Garage height needed for 4 post lifts ???

[FLX109]

Sorry to bring this up again but my garage is close to completion and I am measuring 11' 2" from floor to ceiling height, is that enough comfortable clearance for a 4 post lift?
thanks

FLX109

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Depends on what cars you are stacking. I have 2 Vipers stacked with a 9 foot ceiling.

 

[Mr Hemi Head]

My ceiling is 10'2" and with a 4 post lift the GTS is parked on top leaving 70" underneath for a SUV.

I think 11'2" is more than enough.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I have a friend with a Viper over a Ford GT....or vice versa....with a 8'6" ceiling height. He has a 4 post Eagle lift.

Steve

 

[kcobean]

I just went through the whole measurement thing in my garage. With a 9 ft ceiling, I was only able to get the lift rail surfaces up to around 58 inches, leaving 2 inches between the roof of the car and the ceiling of the garage. That for me wasn't enough, since I'm 6'4 and I want to be able to stand up straight when working under the car. With an 11'2" ceiling, you'll have ample clearance to put the lift rails up to just shy of 7 feet. Wanna trade garages?

 

[FLX109]

Thanks for the quick replies I really appreciate it, I didn't think I had enough height ,The framing was just completed today,floor was poured 2 days ago, siding, elec are next then I will be looking for a deal on one of these lifts, maybe some group buys will come up.
Kcobean,
I don't know if my trailer will hold the weight for the swap, sounds like a deal though,
thanks agin

FLX109

 

[scottgf]

11 2 will be fine...
I have 12ft and have alot of extra room stacking my Road Runner and the Viper with the lift all the way up (Revolution).

Cheers,

 

[FLX109]

11 2 will be fine...
I have 12ft and have alot of extra room stacking my Road Runner and the Viper with the lift all the way up (Revolution).

Cheers,

Hi Scottgf,
You wouldn't happen to have any pictures?

FLX109

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

The height will limit the clearance under the lift. Viper height is 4" typical ramp thickness is 4" so two Vipers will take up 8'4' leaving 3' 8.

That great for working under the car without having to bend down under the lift.

 

[Jay Herbert]

10'4" clear height, Revolution lift, no problems. I was talking to Lee last week, much lower height in his garage... and he is stacking two cars.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Fred,
That's good math and seems to be about what I have left 8" or so divided between the two cars and the ceiling. Although I swear it looks like 4-5 inches between the cars and a foot from the top of car to the ceiling.
Be aware it's not just about the measurements, it's where the locks are on a particular lift. And if it gets tight like mine with a nine foot ceiling or you put a normal sized car in the equation that is significantly higher than 4' you better know where the locks are. Why? Because once you hit the lock you have to RAISE the lift as much as 4 inchs to UNLOCK.
For example with the measurements on my lift we who participated in the install were pretty sure we could hit the next lock up rather than the one we are using BUT if we guessed wrong we would be knocking dry wall and some rafters out to let the GTS up the last few inchs to unlock so we did not push it as it worked with just a few inches between the two cars.
My lift is a Perfect Park and I was lucky enough to buy it very slightly used from another member so we had the advantage of measuring where the locks stopped before we disassembled it for transport.
Had I not had that opportunity I would have gone with Revolution as they have a great chart on their website that marks off where the locks are. You might want to look at it. I also think Ab can get deals on that one.
Another hot tip involves the garage door. The hoods on our cars are very low, so if the top car is BACKED in you gain a lot of room. We also relocated the ends of the tracks upwards about 8 inches or so. By that I mean we just angled the inside ends up a few notches on their brackets, bent them up so to speak. Then angled the middle rail that the opener travels on the same degree up. So now when the garage door opens it just goes up hill about 8-10 inches. No relocating of anything else. Works fine.
Have to give Byon Muller, our local Viper Tuner credit for that one, he came up with it.

 

[kcobean]

Fred,
That's good math and seems to be about what I have left 8" or so divided between the two cars and the ceiling. Although I swear it looks like 4-5 inches between the cars and a foot from the top of car to the ceiling.
Be aware it's not just about the measurements, it's where the locks are on a particular lift. And if it gets tight like mine with a nine foot ceiling or you put a normal sized car in the equation that is significantly higher than 4' you better know where the locks are. Why? Because once you hit the lock you have to RAISE the lift as much as 4 inchs to UNLOCK.
For example with the measurements on my lift we who participated in the install were pretty sure we could hit the next lock up rather than the one we are using BUT if we guessed wrong we would be knocking dry wall and some rafters out to let the GTS up the last few inchs to unlock so we did not push it as it worked with just a few inches between the two cars.
My lift is a Perfect Park and I was lucky enough to buy it very slightly used from another member so we had the advantage of measuring where the locks stopped before we disassembled it for transport.
Had I not had that opportunity I would have gone with Revolution as they have a great chart on their website that marks off where the locks are. You might want to look at it. I also think Ab can get deals on that one.
Another hot tip involves the garage door. The hoods on our cars are very low, so if the top car is BACKED in you gain a lot of room. We also relocated the ends of the tracks upwards about 8 inches or so. By that I mean we just angled the inside ends up a few notches on their brackets, bent them up so to speak. Then angled the middle rail that the opener travels on the same degree up. So now when the garage door opens it just goes up hill about 8-10 inches. No relocating of anything else. Works fine.
Have to give Byon Muller, our local Viper Tuner credit for that one, he came up with it.

Reading this post, I had a horrifying vision of getting the car up and the locks engaged, and then not being able to get the lift up far enough to dis-engage the locks without hitting the ceiling...Viper stuck on lift forever.

 

[418viper]

Won't matter how high your garage ceiling is if the doors don't track right up tight against the ceiling. If you have 8 foot high doors you will still be able to work on your car but storing a car on top of another will be out of the question. Make sure your builder extends the door tracks as close to the ceiling as possible and he installs either a taller door or spacer panels.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

Won't matter how high your garage ceiling is if the doors don't track right up tight against the ceiling.

That only matters if your garage stall is one car deep. My 3rd stall is 37' deep. It's the height which would be an issue for me Looks like my 8' 9" would make it, but like Kelly said above--not the ideal working height for someone over 6'.

Sounds like 11' feet is the number to remember for future garages.

Steve

 

[Andrew2KRT10]

Remember you want to work or at least be able to walk under that car that might be up top. And if you think you might put a truck up there, You need more height. I have a 15 foot ceiling, and I can just barely put my 1500 Ram up top and get underneath to do anything. When the Viper is up top, I fit the truck underneath with about 1 inch to spare.

Obviously the door has to track up high with a normal length garage of about 20 feet. If you have a 37' or some crazy length garage and the door is not a concern, you have more hieght to play with. But if you have a garage that long, you probably have 20 foot ceilings also.

I have a Bendpak 4 post and once the top car is up,I really only have to then raise about another 3 inches to unlock the locks and be able to drop the car. If you get the car up there and later find you have no space to raise to unlock the locks you have two options:

1. Cut out a hole in the ceiling sheetrock for the car to raise into. Not so far fetched.

2. Be happy that some poor slob, in about 100 years, will find this old broken down house in some abandoned area. He'll go inside with his treasure hunting metal detector and look around hoping to find and old coin or something on the floor. Once the gadget points him up, and he finds a 20th Century Dodge Viper. He'll be famous, and once they figure out the registration from the State historical records, you'll be the joke for that day.

AC

 

[jk]

I also had my garage door opener repositioned to the edge of the door(otherwise it would have come too close for comfort to the windshield of my Viper). You can do this if you have a single bay door, I don't think it is possible to do this with a wider door.

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

The BenPak lifts have locking positions every 4 inches. Most of the others are six inches. Small number but helps in maximizing lift height.

 

[Flash Gordon]

I have a friend with a Viper over a Ford GT....or vice versa....with a 8'6" ceiling height. He has a 4 post Eagle lift.

Steve

Holy cripes that is low. I have a 9'6" ceiling height and it was tight storing my GTS under the Porsche 930. I have a US Custom Lift. They are a site sponser over on Ferrarichat. Great price, outstanding customer service, certified and made in the US.

 

[gtssnake]

Maybe we can get 10 plus people again and Revolution will give us at VCA a deal again.
I am in for 1 4-post lift.

PM me if you want one.

thanks,

 

[N2 Vipers]

Is the Revolution better than the Eagle lift, and how do they compare in price?

 

[Jack B]

How about this approach, I have used a creeper chair for over three years and would not go back raising the lift to a standing/working height. If you use a creeper chair with a back support you will find it far easier on the back and less tiring. I believe I lift the car about 48". For some work I will actually drop the car a bit lower.

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Group buys always at BendPak look in the members section for details and pricing.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

How about this approach, I have used a creeper chair for over three years and would not go back raising the lift to a standing/working height. If you use a creeper chair with a back support you will find it far easier on the back and less tiring. I believe I lift the car about 48". For some work I will actually drop the car a bit lower.

Having a bad back and low ceiling height, this is exactly the approach I've been thinking about. Looks like it works well.

Steve