Anyone used Garage Car Lifts for parking 2 cars

[LotusChris]

Has anyone used a lift like this with the Elise? Garage space is becoming a premium and side by side is out. Dont want to leave the Lotus on the street. Let me know if you have had good or bad experiences with this. These are spendy at $3 to 5K w/o install.

[cpforyou]

I never done it myself, but I know a few shops who do this.

[eighteenseconds]

i love parking it on the street now. i find this car to be the perfect blend between tough and frail. it's at both extremes. so now i'm just expecting it to get keyed and smashed into, but all the violent thugs just stare and delicately admire. reverse psychology! seriously.

[LotusChris]

You have bigger cahungas than me. I have seen way to many cars get keyed, kicked and just messed with. I also dont want to leave my car constantly in the rain.

[Lumn8r]

I have one, a Superlifts, that I bought through Detailer's Paradise.

It works great, not only does it keep the Elise out of the way when she's hibernating for the winter, it also makes maintenance and modification that much easier. As low as the Elise sits, I can put her almost to the highest lock (about 6') with just my 10' ceiling.


Pictures here.
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...elise%27s+home

I installed my own, with no help other than some rollers to move the heavy parts around and my floor jack to pick the tracks up. It took about three hours. Good ones can (could last year anyway) be found for under $3K.

[OverRevLimiter]

who makes that lift? Where would you order one?

[CarNut]

I have the Backyard Buddy extended height lift.

[tvacc]

I have had a parking lift since 1991. I bought the first one advertised in Road and Track. It was called Parking Solutions. they are now out of business. It has been great.

A few of the LOONYs (Lotus Owners of New York) own lifts from Eagle Lift.
You can google them. The web site is http://www.eagleequip.com/.

I had a friend and Elise owner...Dave R. He was and engineer for Xerox...and I respected his abilities greatly. He researched and reseached everything...and when he bought...he bought Eagle. I have seen the units...very nice and they are well built. Dave has passed on to the big Lotus garage in the sky...but his wife still has the lift.

I would go with Eagle if I buy another.

[Maxster]

Originally Posted by Lumn8r

As low as the Elise sits, I can put her almost to the highest lock (about 6') with just my 10' ceiling.

I had to dispose of my Boxster S to make room for the Exige (no regrets there) but did not consider this alternative due to my 10' ceiling. Do you have any contact info on your source.

[tvacc]

I have 10 foot ceilings as well. Most of the lifts allow for 10 foot. My friend has his Eagle lift in a 10foot space. This is really not a problem.

you can google backyard buddy. http://www.backyardbuddy.com/

[Ginetta]

I would recommend getting them. If you are so mechanically inclined, you can do the install yourself with some friends.. Its just takes awhile. Make sure you have high enough ceilings though!

[LotusChris]

Thanks - the backyard buddy looks impressive at least from the promotional video.
When the lift is in the down position, does the Elise "scrape" at all trying to go up the ramps? Also, how hard is it to align the car to drive up the ramp? Do you need an extra person to guide you?

[CarNut]

Originally Posted by LotusChris

Thanks - the backyard buddy looks impressive at least from the promotional video.
When the lift is in the down position, does the Elise "scrape" at all trying to go up the ramps? Also, how hard is it to align the car to drive up the ramp? Do you need an extra person to guide you?

No front clam clearance problem getting the Elise on the ramp. I put mine on the lift with no outside assistance. Just center yourself between the uprights. Once you've done it a couple of times, it's a snap. I also suggest getting the optional drip pans just in case. You will need access to a 20A circuit in the garage also.

[babak]

Originally Posted by tvacc

I have 10 foot ceilings as well. Most of the lifts allow for 10 foot. My friend has his Eagle lift in a 10foot space. This is really not a problem.

you can google backyard buddy. http://www.backyardbuddy.com/

Their website doesn't have prices, what range and price point are they?

[tvacc]

These seem to run in the 2-3k range. Look at the Eagle Lifts...they are very nice.

[LotusLust]

they have prices. run through setting up an order and click "buy" and the price is there. or just look at the prices per option.

110v about 125, 220v about doundle that

sliding or rolling jack
casters

and the lift itself.

i looked at 7000lb, 110v, rolling jack. priced around 1895 if i recall.

[dj00rt]

I would be mighty nervous using one of those here on the Pacific Rim , earthquakes are not uncommon. Wonder how it would do in a moderate
quake?

[flyguyskt]

earthquake smurfquake. thats what insurance is for! it would suck though.

but i think if it was that bad than the entire building would come down.

my friend uses a lift like this to hold his 100k plus street rods up in his shop. si i thik a 1900 pound elise should be no problem even in a moderate quake.

[RacyTracy]

Don't stand there with your garage door closed and say 'yes, it will fit'. Keep in mind that no matter how tall your ceiling is in your garage, the garage door, when open, is only probably about 7' high from the floor. If you aren't able to install the lift far forward in your garage, you may need to change the track on the garage door, so the door goes all the way to the ceiling. I wanted to do that, but then the electric opener wouldn't work because of a steel beam running across the ceiling. Each solution to a problem resulted in another problem. Plan carefully.

Modifying the garage might be far tougher than assembling the lift.

[Colinsmix]

Originally Posted by RacyTracy

Don't stand there with your garage door closed and say 'yes, it will fit'. Keep in mind that no matter how tall your ceiling is in your garage, the garage door, when open, is only probably about 7' high from the floor. If you aren't able to install the lift far forward in your garage, you may need to change the track on the garage door, so the door goes all the way to the ceiling. I wanted to do that, but then the electric opener wouldn't work because of a steel beam running across the ceiling. Each solution to a problem resulted in another problem. Plan carefully.

Modifying the garage might be far tougher than assembling the lift.

A friend of mine had the same problem. He got around it by installing a roll up garage door (similar to the type you see in warehouses). His is made for residential use and looks surprisingly similar to a standard garage door. It only needs about 18 inches of space above the door opening.