[hgiv]

I finished installing a 4 post lift in my new garage. It fought me at every turn! But.. I eventually defeated the beast. (ASEplatinum WH8K-DX-XLT Extended 4 Post Auto Lift) The directions are almost grossly inadequate. And you need a magnifying glass to read the horrible diagrams. The cables were pre-routed and not in correct way. All the hydraulic fittings leaked. The cheesy safety handle thingy need 17 adjustments., Had a butt load of air in the lines. And somehow I had a lot of little nuts and washers left over... that's actually normal for me!

The dream is that the 69 Firebird will live on it and I can still park underneath. Plus great for lots of work.

Anyway...

My wife comes out inspect the new install. It came with 3 drip pans... she takes one look and says... "You're gonna need more drip pans!"

[Tom Vaught]

There is a lot of crap out there.

Tom V.

[GoGoat]

Just make sure you double checked and triplle check all nuts and bolts and instructions. No one wants any one (including family members to get hurt . I installed a bendpak and had an air solinoid fail right away. So now everytime I'm watching for any abnormalies.

[dataway]

When the time comes for me to install a lift I'd like to get a commercial unit, like used in dealerships, full time shops .. etc. What brands are the big players in that market? The internet is so flooded with the home garage stuff that it's hard to sort out.

[MarkS57]

Imported? I imagine anything domestic is probably outta reach price wise

[glenn911]

When I installed my four post 10 years ago, I could only find two made in USA. Back Yard Buddy (Ohio) and Gemini (Texas). I got the Gemini cause they delt on the price better. Not one problem with it.

[JLMounce]

While researching my 4 post lift purchase, I was told by several different people that all lifts these days are now made in china. There's just no getting around it anymore.

That said, with something like this, while I'm a DIYer I opted for a professional install and I have it serviced regularly. Mine is Forward Lift and it's seriously cut down on the time it takes working on cars.

[hgiv]

Originally Posted by dataway

When the time comes for me to install a lift I'd like to get a commercial unit, like used in dealerships, full time shops .. etc. What brands are the big players in that market? The internet is so flooded with the home garage stuff that it's hard to sort out.

I don't have any issues with the quality. Yet. Seems like a nice rig. Most of the install was pretty straight forward. Tuxedo distributes lifts under several different names.

I think your use plan is a big issue. If you are using it a lot that would make a big difference. Mine will go up and down once a week tops. Then not at all in the winter.

[tom s]

BYB are still made in the USA.I have had my 2 for over 20 years now and had them installed by professionals when I bought them.Over the 20 years I have had the serviced to make sure working properly.FWIW,Tom

[Cliff R]

I bought mine about 20 years ago, 13,500lb 4 post, oversize. Will lift Suburbans, 1 ton trucks, etc. It was advertised back then as "made in the USA" but highly unlikely.

Just by looking at the paint, welds, etc I suspect a good portion of it was imported, at least the main structural stuff. The hoses, motor, pump, etc are USA made, so I guess they got away with calling it a "made in the USA" part.

Never had the first issues with it and one of if not the BEST investment I ever made for the shop.......

[4dblnkldude]

I bought a greg smith two years ago. It was completely disassembled. Instructions were awesome and went together in 4 hours. My brother in law (in my signature) does garage doors and dock levelers. I dont even think he read the directions. So that helped too.

[The Champ]

I'm like Jason (JLMounce) above.

I opted for a professional install of my Forward Lift too. Could I have done it all by myself? Maybe, but I don't have the upper body strength that I had (after 4 major surgeries) and the three younger men that do this for a living took 3 hours and they will service it as needed in the future. I might have been at this all weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

I know it was set up right. I could afford the install fee. I didn't abuse my body.

Worth the $500.00 (delivery and install cost) to me.

I had a QuickJack 5000 at my old house that we sold last fall. Plans were to build a new house with a 5 stall garage - but bid price of the new house (not including lot) came in $468,000 over budget.....

We found this existing home with a 1000+ sq ft 3 stall garage, so a 4 post lift was the solution. My younger brother bought my QJ 5000.

[Cardo]

For a commercial grade US made lift get a Challenger. We must have at least 30 or more at work. A lot of them are 20 years old. Out side of replacing the cables every so often, they hold up. They're used 6 days a week 24 hours a day. I put one in my shop about 10 years ago, $4000 at the time installed.

[mgarblik]

My school has Rotary Brand lifts, about 30 of them. Installed in 1998. Not a single failure and the lifts go up and down 30-40 times a day every day of the year almost. Operated by absolute morons up to professionals on a daily basis. They are inspected once a year as required . USA made, according to labels. But I found components on the lifts made in Italy, (hydraulic pump and motor) other odds and ends. I bought 2 Forward lifts for my garage. Same parent company as Rotary, but Chinese/Italian. First one was awesome. Second one had a complete pump/motor failure 2 weeks after installation. (popped a 30 amp breaker). The Chinese pump and motor were seized). They sent a replacement Italian unit from a Rotary lift. That has been great ever since. But after about 2 months, one of the big hydraulic cylinders began leaking. They sent out a replacement right away. It has been fine for 5 years now. In summary: Rotary, great but expensive, Forward, fair quality, great service though. Have heard nothing but good things about Backyard Buddy, but no personal experience.

[ZeGermanHam]

Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage seems to like his Wildfire 4-post lifts quite a bit. I use 2-post lifts at my shop, but if I had a home workshop, I'd probably opt for a 4-post lift with an air-over-hydraulic bridge jack. That combo from Wildfire would be about $6400 + freight. And I'd absolutely pay for the install.

[Jonsie]

Originally Posted by 4dblnkldude

I bought a greg smith two years ago. It was completely disassembled. Instructions were awesome and went together in 4 hours. My brother in law (in my signature) does garage doors and dock levelers. I dont even think he read the directions. So that helped too.

2x on the Gregg Smith 4-poster. Drove down to Delaware, they loaded it onto a u-haul car trailer for me in a big crate. This was @ 20 years ago. Easy-to-follow instructions. I sold the lift to a fellow PY'er when we moved last month. Was the best 'tool' I ever owned............

[HoovDaddy]

Originally Posted by dataway

What brands are the big players in that market?

If it's listed on this web site, it's been certified for the weight rating and is safe to use. If it's not listed I wouldn't risk it. https://www.autolift.org/

[72projectbird]

I have a Greg Smith 4 post. I use it all the time. Have done everything from transmission work to exhaust work on it. Every winter it's used as storage.

Bought it directly from them in NH, brought it home and installed it. It's heavy as a mofo when trying to assemble the pieces. Ended up using the engine hoist to maneuver pieces around. The lock system takes some time to adjust, and I've found you need to adjust it periodically.

[Formulajones]

My 2 post is a Superlift 12 ton unit that I've had for 15 years and do most of my work on. Been an excellent lift.

The 4 post is a Advantage 9000HD lift that is basically the same thing as the Back Yard Buddy and usually sold by the same dealers.

I bought it maybe 3 years ago now and use it mainly for storage. Assembled it myself and it wasn't too bad, no issues. I bought it while they were at Barrett Jackson and got the show special discount. Picked it up myself since they have a warehouse in Phoenix, and saved on shipping and delivery charges.

I went to buy another one early this year while they were at Goodguys, again to take advantage of the show special, and found out they increased their prices another $2100 Like everything else, prices keep going up.

[PDC]

Mine has been a life saver.