Finally...A Four Post Lift In My Garage

I didn't purchase this lift for maintenance; I needed needed to create some SPACE!

With a project car on hold due to lack of space, and accumulated lawn maintenance equipment, I could hardly walk through the garage. Last month, I started watching Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for used lifts to save a few bucks.

After missing out on a couple of Bendpak HD-9s, I discovered this new Atlas 408-SL lift listed only three hours previously. A young guy had picked it up at Greg Smith Equipment's Portland store, and moved it to San Antonio for a new job with the military. When he arrived at his new house, he found the garage ceiling too low for the lift, and opportunity came knocking on my door.

I picked up the disassembled lift, brought it home and unloaded it into the garage on Friday. I spent Saturday through today (Wednesday) assembling the lift, using only an engine hoist, two floor jacks, a couple of furniture dollies, and my wife for help. Tomorrow, I'll load the project car onto the lift and raise it to create some storage space underneath. Eventually, I hope to store the project car body on the lift, and build the rolling chassis underneath.

I didn't buy the lift for maintenance, and it's a good thing: The Tundra will not fit on the lift. We tried to park the Tundra on the lift for the night to get it inside, and the front tires overhang both runways a couple of inches, and will rub on both sides of the cross beam.

 

Very nice! You’re going to love it. I bought mine for maintenance and storage, works very well for both! Love the 4 post not bolted down, it is really nice to be able to position it where I need depending on what project I’m working on.

 

The amazing revelation during loading and assembly was just how heavy EVERY PART was. Everything is battleship heavy. Forget lifting these parts with your back; hydraulic jacks are your friend if you rig well.

Even the ramps and the caster assemblies, which have to be moved frequently in use, are a bit much for the testosterone-challenged geezer.

 

Absolutely. We used a tractor to lift heavy parts into place. Engine hoist would have worked too. Even with the tractor doing the lifting there was a lot of bending, kneeling, and lifting. My body was sore the next day, but the end result was worth it. Be sure to post up pics of your project once you get it on there.

 

Had mine for 15 years, best thing i every bought, and now i have to sell and buy a bigger one for my truck.

 

Nice! I just got my Atlas 2-post about 3 months ago, actually found out about them from this forum and realized how cheap they are and saw good reviews so bought one. Definitely a game changer.

 

Now that is a garage!

 

From my experience, I would say you won't have any problem selling the one you have. Demand seems to be high for lifts on Marketplace and Craigslist. Few candidates seem to be available, but they showed up about one per week during my search. Some are being sold out of defunct businesses and are pretty beat up. The best ones are those owned by individuals and are barely used. Prices for those individually-owned in like-new condition are probably 75-80 percent of new.

 

After seeing the ad, I did some research, and the Atlas lifts do get good reviews. I took a look at the design and size of the structural parts, and I was impressed. The 408-SL is rated at 8K pounds, but structural appearance compares favorably (imo) to the Bendpak HD-9. For the same equipment (drip trays, jack tray, casters), GSE's price for the 408-SL is probably 25% cheaper than a similarly equipped Bendpak HD-9. Regretably, the 408-SL is made in China, while Bendpak is made in California. The HD-9 is also AIL certified which raises the price about $300.

 

I told you guys I needed some SPACE! LOL





I plan to drag all that stuff back out of there today to reinstall the casters, and move the lift about 12" further into the garage. When I stow all that junk back under, I'm going to organize it a little better. My goal is to park the riding mower head-in under the door end of the lift for convenience. I need a few more inches to get the door closed behind it. I can't take the lift any higher without getting into the garage door opener link. For my purposes, raising the garage door tracks and opener is expensive and unnecessary, since I don't need to do maintenance work under.
Whew...Azz-busting week.

Project car is a 1970 Corvette. It's stripped to bare fiberglass, therefore the car cover. Good thing we don't have quakes in Texas: I have about two inches of runway width each side between the dolly casters and it falling through the lift. Pulling that project car on with the winch was an ordeal, given those tiny little ouija caster wheels and the diamond checkered plate of the runways. I took it slow and easy, with a floor jack centered on the dolly end as insurance.