Owning a car adds more to-do lists at home. You need to repair the unit regularly to maintain great performance. Otherwise, you might spend high cost for the maintenance. One thing that should not be missing from the garage tools is car lift. It helps a lot to check the parts below. Do you know how to choose one for your home garage?
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WHY YOU NEED ONE?
Before you buy one, you need to know the function. Remember that the maintenance schedule must be regular, and the process requires you to go under the car. There are various important components down there. Unfortunately, not all people could easily slide under the car due to their height or weight. This is when a car lift could be very useful.
Aside from being a great help to repair the car, the lift is also useful to store the cars. Imagine buying second car yet the garage is not extended! One of the preferable solutions is installing the car lift inside the garage. There are various kinds of car lift, so you could pick the most suitable one for the home garage.
1. ASYMMETRIC TWO POST VEHICLE LIFT
The first recommendation is asymmetrical two post car lift. This model is the most popular among the others, especially for home usage. The term asymmetrical refers to the swing arms attached to the main pole. Instead of having similar length, they spread to different direction and have short-long arms. As a result, the gravity is distributed to several points. Once the car is lifted, you have direct access to the components.
Usually, the two-post car lift comes with several tools: the lifting pad to arrange the car on top of the lift, the height adapters to set the space from the ground and lock releases. Make sure you check the capacity of the car lift, either in tons or pound. You don’t want a heavy car lift, because the car itself is not light. Also, it is better to pick the product built for commercial use, because it usually works better.
You also need to check the maximum height of the lifting pole. Now measure your own garage and see if the pole could fit well after adding the car height. Ask for the return period and the warranty for the car lift parts.
BEST CAR LIFT FOR HOME GARAGE. IMAGE: SNAPON.COM
2. PORTABLE MID-RISE SCISSOR LIFT
It is not hard to tell that the car lift is using the scissor hand. Look at the installed lift; you will see the mechanism that looks like an accordion, mostly creating an X shape. Among the structure, you could find the raising cord. In stand-by position, this car lift is flat. Note that this model is not suitable to stack several cars. You could only lift it a little higher so you could slide under the car.
The most popular product could rise the car up to 39 inches from the ground. It could easily handle the weight less than 9000 pounds. The safety locks are installed properly to perform strong grip on the car. You don’t need to worry about accidental slide caused by loose safety lock. Also, it comes in compact shape, so you could neatly keep it in the corner after usage.
For those who have low-ceiling garage, this is the best option to choose. If you have a motorcycle, the board is wide enough to accommodate the unit. You even could use it as a working table! It is a great item for multi-purpose workers.
3. BEST CAR LIFT FOR GARAGE HOME: PORTABLE CAR LIFT
Another option for garage with limited height is the portable car lift. It could stretch the potential room for better car service. Moreover, you won’t spend too much time just to set up the car lift. Beware with the weight of your cars. Despite of its portable nature, this lift type cannot handle too much weight. It is a must to check the maximum capacity of the portable car lift.
If the other lift could handle at least 9000 pounds, usually the portable version could only hold up to 7000 pounds. Thus, the matching unit would be small to medium car. The time to rise the portable car lift ranges from 30 to 60 seconds. There will be several parts to connect, you only need to assemble them before usage. Moreover, you will have full access to the middle part of the vehicle since there is no barrier.
Compared to the other car lifts, portable style could only rise up to 18 inches from the ground. To operate the lift, you need to plug the cable to electric socket. The voltage is 110, so make sure the electricity is on and has suitable voltage. You might want to turn off several electrical devices to ensure that the electricity is not going down.
4. BEST CAR LIFT FOR GARAGE HOME: TWO POST LIFT
When you see the two post lift, you might remember seeing it somewhere. This model is the most favorite among car repair shop owners. The reason is simple: the structure is designed to hold various type of vehicles. It is an ideal choice for a car repair shop. Moreover, the price for two post lift is far cheaper than the price of four post lift. It also cuts the reserved area for lifting post, expanding the working area.
As mentioned before, this lift type is quite strong and sturdy. It could lift up to 10,000 pounds car. It could hold the car up to 75 inches from the ground, very suitable for taller car owners. You will also get extra hands or mounting points for wider cars. Some brands install safety radar, preventing your car to hit the ceiling. The system could either stops the lifting automatically or ring an alarm.
If you need to open the car doors while repairing, then choose the tilted type. The structure could be rotated several degrees, allowing you to start the engine. Make sure you the height of your ceiling is at least 13-foot. Otherwise, your car will bump into the walls or ceiling.
BEST CAR LIFT FOR HOME GARAGE
