Installed a Direct Lift 4-post lift in my shop the other day

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Bill Crowell

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Luckily I got a good friend to help me. It was a lot of work, and very tiring to install.

lift1.jpg
 
At least you HAVE a shop LOLOL You will never regret it. I could not do 1/10 the things I do if I had to crawl around on the ground.
 
That's very nice. Is it permanently mounted? I ask because if you need to get to the side of the car against the wall, good luck!
 
Right, Rusty, I need to move it farther away from the wall before I bolt it down. You aren't supposed to have to attach it to the concrete, but I think I will.
 
Mine is not fastened to concrete, and its fine. Crew cab diesel trucks are fine on my 9000 lb hoist.
 
I don't see why it'd be necessary to mount it. It's not like it's going anywhere with something on it. Probably dang heavy enough on its own that it won't move empty.
 
I would be worried about it tipping over ,say your letting it down and you didn’t notice a safety lock was hung up and all the weight shifts ?? At least if she’s bolted down you got a chance .
 
Mines not bolted down. Hasn't been a problem. Actually one of the few advantages over a 2 post. Comes with casters so you can move it around.
 
I would be worried about it tipping over ,say your letting it down and you didn’t notice a safety lock was hung up and all the weight shifts ?? At least if she’s bolted down you got a chance .
All these new fangled lifts have a secondary lock, and if it goes wonky it basically jams up.
Have had a couple buddies that thought they knew how to operate hoist and got it stuck on one latch. You notice right away.
I wasnt pleased to say the least.
 
"I don't know nothin' bout no stinkin' bolts"

Can you say EARTHQUAKE!

I wouldn't just bolt it down, I would cross brace it, 3500 lbs 6 feet off the ground in a 6.0 would create a lot of forces where you don't want it
 
It's a Direct Lift "Pro Park 8S". I don't think my floor is as level as it should be, so first I am going to level the lift out by putting steel plate under the low column(s). I can get the plate locally, in 1/16" thickness increments, from AirGas. Then I'll decide if I want to bolt it down. The casters for moving the lift around are pretty ingenious and work well, but I doubt that I'll want to move it after I get it finally situated.
 
"I don't know nothin' bout no stinkin' bolts"

Can you say EARTHQUAKE!

I wouldn't just bolt it down, I would cross brace it, 3500 lbs 6 feet off the ground in a 6.0 would create a lot of forces where you don't want it
OP is from CA! Hell yeah, I'd bolt that down, AND I'd cross brace it, too. Earthquakes do happen. I had a car on rollers in my garage during our so-called Nisqually earthquake in Seattle back in 02(?). My '78 Magnum skated several feet and I found it up next to my 67 Cuda. Fortunately, the layers of Hazard Fright shipping blankets saved them from making hard contact. and major damage.
 
I'm jealous! I have no garage as of last year and have to work outside at 62 years old. Sucks to say the least. 2 more years and I'm going to NC. Then I hope to have a shop again. Congrats! Looks great!
 
I have one of Advantage 9000 lb 4 post lifts. It also has the caster kit. I haven't bolted it down yet and really don't see the need to.
 
I've had my 4-post lift for a little over a year and love-love-love it. It makes all the difference in the world for working on the car comfortably.

@Bill Crowell I will send you a PM, please contact me. I have a different brand lift but it looks EXACTLY like yours. It could be they are from the same factory but with different branding? Anyway there were cable routing issues on mine that were mis-assembled at the factory and gave me grief until I puzzled it out. Some were a nuisance. Some were outright dangerous. I'd hate to have something wonky with yours and have you not know about it.
 
Luckily I got a good friend to help me. It was a lot of work, and very tiring to install.

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I have the go ahead from the boss to get one so I have few questions if you don't mind. Did you have it delivered to your place and did you have to unload it yourself? Is there anything you would do differently now that you have it all set up? By the way, congrats on pulling the trigger on a great buy.
 
Following as well. I looked at Direct Lift and Atlas. Where I am they are sold out of the same warehouse
 
I have a different brand lift but it looks EXACTLY like yours. It could be they are from the same factory but with different branding?
Me too.
Tuxedo Distributors, LLC
Sold under several different names. Like it or not this is the origin of many of these lifts. Mine is a ProKar. Same thing. I bought it used and the PO really liked it. I wasn't checking country of origin when I bought it. I just wanted a damn lift. The price was right and it was available right around the corner.
 
I'm jealous! I have no garage as of last year and have to work outside at 62 years old. Sucks to say the least. 2 more years and I'm going to NC. Then I hope to have a shop again. Congrats! Looks great!

Just discipline yourself not to buy anything you don't really need, and to save a little money from each paycheck, and within about a year you'll be able to afford to pay cash for your lift.
 
I have the go ahead from the boss to get one so I have few questions if you don't mind. Did you have it delivered to your place and did you have to unload it yourself? Is there anything you would do differently now that you have it all set up? By the way, congrats on pulling the trigger on a great buy.

The seller, Shop Equipment USA of Hayward, CA, works with an independent delivery company that charged me $400 to pick it up in Hayward and to tow it about 200 miles to my location. The young man who delivered it did about 90+% of the work of unloading it onto the ground (I had to help him a little bit). Then I broke the package down and carried the heavy parts into my garage separately with my tractor, using the lift boom from my post hole auger on the 3-point hitch.

In retrospect, I would have first obtained a large, tapered pin in order to line up the bolt holes in the end of the ramps with their mating holes in the yokes. Lining up those holes and starting the bolts was the only difficulty that I had in assembling it.

The written instructions aren't really that great for somebody who has never assembled a lift before, but there are videos on the internet about how to assemble it.
 
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