informative:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/

Hi Brad,
Went down this road when I bought the Pantera. I have a Direct Lift and I bought it at Quality Tool & Equipment. 42660 Rio Nedo, Temecula Ca. 92590. 1-800-647-7883.
I went to Pomona to make the buy as they threw in the ramps, castors, drip pans and jack beam if I bought at the show.
If you pick up yourself you will need a 15' flatbed or car trailer due to the length of the package. Paid $1995.00
Looks the same as all the other, have had no troubles at all.
Sorry about the pic, but shows how it fits.

Mark

Hey, same one I have bought from the same place! The package is 14'x2'x2' and weighs about 1500 lbs. A hint that the salesman gave me is that if you hire a freight company to deliver the lift, they'll charge you additional for the fork lift. He recommended that I hire a flat bed tow truck. They tilt the bed and the package slides off into your driveway. The unpacked individual pieces are easily carried into your garage. Worked out great and it was cheap. Assembly was easy. A friend and I fully assembled it in 4.5 hours. After doing it once, we could probably do it in half that time.

Dennis is right, the Direct Lift seems like a good model. I went and got Direct Lift from the same Quality Tool & Equipment in Temecula CA (I assume Direct Lift may be nation wide thought. Was only about $1,699 and they delivered and set up for a low cost. I would never pick up and assemble, damn thing is heavy! And if "you" do your own assembly and by chance your car crushes, maybe ask your insurance company if they would cover for that after you did the assembly. Make sure you measure whatever lift you are looking at. My garage is 98" to top and the cars just fit nice. Bottom car has about 2 inches of clearance from roof to lift. You may have to back in your top car though, since the garage door will then clear the short front hood rather than the big rear. This is where Valium comes in...these cars hard to see when backing up in any environment. Now just try backing up on a ramp where you have a few inches clearance on both sides! My GT5S and Group 4 are so wide that about 1/4 of tire tred sticks out on both sides, so I need to get pretty exact. My technique is the wife, where she stands at the rear of the lift pointing left or right while I back up, and she sniffs excessive hydrocarbons. Who said the wife isn't useful?

Guys with the direct lifts - How’s the quality? Is it strong and sturdy?

What lifts was PI motorsports selling some time ago?

Looks like Direct lifts are about $1700 to $1900 with drip tray/jack tray/caster set (seems like a great price)

Kwiklift about $ 3300 ... extras = more $$$$

Backyard Buddy is about $ 4000 ... extras = more $$$

quote:

Originally posted by ShotgunGrooms:
OK guys, lets talk car lifts... Models / Type’s......

Does anyone have a "KwikLift" brand (RFP7), what do you think of it?



http://www.kwiklift.com/FourPostLift/index.htm

It’s the only one that I can find with a column height of only 80" or 6'8".. Can’t go taller because I want to be able to slide it out through the garage door (only 82") onto the driveway if I want to really get the car up high to work on it

That's a Rotary Revolution lift. QwikLift is one of their distributors. I bought one through QwikLift and it was dropped shipped from the Rotary factory in Indiana. It is an American made lift and one of only 2 hobbiest lifts sold in the US that is certified by the ALI. I'm very pleased with it.

Dan

I am satisfied with the design, quality, and performance of the Direct Lift. For me it was the best bang for the buck.

Actually the Direct lift, Atlas lift and Revolution lifts are manufactured by the same company, the Dover Corp. Actually the Dover Corp. owns Revolution lifts. All now have manufacturing plants in China. Remember my earlier post, just because it says "made in USA" doesn't mean that it is, it could just be the specified amount of parts which is open to interpretation. If you look at the Revolution and the Direct lift, you can actually see the similarities.

Brad, with regards to the column height, keep in mind that when you put the lift up on the casters to move it, the columns will raise adding to the total height.

I have had a Backyard Buddy for a number of years and am very pleased with it. It started out in the 'car' section of my garage which has a 9' ceiling. I could stack lower height cars like a 3rd gen Vette ,Camaro or Pantera on top of each other, but could not raise a car all of the way up. BYB has a chart on their website to help you figure out how high a ceiling you need to stack your particular cars. I decided I would like to move the lift to the 'woodworking' area of my garage which would allow me to raise the lift to the top. That meant moving the lift through a std. 8' garage door opening with dimensions of 83" high by 95" wide. It was a tight fit, but it went through. The posts on the std lift are 80" and the casters raise it about 1/4". The lift cable bolts add another 2" though. I had a plan if those bolts would not have cleared. I would have removed the upper weather strip and reattached it with screws making it easy to remove , or just made two small sections removable as it's only those cable bolts that might give you a problem. I also had to work one post at a time through the opening as it wasn't wide enough to roll straight through. No big deal. As far as the cost of the BYB, in my opinion, it's worth it. The posts are totally boxed (kind of like boxing hot rod frame rails to handle HO engines) and the locking system is a really a safe design. I'm sure that BYB loses a lot of sales due to price, but I commend them for offering a lift that is built so well. I am not suggesting that other lifts are not safe, but I also think that BYB is not overpriced for what you get. It is probaly over engineered, but I am totally at ease when my 12 yr. old son climbs under the car with me.
Dennis

quote:

Originally posted by ShotgunGrooms:
Guys with the direct lifts - How’s the quality? Is it strong and sturdy?

What lifts was PI motorsports selling some time ago?

Looks like Direct lifts are about $1700 to $1900 with drip tray/jack tray/caster set (seems like a great price)

Kwiklift about $ 3300 ... extras = more $$$$

Backyard Buddy is about $ 4000 ... extras = more $$$

I am extremely satisfied with my Direct Lift!

Another photo

Dang! Dan & Dennis, you guys from out of CA have nice tall garages where you can drive directly onto to the lift without having to back in. Won't find none of that kind of thing here in Southern CA. Everything here requires a shoe horn to squeeze cars in.

Dover Corporation, among their numerous holdings, owns Rotary Lifts. Rotary, until a few years ago, manufactured only US made commerical lifts. Rotary wanted in on the lucritive home lift market and designed and started making the Rotary Revolution in their Madison, IN manufacturing facility. They had the Revolution model independently ALI certified. The only other home lift that is ALI certified is the Bend Pack 8. Bend Pack manufactures their commerical lifts in the US but has moved the Bend Pack 8 production to China.

The Revolution is the 5th lift I've owned. I considered buying a Direct Lift but when one of the Direct Lift importers refused to answer my technical questions and told me he wouldn't sell me a lift because of the questions I was asking, I scratched them off my list. Direct Lifts are manufactured by Hanmecson in China. Hanmecson is the largest manufacturer of lifts in China. The scissors lift in my picture is a Hanmecson.

I ended up buying the Revolution as part of a group buy on another forum. We got a good deal on them otherwise I would have gone with a different brand.

In August of this year, Rotary bought Hanmecson. Hanmecson operates as a seperate company manufacturing lifts in China.

If there is a group buy here...Im in!!

I dont own a lift but a good friend of mine bought a Super Lift and he loves it. The price is fair and he bought it from them while they were at the Auburn Auction. They came to his house and set up the lift for a very reasonable fee.
Heres the link.
http://superlifts.com/
Jeff

I see from photos that some of you are braver than me. I was too nervous to raise my car very high until I had bolted the lift to the floor. Being a government worker I had yesterday off. Spent about two hours drilling holes into my garage floor. Found out the hard way that to do it right requires renting a hammer drill! I'm no youngster so today I'm hurting. But hopefully by the end of this week I can finally park one car under the other.

I bolted mine down also. A friend that had previously installed one had a hammer drill. I feel much safer with it bolted down.

I have learned that some need it to be bolted and others do not require it,,, Backyard buddy claims it is not necessary and it is sold without “bolt holes” ?????

Are Direct Lifts required to be bolted down ?

Backyard Buddy started the option of adding a casters to roll the lift around. All hobbiest lifts have it as an option or included in the price.

In order for a lift and it's latching mechanism to work properly, the lift needs to be square and level vertically, horizontally and longitudinally. So if you move the lift you should re-level it. I have no need to move my lift so I bolted it down. IMHO it's a safety issue.

If you're looking for a less expensive American made lift alternative to the Backyard Buddy, try http://allamericanlifts.com/ It's an enclosed collar lift like the BB. I feel it's a better lift and $1000 cheaper.

Brad,
Direct lifts have holes if you want to bolt it down but, its not nessesary.

Mark

The Direct Lift dudes told me it is probably best not to bolt it down here in earthquake country. They also said once you bolt it down, it most likely becomes an attached structural piece of material in the garage, requireing a permit. Maybe Consumer Reports has done something in the past on lifts? That would be interesting to see. My insurance company never heard of any lift failing in all their years, and they cover damage if it did, so that made me feel better when I was checking all this out.

Anyone found a secret for backing a Pantera onto the lift (maybe some type of side guides)? It is pretty nerve shattering, especially for a wide body, even with the wife directing it from behind hacking from the hydrocarbons.

quote:

Anyone found a secret for backing a Pantera onto the lift

Need power mirrors so you can tilt them at an angle that let's you see where you're going.

My wife and I discovered that it is easier for her to guide me from up front. I can see her better and she doesn't have to eat carbon dioxide. The Mangusta is a bear to back on the ramp, you can't see anything!

Anybody have some close-ups of the direct lift (post and locking, maybe cabling) I am having a hard time locating one locally to look at (dealer or showroom) Thanks

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Articles.asp?ID=135
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/ProductDetails.asp?Pr...PARK7&Show=TechSpecs

quote:

Originally posted by ShotgunGrooms:
Anybody have some close-ups of the direct lift (post and locking, maybe cabling) I am having a hard time locating one locally to look at (dealer or showroom) Thanks

If you want specific pictures of a PP7, send me your email address (dyogi@hawaii.rr.com) and I'll take and send you photos of mine.

Thanks Dennis

Sent you a PM

I just recently put up my Superlift. We have been offered a group discount but it is more than the other lifts mentioned in earlier posts. Fully loaded it was about $3500. I went to the factory in Aurora,MO and picked it up. I saw the raw materials and they looked tough to me. The U.S. built 4 post takes 3 big guys to lift the big pieces. The rest of it can be built with just one person. It took me about 2 evenings to put it together. The China lift is much lighter, more than a $1000 cheaper, and powder coat not as tough. Salesman talked me into the U.S. built unit. Just my 2 cents. Use my name and say that Keith gave the ok for the Pantera Group discount. Good luck, Mike Grillot, Missouri

I finally got around to ordering a lift and I decided on a Direct Lift Pro-Park 7. What I received was more like a PP7.5 since it has just been upgraded in some very nice ways to be more like the PP8 but at the same price as the PP7. Now the ramps can be levelled and the safety mechanism is much better than before. The only down-side is that the columns are now 87" tall making them just tall enough to NOT fit through a standard 7' (tall) door opening — should you ever want to move the unit out of a 7' opening.

I also got the accessory jacks that span the ramps and allow you to raise the car off its wheels for service. I've only had it for about 6 hours but I am (so far) completely satisfied and can't see any reason to spend a huge amount more money than I did. If you do order one, make SURE that you're getting one of the new ones with the upgrades.

Cna you post some pictures of the upgrades? I'd like to see what they improved. Boy that column is close! Thanks

There seems to be some concerns about safety latches, etc. Has anyone ever heard of a lift failing or seen something on the web reported? My insurance company has not heard of any in their life time, so I was just curious.

quote:

Originally posted by 4NFORD:
Can you post some pictures of the upgrades? I'd like to see what they improved. Boy that column is close! Thanks

Yup. There's about a 1/2 inch gap between the column and door. It'll be OK when the new door goes in (much higher). Here's some detail shots. From what I was told, the key new features are the ability to level the ramps when at rest on the safety stops. There are larger pins that settle into cut-outs (B) on adjustable (A) hanging 1/4" plate safety-stop ladders that sit inside the columns (C) — which I'm told are heavier gauge now.

Dennis is right about the assembly. I had DirectLift do it (call me lazy-ass) and it took them about 2.5 hours (2 guys). I could have done it, but I would have futzed around a lot, hurt my back more and taken 6 hours IF I had a friend helping out. I've had it over 24 hours now and so far it hasn't collapsed.

and

and last:

Nice lift, dude. Looks like it'll even hold up my XXL frame. Maybe we'll drop in and sit up there drinking beer while you clean up all the stuff you moved out of the way. Nice work. Let me know when the new door is coming. I will be glad to direct.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Charlton:

quote:

Originally posted by 4NFORD:
Can you post some pictures of the upgrades? I'd like to see what they improved. Boy that column is close! Thanks

Yup. There's about a 1/2 inch gap between the column and door. It'll be OK when the new door goes in (much higher). Here's some detail shots. From what I was told, the key new features are the ability to level the ramps when at rest on the safety stops. There are larger pins that settle into cut-outs (B) on adjustable (A) hanging 1/4" plate safety-stop ladders that sit inside the columns (C) — which I'm told are heavier gauge now.

Dennis is right about the assembly. I had DirectLift do it (call me lazy-ass) and it took them about 2.5 hours (2 guys). I could have done it, but I would have futzed around a lot, hurt my back more and taken 6 hours IF I had a friend helping out. I've had it over 24 hours now and so far it hasn't collapsed.

OK, I feel better, mine looks like yours, I guess I got the modern version too! I had my door lifted closer to the ceiling and gained about a foot. Several companies told me that I had to put in a new door as the angles were too much of a change. One company told me that the others were full of it and it was as simple as adding new tracks to extend the height and raising the existing brackets. They did the job and it hasn't given me a problem since.

Did the cable drums and spring assembly have to be raised too?

quote:

Originally posted by JOHNEYE:
Did the cable drums and spring assembly have to be raised too?

I haven't done it yet, but in my case, yes, they will. My new door will go vertical to the ceiling before turning horizontal.

Well, as it turns out, I didn't need to change anything, but if my cars were any taller...

quote:

Originally posted by JOHNEYE:
Did the cable drums and spring assembly have to be raised too?

I had them raised and gained about an extra foot of space.