Well I am going to be buying a lift for my garage. Mostly because I want to be able to put the six up high and park my daily driver under it and be able to leave one stall open all of the time just for ease of walking around. I have a 3 car garage and my wife has the middle stall for her daily driver.

In looking at these lifts, BendPak seems to emerge as a good quality unit. I did a search and came across several threads on lifts but nothing that specifically addresses the quality of the lifts.

I am perfectly willing to bolt one to the garage floor if necessary.

I know I want one that allows for the ramps to be moved wider if needed for an engine drop.

I am hoping to be able to speak with BendPak on Monday to see what the recommend. I don't want overkill; I want a lift to be able to store the six and work on it. Not planning to put a 10K pound SUV on it.

Thoughts or recommendations anyone?

Thanks in advance.
Michael

I got the HD-9 for just this reason, I can widen the ramps for an engine drop if needed. It's a very stout lift, I like it and asedeals had good price and service.

Btw no need to bolt it down where I live, but in CA it would probably be a requirement.

I have the 7500lb older model, LOVE it, one movable skid, 914 motor drops with bar and clears the skids.

Here is a pic from a while back and Brant's black car.

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And another, this was pretty much the day we moved into this house, before I finished the garage...

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My thread from last year for reference.
Thread of 914-6 engine drop with 4-post lift

Just be sure of the way the empty rail is mounted and that it has enough room
to be moved for at least 42" width for 914-6.

Can't speak to Bend-Pacs Quality as I have a Rotary, but a few tips

Definately bolt the lift down - at first, I didn't

If longer Aluminum Ramps are an option, get them

Get Drip Pans

No idea on quality, but Harbor Freight has a two post on sale for $1400 plus shipping. Details on their site. Search with Vehicle. My iPad will not copy paste URLs.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it and am feeling like it may be the BandPak.

I will let you know what kind of prices I find. I a pretty sure I am going to want them to come install it so I don't end up having back surgery.

I have there scissor lift. There quality is very good and its made in the U.S.

Yeah after reading about lifts failing and cars being damaged I wanted a USA built lift from a company that had been around for a while and was going to still be around.

Exactly, I found a local company to come and install mine, they do service, parts ect, they said same thing, USA, parts are easy, they can't/won't service some of the China stuff.

I would never trust a lift from HF. I don't even trust jacks from HF.

HF is great for single use or seldom used tools. I would not trust them for a lift that would hold one car above another for any period of time.

Zach

That's why I went Rotary. They are installing Two 2-post Rotary's in the shop right now

For our cars, the Bend-Pac might be better because of the movable side

While I generally agree, you can get a Bendpak HD-9 from HF. Not that I would buy through them as I want to deal with someone that will support it if I have a problem.

THe HD-9 is the lift I got quotes for but then some personal issues caused me to put it on hold.

check out Equiptool as they seemed to have the best prices.
Tom Renta
Equiptool.com
866-622-0242 X103

You may want to look into the optional aluminum ramps as they would be easier to take on and off.

We have both a 4 post and a 2 post BendPak in our shop, and their some of the best purchases we've made.

OK, time for some more information. I have decided on the BendPak HD 9 ST lift. The best price I found in searching adds was $2,835.00 (plus tax of course). I called BendPak and they referred me to a retailer in Southern CA and they have quoted me about 4% less.

So then they told me that they can have an actual BendPak installer come and install the lift for about $550 and that they may actually be able to bring the lift with them and deliver/handle it. (Shockingly, I do not have a fork lift sitting at my house to unload the lift off a delivery truck....)

They also told me that have independent contractors who do install/setup as well. I asked what they would charge and I am presently awaiting a price for that with the same request that they actually deliver and install.

One of the questions I have is what is the difference between going 220 or 110 for power. I actually have a 110 outlet in my ceiling right where the lift is going to go (I planned ahead) but if 220 is going to provide better service or longevity for the motor, I could have a 220 outlet added. Fortunately I have 220 in my laundry room right next to the garage so that would not be that bad.

Finally is anyone willing to say what they actually paid for one of these lifts or what kind of discount I should fight for as a good deal?

Thanks a lot. Michael

I believe the 220v motor will give you a quicker lift.. it should be in the specs. Be aware however, that you may not meet code if you attempt to extend the 220v line. I think a dryer requires a seperate circuit - but I am not 100% sure. The quote I got for a HD-9 w/220v motor was $2680 including shipping. I don't know how the HD-9 compares to the ST.

Thanks for the info re the 220 line. I would hire an electrician to do the line to code. When it comes to electricity, especially 220, I don't fool around. I also appreciate the price reference. When did you buy your lift?

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Bendpak is no longer built in the US but are manufactured to their specs in China. I think Backyard Buddy and Rotary are still built in the US. I think the Bendpak are still good lifts and will probably purchasing a four post as well.

Michael in case you haven't considered it there are generally quite a few used lifts available through local Craigslist. Unfortunately due to economy lots of garages going out of business or people selling items just to raise cash. If you think about it you would have to work hard to break/wear out a lift. Sure you might not find a specific brand but who knows. Two years ago I bought a Ammco brand scissor lift for a good price, it is U.S. built and looks like it will last forever. In many cases you can save 50% over new and this savings can go towards hiring the install/pickup/delivery of the unit. Just throwing that out there if you hadn't considered it. What ever you end up with you will wonder why you didn't buy it sooner .

I spoke with BendPak and they are located in southern California. But I did not ask them if they still build in the USA....I will have to do that.

I have checked Craig's list off and on looking for a used lift but so far nothing has come up that would work for me. I still check weekly though.

Tom Renta
Equiptool.com
866-622-0242 X103

The HD9 ST is narrower than the HD9. Make sure that the ramps/runners are far enough apart to allow you to drop the motor between them, if that is important to you.

There are plenty of videos out there that show why the Bendpak's are better than the Backyard Buddy. I think the Rotary's are as good or better than the Bendpaks but at a higher price.
best of luck.

The 220 should lift faster. My Rotary is 110, I just used the Best Industrial extension cord I could find to connect it. I don't mind the speed, since I use it once or twice a week.

I would not buy a Used Lift unless it was made by one of the top companies and was in a hobbiest's home. You can't get parts for most of the Chinese Lifts

Bud,
Thanks for reminding me about the movable rails so that I can widen them when I need to drop the motor out. That was one of the factors on my list and in all of the shopping and comparison I forgot to check that fact.

Back when I bought my lift (different company), they also asked if I had a machine
to get the thing off the truck. Of course homeowners don't usually have fork lifts.
What they offered is to have me pick up at the local depot. So I rented a u-haul
truck for a day, drove over there, their fork lift gets it in the truck. Then, at my
place, open up the package and remove pieces separately. No piece was heavier
than about 200 pounds, so this was no problem for 2 people.

Good back-up plan. Thanks.

That was another reason I bought my Rotary. It was shipped to their Local Dealer, they brought it to my house & installed it

Man this thread is painful to read ...

there - their - they're

Them words are not the same!


:ducking for cover:

Man that black car on page 1 looks fast
I'll bet that thing does 200mph...
probably even quicker than the bandit's car

What's even funnier is who is actually under it

A friend found a seller in the dfw area that takes lifts down and resells them. I got my two post lift for 600.00 9000 lb. american made. The guy had lots of them to choose from. The bad thing is the coating on the cables is cracked and I will need new ones after I repaint it to match my shop.

You can ask any Englishman, we did not invent the english language, we just butchered it.

thats how it is with Greg
he fixes my cars and I take his apart and leave them apart.

Well I bought a BendPak HD 9 ST. I got it with the aluminum extended ramps (for lowered cars) that are 18 pounds compared to the 40 pound steel ramps. Additionally, they are easy to put on and take off where the standard steel ramps are held on by what I would describe as a large door hinge pin with clips on the ends. For what I want the aluminum ramps will work well and be easy to put on and take off and store when I do not need them. I also got their drip pans (it's and old Porsche...) and BendPak will deliver, install and I will be good to go. Turns out BendPak installers were $130 cheaper than the independent contractors they refer work to. The OTD, installed total came to $3,643.91

More than I wanted to spend by about a grand but I also wanted a lift that would fit well in the garage and meet my needs.

Of course that's not the end of the story....now I am getting bids to change my garage door tracks to the high lift style which will add a 1'6" additional clearance above the car, with a garage door opener that mounts on the garage door wall next to the track so that I have nothing on the ceiling above the car to interfere with anything and allow me maximum lift height. The first estimate was $1,580 for that little project but I am still awaiting other bids. Hope to get that done for about $1,200 total.

This is the only lift I have ever bought and I wanted to get what I wanted to get.

I will take pictures of the installation when that happens and post it up. They willl call me to schedule the job.

Thanks for the help, suggestions and advice.
Michael

Good luck with your new lift, I'm sure you'll enjoy it the first time you use it, and probably wonder why you didn't do it sooner. Let me know if you need help with the 220 line.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I ended up going with the 110 motor. BendPak said that since it is not a lift that is going to be going up and down daily, the 110 would be plenty. They said if it was for use in a small garage that was using it daily, they would recommend the 220.

Why not just do the conversion yourself? http://ddmgaragedoors.com has all the info and sells the kits. Once you weigh your door and take some measurements, they will configure the correct springs and tell you how many turns to wind them. I did it without having to buy any additional track and converted my 7' high door to go straight up and then across my 12ft high ceiling. It took a little planning but it was really easy. The openers are not cheap but you should be able to do the whole change yourself for less than $600.

If you want a few pics of mine send me your email address. Best of luck.

How do you weigh a garage door?

Unhook the springs, raise the door far enough (with help!) to put a bathroom scale under it. Best to put a 2x4 between them to help distribute the weight. Mine weighed 130 lbs.

those instructions are on the ddmgaragedoor website as well.

OK so I had my BendPak 4 post lift installed today. Federico and Cesar from BendPak did a great job, 3 hours start to finish.

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Now I have to get the garage door people out to replace the tracks and raise them so that I have clearance to open the door and have a car up there! They can raise the tracks 2 feet easily. Once that is done my car is coming home and going on the lift

How tall is your ceiling over all? Never mind I reread the post and you said 12'!

Lift Envy!

Nice blimp.

That looks great Michael.

I think his ceiling is more like 10ft. My post listed mine at 12ft.... not that it makes much diff with a short car like the 914.

That's awesome new toys are the best!!


Jeff

Looks good but now you need to off-load that door opener. Try ONE OF THESE

Thanks everyone; it is a milestone for me as I took the ceiling up to 9'6" about 20 years ago knowing I would install a lift. Life just got crazy busy and 20 years went by.

Paul, that is the exact opener I have spec'd for the high lift door conversion. The garage door people should be here tomorrow to give me the break down and hopefully schedule the job ASAP.

I would love to have my car back home and on the lift by Sunday (in my brother's wedding on Saturday).

You sacrifice a few inches down from the ceiling for this opener which lowers the overall height....BUT you can have them taper the rail so that it goes from the door elevation to nearly contacting the ceiling on the other end. In other words. the rail will not be parallel to the ceiling......(rail is higher at end)

The benefit is that when the door is open, you get maximum height at the CENTER of the garage where it counts. I can take a picture of mine if needed.