Most liked posts in thread: Small car lift

The next alternative up is called a Max Jax, which is a short 2 post lift, much like you find in a shop, only half sized. It also is considered portable - but it must be anchored to a concrete floor when in use. You set it up mark the holes, then use a drop in anchor. When you want to use it, you roll it into place and bolt it down, when done you can unbolt it and slide it over to the wall. it lift's a little higher than the scissor type, and of course the entire underside of the car is exposed.

Linky.... MaxJax Portable Two Post Lifting System by Dannmar

here's a You Tube vid showing how it works...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSUAXQOoXuY]MaxJax Car Lift - YouTube[/ame]

 

I came *this* close to buying an Atlas lift, the cool thing is that they're portable and just plug into a 120V outlet - so if you move it's easy to take with you.

I also only have about 3 ft of height to raise, so it seemed perfect to me.

Greg Smith equipment sells them, but if you look on Ebay you might find a "deal". The one I was looking at was in a small shop and being replaced with a 2 post - I talked to the mechanic who used it and he said it was very stable, and that he'd had everything from a MINI to a ful sized pick up on it with no problem...unfortunately when I decided to pull the trigger it was already gone....plus this guy wanted $1100 for his,, and they're only $1195 new!

Here's a link..

Atlas MR-06 Portable Midrise Lift

and a pic...

 

These are popular in Europe, I've never seen one used here but I like the concept! The downside is having to step over the counter beams on the floor....

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlqBkpvOuX4&feature=related]Bradock 5 series portable car lift - YouTube[/ame]

 

Richard - OctaneGuy, had one for a while. Might want to ask him about his experiences with it. I think he replaced it with a more conventional one.

See http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/project-car-builds/4515-octaneguys-minis-since-2003-a-2.html#post55419 Thats where he starts talking about it.

 

What is the point in having a lift that blocks access to the underside of the car?

The whole reason I want a lift is to work underneath the car...along with wheel well access....

 

^^ Agreed ^^ to some extent...

I will say, though, for someone in need of doing basic tire rotation, brakes and an oil change here and there, those scissor jacks are the cat's a**. It beats the floor jack/jack stand drill. Much safer too!

 

EZ Lift

Check out what I have been using. I got in the car and started it while it was on the lift and it did not wiggle or feel unstable; waaaaay better than jackstands! EZ CAR LIFT - FREE-STANDING USE-ANYWHERE CAR LIFT! FAST. SAFE. STRONG.EASY.

 

Yea guess you could get to the underside of the motor for services too....ummmmm.

 

A couple of minutes maybe??? Never timed it, but what I do know is that it is way quicker than a floor jack and jackstands! Way more stable too.

 

Raise To 26" In Under 90 Seconds.

I clicked on the link for the info. $ 1995 :wink: http://ezcarlift.com/

 

The Atlas is only $1195......I raised a car up on it to check it out and it was dead easy to do, fwiw. The four pads go right onto the jack pads on the car, and while it would be difficult to get to the middle parts of the car - it is possible. However on our cars it really works well because the entire front of the car is accessible, and you can easily raise it to a height that doesn't hurt your back!

 

The other beauty with lifts like these, is that it allows you to be able to work inside a garage rather than outside or in a larger shop. The couple I've looked at come in two heights. I've got good ceiling height in the garage and will likely go for the taller of the two lifts.

 

Here it my Atlas lift in my old shop when I first acquired it. Although it IS portable, you need to consider it weighs about 1,000 pounds. So moving and transporting it requires a forklift, although you can use the included dolly to move it forward or back to position it.



You can see how much is "blocked" while replacing my OEM exhaust with a Magnaflow..still have full access and the lift isn't permanently mounted to the floor.

 

Wow, nice pics! Not quite as full access as a two post setup, but it's better than I thought it would be; looks like you can pretty much get at everything underneath--seriously considering buying one of these.

With the dolly, you say its fairly easy to move it forward and back--how about side to side (ie does the dolly swivel?)?

Hate to impose, but if you have any pictures of the dolly, or the lift attached to the dolly, I'd really appreciate it!

 

Thanks!

I wouldn't say fairly easy lol..it's about as easy as pushing a MINI I guess, depends on the surface. Unfortunately my concrete floor has carpet on it which increases resistance. I mean, I weigh around 200 pounds and to get the lift moving requires good shoes, and quite a bit of effort. It's easier to pull than push and no the wheels are mounted for forward and aft movement only. No side to side. That means you need to drive your car as centered as possible over the lift.

The dolly is integrated into the hydraulic motor unit which is seen in this pic at the lower right corner. See the handles on it? You position this into a hole on the lift itself and you can move it. The attachment point is immediately to the right of the black hose coming out of the lift in this picture.

(edit...the pictures here show my lift in my old shop without carpeting, but in my new shop, there is carpet...either way...it does take a bit of effort to move the lift around...I wouldn't want to move it up or down an incline nor have to move it often.)



I bought it from Greg Smith Equipment. Mine is the TDMR6 and there is a video showing how you can move it with the dolly.
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-TD6MR-Portable-Scissor-Lift

 

Yes thanks again for the info--the video is helpful.

Shipping may be a little bit of a chore, but it's doable--having a good friend that owns/operates a heavy equipment company comes in handy at times...