How much room is needed for a 4 post lift?

[Vital Velocity]

Would love to have a lift for some of those more annoying under car work... problem is my garage is built into my house (next house will definetly be built to my liking), so i only have 10ft ceilings in there.

Anyone know if i could get a lift to use for the work/park another car below it?

 

[v10enomous]

You only need 48" for the average Viper then about 5-6" for the runway height. Then you want to leave 5 or 6" becaue the runway must ratchet up a few inches before it drops back to the locking position. So I guess the answer is that you could put a Viper up top and a car of no more than say 54-58" high below... You probably won't be able to leave the ramps on the lift because they tend to reduce drive under clearance and you will have to duck under the runways when moving about the garage unless you are under 5' tall. Soembody check my math...

Would love to have a lift for some of those more annoying under car work... problem is my garage is built into my house (next house will definetly be built to my liking), so i only have 10ft ceilings in there.

Anyone know if i could get a lift to use for the work/park another car below it?

 

[DrumrBoy]

10 feet is very tight.

You can certainly get one in there (the posts are about 7 feet tall). BUT, once the car is on the lift and you put it up, you will likely not have the required headroom that you'd ideally like to have to work comfortably under it.

It may be possible to store a car in the air and get one underneath but only if both cars are squat AND then only if your garage door opens out. If you have a roll up door with tracks on the inside, you'll lose another foot leaving only nine for two cars and the lift (which is usually only a few inches thick at the runners)

I hope I'm wrong and that you can figure a way to get one in there. They're nice to have.

 

[DrumrBoy]

V10enemous, good call out on the extra 3-6 inches for going above the dogs that you eventually want to rest on...forgot that one. The math seems right except for perhaps the garage door if its internal.

 

[Vital Velocity]

HMMM well the other vehicle would most likely be mitsubishi 3000GT which is a fairly low car....in theory it seems it would work.

I would most likely have to redo my garage door to get the extra clearance (thers about a 19" of space between the top of the railing for the garage door and the ceiling)

 

[Vital Velocity]

Yeah garage door is internal, however could the tracks not be moved up to create extra clearnace?

 

[v10enomous]

Right... even when you install the jackshaft door opener you still lose ceiling height of at least a foot. Depending on how deep the garage is or isn't... the Viper may have to be backed on to the runways... Here is the thread I posted on my install and there are lots of guys here that can also share their experiences.

http://forums.viperclub.org/general-viper-discussion/633587-dannmar-d7-x-4-post-lift-experience.html

V10enemous, good call out on the extra 3-6 inches for going above the dogs that you eventually want to rest on...forgot that one. The math seems right except for perhaps the garage door if its internal.

 

[Vital Velocity]

Hmmm i like the writeup. My 3000gt is lowered so it sits right around 48" and the viper is about 48 inches as well so looking at 96"s...... Depending on how tall the the ramps themselves are...it seems like (if the garage door is adjusted) in theory it would work.

I think

 

[Vital Velocity]

It may not be as comfortable working underneath as it could be....but it sure beats laying on the ground lol

 

[v10enomous]

You would be fine with those two cars. The lift I have is higher than you need but the important thing IMO is the distance between posts.... especially the width and even more so if you have to turn into the garage on an angle. I had a lot of anxiety with how the install would turn out and the quality of the lift but both have far exceeded my expectations at this point.

 

[SNKEBIT]

You would be fine with those two cars. The lift I have is higher than you need but the important thing IMO is the distance between posts.... especially the width and even more so if you have to turn into the garage on an angle. I had a lot of anxiety with how the install would turn out and the quality of the lift but both have far exceeded my expectations at this point.

He's right about width. A friend has a 4 post in his shop with a low ceiling. He uses an old office chair on wheels and the back taken off to scoot under the car and works sitting down. Works just fine.

Just watch so you don't raise the car through the ceiling.

 

[CitySnake]

Thinking outside the box, I've had a few buds with a similar problem. They raised the roof, by lowering the floor. Dug a 6' deep x 5' wide x 12' long trench in the floor (lined with concrete) with steps leading down at one end. Left a 2" return around the perimeter and covered it with fitted 2 x 10 wood planks when not in use (flush with the floor) that would carry enough weight for everything but cars. Looked beautiful when it was done with upwards facing florescent lighting.

Anyway, that's pretty much everything I know about the subject.

 

[SkyBob]

Thinking outside the box, I've had a few buds with a similar problem. They raised the roof, by lowering the floor. Dug a 6' deep x 5' wide x 12' long trench in the floor (lined with concrete) with steps leading down at one end. Left a 2" return around the perimeter and covered it with fitted 2 x 10 wood planks when not in use (flush with the floor) that would carry enough weight for everything but cars. Looked beautiful when it was done with upwards facing florescent lighting

You don't have pictures, do you?

 

[Black Moon]

My friend cut a hole in the ceiling and reframed around it. He has a raised section anbot 6' wide by 6' long for the car or truck to lift into. This could be done assuming you don't have a room over the garage.

 

[hou99gts]

I have 2 Vipers on a 4 post (one on the lift, one below) and a 9'4" ceiling height. Raised the garage door and used a jackshaft opener. No problems. I cannot walk under the lift with a car on it, so I sit on a rollable Kobalt chair (which is adjustable height wise) to work under the car.

 

[Steve-Indy]

If one is willing to work under the lifted Viper by sitting on a rolling stool(which I have done for 8 years), one CAN stack two Vipers (two coupes, any Generation or any combo with verts)with a ceiling height as low as mine...103.5 inches...with NO mods to ceiling, floor, or conventional overhead garage door.

Measure CAREFULLY...and, repeat 5 times a day for a couple of weeks just to be sure BEFORE you have the lift made to your specs.

 

[Glen97]

Would love to have a lift for some of those more annoying under car work... problem is my garage is built into my house (next house will definetly be built to my liking), so i only have 10ft ceilings in there.

Anyone know if i could get a lift to use for the work/park another car below it?

I have a 8 foot ceiling. Here's what I have to work with.

 

[01sapphirebob]

I have just under a 10 foot ceiling in my garage and was able to get a four post lift in my garage. I had to get the garage door raised. It's about six inches from the ceiling but thats o.k.

 

[CitySnake]

You don't have pictures, do you?

I don't even think he owns the house anymore....

BUT....

I don't know how I found this again, but here's what I know one of them took a lot of their design tips from:

http://mech-mate.co.uk/resources/how-to-fit-a-motorpit.pdf

Maybe that will help .

 

[Darbgnik]

My garage has a 10 foot ceiling, and I stack the Viper on top of my 70 Charger no problem at all. Also have an 8 foot high door with regular track height, which doesn't affect working height, because even with the long Charger on there, the door doesn't open back to where the roof is, only the trunk lid.

I also use a hydraulic roller chair to work under mine, and would rather that, than standing anyway.

 

[Darbgnik]

 

[All Blue ACR]

http://forums.viperclub.org/general...anyone-have-lift-king-lift-i-do-now-pics.html

Some info. here may help

 

[TexasPettey]

I've had a 4Post lift in my garage with 9' 6" ceilings and no problems. You'll want to go to a flush mount garage door and a jackshaft opener to get maximum lift. You could also consider a low profile 2Post lift with the connecting bar on the floor. Here's one from a TX distributor in Dallas, if you wanted to make the drive. I don't know anything about them, but maybe some of the Dallas folks do.

Forward Lifts, BP9, Car Lifts, Wheel Balancers, Tire Changers and more

 

[Brian GTS]

It can be done. I have 11 1/2 ft and PLENTY of room. I can walk under mine (I'm about 6' tall) with 2 Vipers stacked. With 10', you just wouldn't be able to walk under without bumpin the noggin. Just remember to "duck".

I actually did some calcs and I can stack 2 Vipers with a 9' ceiling...VERY TIGHT, but it can be done. You should be good with 10'.

 

[NSRENDR]

You can look to my avatar picture,its 9 feet 11 inches it fitts well.
Joe.

 

[v10enomous]

Nice setup... You look like you're getting ready to lead the charge against the New World Order of the Green Nation