2 Post Lift - With Detachable Ramps?

Paul_S

Paul_S

Club Member
I've been thinking about 2 post Vs 4 post lifts. There are obviously pros and cons for each.

Is there a reason you couldn't have a 2 post lift and attach a couple of long ramps when you need to so you can drive your car onto them and it would effectively give you the benefit of a 4 poster?

They would need to fix securely and would be higher off the ground to drive onto than a proper 4 post, but what do you reckon?

Maybe they exist already, but I've not seen them.
 
They move where the forces act on the legs.
Get a 4 post, then you can store the car on it also.

there’s nothing you can’t do on a 4 post ramp you can do on a 2. There’s lots you can’t do on a 2 you can do on a 4.
 
So you all think it's a daft idea then?! :lol:

franky said:
They move where the forces act on the legs.
Get a 4 post, then you can store the car on it also.

there’s nothing you can’t do on a 4 post ramp you can do on a 2. There’s lots you can’t do on a 2 you can do on a 4.
Click to expand...

But you can't work on the suspension, remove wheels, etc. with a 4 post.

I was just thinking if the arms of the 2 post we're pretty much beneath the wheels (but with a ramp sandwiched between) it would be okay?

Maybe it is crazy and a 4 post with a couple of those jacks that slide on the ramps is the best solution?
 
Paul_S said:
So you all think it's a daft idea then?! :lol:
Click to expand...

I can visualise what you mean, and certainly the weight isn't an issue, i assume though that the two ramps would still need to be linked together somehow for safety reasons which would be restrictive when working on the vehicle.
 
Paul_S said:
So you all think it's a daft idea then?! :lol:



But you can't work on the suspension, remove wheels, etc. with a 4 post.

I was just thinking if the arms of the 2 post we're pretty much beneath the wheels (but with a ramp sandwiched between) it would be okay?

Maybe it is crazy and a 4 post with a couple of those jacks that slide on the ramps is the best solution?
Click to expand...

you just use a jacking beam, I've had my shell floating for years on a 4 post :)
 
I just found these. Interesting...

FBH3500

FHB3500.jpg

FHB3550 With Car.jpg

And you can fit these to it so you can lift the car by the wheels too. So, not quite as convenient as a ramp but much easier than using it in the standard 2 post lift configuration:

FHB3500 Wheel Fork.jpg

FHB3500 Wheel Forks Fitted.jpg

They also do a ramp attachment but this only works on the FHB3000 model, and the wheel forks don't work on that one.:

FHB3000 With Ramp.jpg

FHB300 with Ramp and Car.jpg

Onto the pros and cons.

Pros
They do not need to be fixed to the floor
Both are movable (but the FHB3500 is considerably heavier because of it's extra size and battery)
Both have the access of a standard 2 post lift but without the posts getting in the way
FHB3000 has a racket and can be raised to different heights

Cons
Both will be tricky in a standard length garage because you would need to store it tight to the wall to park up to it, and you would need to drag it away from the wall to lift a car (the tow hook is only at the front)
Both might restrict access to the car when it's just parked up to it. You've probably have to reverse in to get decent access to the engine bay
FHB3500 will not take the ramp
FHB3500 has to be raised all the way (I think?)
FHB3500 is heavy
FHB3000 will not take the wheel forks
FHB3000 is 3 phase only

It looks like they are available in the UK, but here is a link to the German website:

FHB3000
FHB3500
 
Wow! And I thought my tilting car lift looked scary!!!! I’m sure the FHB is plenty safe but it would scare the life out of me. If you have the space, my vote is for four posters.

ECACBD6E-D746-4C13-BE07-CEE36B9B6C6B.jpeg 57A176E2-5EB5-46A7-B873-2F41793C6EBA.jpeg


the only job I can’t do with this is transmission.

You can of course use 4 posters for wheels and suspension as Franky pointed out - my local garage has 6 of them in a row and they are mainly a tyres/brakes and MOT shop.
 
I was looking at a two pos lift that had the ramp on it so as to store a car underneath but was about six inches short on roof space which meant going into the roof which meant altering the roof rafters ect,worked out cheaper to change the single garage in my paddock to a double wish I did a treble garage now ,the bit of kit I see is like a two post and is attached to one wall in the garage which is good if your stuck width wise for space but the wall you bolt it to has to be able to take the strain but still a good bit of kit,Cost was about £1800 which was about 18 months ago
 
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