Total height of a D-24 on a garage lift?

[Grdpa's 50 Dodge]

I realize this is quite a dumb question but hard to get it right just by looking.  I NEED to find a house to buy and wanted a large garage.  They dont have many here,,,and the city doesnt allow much extra garage building.  Thought if I put a lift for working on a car in part of it I can double my parking space.  Saw that done once and was a neat way of doubling garage parking.  They lifted one and drove another under it

 

When your looking at a garage its hard to visualize how much head room you need.  i HAD a garage once that would have worked fine,very tall headroom,,,not many around these days.  So if you have a D-24 fully up on a lift so you can work under it,,,what ceiling height does that take???

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have found that for the average large car and the more practical mini van size new vehicle that the four post lift in the 7000/8000 capacity works well with a 13 foot ceiling.

[knuckleharley]

Well,the answer to how much height you need is dependent on how tall the roof is on the vehicle you plan on parking under it.  When I bought my 4 post lift there were only about 4 different manufacturers making them,so do a web search,contact the lift manufacturers,and ask them how high their lifts go to make sure there is room to park whatever it is you want to park under.

 

I know it is personal,but I just don't like 2 post lifts,or trust them. I don't like crawling around on the floor like a crippled crap to set up the lift arms,I like having ramps as a handy place to lay tools and parts on,and I have seen cars and trucks come off of 2 post lifts.

 

Lay a flat 2x4 or something similar across the roof of your D-24 to find the height of that,measure from the floor to the ceiling,and you have all the numbers you need.

 

If the lift will pick up high enough to put your D-24 into the ceiling,tie something like a tennis ball to a string attached to the ceiling so it will hit the roof of your D-24 while it is still a safe distance from the ceiling,and you can just stop your lift there and let it back down to where it locks into a safety notch.

 

I have my 42 Dodge coupe on top of my lift,and the 31 Plymouth coupe parked below it right now,but I tend to just leave the lift in the air when I'm not using it so I don't trip over the ramps walking around,pushing tool boxes,carts,etc,etc,etc.

Edited April 14, 2016 by knuckleharley

[Reg Evans]

My lift bay has a ceiling height of 11'-11" and would still work at somewhere around 11'-6"

I prefer the 2 poster so the wheels will be free to spin.  I didn't trust my 2 poster to stay put with only expansion bolts so I made struts from the top of the lift posts over to the framing. A little more earthquake proof this way.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Reg Evans

[ptwothree]

Nessie on the lift.jpg

My lift bay has a ceiling height of 11'-11" and would still work at somewhere around 11'-6"

I prefer the 2 poster so the wheels will be free to spin.  I didn't trust my 2 poster to stay put with only expansion bolts so I made struts from the top of the lift posts over to the framing. A little more earthquake proof this way.

This is one of the nicest garages I have seen. Been there. Well thought out, clean with plenty of room to work and for 'stuff'.  Good for you Reg!

[desoto1939]

First measure the height from the floor to the highest point on your car.  Then I would at least add another 6-12 inches.  so this would be the total height that you would need to raise the car plus the height that you  just calculated.  So if car is say 5ft 6inches high then you shouldneed about 6 more feet above the current top of the roof to raise the car.  And again it is also determined what other car you are parking under the dodge.  if a convertible then less romm is need.  So you can only determine the total amount of height that you need.

 

ALso can your next garage support the removal of trusses or stick framing and willyou also have to have I beams installed and wil lthe concrete floor support the lift and its weight with the car on it. Is the floor level without any cracks the floor has to be sound in construction.

 

Rich HArtung . 

[Dodgeb4ya]

As said you need 12 feet minimum ceiling height unless you like to crouch under a car on a full rise lift that cannot go all the way up..

Don't forget the roll up garage door clearance issue.

My Rotary 4 post max lift is 72" and my Bendpak is 82".

A two post rise is close to the same. The posts are around 145" tall

I thought one lift would be enough.... wrong.

Spend plenty of time getting the right lift and setting up the shop and lift right.

[knuckleharley]

First measure the height from the floor to the highest point on your car.  Then I would at least add another 6-12 inches.  so this would be the total height that you would need to raise the car plus the height that you  just calculated.  So if car is say 5ft 6inches high then you shouldneed about 6 more feet above the current top of the roof to raise the car.  And again it is also determined what other car you are parking under the dodge.  if a convertible then less romm is need.  So you can only determine the total amount of height that you need.

 

ALso can your next garage support the removal of trusses or stick framing and willyou also have to have I beams installed and wil lthe concrete floor support the lift and its weight with the car on it. Is the floor level without any cracks the floor has to be sound in construction.

 

Rich HArtung . 

Excellent comment on the cement floor. I never even considered that because I put my shop up new with 6 inches of 4,000 lb test concrete with both rebar (1200 ft) and fiberglass in it instead of the standard 4 inches of 3500 psi cement with neither the rebar or the fiberglass.  I don't like floor cracks. I also put anchor bolts with chains in my floor so I could have pull points.

 

Don't expect anything other than the absolute minimum in the floor of any tract house garage. Expect less because it is the nature of contractors to cut every corner they can find,and almost nobody puts car lifts in their garages in housing developments. You can drill test holes to see how thick your concrete is,but I don't know what you can do about it if it is too thin other than tear it up and make a new pour.

 

Keep this in mind while you are searching for a new house to buy. Look around for one with a lot big enough for you to put up a stand-alone garage and zoning that doesn't prohibit building one. I found a Quonset hut was the best "fit" for me,but there is no zoning to prohibit this where I live. There are other commercial-type buildings that you might be allowed to raise,or you might be stuck with a stick-build garage with the same styling as your house. It is VERY important to find these things out before you sign the papers.

Edited April 15, 2016 by knuckleharley

[James_Douglas]

I am having fun here in Northern California with the garage thing.  Here in San Francisco my garage space is very limited and there is nothing I can do about that.  Even a parking spot in a garage in my hood costs $300 a month.

 

In our little residential house, in a small town about an hour away, we managed to get a plan through the planning department to tear down the attached garage and rebuild it larger.  The key item is that we got them to allow me to build a section of the garage 12 feet wide, 44 feet long, and 16 feet tall with a 14 foot by 9 foot garage door.  Turns out they did not have anything in their planning design manual against tall garage doors. You could tell they were thinking about changing that in the future as they did not have a hook to hang their hat on and so approved it.

 

I am now having all kinds of issues with the one man building department. Unfortunately, this guy like to play the part of the Bishop and everyone has to kiss his ring.  It would not be so bad if the guy had a brain, but he is narrow thinking type of guy who cannot see the forest from the trees.  If we don't get a permit in the next 2 weeks, we will loose out contractor slot for the year! 

 

I checked out several lifts and will go with a 4 post.  The 1947 Desoto Suburban is just too big for me to fell safe with it on a two post for long periods of time.  I did not include anything in the plans about the lift, that would open a Pandora's box.  I will behind closed doors cut the slab if it is not thick enough.  I will find out when we cut into it for the construction.

 

I just hope I can do it this year!

 

James

[knuckleharley]

"  I did not include anything in the plans about the lift, that would open a Pandora's box.  I will behind closed doors cut the slab if it is not thick enough.  I will find out when we cut into it for the construction."

 

I wouldn't worry about that.  ALL the building inspector can bitch about is you not building to the minimum specifications. There is not a damn thing he or any other building inspector can whine about if you use 6 or 8 inches of concrete with rebar and fiberglass in it. If he asks,just tell him it's your money and you are concerned about cracks and moisture getting into the shop through cracks in the floor.

 

As for the lift,it is none of his freaking business if you have one or not,and there is nothing he can say or do about it. Especially if it is a 115 volt hydro-electric lift. What you need to watch for is what would be in the building inspector's opinion "excessive amount of 230 volt wiring and receptacles". All my tools in my shop with the exception of my air compressor are 115v for this reason,as well as knowing that if I move in the future I can plug them in anywhere I go and go to work. My Mig welder will weld up to 1/4 inch steel in a single pass,and that is more than I will ever weld with it. I have it for sheet metal and brackets. Even my plasma cutter is 110/220/440 switchable.  115 volts is fine unless you are running a heavy commercial  production operation and need cheaper electricity. You are pretty much going to have to use a 230v air compressor unless  you are not planning on ever using air tools and can get by with a single stage pump and a smaller tank.

 

Don't hesitate to put in more 115 v outlets than you think you will need,though. Beats the hell out of dragging extension cords across everything.

[Dodgeb4ya]

A lot of 12,000lb and under four post lifts have caster kits so the lift can be moved around and are not bolted down --all this on four inch concrete slabs.

Thick enough unless you bolt it to the slab. 3/4" Drop In or Wedge anchors require more concrete depth.

It's smart to bolt it down on a 5" slab especially in earthquake country .