Whether it is for your home garage or workshops, a car lift is a must. There are many routine maintenance and other jobs that call for a car lift. It makes easy to get to the affected part with a lift. If you too are searching for one, you need to think about the parameters for selecting the best one. You should not compromise on the essential requirements even if you let go of some features. But before going into the parameters, pause a while to think about the price. A suitable and safe lift can cost thousands of dollars. The heavier device you need, the more safety precautions you need to take and the more price you need to pay. So, if you have a truck, it may not be a good idea to get a lift for your home garage. If you have a small car, it does make sense to buy a car lift. In fact, it is possible to meet your requirements within the budget, if you don’t have a heavy duty vehicle. However, before selecting a lift you need to think about the requirements.
Requirements for Installing A Lift
Type of lift
There are various types of lift. You can get two post lifts, four post lifts, scissor lifts, portable lifts. For a home workshop a portable lift is the best solution. These lifts are not built for heavy duty vehicles. Usually, these are built for sedans, hatchbacks or small cars, but not for SUVs. Portable lifts can be scissor type or direct lift type. These lifts raise the cars just moderately. They cannot lift the cars as high as the two post or four post lifts. However, they are just enough for any tire changing job or for a peek under the carriage. The two post and four post lifts are mostly used in workshops.
Garage height
If you have a heavy duty car, you need to go for a two post lift. In that case, you need to see if the height of your garage is good enough to lift the vehicle and still have clearance above it. If you don’t have a minimum level of clearance on the upper side, you just cannot go for a two post lift. Full scale lifts are not for low height garages. The garage needs to have at least a height of 12’ so that you can install a lift. If you are not sure about the height aspect, you can call the suppliers people.
Floor strength
The floor has to bear tons of weight to lift a car. So it must be robust in strength and have enough weight bearing capability to lift the car comfortably. However, home garages are usually not built to be so strong as to be able to install lifts. You may have to add a thick layer of concrete on the floor to make it strong enough to install a lift comfortably. Talk to the supplier’s people and they will recommend the best strength and how to achieve for installing a hoist.
Garage door
The door of your garage is no less a parameter to decide the type of lift. If it is a tilt-type garage, you need to calculate the gap between an open garage door and the car lifted. If the open door infringes on the lift, try to shift the lift to another location where there is no infringement from the open tilt door.
Weight
This is one of the most vital aspects of buying a car lift. Prices and complexities of a lift usually increase with its weight bearing capability. If you have a family sedan, a hatchback or a small car, a portable lift is capable of lifting anything up to around 6000 to 7000 lbs. is okay. You can get scissor and other lifts for such a job. So make sure that the lift is okay for your car.
Safety aspects
Operating a lift can be a dangerous affair, if the safety systems are not taken care of very well. The lift must have very good safety measurements. It should have limiting switches, automatic arm restraints, automatic safety locks, slack chain safety device etc.
The best one for your home garage
The best car lift for your home garage may well be a scissor lift. However, they have a limited weight bearing capacity. You need to see that the lift is able to lift your car easily.
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