[dataway]

So I have to dig out some gravel to deepen an area of our upcoming shop floor for the lift posts. I'm wonder how far these posts should be from the inside of the garage door?

Entire slab will be 6" thick, I plan on going 2" thicker in a large rectangle that covers both lift posts. I can get the width (separation) of the posts from the manufacturer but I need to know a practical distance from the inside of the garage door. I realize at LEAST half of the length of a typical vehicle ... just wondering what those of you who have installed lifts are doing.

Thanks

[mysticmissle]

I can get you some
Measurements my garage is 34' deep my two post location lets me get my crew cab 8' dually on there but just able to close the door. I got lucky as I located the posts and footings when I had an extra cab 6' bed f250.
Def slightly more than half your biggest anticipated vehicle
My gto is about 17.5' long and there is room
To spare on the garage door side

[redbird68]

I am happy with where i placed my 2 post. My garage is 2 cars deep, and I can park a second car behind the one on the lift.
Measured from the wall in front of the lift, the posts are 10' from center of post to face of wall. This gives plenty of work space in front of car, there are no shelves or benches on the front wall though, you might have to factor that in.
From the side it is 4'-3" from center of post to face of wall. As you can see I have a skinny parts shelf on this wall and still plenty of walk around room.
You will love the lift!
Not sure if your garage is designed/built yet, but I also designed my ceiling height to accommodate the lift, and located a 110v outlet for power.
I also went with 8" concrete at post locations, with 1/2" rebar 12" on center in the hole.

[JSchmitz]

It also depends on if it's a standard or asymmetric lift. Mine is an asymmetric Rotary. The post are farther forward relative to the vehicle. I'll look in my install manual and see if it calls this out.

[redbird68]

Good point JS
My lift is asymmetric......it is a Revolution RTP10

correction-the outlet in the ceiling is 220v not 110

also I have not used the lift for pickup trucks, just cars, all driven in not backed in.

[mgarblik]

My shop is smaller than I really wanted. Size was limited by various local restrictions. It is 34' deep. I wanted to be able to lift specific vehicles for the fleet maintenance I was doing at the time. That meant being able to lift 170" wheelbase, 18 passenger vans and be able to squeeze past the back of the van with the door closed. I can take some measurements later today for you. If you plan to raise vans or some trucks, you may need to consider an overhead door operator that pulls from the side, rather than in the center. I had to do this to clear the roofs of the vans as the center track and motor would have been in the way of the vehicle roof's with them up on the rack. The side pull door lifts cost about double a center pull, but are quiet and secure, work great and have an electric dead bolt. Good luck with the install.

[JSchmitz]

Here's a page from my installation manual. Looks like 14' to rear, from centerline, and 10' in front.

[JSchmitz]

I'll take a WAG and say a standard lift would be 12' in front and rear vs. 10'/14' for asymmetrical.

[dataway]

Excellent folks, thank you.

And the Rotary two post is what I've been looking at, not sure about asymmetric or not yet.

Redbird ... how high is the ceiling in your shop? I'm going to be 12'. But the door where the lift will be is 8' high, 10' wide ... so I'm going to have to close the garage door to put something all the way up on the lift. Kind of a shame, nice to work with the door open on a nice day. I might have the door replaced with a roll-up at some point ... but the building comes with standard type for now.

JS, thank you, downloaded that instruction sheet for reference.

I'll have another door 10x10 ... but can't put a lift there, it's an entry for tractors and such.

[mgarblik]

I measured my lift placement for you. The center of the post is 16 1/2 Ft. from the inside of the overhead door. That gives me about 1 foot to squeeze by the back of those big Ford and long wheelbase Sprinter vans I used to work on every day. They had 170" wheelbase. This also allowed me to lift crew cab, 8 foot bed dually pick up trucks with just enough room to get around the back with the door closed. My pole barn has 12' nominal ceiling height and a closed ceiling with R32 insulation above. My lift is asymmetrical. If your going to lift anything heavy like I had to, I suggest discarding the anchors the lift came with and get some longer ones that match the thickness of your floor. I had to dig out and replace a 20 square ft. area under one of my posts. I poured an 8" thick repair pad, used rebar, and keyed it under the existing floor that was only 4" thick. (minimum required for my lift". My new anchors are 7 1/2". Did this repair last April. No issues yet. I did the repair myself, it was allot of work. Took 43 bags of concrete.

[redbird68]

My lift is 12' tall, so I designed the ceiling height at 12'-3".
I was fortunate to be designing the entire home, and this dimension affected the entire house regarding elevation of first and second floor.
If your garage is already built, I would assume you can discuss this with the lift mfr/installer.
They can probably adapt the lift to fit your 12' height.
If you have not already, I would select your lift mfr/installer and start discussion with their tech.

I used a company that had installed lifts where I worked, as well as many other commercial/residential locations. They were very helpful to ensure dimensions, elec power, foundation, etc were all ready to provide for a clean install.

Actually had them come by last year to inspect the lift and they showed me how to do it myself annually going forward. Lift was installed 10 yrs ago and still is in great shape.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by dataway

Excellent folks, thank you.

And the Rotary two post is what I've been looking at, not sure about asymmetric or not yet.

Redbird ... how high is the ceiling in your shop? I'm going to be 12'. But the door where the lift will be is 8' high, 10' wide ... so I'm going to have to close the garage door to put something all the way up on the lift. Kind of a shame, nice to work with the door open on a nice day. I might have the door replaced with a roll-up at some point ... but the building comes with standard type for now.

JS, thank you, downloaded that instruction sheet for reference.

I'll have another door 10x10 ... but can't put a lift there, it's an entry for tractors and such.

I would look into a side pull overhead door opener. That gives you allot more room in the center of the door area overhead where the pull track and attachments would contact the roof of a car or van. You would gain 16" to 2 feet of clearance. My door is 10' high, 16' wide. IMO, a symmetrical lift would be best if your going to lift mostly full frame, rear wheel drive cars and trucks only. Asymmetrical lifts, like the one I have is very versatile, and will lift about anything. Great for front wheel drive stuff. When lifting a long wheelbase truck or van, I use high stands in the rear for additional support, especially if pulling on stuff in the rear. Placing them near the rear bumper or trailer hitch helps allot.

[dmorg1]

Johnny,

You should be able to upgrade your door tracks to high lift.

This is an 8' door with 12' overhead.

As mentioned it will require a jack-shaft type operator

[quizkid32]

Nice lift set up, Redbird. I noticed the blue Trans Am in the background. Hope it's treating you well.

[redbird68]

Thanks Quizkid!
The 79 is doing well!
Hope all is well with you

[JSchmitz]

I bought my home used. I wasn't sure about the floor thickness. So I drilled and measured. My floor is 5-1/2" with fiberglass reinforcement. So I went with it. So far so good. Mine is an older Rotary. The bases are massive! It's a 9k lift. I don't come close to the limit. I think my truck weighs 6,500ish. I recently had to replace the cylinder seals. It was inexpensive and easy.

[JSchmitz]

When they say it requires a 12' ceiling, they mean it! I don't think I have an inch between the top of mine when raised to the limit.

[JSchmitz]

The seals were crumbling apart... This supposedly came from a Ford dealership. Must have a million lifts on it. I found it on Craigslist for $850! Still can't believe it. It's not very pretty. But built like a tank!

[JSchmitz]

[JSchmitz]

My lift came with Rotary door protectors on it (big foam pads). They are a life saver!