I'm in the process of building an addition to the house for a 26x26 garage. I'm looking around for a lift. I'm seriously considering the Mohawk A-7. Does anybody have any experiences with these lifts? I like the hydraulic equalization instead of the cable. Any experience with lifts? Any experience with Mohawk lifts?

__________________

Envy, envy, envy....

I have an Atlas P-10 I got from Greg Smith Equipment. I am very happy with it. So far fits everything from the Mini to the new style Tundra. It is the cable over design but I haven't had any problems with it. Needed a little adjustment to setup but lifts very level now. Took about 3 days to install just taking our time. If you do not have a forklift I would think this would be a bear to do by hand. Also, don't forget to add in the cost of renting a huge hammer drill to boar into the concrete, the price of a bit ~$40, and a Pack of good quality stainless shims to level the whole thing.

Attached Thumbnails

   

CheerIO, Thanks for the information. Your tips are very helpful. I hadn't been looking at the Atlas lifts but I'll get on that one right away. I saw a PV-10 and I'm assuming that's the one that you are using. What is the height of the cross bar at the top. I"ll have 14 ft. at the crest so I've got plents of room vertically, just restricted by the crossover bar.

Thanks again for your comments. I'll buy large quantities of beer and invite my carguy friends over to help. If they don't show guess what that means.

__________________

Oh, one more question. What was the concrete setup for your lift? I've had everything recommended from 4 in of 3000 psi concrete to a 4'x15' pad. I also had a guy suggest that you drill through the concrete so you can drive the expansion head through into the dirt in the event that you move the lift or whatever. Thanks for any comments that you may have.

__________________

You need to have some installation parties man. I'll bring the beer.

__________________
- Suneet

I think the PV-10 is the new fangled version of my lift, but same basic thing. Just went out and measured: I set my posts on the highest setup so they are 142" or 11' 10" tall. The cross bar adds another 3" at the top. Also the "kill" cable had a set of pullies that made it double back over the top and that stuck up about another 3". I didn't have that kind of room because of the rafters so I had to drill new holes and mount the pullies almost flush with the top of the bar. No big deal.

Concrete isn't really an issue with me because my shop has a 6 inch floor in this section. I think they recommended 4 inches. I used the bolts that came with the lift which were 3/4" expansion type anchors that we hammered into the holes and then when you tighten the nuts it expands the thing on the end to hold it in place. It would not be an issue to take the lift with you if you move later cause you would just undo the nuts, leave the bolts in the floor and take the lift off of them leaving them there.

I would suggest you give Greg Smith Equipment a call. They were very helpful in me making my decision. I called them to talk about things 3 times before I decided to purchase, they really answered all my questions. I would call the Indiana number though, they seemed to be the most helpful, 800-262-1950. Delivery was cheap and ask if they can do any better on their posted prices. I got my whole lift for about $2000.00 delivered. It did come on a semi and I had to take it off with my forklift so if you don't have one you may have to make other delivery arrangements.

HTH

Oh and don't forget to get a big carpenter's square, a lot of shims, a chalk line and a marker. You want to have it lined up pretty good while you are screwing it down.


No problem Suneet. What you don't see in the picture is my Big Green Egg. I cook out at the end of the day at least once a week. We could set up an install get together for something if we don't tie up the lift for more than a day. Once in a while it is supposed to be used to lift up hydraulic deck winches so I can work on them. Just a happy coincidence that it fits cars too.

Thanks for the comments. I'm thinking that I'll pour a pad a little thicker than the original floor. I talked to a friend about it who is reitred but recently engineered the Hermann Miller building in North Ga. He was talking about Iron filings and all kinds of things that made no sense but he did say one thing that was helpful. It appreantly makes a huge difference if you put re-bar in the concrete. And driving rebar into the ground helps as well. That would be simple and if it increases the strength so much then I'm in. I'll pour it all at once but make the pad thicker and re-inforced avoiding the spots that will have expansion joints.

__________________

You might also consider a 4 post lift. I don't think they need to be drilled into the concrete, and consequently may be easier to install. Here's a good site to explore various lift types:

Complete Hydraulic | Car Lift, Auto Lift, Automotive Hoist, Car Hoist, Motorcycle Lift, Wheel Balancer, Tire Changers, Automotive Lift, Automotive Equipment, Air Compressor, Sandblast Cabinet, Oil Drain, Transmission Jack, Wheel Dollies

__________________

2008 Porsche Boxster - X1 Arctic Silver Metallic, V9 Black Top, P77 Leather Sport Seats, 342 Heated Front Seats, AT Black Full Leather, 403 19" Carrera S Wheels, 475 Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), 435 Sport Steering Wheel, XSC Porsche Crest in Headrest, 490 Sound Package Plus, 551 Porsche Windstop (Deflector), 584 Storage Box

No, I've been through the quandry. I'm going for the two post. I can use it for storage and work on it as well.

__________________

I have an Eagle twin post 9,000lb lift that runs the cables on the floor, not over top. It has functioned well for seven years both as a working lift and as a storage device for two cars in one garage space. Once you get the parts into your garage, installation can be a one man operation except for a very brief time when you tip the posts from horizontal to vertical. I had two neighbors help with that and it took only a few seconds. Rented the hammer drill.

Thanks AJK. What did you do for concrete, just regular 3000 psi at 4 in. or did you add concrete?

__________________