On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:23:04 -0500, "Dad" > wrote:

>I'm normally working alone in the shop and the lift has become
>invaluable. First off I'm not under a vehicle that is on a jack, or
>jack stands but it is in the air high enough to work with ease. Any
>tool is as safe as its user so be careful and use it safely. It, (they
>are), is built to do the job without a lawsuit.
>
>Here's what I would have done differently if I were buying today. I
>would buy from
>http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/At...p-xl-8k-ds.htm
>because I know his company and he normally has the best price and he
>is in the automobile service tool business.
>
>The new lift would have the full floor (or at least 1/2), no drip
>pans, or dollies, a jacking tray (bridge) and aluminum ramps.
>
>My reasons are I don't move it so why have the dollys? You're going to
>lift the ramps more than you expect so get the lighter ramps.
>

Why no drip pans?


>With the floor I can put my mower and lawn tractor on it and keep my
>cars on the ground except right now and for the last few months the
>'72 has been up there. It will make a place for your ramps so they
>aren't sticking out for you to bump into with your head. It keeps them
>off the floor where you can trip over them. Although I welded the
>corners and a drain plug in one floor unit to use as a drain I've
>never used that feature.
>

My problem, although a pleasant one, is that I have too many vehicles
LOL I have 6 toys that I'd like to keep tucked away in as small a
space as possible that will still give me a little elbow room.

When I moved to my house, a perk was a 32x48 garage, about 17 foot of
which is walled off as a workshop and the rest open floor space.
Unfortunately, it had an unfinished bay without a floor, no
electricity other than a single wire that had been shallow buried from
the house, and some of the beams were water damaged and the structure
was questionable.

So, using wheel dollies, I crammed my four best in the space, left the
projects outside, and waited until i could get it fixed. I recently
managed to pour the floor on the last bay, replaced the beams and
shored it up structurally, installed full (and ample) electrical
service, and installed enough lighting to see everything at hand.

I had sufficient room to add all of the cars, but I'm back to being
too cramped for doing much of anything else . My long term plan is
to eventually add another bay to the building, but I'll have to save
my pennies for a while before that happens.

Looking at the link you gave me, I drooled over this:
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Ph...=2#largerphoto


But I don't have a clue what hoops I'd have to go thru to break down
and haul something like that 8 hours thru several states back to my
place. And it looks like a really tight fit for bigger type
vehicles.

So, I'll look more at their 4 post offering. I have a chopped 34 Ford
and a 71 vette that I think would fit cozily in one, as long as I'm
comfortable that it won't come crashing down on either my head or each
other.


I'm also researching the best (and safest) way to heat the thing now,
and do some other things, so I may be back with more noob questions.

>
>Unloading it is an effort, I used a large backhoe and it was all it
>could do to pick it up out of the semi.

My BIL is a contractor who unfortunately (for him) can't store his
equipment at his own house so he keeps it at mine. That's good for
me, because it means I have use of a large Cat backhoe and skidloader
whenever I need it, so I think I'm covered better than most at getting
it unloaded.


Thanks for your time,
tom