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I recently (last month or two) read a thread where someone mentioned they had installed a quality 4 post thread that was on casters and could adjust to a somewhat uneven floor. I have searched and can not find the thread. I would like to look into the lift product if I had the mfg.'s name. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Tony, the thread I remember was this year maybe a few months ago. It mentioned an uneven floor,casters and the need for an air compressor, if I remember correctly.
I purchased an inexpensive 4-post a few years ago ($2300 delivered) for my old shop in TX and it worked just fine. Was recently at Curt's Camp 928 event and his new garage had a Bendpek 4-post. If I had to do it again and for not much more $$ I'd go with what Curt's done, nice lift..more here: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ubhouse-3.html
I've been very happy with my Bendpak 4 post (HD-9). It does have the casters. The casters worked well on my bare concrete floor, and even better on my polyaspartic coated floor. I have tried to move it with a car on the lift, just a foot or so, and it seemed to work, but was much harder. However, I have a friend with the exact same lift and when he tried to move the lift with a car on it, the caster arms bent. I'm not sure if the wheels hit a rock, or what. Either way, just be aware of the risk. The wheels are solid, so if they hit a rock, it is likely to just stop.
As for uneven floor, I don't think that I would feel comfortable using the lift on a floor that wasn't level or had more than a quarter inch of variance in height from one post pad to the next. It is definitely more stable than a two post lift, but it still needs to be on a level and flat surface. You could adjust for this with steel plates under any posts that are lower than the rest. I also placed thick rubber matting under each post in order to protect my floor and to keep the lift from "walking" as it goes up and down.
One thing to note is that the stock ramps with the HD-9 are too short to load the 928. You'll hit the front spoiler and scrape the underbody. I use some wood ramps that I made out of stacked 2x10's that are screwed together. I place them under the lift's ramps, and that works fine for any car with any clearance. Let me know if photos would help.
Also, if you get the sliding bridge jacks, the 928 probably won't clear them either. The bridge jacks should always be stored at the front of the lift for loading and unloading a car onto the lift, because they do stick up a few inches. The easy solution is to use a single 2x10 under each wheel. I put two long ones at the front of the lift and drive the car onto them, then get out and put two short ones in front of the rear tires so that when I pull fully forward, the car is level. Again, I can post photos if it helps.
As for a compressor, it is absolutely necessary in order to release the safety catches. It takes a continuous supply of air to hold the safety catches in the release position. Any compressor could handle it, even a small pancake compressor.
I unloaded, unboxed, assembled and installed my own lift with the help of a forklift and one other person. It wasn't hard at all.
Thanks for all the very helpful and informative posts. Bulvot: photos of your modifications would also be very helpful. Does the Bendak HD-9 allow for the parking of a vehicle under one on the lift?
There is definitely room to park a car under the standard height HD-9. I've easily fit a full sized sedan under it.
Below is a photo of the wood boards that I use on the lift itself to raise the car enough to clear the bridge jacks. In this photo, you can see that the bridge jacks have been moved to the center of the lift, which I did after the car was loaded. I have marks on the lift to help my position the boards properly each time. I place the longer front boards on the lift first, drive the front tires just barely up onto them, then place the shorter boards at the rear, and drive the rear tires up onto those.
I don't think that I have a photo of the ramps that I made. If I can't find one, I'll take a photo tonight or tomorrow morning and post it.
Here is an older photo of the lift with the 928 on top and a VW Phaeton underneath The Phaeton is pretty big, so it gives you a sense of the room under the lift. Please excuse the floor and mess around the lift. This was before the polyaspartic coating and the lift and everything was shoved together to make room for an event.
No luck on photos that show the wood ramps in combination with the lift. But, I do recall that OB 928's seem to get onto the lift without needing the ramps. So, your mileage may vary.
I built a 2 story garage and went with a “Atlas”. ST-7000
Friend that owns a shop screamed I needed a 2 post, etc....but you can’t drive off of one of those. The solution was adding a set of “QuickJacks”....so I can pull wheels, etc. works great.
I don't recall the model number, but it is the popular asymmetric 10,000 lb model. Beware the installation instructions that have led many astray. The narrow configuration won't work for cars, only trucks (yes, this seems backwards). The power unit must be on the right as viewed from the door.
The ramps that came with the 4-post seem OK for a normal 928. Not sure I've put my own on it (has a low ride height I need to fix), but had others on it a few weeks ago. Could be that the angle of the garage apron is important here.
06-26-2018, 06:26 PM
Looking for recent thread regarding 4 post lift
