GASPEDDLER

iTrader: (2)

following

scottmoyer

There is no air required for this lift. The motor drives a hydraulic pump for raising the lift and the lowering is done by gravity. The hydraulic fluid can only flow so fast, so even if the cables get cut or a lock fails, it still lowers at the same speed. The motor is a 120V/20A service. I ran a line from another circuit to the front of the lift.

If you're interested in seeing this lift, I'm sure you can see it at a Cars and Coffee at the Chanhassen garages, or at the manufacturer in Elk River. Advantage Lifts

chazman

iTrader: (4)

After talking to Scott and checking out the Advatage website, I am really close to ordering one.

The question is, do I get the same model as Scott or get the 21" longer one.

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

Looks great Scott!

Charlie - you need one!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

For sure, Chris.

Two reasons:

1) I'm too old and fat to be rolling around like a cockroach under the car. No fun anymore.

2) And my yellow '85 wants to come home and be with his brothers.

scottmoyer

Due to the depth of my garage, I didn't want the lift being longer than the cars. The larger model is 21" inches longer (182" versus 203"), is 6" wider (113" versus 119"), and a foot taller on the columns (93" versus 105") . My columns are 93", which is already taller than my garage door opening of 84", so I can't roll it outside for any reason.

Having a 20' garage depth on the 3rd stall, the longer lift would leave me with only 3' behind the column to the back wall. That's a little tight when I have a shelving unit and cabinets behind the cars. If you have the room and the height, I'd say go for it, but if not, the standard size works well. I have mine as far towards the door as I can go. The release handle gets hit by the hurricane bracing on my door as it goes up. If I turn it around and put the pump to the rear, I could probably move the lift an inch or two closer to the door, but I'm good where it is now.

Good luck.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Scott, any concerns that the Advantage is not ALI certified? I know it has a locking mechanism which perhaps ALI doesn't recognize, similar to Backyard Buddy.

scottmoyer

All lifts, from years ago, weren't ALI certified, so I'm not worried about it with this lift because of the quality of construction and how heavy duty everything is. I was told that one reason they aren't ALI certified is because the height limit switch, that the owner installs where he wants it, is one issue. ALI certification doesn't like modifications or adjustments that the owner has control over.

Also, I think the reason they aren't ALI certified is because the old model didn't have a slack cable system. They do now. The cables get routed over a pulley that's spring loaded to a safety latch. If the cables go slack, the spring pressure will activate the safety latch. I believe they are getting ALI certified, but my lift will not have the sticker because they can't back date the label to already sold units.

F-body-fan

The biggest concern I had when I bought my first lift was the locking mechanism. I was really turned off by the single locking lifts. In fact, they scared me to death when I thought about working under one. It looks like many of them now are incorporating cable slack locks like my bend pack has. I think thats a big deal & most didn;t have that years ago. I also don't like lifts that use welded on stopping points. (not the best word to describe them) Sure those locks work fine under normal operation, but what if a cable breaks or a pulley lets go during operation? Is that corner just going to drop or will something stop it? Cause it would happen fast. I way over analyzed that part of it when I was shopping. That was 10 years ago, so I assume many mfg's have stepped up their game by now.

Does Advantage have any videos, or assembly manuals to look at? Seems like a pretty nice lift.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Looks great!!!
I'll be in the market soon..

scottmoyer

They do have videos on their website, advantagelifts.us/videos. I *only* used the videos when putting mine together as the instruction sheet seemed lacking in detail. One of the things I like about this lift is that it can't fall if the cylinder springs a leak or if a cable snaps. They say it will come down at the same speed it does when under normal operation. With the safety locks in place, it won't drop far on any corner before engaging a lock. Also with the cross beam completely surrounding the column, I would think that one corner would bind if it dropped any, differently than the other three columns. Since all four columns are tied together with the runways and the crossmembers, I don't see much give there.

If anybody wants detailed photos of anything, let me know. I'll try to accommodate.

someone972

iTrader: (2)

Just curious, do these four post lifts have as stringent of concrete thickness requirements as a two post does? I think I may be leaning towards a two post still for future installation, but if the concrete isn't thick enough I might be persuaded to do four post.

scottmoyer

I believe the recommended floor thickness is 2.5" to 3". Most building codes already require that, but if you have an older home, you might want to get it verified.