well ive been looking at lifts for a little bit now..plan to open a shop in the near future for my business... this is the left i think would be great for what i need...i would love some information from people that have lifts or just anyone .02 ... this is the one i found Eagle Global Two-Post Floorplate Auto Lift - GLO-9F: Eagle Equipment
I dont know anything about that brand of lifts. Id recomment a Rotary or BendPac...Ive heard nothing but good from people that have and use them daily. If your mostly using it for cars you migh want to look into an asymetrical lift also.
i really like this....i guess it would be worth the extra money Bendpak 9,000 LB. Capacity Storage/Service Lift - HD-9STX: Eagle Equipment
11000lb lift would be nice....but not a necessity unless your lifting a crew cab long box diesel. If the majority of your work is on cars thats overkill.......allthough I have nothing against overkill asymetrical lifts offset the lifting arms to the main hoist so you can open the doors further without fear of the door hitting the post. Again not a necessity but if your gonna spend money on a lift you might as well be happy with it. Nothing worse than "wishing" you spent that little extra for nice features.
Heres another option. A guy I know works on diesel trucks everyday and has 4 of these in his shop. Has nothing bad to say about them....very good prices too. Greg Smith Equipment Sales Inc. - The lift professionals with quality automotive equipment at discount prices.
I don't trust the ones with one post on each side. I always feel like they are going to fall, even though I know they will support it.
two post lift will allow you to life the widest variety of vehicles, which is exactly what you would need for a detailing business. I would stay away from unknown brands like the first one you posted, the price alone makes me weary of the quality. Like Duratys suggested, bend pack and rotarty or both excellent choices. I used a rotary brand two post at work dayin and day out, and it always performed flawlessly. If I wewre you I would get one with the apposed or angled posts, that allow you to open the doors all they way, like this one... FREE SHIPPING Rotary Asymmetrical Two Post Vehicle Lift 9000-Lb. Capacity | Two-Post Lifts | Northern Tool + Equipment also don't forget about the instalation costs including prepping the foundation. It can add up. If you are doing ONLY detailing, have you considered something like this for alot less money? FREE SHIPPING Bend Pak Portable Low Rise Vehicle Lift 6000-Lb. Capacity, Model# LR-60P | Scissor Lifts | Northern Tool + Equipment Ive never used one like it, but it might be worth looking into.
Aye, low rise really seems ideal for low bumper/panel correction. What I can't understand is how some Detailers can clean the undercarriage without dirtying/wetting the lift area and causing detoriation of the shop.
This is the unit I have in FL- Vehicle Lift (manual lift): To raise a vehicle for detailing, oil change, under body maintenance / cleaning, etc, requires a safe and quickly available vehicle lift, the Kwicklift maybe the answer. When it's not in use you have two options. Take it apart and store it (some what heavy and tough to do on a regular basis), or leave it setup in the flat position and just drive on and off of it. When you need to use the lift; drive the car off, insert the front stands, which now make it like a giant car ramp. Drive the car on the ramp, insert wheel chocks and then use a floor jack to raise the rear end of the lift, using the large connector bar, as the rear of the lift is raised, there are a set of built in legs that are lowered from underneath. They lock in place and the vehicle is now safely in the raised position, its low profile makes it a useful lift if you have limited ceiling height in the garage. Pick a KwikLift based on the empty weight of your vehicle, not gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) as this is the total the vehicle would weigh if fully loaded with cargo and a few of your favourite 200 lb. friends. Generally, the GVWR can be 1200 lbs. more than the empty vehicle weight - Greg Smith Equipment - KwikLift portable, drive-on, low-level car, truck and forklift lifts Scissor Lift: The Atlas Pro 6MR is a free standing 6,000 lb. capacity portable scissor lift. The perfect lift for body shops and vehicle detailing specialists, this portable lift will effectively raise a 6,000 LB. car or truck to a comfortable working height in garages with a low ceiling. The unique design allows access to some areas on the underside of the car not easily accessible with other portable lifts. The complete mid-rise lift includes one set (4) of truck adapters and another set of sliding car adapters. The arms can be located to an infinite amount of positions to accommodate the unique lifting points found on certain vehicles, Greg Smith Equipment - Pro6MR Portable Scissor Lift (See also Vehicle Lift)
For my two cents I wouldn't want to chance having customers cars on the Import lifts, not to say that they are all bad, but from speaking to other owners I have found that seals tend to leak more and the motors develop problems. For me I prefer the American made lift even though the initial cost may be more, in the long run you save.
If you are sticking only to detailing if possible get an in ground single post lift. You have full access around the vehicle and it allows for the wheels to easily be removed to gain access to the wheel wells. We have an in ground single post, an asymmetrical, and 3 drive on 4 post racks in our shop and the in ground is by far the easiest one to use for detailing. The asymmetrical is a pain for detailing because you do not have full access to the vehicle, you have two posts in the way.... The four post racks are nice for most vehicles except you really only have access to one of the bumpers. The other nice thing about the four post rack is that you have the ability to do under car work easily (oil changes, exhaust, etc.) You can also fairly easily remove wheels with the use of tall boys and some chock blocks but you are safely stuck with 2 wheels at a time. Hope that helps some.
