This looks like just what I need but I never saw it before Costco offered it. I really like the idea of leaving one post anchored and the other one detached when not in use.

Dannmar MaxJax™ 2-post Portable Auto Lift


http://www.costco.com/.product.11589445.ht...goryTopProducts

Someone at rennlist has been selling this (with a special) for a while now. Most really like it but some have complained the fittings are a little cheap and can leak. If replaced, people have been happy with it.
The idea looks great- I've got a pit in my shop (dug it MANY years ago before lifts were really available or popular) otherwise I'd probably get one.
Imagine once you have it, you'll wonder how you lived without it!

MAXJAX

One of the guys from my SCCA region has one. He likes it a lot. He has 2010 Mini Cooper, Miata, many VWs (60s - 70s).

Not sure how old you are but the word portable needs to be measured based upon your strength.

Did you watch the video Rich. It's like moving a loaded dolly and I would need to roll it ten feet across a concrete floor. Besides, I'd have lots of new friends to help me move it around if I couldn't.

Well, I will say that I am not as strong as I used to be and that type of thing ( I did watch the video) may be ok, but it may also stay bolted in place forever....

Rich

I have a buddy who got one (Costco) so I've seen it first hand.

The big pro is it's a real lift if you only have 8' ceilings and it's more than enough to work on a 914. Hell of a lot better than jackstands.

Cons, some of the parts like the hoses are cheap, welds are a bit rough and the anchors are not the best so they will try to sell you $200 epoxy anchors. It doesn't lift that high and you can't park a 2nd car under it. The arms are a bit on the short side, 6000lbs so it won't lift bigger than a stock P/U. It's a bit slow and it doesn't lift quite evenly, IIRC a couple inches out is within their spec. Compared to my lift the steel arms (everything) are made with much lighter steel thickness.
It sets up easy enough, but I would think most would only do this if they had to.

Note Anchor part I did pull off of on-line reviews, buddy had no issue as the garage is a new build last year and he planned (floor thickness) for this lift. Rest was easy to compare to my lift.


Does it compare to my AAMCO 7K, 2-post, full height, made in USA, certified lift?
Hell no! Not even close.

Is it better than jackstands? Fuching right it is. I'd also say it's a step up on the scissor lift.


PS The maxjax weigh 880 lbs as per their site. My commercial AMMCO lift I'm not sure, but I had it on my 12' small car float (3500 lbs rated single axle) and it weighs way more than a 914, I'm guessing 3000 lbs.

I looked into this lift, but if you have nine feet or more of ceiling height, I'd go with a "permanent" two post. I chose an Atlas BP8000

(http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-BP8000)

Yes, it's Chinese, but I found Chinese units for much higher prices from other manufacturers. Most of the US companies wanted north of $3k.

Certified, no, but there appears to be a good reputation for these units, and I know two independent mechanics who have been using this model daily for several years sans issues.

I have 9' 10" of headroom in the garage, with most of our cars I get 5' to 5.5' of lift which to me is significantly better than 4'. I also like having a stop every 6" versus just two positions on the MaxJack.

Like this?

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I have one. I really like it. It is very easy to set up. It only takes about 10 mins.

@ A&P -- it looks like you put in new concrete floor under the lift, can you tell us more about that?

The lift is secured to the floor with concrete anchors. The minimum required concrete slab thickness is 4" to set the anchors. My slab was only 3.5" thick. I had my floor cut and dug out. My concrete in now 8" thick.
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No problem lifting a Jeep wrangler unlimited.

Wow, the 914 think tank has come thru again. Some very good tips and points. Yes. I would prefer a 4 post permanent install and they do lift higher but the garage door track and a fir down in the ceiling negate any height benefits that model provides. Also, when it's time to move and downsize this can be easily removed and sold or just moved to the new place. More importantly, I won't monopolize the garage and it can still be a 2 car garage. My garage floor is 20' wide and all of the 2 & 4 post models take up more than 10'. It seems that the uneven height that is discussed with this model would only occur during lift or descent. Wouldn't it be even if in the "locked" position? One very good point that I need to verify pre purchase is the slab thickness. Very important!

Not the perfect lift for every car or every garage but a great lift for a small garage and our small 914's.

The point about not "monopolizing" garage space is what the MaxJax is meant for. If you don't have that issue then it's a no brainer to get a full height lift (given they're about the same price). But if you want to be able to use the space to park cars then it's an ideal solution. IIRC, the concrete specs also say it must be reinforced (rebar) concrete. Drilling the holes can be challening if you hit rebar in a couple of places as I did. Drilling through the rebar takes longer and increases the chances of runout, in turn necessitating the use of some epoxy anchors. So you might want to budget for the possibility of ordering some expoxy anchors and expoxy (and a caulking gun that is strong enough for the epoxy).

Lift level should be the same once you set it on the locking pins assuming you have a level floor (mine slopes toward a drain so it's not perfectly level side to side but it works for me).

Yea 7 inches to spare on my ceiling height. Decisions decisions I was planning on getting a scissor lift

David

I got my scissor lift from these guys. It was $1000 about 6 years ago. They have a shop at 42660 Rio Nedo Rd. Temecula. The local number is 951-296-3860. http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/Specia...Lifts-s/294.htm

I have the Atlas BP8000 and it's a quality product. I've had professional mechanics give it the thumbs up. All steel is thick, welds are solid and the hardware is very good quality. I paid $1450 since we (me and a buddy) bought two. We picked them up at the warehouse in Delaware using a car trailer, so there was no shipping or sales tax. It took about 2 1/2 hours to install with the help of 2 buddies. You will need help to muscle up the posts to a vertical position - they are very heavy! Added bonus - you gain another parking spot if your garage is tall enough.
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Well uh yeah. That was kind of my point. I don't have room for that w/o making some sacrifices. Another nice thought is, how can this not have excellent resale value. Buyer wants to see it work? No problem. 5 min to show it works. All the used lifts I found were in a heap but they all worked, allegedly. No way am I going to buy w/o a try out.
Anyway, check this out. The Costco flyer list the MaxJax as "Online price $2,299.99
Off - 300.00
Your Cost 1999.99
OK so far. Then I check online today (11/19) and the online price is $2099.99??? The flyer does state the sale begins 11/23. It will be interesting to see what the online price becomes that day. I'll be sure to check at midnite 11/22. $1699.99 would be sweet.

Atlas BP8000 here as well. It might be built in China but it's not Chinese junk. Very well made and I bought one after extensive research. American made are much more expensive.

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The Danmar lift was in the running when I was researching all the different brands and types of lifts that are out there. I seem to remember back then Cosco had a similar deal that had expired before I had a chance to order. I called Danmar direct and they said they would give me the same price that Cosco was advertising. You might want to give them a call and see if they will sell it to you for $1699.99. What's the worst they can say - No?

I checked the Costco Website today (3 days prior to the sale) and the new .com price is $1799 While supplies last. I jumped on it. If it goes down any further after the 23rd Costco will honor it. Best of all, if I have an issue with it I can return it to the local Costco. Hot Damn I'm going to enjoy this. Time to start planning my new exhaust system. This is better than pockets on a shirt!

You'll love how easy it is to drop the engine using a lift. I wish the maxjax was available at that price when I bought my QuickJack. Hey...anyone want to buy a QuickJack at a deep discount ?

Lifer with a lift is great. Enjoy

Congratulations! You are going to love it! I have had zero problems with mine.

I don't really want to get into a discussion on the quality of chinese lifts, but I will say this and after that you can do the research on your own.

This is a 8000 lbs lift at 1290 lbs shipping weight, all the steel is 6mm, so just under 1/4".

My 7000 lbs USA made lift is at least twice this weight and everyting is 3/8" or 1/2" steel, the arms are 1/2" steel.

Not being a Debbie Downer and these lifts are more than adequate for a light 914, but if you are planing on lifting near the stated capacity (i.e. large P/U truck) this is info you should know and research.

have had my MaxJax since 2010 - it is wonderful

Well, it's in and I frigging it. If you have the room then get a Full sized lift. But if your like 95% of us with a std garage; this is the one you need. I spaced mine wider than I had originally planned so I could service my wider vehicles as well. Why not? It's portable and that post will only be there when in use. Otherwise it's stored away.

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A "new to me" view.

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A subliminal message

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Looks very similar. I love mine as well. Funny mine didn't come with that cool yellow sticker.

Kent, the anchors, is that something you want a professional to set into the concrete ?
Will it go high enough, have you tried store another teener underneath it ?

Ted

so jealous! looks great.
Interested in the questions above as well...

Nice. Definitely have to get one of those now. I think I have room for a full sized lift but almost bought a 4 poster. Seems like the 2 post is the way to go if you want to work on your car a lot since there's better access to the underside.

I have room for a 4 post, I would like to use the one car garage to store one on top. Any disadvantage on a 4 post vs 2 post for our cars?

I did send you a sticker, didn't I?


The trick is locating and missing the steel reinforcement in your slab. You'll need a large hammer drill to turn the 7/8" bit. If your not comfortable with this they offer pro install. You find it in the fine print when you order a lift. I'll see if my other teener will fit beneath tonight. It's going to be very close.


Hey Chris, I could have shoe horned a 4 post lift inside but I didn't want to navigate around those posts from now on. And a 2 post would have extended into the other bay leaving enough room for another sub compact vehicle, only. Neither would have been able to reach their full height so this model was my best bet. In fact, I set the width of this one at 130" so I can service my wider vehicles as well. Why not? It's goes back into storage in less than 10 mins time.


Paul, IMHO, the 2 post offers greater accessibility. Especially if your doing any wheel or brake work.

I got this one for 300.00 an old used service station brake work or bodyshop 3/4 lift. works great. Check craigs list if your not looking for something new and pristene.

This is one of those four post, 8000lb lifts. All steel and comes with dollies to roll it around when needed. You can fit most cars underneath. That is a VW Thing under it in this pic.

The garage has a 12' ceiling with jackshaft style door openers (not an overhead motor for more clearance).

Works very well and not terribly pricey.

Sorry about the dirty floor. It was winter.

Maxjax $1650 shipped on Amazon right now, and was about 2-3 months ago so seems to be a regular sales price.

Dannmar Maxjax

A 4-post is great for storage and adequate for engine and 'center of car' work. But, not so good for wheel-end work. If you're creative with scissor jacks or small floor jacks you can make it work, but not much fun to lift a car when its parked on the ramps. I ended up adding a QuickJack set up to my arsenal for working on the car and couldn't be happier. Doesn't lift as high as the MaxJack, but its much easier to move and smaller to store.

I tore out all the 2x4s in my house and replaced them with 2x8s only to find out they were 1 1/2 x7 1/8 what a rip off

Buddy of mine has a portable lift. Works like a pallet jack, you can move it around. The feet are pretty far apart which makes it very stable.

I'm not sure if you knew lumber was measured this way and were being sarcastic, or if you really expected a 2x8 to be 2"x8".

Unless you had them cut or bought nominal, your 2x4s were not 2x4 either.

Zach

http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-2x4-lawsu...0623-story.html