which lift?

[skills@eurocarsplus]

while i am hemorrhaging cash out of every orifice with the construction of our new house (and garage) i am in the market for a clear floor 2 post lift. i was thinking of one like this, i guess my real question is, how do they work out for a bus? all the lifts i have used in shops i have worked at have been the conventional style (non asymmetric) lifts, and i never had an issue putting my bus up on it.

so, any bus owners that have used a asymmetrical lift, what are your thoughts?
_________________

[Russ Wolfe]

You will need more than standard 4" concrete where the hoist mounts.
A friend of mine was required to put 10" in under his 10K pound one.
_________________
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!--Edward Abbey

Gary: OK. Ima poop.

[Mr. Unpopular]

I went with 12" of concrete (4" of regular slab, plus 8" trough below slab all poured together), for my 2 post lift. My 2 posts are parralel, but the arms are unequal length (front are much shorter than the rear). Mine is made by a company called Forward. I was told it was a "lighter duty" version made by Rotary. When I purchased mine, the guy said "as long as you're only lifting 4-5 cars a day you'll be fine". So light duty is in the eye of the beholder.

For you, I would look long and hard at the max lift height before the safety engages. I used to have a Chevy Astro van and the safety would engage before the lift reached max height. As such, I couldn't really walk under it. So look for one that lets you go as high as possible since your bus is rather tall.
_________________
"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Mr. Unpopular]

Sorry, didn't mean to come off as the concrete police, just trying to help.


I was thinking after I posted, I did have a bay window pop-top camper on my lift (I parted it out, VERY rusty). I don't remember any issues with the arms.
_________________
"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[Twisted Minis]

I have an asymmetrical lift and have worked on a bus, it wasn't an issue lifting it up. You can bias it pretty far forward if you have to.

As far as what to get, I would look into a used Rotary. The prices on them are coming down and you can get one from $1200-1800 depending on the year it was made. They are some of the best lifts around, and parts are very easy to come by. Any bearing/hydraulic supply place will carry their stuff.
_________________
If you can find it cheaper, I can fix it.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Mr. Unpopular]

no worries.

Oh, consider doing the install yourself if you want to save some money. It took me and 3 friends less than a day working at a leisurely pace. And my friends aren't "mechanics" but if you tell them to do something they can follow directions. It really wasn't hard at all.
_________________
"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[Russ Wolfe]

I did not mean to come off as a concrete police either. Just giving a heads up.
I did not re-enforce the floor in my shop, so I a limited as to the hoist choices.
I am seriously right now looking as a scissors type, because of my thinner floor.
I do not have the money to rip up the floor and redo it.
_________________
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!--Edward Abbey

Gary: OK. Ima poop.

[p horvath]

maxjax makes a portable two post jack.

[EdW]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

i understand what everyone is saying abought the height. the picture with the blazer is deceiving. the pump assy is a bit taller on the post than i am as shown here. just about all the lifts in my price range have the same max lifting height. if i have to go all taco neck under the bus, i am ok with that. or worse yet, i sit in a chair and change my oil
_________________

[cdennisg]

Being able to walk under the lift would be nice, but it isn't necessary. I have a bend pak scissor lift and it only lifts to four feet. (nine foot shop ceiling) At max lift with the bus on the tallest pads I have, I can sit on my rolling stool and roll around under the bus. Quite comfy, actually.

IF I had higher ceilings, I likely would go for something with higher lift capacity, though.
_________________
nothing

[Mr. Unpopular]

that's true guys. see, we all learned something here.

All I know is I love my lift. Its nice to put a car on the lift for an oil change, but take a few minutes to look at the whole underside of the car. It really keeps you "in the loop" of your vehicles overall well being. You can see very minor leaks as soon as they develop, sources of squeaks and rattles, etc.
_________________
"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[skills@eurocarsplus]

thanks for the input guys. i have consulted with a few different companies, and i waent with the eagle lift. they took the time to go over the pro's and cons of the lift, and it is now on its way. as luck would have it, it will fit in the back of my single scab, so i will post pix when i get it. (providing the single scab isn't in 2 pieces when i load it in )
_________________

[skills@eurocarsplus]

well, lift showed up today. it won't be put in for a while, but i hauled it home

_________________

[Mr. Unpopular]

SWEET! When I got mine me and some friends drove from Tampa to Orlando (about 1.5 hours) with a 6x10 trailer. They loaded it in the trailer with a forklift and when we got home, we just backed up to the lift bay and drug it out of the trailer as we installed it. I'm very lazy that way
_________________
"In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV

[skills@eurocarsplus]

^^^^^
thats cool! as it turned out, the single cab bed is about 6" lower than the tractor trailer it showed up on, so we wheeled it on to the dolly, and at the end, i put my jack under it (you can barely see it in the pic) i tossed the strap around it real quick just to get off the street (sadly, that is our 'loading dock' at work) i pulled it into the shop, used our lift as a hoist to get all my stuff out from under it, drove it to my excavation guys house where he off loaded it. once the garage is all set, i will have him drag it to the house. he dosen't know it yet, but he will give me a hand setting it up too
_________________

[cdennisg]

My father in law delivered my used scissor lift from southern Idaho for me in the back of his big Dodge. I had no way to get it out of the truck (900 lbs) so we went to my buddy's fabrication shop to use the forklift. We put it onto my low little trailer and headed back to my place. I then dropped the ramp on the back of the trailer, tied the lift off to the big spruce tree next to the driveway, and pulled the trailer out from under the lift. From there I was able to wheel the lift into my shop as it's designed to be somewhat portable.

It was an ordeal, but worth it for sure.

That's the lift, and that is the big spruce tree just to the left.
_________________
nothing

[Russ Wolfe]