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Posted by: Garold Shaffer Jul 31 2010, 10:51 AM

Since I am not partner in teh shop anymore (long story) I'm back to working out of my garage at home. The only thing I miss about the old shop is teh 2 post lift we have there..

So I have been looking around at different lifts for home. My biggest isssue is I have 10ft ceiling in there so a standard two post lift won't work. I was thinking about a mid rise lift like I know some here have when I came across the MaxJax portable two post system.

I like what I see. It will work in my garage, portable, and easy to use. I like the fact that when not in use it can be removed and stored against the wall.

Here is the link to their website http://maxjaxusa.com/

The more I look at it the more I like it over a midrise lift. Your thoughts?

Posted by: charliew Jul 31 2010, 11:03 AM

Personally if money is not a problem I like the one like Paul put in that is flush with the floor.

Posted by: Mark Henry Jul 31 2010, 11:09 AM

Looks real wimpy for 6000lbs.....I rather look around for a good used "made in USA" low rise.

Or you could do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBYkay_ruek&feature=related

Posted by: Mark Henry Jul 31 2010, 11:23 AM

watch this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLUjq6ijvVc&feature=related

Posted by: Krieger Jul 31 2010, 11:35 AM

Depending on what you want to do check out ezcarlift.com . I have had one for the last two years and I'm very happy with it. It goes up 27" and is truly portable. Sorry I forgot how to post link.

Posted by: avidfanjpl Jul 31 2010, 05:38 PM

Here is the link, Andy.

I am impressed. I have a single car garage 2 deep.

This is pretty cool.

http://ezcarlift.com/index.html

I busted my ass today with jackstands doing the valve lash.

I am too tired yet to take the car out to try it.

2 hours and I am done with crawling at my age.

I am seriously considering this for $1995 plus shipping.

Weird thing is that they recommend a 48 or 62 inch set of crossbraces.

I will have to call them to check why there are 2 choices.

Which did you get?

Thanks!

John

Posted by: Krieger Jul 31 2010, 05:58 PM

I got the 48". I roll it under with the aluminum pieces going from left to right under the car. I have room to roll it in from the side. In a "slim" single width garage you may have to have it standing on its edge to start to put in under the car. I think the entire unit weighs 120#s. Or you may be able to assemble it under the car. I love mine. I bought the detachable casters. They are very handy. I went to Canyon High a few years back.

Posted by: type47fan Jul 31 2010, 06:04 PM

Looks good, especially for limited space, infrequent use situations.

Posted by: Krieger Jul 31 2010, 08:47 PM

My (so called) track car has been on it for more than a year, sometimes I put the casters on it and move it. I was thinking for avidfanipl, or anyone that has tight space and can't slide it in you could build ramps to drive over this lift, instead of sliding it under. The guy who builds this told me it works for the miata guys to drive over the aluminum section, then lift.

Posted by: Garold Shaffer Jul 31 2010, 09:13 PM

Well, that anit going to happen.

I like the ezcarlift. Does it lift high enough to drop a motor? I don't think 27" is high enough for that.

Posted by: r_towle Jul 31 2010, 09:18 PM

What did paul put in? Can someone post a link or a pick of what you are talking about?

Rich

Posted by: brp986s Jul 31 2010, 10:08 PM

The ez lift seems pretty limited for that price. It assumes the front and rear lift width is about the same. Might work on a 914, probably not a 911. It assumes the starting front height is the same front and rear - not always the case. The lift range is only 26 inch. It looks like you would have to lift front and rear separately, and probably incrementally to maintain stability, making it time consuming. The portability and caster features are nice.

I prefer the bendpak. Now 2100$ (up from 1600 delivered just 2 years ago). It has independant front and rear arms, lifts 48 inches, runs on 120VAC, and comes with various height lift blocks. It has 3 height lock positions for long term, although I don't do that here in earthquake country. My 914 clears it in the lowered position, but not my 911, nor my lowered boxster, so I made wooden ramps.

Posted by: PRS914-6 Jul 31 2010, 10:37 PM

More money and effort but worth it. http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=84544

Posted by: avidfanjpl Aug 1 2010, 12:04 AM

The bendpak would go through the roof of the garage for me!

I think I will think about the ezlift for Christmas for me! I will drive over it carefully and love that I have 2 whole feet of lift!

Might be too high for my short arms!

No one else buys me a damn thing, and with no one to buy for, I may make the budget!

"If you want something done, do it yourself!"

- Gary Oldman as Jean Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element

Thanks all!

John

Posted by: rfuerst911sc Aug 1 2010, 05:06 AM

I am a old school kind of guy and because of that I am leery of many of these " new " lifts. Seems like many manufacturers/vendors are just being driven by cost/price. Remember guys you are going to be working under these things. My point is do your homework and get the best QUALITY you can afford. Don't rule out buying older used American made products. Craigslist, Ebay ect. have quite a few lifts listed for sale. I bought my Ammco scissor lift about two years ago and love it. All American made and it is a heavy duty commercial lift. She weighs 1000 lbs. they didn't skimp on the metal . It lifts 48 inches and I payed $800.00 for it. Good luck with whatever you end up with and be safe !

Posted by: mskala Aug 1 2010, 06:06 PM

My ceiling is 6" lower than yours and I have a full-size parking lift in there (4-post)
which works fine, and doesn't need to be stored away. Since a 914 is a short car,
you can park a reasonable size car under it.

Posted by: RattPack Aug 2 2010, 06:19 PM

I too have been looking at the MaxJax and stumbled across this thread. Last week my thought process was hijacked by comments from armchair engineers posting their opinions. The only reason I registered today was so I could possibly save others like me a lot of aggravation, or provide further topic for debate. I've been sold on the MaxJax because of the free access underneath and the mobility, stow‘ability convenience. Oh yea, and of course, the obvious - the lack of a high ceiling.

I urge (plead) all armchair engineers. Is it factual or just your opinion?

• Has it ever been reported?
• Sources – remember, the more the better.
• Respect argument.
• Fallacies - aren’t or are?
• Summary

Although many of the mid rise lift options claim to be portable, I'd hate to try moving these behemoths around. And not just fore and aft – I can only imagine turning them around a cluttered garage. They may have what can be described as wheels, but portable? I laugh. The E-Z lift is probably the best thing to portable, but do I really want a lift that can be stowed in the truck of my car? And is the E-Z lift really in the same league as the MaxJax or other Mid-Rise options? 26-inches – really?

Accessibility - The MaxJax appears to be the obvious hands down winner. True, maybe the other mid-rise lifts are ready to go in a snap, but how much time is wasted trying to work around the lift structure(s). I have yet to work underneath a mid-rise scissors lift, but from the many photos I’ve gathered, they do appear to have quite limited accessibility from below. In addition, drive-over height for most mid-rise lifts seems to rear-its ugly head quite frequently - 2 x 8 planks becoming an overlooked necessity.

Portability – I’ve seen the MaxJax videos; I’ve seen Mr. Leno roll the thing around (with the arms attached); I’ve seen the beautiful girl roll it around - a girl that appears to weigh no more than 110 pounds wet. I have yet to see video of other mid-rise lifts that would come even close to the portability of the MaxJax. Can you say turning radius?

From an engineering perspective (I urge all of you engineers to chime in now), isn’t the moment loading on scissors type structures and components considerably greater than what can be assumed would be the worst possible moment loading on any part of the MaxJax? Maybe instead of focusing on concrete or anchors, we should be focusing on possible weaker links. Before putting pencil to paper however, I urge you to consider the moment loading from the get-go. What loads are these scissors components subjected to during the first few inches of lift? I suspect a helluva lot.

As the MaxJax appears to be quite literally a mini-two-post, I would be fairly confident in the design. From what I have read, most end-users are pleased at the robust quality - truckers and rodders alike.

I am leaning towards the MaxJax because I’m pretty confident that my residential concrete floor is equal to or better than any shop floor around these parts. I have seen dozens of full-rise two-post lifts installed on questionable concrete with cracks galore – lifts that appear to be in use for quite possibly decades.

http://www.maxjaxusa.com/faqs/common-concerns.html

If I'm reading correctly, the worst case anchor bolt tension (pull-out) with the lift loaded to max capacity is 3238 lbs. The test report shows those anchors holding at over six times that.


Am I missing something? This is so frustrating.

Posted by: Mark Henry Aug 2 2010, 06:28 PM

Hey newbie...you almost sound like a maxjax salesman to me

Posted by: patssle Aug 2 2010, 06:37 PM

You beat me too it, I was thinking the same thing!

How much does the maxjax system cost?

Posted by: mepstein Aug 2 2010, 06:41 PM

Mark - I'm sure that just because Moorpark, CA (maxjax location) and Ventura CA are only 26 miles apart that it must be a coincidence.

Posted by: RattPack Aug 2 2010, 06:41 PM

I know it has the flavor, but a friend of mine is a huge 914 fan. Actually he was my Chief Master Sergeant in the Air National Guard - Van Nuys. We grew to be close as we aged. Funny. His initials R.A. I'm sure some of you on this board know of him.

He currently has a BendPak MD-6XP. It's a little beat up but seems to work well enough. But I'm still undecided. The tipping thing is what raises so many eyebrows - I don't want to minimize the concern.

Posted by: rdauenhauer Aug 22 2010, 01:59 PM

All of the armchair engineering argument aside, I haven't seen anyone post EXPERIENCE with this product pro or con?
If it is rated for 6K LBS and even if over rated I expect would be fine lifting our 2K lbs teeners. As to portability I wonder how often any one would be bolting/unbolting their posts from the floor once installed.
To me at approx. $2K it seems to be a pretty good option for the hobbyist garage.

Posted by: Mark Henry Aug 22 2010, 02:00 PM

Do a google search.

Posted by: rdauenhauer Aug 22 2010, 02:47 PM

Pretty limited # of reviews, a LOT of FUD!

Posted by: Mark Henry Aug 22 2010, 03:16 PM

I used to build scissor lifts and the big thing I don't like is the lack of automatic safety locks. It uses pins that could be forgotten if one was in haste.

I hope they use in-line hydraulic fuses and I would definitely ask about this. A hydraulic fuse is a last ditch safety device in the event of a cut hose, etc. I also would ask if this was an ALI ( www.autolift.org/ ) certified lift.

Not much to a hydraulic fuse (pics), it can be all that stands between you and being squashed like a bug, but it doesn't replace a physical safety lock device.


Attached image(s)

Posted by: charliew Aug 22 2010, 06:01 PM

I've spent a lot of time laying on my back under cars. For the 914 the lifts you'all are talking about may be better than floor jacks and jack stands but for me 2 grand will be sent on a two post fullsize lift. I just think it will give me more axcess to the middle of the car for tranny changes or exhaust work and still work on a flat bottomed rear or midengine car. I know it will be in the way when it's not being used but maybe I'll just use it to hold one of my toys up out of the way or just raise the arms up out of the way.

Posted by: bandjoey Aug 22 2010, 09:18 PM

With our cars being so light I'm sure the lift will hold OK. However, if you search on youtube, you see lots of 2 post lifts where the bolts pulled out of the floor.

I'd probably get that 12 " slab poured with deep heavy anchors, and oh yea, some of those 4' jack stands to put under the front and rear. Hay, no matter how much we try, we can't separate the 914 from it's beloved jack stands.

Posted by: Andyrew Aug 22 2010, 10:47 PM

We have a 2 post lift, The bolts have to be checked every couple months.

It scares me to say the least, however the model we have doesnt need to be mounted to the floor so at least its stable when the vehicle is on the lift.

Posted by: race914 Aug 23 2010, 08:56 AM

Thanks for the MaxJax link. That setup looks very interesting and I'm going to consider it for my second stall!

Here's what I have now. A mid-rise from Greg Smith Equipment:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=78809&hl=post++lift

This thread includes the plans for the simple ramps I built. I've had no problems with this setup.

Posted by: Garold Shaffer May 5 2011, 08:13 AM

Guess who is taking a sick day tomorrow to drive down to Indy to get his new midrise lift.

MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WooHoo

Wife gave me the green light to get one. Thanks Julie Also got the 80Gal two stage compressor setup. Electrician will be here in the next few days to wire up the 220V for it.

Can ya tell, I'm excited

Posted by: Eric_Shea May 5 2011, 08:32 AM

Right on Garold!

Posted by: Gint May 5 2011, 05:46 PM

Can't say I blame ya!

Posted by: ewdysar May 28 2011, 12:42 PM

So. Did anyone on this board end up buying a Max-Jax?

My other choice is a ezcarlift. From my perspective, the ezcarlift can be used out in the driveway as well as the garage and it stores small. The Max-Jax also stores well and given all of the other things going on in my garage, I can't dedicate half of it to permanent car space. Not enough headroom to store the 914 off the ground and get usable space below it. So a temporary lift that can be stashed out of the way looks like the best answer for me.

Posted by: spare time toys May 28 2011, 03:34 PM

This is sort of in line with the topic at hand. Does anyone make the old single post lifts anymore like I remember as a kid hanging out at my pals dads Texaco station.

Posted by: rfuerst911sc May 29 2011, 05:41 AM

I'm curious about these " pins " you are talking about. On my Ammco brand scissor lift it has an automatic safety latch/lock. As the lift raises there is a center bar that has four notches cut into the bar. As it raises there is a spring loaded safety catch which is another heavy steel piece. As the lift gets past each notch this safety latch springs into position automatically. Now it is true that if you stop the lift in between these four notches there would be nothing but hydraulic pressure holding the car up but I am always aware to make sure I stop the lift in one of those four positions. I take it from your comment that not all scissor lifts have this auto latch/lock feature ? To lower my lift I have to raise it a little bit to take the pressure off the catch, pull a handle similiar to a bicycle brake lever to disengage/pull back the safety latch and hold it open and lower the lift. I feel safe with this arrangement are you familiar with this setup ? Would be interested in your opinion on it.

Posted by: Krank May 29 2011, 07:19 AM

Is your life worth more than "a good deal?" How about checking the safety standards boards in your own country to find out "the best" lift? I am currently looking for several lifts for my shop and find it is what the manufacturers (read re-sellers) don't say that worries me. Anyone know a link to an official "incident" reporting site about lift failures?