Shopping for 2-post lift: Any recommendations?

[T0Pnotch55]

Hi everyone, I am shoping for a 2 post lift and I would like to ask some opinion on these options, not looking for something super expensive but also not the cheapest, thank you

RTD lift

Race Tools Direct 11,000 lb. Direct Drive, Overhead 2 Post Lift- Bi-Symmetric Arms

The Race Tools Direct 11,000 lb. Direct Drive Lift is the big brother to our RTD 9k Overhead lift to handle a wider range of vehicles.

racetoolsdirect.com

Atlas pro lift

Atlas® PRO-9D Symmetric / Asymmetric 2 Post Lift 9,000 lbs

Check out the Atlas Automotive Equipment PRO-9D 9,000 lbs direct drive cylinder symmetric and asymmetric 2 post lift with single point lock release! Question? Call our knowledgeable sales team 800-647-7783.

www.bestbuyautoequipment.com

Atlass lift

Atlas 10,000 lb. Capacity, PV-10PX Overhead Lift, Direct Drive [XH 2024]

The Atlas 10,000 lb. Capacity, PV-10PX Overhead Lift is the cornerstone of the PV series as a heavy duty professional grade two post lift

racetoolsdirect.com

Weaver lift

Weaver® W-10KHD Overhead 2 Post Car Lift

Upgrade your garage with the Weaver® W-10KHD Overhead 2-Post Car Lift. Get peace of mind with this Heavy-duty design for passenger vehicles and trucks.

www.derekweaver.com

these is what I could put together based on my online research, reading and watching reviews and considering I never owned a car lift before, any input is welcomed, thank you

 

[gsxr]

I owned the Atlas Pro-9D at my old home. It worked well, but the 2-stage arms required the W124/W210 to be in a very specific position to get lined up with the chassis lift points. Like, plus or minus a few inches. I used tire chalk to mark the concrete floor to speed up the process, so I could drive the car to the marks on the floor.

With our Land Rover LR4 it was worse, the rear Atlas lift arm is quite long, and when the LR4 was in the right position to lift, the rear arm would not swing in/out... it would hit the rear tire. So, I had to pull the truck partway in place, swing the rear arms underneath, then pull the truck forward a bit more. Reverese the procedure when lowering / backing the truck out of the lift. Minor nuisance, depending how often you have a similar vehicle to lift. I think it's worse on small / short-wheelbase vehicles.

Of your 4 options above, only the The RTD has 3-stage arms... I'd strongly recommend a lift with 3-stage arms, as discussed earlier in this thread.

@Jlaa, remind me, what lift did you eventually decide on?

 

[T0Pnotch55]

I owned the Atlas Pro-9D at my old home. It worked well, but the 2-stage arms required the W124/W210 to be in a very specific position to get lined up with the chassis lift points. Like, plus or minus a few inches. I used tire chalk to mark the concrete floor to speed up the process, so I could drive the car to the marks on the floor.

With our Land Rover LR4 it was worse, the rear Atlas lift arm is quite long, and when the LR4 was in the right position to lift, the rear arm would not swing in/out... it would hit the rear tire. So, I had to pull the truck partway in place, swing the rear arms underneath, then pull the truck forward a bit more. Reverese the procedure when lowering / backing the truck out of the lift. Minor nuisance, depending how often you have a similar vehicle to lift. I think it's worse on small / short-wheelbase vehicles.

Of your 4 options above, only the The RTD has 3-stage arms... I'd strongly recommend a lift with 3-stage arms, as discussed earlier in this thread.

@Jlaa, remind me, what lift did you eventually decide on?

the RTD lift all in taxes and shipping comes up to 4475$ delivered to a local wearhouse and the. i have to pick it up myself

but there is one more option that is on the max price on my budget

the Weaver

Weaver® W-Pro10 Red Certified Overhead 2 Post Lift

Add a pop of color to your shop with this red, 10,000 lb., commercial grade 2-post car lift. The Certified W-Pro10 is available at a non-certified price.

www.derekweaver.com

this one has 3 piece arms is 4999$ free shipping to local wearhouse and they don’t charge taxes, so final price is 4999$

and comparing this one to the RTD the Weaver seems to be better quality and more professional but 500$ more

Weaver brand seems to be more towards higher quality over all

what do you say?

 

[Jlaa]

I owned the Atlas Pro-9D at my old home. It worked well, but the 2-stage arms required the W124/W210 to be in a very specific position to get lined up with the chassis lift points. Like, plus or minus a few inches. I used tire chalk to mark the concrete floor to speed up the process, so I could drive the car to the marks on the floor.

With our Land Rover LR4 it was worse, the rear Atlas lift arm is quite long, and when the LR4 was in the right position to lift, the rear arm would not swing in/out... it would hit the rear tire. So, I had to pull the truck partway in place, swing the rear arms underneath, then pull the truck forward a bit more. Reverese the procedure when lowering / backing the truck out of the lift. Minor nuisance, depending how often you have a similar vehicle to lift. I think it's worse on small / short-wheelbase vehicles.

Of your 4 options above, only the The RTD has 3-stage arms... I'd strongly recommend a lift with 3-stage arms, as discussed earlier in this thread.

@Jlaa, remind me, what lift did you eventually decide on?

Im prolly gonna go w a Forward Lift i10, which has a 10K capacity and is ALI certified but made offshore so pricing is a little better. At least the front arms are 3 stage.

 

[T0Pnotch55]

Im prolly gonna go w a Forward Lift i10, which has a 10K capacity and is ALI certified but made offshore so pricing is a little better. At least the front arms are 3 stage.

how are the reviews on this one?

 

[T0Pnotch55]

Im prolly gonna go w a Forward Lift i10, which has a 10K capacity and is ALI certified but made offshore so pricing is a little better. At least the front arms are 3 stage.

looks very nice, but is over my budget, 5828$ thats a bit pricey

 

[gsxr]

the Weaver

Weaver® W-Pro10 Red Certified Overhead 2 Post Lift

Add a pop of color to your shop with this red, 10,000 lb., commercial grade 2-post car lift. The Certified W-Pro10 is available at a non-certified price.

www.derekweaver.com

this one has 3 piece arms is 4999$ free shipping to local wearhouse and they don’t charge taxes, so final price is 4999$

and comparing this one to the RTD the Weaver seems to be better quality and more professional but 500$ more

Weaver brand seems to be more towards higher quality over all. what do you say?

The Weaver PL10N000 has 3-stage front arms, and 2-stage rear, so it's sort of a "hybrid". I'd compare the min/max reach of the arms with the Atlas (known to be limited) and my Advantage (very good minimums). See post #34 to #48 in this thread. It's difficult to compare directly because the designs are not the same, the Weaver front arms "parks" to the rear, not the front like on my lift. From what I can tell, the Weaver PL10N000 has 6" shorter front and 3" shorter rear vs my old Atlas... which should make a big difference. However I don't know if it's "enough" to easily fit short wheelbase vehicles.

"The Weaver® Lift W-Pro10 (PL10N000) is Certified to the rigid OSHA recognized ANSI/ALI ALCTV-2011 USA automotive lift standard."

Certification is a Big Deal, and makes this particular lift worth paying extra for, vs the cheap non-certified lifts (like my Advantage). As Alphasud noted earlier, this is less of an issue if you never plan to lift any vehicle over ~6000 lbs, but it's still nice to have a certified lift. When I bought mine, certified lifts were not in my budget.

Looks like Weaver is OOS at the moment. Ping them and see when it will be available again.


Delivery of any lift is a PITA, btw. I used a U-Haul trailer to pick it up from the local freight terminal. They forklifted it onto the trailer. I forget how I unloaded but it wasn't easy. Pay for installation unless you are handy with this type of stuff. It isn't fun and requires several people to (safely) lift the posts vertical.

 

[Jlaa]

The Weaver W-Pro10 and the Forward I10 might be nearly if not exactly the same thing.
I noticed that both are manufactured by VSG, which is the parent company of Rotary, etc.
VSG makes the Forward I10 for their own "lesser than Rotary" brand name (Forward).
I also noticed the VSG make the W-Pro10 lift for Weaver,

The specs are super similar and even the pictures of the lifts (when the blue option is selected) look eerily similar, and the marketing photographs seem to be taken from the same angle.

 

[T0Pnotch55]

The Weaver PL10N000 has 3-stage front arms, and 2-stage rear, so it's sort of a "hybrid". I'd compare the min/max reach of the arms with the Atlas (known to be limited) and my Advantage (very good minimums). See post #34 to #48 in this thread. It's difficult to compare directly because the designs are not the same, the Weaver front arms "parks" to the rear, not the front like on my lift. From what I can tell, the Weaver PL10N000 has 6" shorter front and 3" shorter rear vs my old Atlas... which should make a big difference. However I don't know if it's "enough" to easily fit short wheelbase vehicles.

"The Weaver® Lift W-Pro10 (PL10N000) is Certified to the rigid OSHA recognized ANSI/ALI ALCTV-2011 USA automotive lift standard."

Certification is a Big Deal, and makes this particular lift worth paying extra for, vs the cheap non-certified lifts (like my Advantage). As Alphasud noted earlier, this is less of an issue if you never plan to lift any vehicle over ~6000 lbs, but it's still nice to have a certified lift. When I bought mine, certified lifts were not in my budget.

Looks like Weaver is OOS at the moment. Ping them and see when it will be available again.


Delivery of any lift is a PITA, btw. I used a U-Haul trailer to pick it up from the local freight terminal. They forklifted it onto the trailer. I forget how I unloaded but it wasn't easy. Pay for installation unless you are handy with this type of stuff. It isn't fun and requires several people to (safely) lift the posts vertical.

does your Advantage lift have 3 piece/3 stage all 4 arms?


never thought it would be so difficult to pick a 2 post car lift

in your opinion what lift would you recommend for our cars?

at this point im open to any suggestions

thanks

 

[gsxr]

does your Advantage lift have 3 piece/3 stage all 4 arms?

Yes!

never thought it would be so difficult to pick a 2 post car lift

Me neither... so many different designs.

in your opinion what lift would you recommend for our cars?

at this point im open to any suggestions

I really don't know. I like the Advantage but it's OOS / NLA so that's not an option. The Weaver looks pretty nice if available...

 

[T0Pnotch55]

I really don't know. I like the Advantage but it's OOS / NLA so that's not an option. The Weaver looks pretty nice if available...

the Weaver PL10-pro is available, i called yesterday and they have it in black, i think ill go with this one, and will see how it goes, i am not a very big fan of thousands of choices that all look pretty much the same, id rather have 2-3 brands that offer a few options and thats it

 

[T0Pnotch55]

I really don't know. I like the Advantage but it's OOS / NLA so that's not an option. The Weaver looks pretty nice if available...

you were right, when i talked with the lady from Weaver they said they have it in stock and later they send me an email that they will not have it until september