Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: lurtch on April 12, 2023, 22:46:19
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Hello All,
My mistress has a new resting place.
As many of you already know, Bend Pac makes many of the four post type lifts on the market. This is their new design (not really new, four years old, I think) This unit is far superior to the four post style because, although it was manufactured in China, it was designed in southern California. My new unit is the replacement for a poorly designed and under-engineered unit that was all Chinese. I had to get rid of it because it had an electrical design flaw that made it unsafe. The service rep had to come fix it FOUR times with no real resolution.
Larry in CA
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Very impressive. Appears that it works well for stacking (note its name) vehicles which would be useful for my needs. Can you access the underbody while its on the lift?
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Does it have different height locking points or just all the way up? Do you know what the height is to the front fender on yours? I have been looking for a twin lift setup and have looked at many different styles including the overseas lifts but have not come up with a definite yet.
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It looks like a car parked underneath may have a problem opening doors. Is that accurate?
https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/parking-lifts/a6s/
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Starting at $11K, wow. Plus tax, and installation no doubt. I thought lifts were much less costly than that.
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Starting at $11K, wow. Plus tax, and installation no doubt. I thought lifts were much less costly than that.
They are, that is a specialized lift. I have the HD-9 model for work, $5,125
https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/four-post-lifts/hd-9/
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Cees, generally two and four post lifts ARE less costly than that.
What Lurtch is showing us is BendPak's "Park lift"or stacking lift which no doubt is patent protected or some such. I have not seen anything else like it, thus they are charging (what was that B-school term I learned years ago? Oh yeah...) "monopoly rents" on it. Looking at it, it's a whole lot less metal, less stuff than a 2 or 4 post lift and a whole lot easier to install too. But far more costly.
It would be perfect for me. Not at that price however.
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Ok, so I’m officially jealous! I don’t even have the height to lift a car that heigh 🤣
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I can barely stand up in the garage my car lives in.
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Does it require you to bolt it to the floor?
Do you need 4000 psi concrete?
Man, looks awesome, but $11k...gah!
Here's mine (came w/the house):
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Teahead wow, a single post lift with access to the underside. Looks commercial grade. Must have a strong foundation.
Came with the house... lucky you.
jz
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He bought the lift and the house came with it. ;D
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I researched lifts for months before I bought my Backyard Buddy Classic from Advantage Lifts. Designed and made in the USA. Much heavier gauge steel than any Chinese lift, better built, and much safer mechanism. It allows you to work underneath the car at multiple heights. Four post, but compact.
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John,
My backyard buddy should be arriving in a couple weeks! I'm going to have a group of my own buddies come over and help me assemble. Regardless of how much beer & pizza they consume, it will be MUCH cheaper than the professional install service. Slower, yes, but a couple of these buddies have their own 4 post lifts and I feel we're smart and experienced enough to get the job done right.
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He bought the lift and the house came with it. ;D
In our region in France, people have been known to select the house to buy looking mostly at the quality and size of the wine cellar ...
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Rodd, I had mine installed. But I will tell you, it's the best home/garage lift on the market. Very happy with it and I know it's well built and safe. I looked at the Autostacker. Good product too, but I wanted to be able to get under my cars. Good luck Rodd. Make sure there's plenty of beer!!
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I sold a house with single post lift......and I bought a new one (single post) for my Mancave.
Prices have come right down - half what they used to be.
Surprisingly you don't need a strong foundation - they are well engineered, and the base plate spreads the load effectively.
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Thought I’d chime in too.
This is my setup to gain more space in my garage. I built this garage alongside my existing one to gain more space. Ceiling height is 3.6m to allow for the double stacking, although I doubt two SUV’s would fit in quite the same fashion.
Whilst the two cars in the pics aren’t 113’s, it has enabled me to get my 113 in the garage next to it to start my restoration. I can squeeze another car in front of the hoist and get 3 in if needed, but it’s a little tight.
For those guys in Melbourne and surrounds, this is a proper wheel alignment hoist and I do have a wheel alignment machine too, so I’d be more than happy to check your alignment and perhaps drool over your driving 113.
Cheers Doug.
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I approached it in a different manner.
I wanted a lift i could work under, a lift that picked the car up under the wheels and did not hang the suspension for longer term storage and one i could also use as a normal two post underbody lift if needed to remove wheels etc. so got this installed for around $3k USD
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Garry,
Interesting to see the plates you have under the wheels to support them on the 2 poster.
I use flatstoppers to stop the tyres getting flat spots and also my lift has two sliding jacking beams, so I can drive a car up on the lift then jack both ends up to enable removing the wheels.
Doug
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Does it require you to bolt it to the floor?
Do you need 4000 psi concrete?
Man, looks awesome, but $11k...gah!
Here's mine (came w/the house):
Why didn’t I get one of those include in my house when we bought it!! Will have to seriously reconsider my negotiating skills 😎
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My Backyard Buddy Classic lift in action. Although it's 4-post, it's very compact and very sturdy. Made in the USA. I can easily fit 4 cars and a golf cart in my 3 car garage. I highly recommend this lift for those who want to work underneath their cars safely. Does not have to be bolted down and is rock solid. Comes with a heavy duty castor wheel system in case you need to move it.
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Well, it took longer than they said, but I finally have my Backyard Buddy lift installed! I got the extra tall because my ceilings are almost 12 feet tall. I need to find some low profile LED garage opener lights. And no, the red treads/ramps don't bow, I guess it's just a 7 year old camera phone or some optical illusion.
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Looks great Rodd. These Backyard Buddys are built tough, right here in the USA!!!
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You guys are all making me so friggin’ jealous!!
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Yup!
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I can totally relate to the frustration of dealing with a poorly designed lift. It’s such a relief when you finally get something solid and well-engineered. I’ve had my share of issues with gear that doesn’t live up to the hype, and it’s always a gamble.
That Bend Pak four-post unit sounds like a beast compared to your previous one. I’ve worked with Lift Tables (https://www.astrolift.co.nz/category/Lift-Tables) before, and honestly, they’re a game changer for stability and ease of use. I used one a while back for a project on my car, and the difference was night and day — it was so much easier to work on without worrying about the car shifting or being unstable.
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Rodd,
Though from the one photo you posted I cannot tell exactly what's going on in your garage, what I can say is that to maximize your space, you might consider what is called a high lift garage door (which is basically a set of extension tracks) and then a side mount jack screw door opener. This frees the ceiling from such things as the motor head hanging down, and puts the door very close to the ceiling in the raised position. See the photo for an example, lifted from a search. This is a dual door, high lift setup with side mount jack screw lifts. The high lift tracks are not that costly, and the jack screw side mount lifts are a bit more costly than regular mount units. Of course if you have those springs as shown, best leave it to a pro. They have so much "wound up energy" in them that they can be deadly if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing with them.
You'll note in the same photo the garage owner has surface mount (presumably LED since that's what is most common these days) luminaires. If you have access above your garage (mine is just dead space) they are easy to wire for. If you have living space above, well quite a bit more difficult and surface mount wiring may be in order.
For those that have pre-wired screw in sockets for lights, old school stuff, well they make some extremely bright and powerful LED conversions that will completely flood your garage with bright white light, fully adjustable with the LED panels on "wings".
What really isn't in order (sorry my home inspector hat is on) is extension cords hanging down and used in a somewhat permanent setup. Doesn't meet code and generally not advised.
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Rodd,
Though from the one photo you posted I cannot tell exactly what's going on in your garage, what I can say is that to maximize your space, you might consider what is called a high lift garage door (which is basically a set of extension tracks) and then a side mount jack screw door opener.
The door doesn't hug the ceiling as closely as I'd like, but it was a reasonable effort. And the opener is on the wall right next to the rod/spring. Stop by on your next trip to MI.