When shopping for high quality on new and used 2 Post Car Lifts or 4 Post Car Lifts only choose Top Level Brands.
Rotary or Forward Lift are great choices as are brands like Challenger and Mohawk.
Automotive Professionals know that high quality lifts have an Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) Gold Seal of Approval. Some cities and counties throughout the country are now requiring new Auto Repair Shops to only install lifts with the ALI Gold Seal. Many lab tests are conducted with double or more loads beyond the Car Lift weight capacity to achieve this high level certification. Safety First!
2 Post Car Lifts
By far, the most popular car lift size these days is the 10,000 Lb. capacity 2 Post Car Lift. All brands will require a minimum 12 ft. ceiling height and run on 220 volt single phase electrical. Some customers will ask for much Heavier 12k-16k 2 post designs with the hope of having to buy only one type. If your auto shop works on cars and heavy duty trucks, you must have 2 post car lifts for cars and light trucks (10k) and at least one 12-16k capacity truck lift. The reasons behind this are pad height and arm design related.
A 10,000 Lb. 2 Post Car Lift has under four inches of pad height and smaller telescoping arms. Many modern cars have extremely low ground clearance and short wheelbase, which requires an asymmetrical arm design. Over 90% of this of lifts sold are “Asymmetrical” which means; the front arm is shorter than the rear arm. If your auto shop works on heavy trucks, you will need a “Symmetrical” 2 Post Car Lift, which means both front & rear arms are the same length. Of course, heavy trucks need higher capacity, 12k, 16k or 18k weight ranges are best. Heavy Truck 2 Post Car Lifts also are much taller needing a minimum of 14 ft. ceiling or more, to allow clearance for tall vehicles.
The latest trend in new 2 post car design Three Stage Arm, these longer telescoping arms allow a much wider variety of vehicles to be serviced.
4 Post Car Lifts
Most Professional Level Auto Repair Shops will require at least one drive on 4 Post Car Lift. The most
popular and affordable is the 14,000 lb. capacity closed front design. A “Closed Front” 4 Post Car Lift has a stiff steel beam between the front runways. A “Open Front” 4 Post Car Lift has No beam between the front runways which allows easier access to front end steering components. If you plan to do Vehicle Alignments, always choose an Open Front design. Many modern 4 Post Car Lifts can be purchased as a simple drive one Service Lift and later options can be added to upgrade its capability.
Here is an example: the Rotary 4 Post Lifts can be upgraded with optional ‘Bolt On Alignment Kits’ and ‘Rolling Bridge Jacks’. These options will transform your 4 Post Car Lift if needed in the future as your shop grows. Vehicle alignments are highly profitable services, so these options are quite useful. Many longer length, higher capacity 18k and 30k 4our Post are available for heavy duty truck Auto Service Centers.
