Have had a "Stinger" brand 4 post lift going on 3 years for my "top flight" 69.
I park my 98 Pace Car under it. Looks scary, but way cool. Saves me
storage fees, keeps mama happy because she still has her side of the garage.

Neat for waxing too. Just take it up around 18 inches, get a chair with wheels, and just
slide down the sides and ends !

Tom Kearns
Lenexa KS
tkearns@discoverynet.com

You Kansas guys have me sold on stinger. I'm in the process right now of "rerouting" the garage door itself so it goes all the way up to the ceiling before pulling back. Then I'll have to remove a storage loft that I built in the rear area of the bay. Based on the photos that Juliet linked us to, I will DEFINITELY bolt the sucker down & I will stay far away from that other brand. Let's see if I can get it all done before the first snow!
Joe ~

Joe:

If you have side springs on your garage door, replace them with a torsion ber. This mechanism lifts the door smoothly and easily, even if you lift from only one side of the door. It also eliminates those sprimgs that will sit alongside your car -- I heard a loud bang in the middle of the night and went doWn to discover that one spring had broken, but somehow had entirely missed my Vette! I don't know how it missed the car,. It was stretched pretty tight when it let go and it made deep gouges in the ceiling and front wall where it hit.

Remember to tell Perry I "sent" you when you contact Stinger!

Good luck,

Jim

I've had several of the side springs snap over the years. About 5 years ago I installed a safety wire that is threaded through the spring and attached to the support brackets at either end. I've had one spring snap since I did that and the safety wire kept all of the spring pieces from zinging around the garage. The new springs had the safety wire included in the package so they're in place again waiting for the next failure.


Jim O.

Dear Kansas Jim,

Perry was out today but another rep walked me through the measurement process & is sending me out some info today. He was well aware of the on-line saga of Juliet's friend & was quick to point out the difference between that model & theirs. I will say he did not "bad mouth" the other company -- he speculated that although the fall was the result of a failed bolt & bushing it might have been avoided if the unit had several design changes (like his!).
He is going to leave Perry a message about your referral.

Oh - and I will replace those springs in some way per both Jims' recommendations. I've had one pop before too -- one of those things you don't think about until it happens!

Thanks again to all for the help! ~ Joe

FYI - the garage door is scheduled to be "fixed" next week to acomodate a lift. Had to get help from the local Overhead Door guy since the configuation of the boom is now totally different (and I don't enjoy hanging 12' up over a concrete floor!). Need a stronger horsepower opener too. So far this "preliminary" part of the project has run over $900. I still have not decided which lift to order. Stinger did not have a booth at Carlisle (or at least I did not see it) -- but I did run across a company with a single post lift that they had set up on a flat bed. It was an Italian brand -- not designed as a work-under lift -- only storage. It seems like it was VERY sturdy and the single column would not take up nearly as much room in the garage. I was impressed. Anyone see this? They were at the far end of the first row. Would run about $1000 more than the Stinger but they would install it for $250. I'll keep you all up on the status of the project. Goal is to beat the first snow storm.
~ Joe

I have a MI Steel(Parking Salutions)four post lift for about 6 years now and love it. I have quite a few friends with lifts, BackYard Buddy, Stinger, etc. The MI Steel looked alittle more substantial to me and I liked their hyd. better. They are a commercial parking lift manufacturer( lifts for tractor trailers, airplanes, multi-car rottisare(sic)lifts, who's owner happens to be a car nut. They make 2 series, one that needs to be bolted down(way too much work) and one that does not. I have put together both. I also have the caster kit so that the lift can be moved, but they come off with four large pins when not in use. I had some concerns about safety and went with the manual lock set up, it takes alittle more work to go around and lock each post, but the peace of mind is worth it. Also with the way they mount their deck it's foot print is about 12" narrower that the others. I ordered mine with a 15' deck and 9'000 pound capacity. We have lifted a lot of differant vehicles ranging from Civics to my son's full size long wheelbase Chevy 4X4 pickup with no effort at all. I did see the single post lift at Carlise he had it on a roll back truck. I spoke to the gentleman and they do have an option for a open floor so that you can work on the car. Nice idea but very expensive and only 5'000 capacity. If you want I am only about 2 hours from you, I would be more that happy to let you look at my set up. Sorry this was so long. By the way I am trying to convince my wife we need a second lift.

Thanks for the offer. I know exactly where you are -- my family used to vacation at Seaside Park. Right now though I'd get crucified if I ditched my wife with all four kids. FYI - how high is the ceiling in your garage?
~ Joe

I have 14' ceilings with one micro-lam(sic) runing across it which is 12.5'. I built the house about 7 years ago and one of my friends from our Vette clubs owned his own mortgage company at the time and would not approve my loan unless he could see on the plans that there was enough height for a lift. He himself has several lifts. I told him no way was I getting a lift, but I did do a three car garage 36' wide with the last bay being 32' deep with a 8' garage door on the back. Within the first year I had my lift, my wife was the one that convinced me to get it! I will be able to get 5 cars inside when the '70 comes home. The lift is the best thing a car nut can get if they have the height for one. Even for stupid things like polishing wheels or waxing a car just raise the car a few feet and no more bending which at my advanced age, 53 next month, is getting harder and harder to do.

Ron,
I was going to ask where the '70 was since you mentioned it would be "returning soon." Saw the link to your personal site in the user profile & read the comment about "not trusting 20 year-old tires." What happened -- not too serious I hope?!
Joe V ~