Not sure if you have any room above your ceiling, Loft, Attic, Open space etc. I'am also 10' at the bottoms of the trusses.I cut the flooring in the loft and extended the posts up and through the ceiling, and assembled the upper channel that goes between the posts for the cables and hydraulic lines. I intend to remove the loft floor that is directly above the vehicle, or at least so I have said this for about 6 years. Small cars such as the ZX2 Escort I can stand under pretty easily. I'm 5'- 6'' bigger vehicles reduce the underneath clearance pretty quickly. I've had my Son's 05 Durango on it, when we changed the motor to replace that damn Hemi! We had to squat down some to get under it but we weren't laying on the Ground!

Jack

 

Yes, I'll probably have to do this also as most are a bit taller than 128 inches. I'll make a finished slot into the attic area for it, and lower the Danger Rope.
Also, I've removed a four post from my possibles, as they take up too much room when empty. Also I'd hit my head a lot on it anyway.

 

No doubt, My buddy has a drive on at his shop, and it's flat dangerous. Especially when you are in a hurry trying to finish something up, and you forget. Then BAM ! you all but knock yourself to the floor. Not Fun. Take a look at Greg Smith equipment as they were very good to me, and they build an excellent quality product for a lot less then a Bend Pak. I bought the 9000Lbs Atlas, about 10 years ago and it's still like new and works flawlessly. Hope it helps.

Jack

 

We all love

 

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I have used both 4-post and 2-post. While each has their specific advantages I have found the 2-post to be easier and more versatile. I now have a 9000FP 2-post floor plate lift. As you can see it is a 9,000 lb capacity. I installed it myself. I must confess that putting the posts up was a moment of “should I have done this”? But, I survived. I would definitely have a friend assist next time especially when it comes to making them perfectly square. One person on each post would have shortened the time significantly. It has worked perfectly for over 2 years now. Here is a picture of the interior construction phase with the lift posts just newly installed, no arms yet. The arms are heavy as well, and yes, I did that solo. (New brain possibly needed.)

 

I forgot I started this thread so I never resolved it. I got a two-post floor plate Tuxedo brand. It seems to work great, although the safety catch on the primary post hates engaging. I tried all sorts of tricks to adjust it, lube it, smooth out the operation and such and nothing worked. I even got ahold of Tuxedo Customer Support (who of course made me re-do all the steps with picture evidence) and they sent me a new carriage part as the release catch is integral. Only bad part, nearly the entire lift need to be taken down and disassembled to install the part.
My work-around is I have the safety catch access hole cover removed and I manually engage it whenever I use the lift. I don't allow others to use it anyway.

 

your shop is too clean to work in!
looking at your door lifts reminds me, I want to raise my GD @ 12", have the same rails you have shown on yours. I also have all the old rails from a previous door installation and have been contemplating adding a 12" section at the base to raise the entire assembly. Do you see any problem with that?
wj

 

As to your question of adding a section to raise the whole thing. It won't hurt a thing I did it myself to get the door at a taller height when raised, as I knew I would be adding the lift from day one. Make sure you piece is perfectly aligned and weld away. I went 12" higher I believe. Good Luck

Jack

 

I WAS going to raise my rails to the ceiling so it wouldn't interfere with any raised vehicle, but the garage door OPENER connection wasn't working out in any suitable way without drastically reworking the mechanism, and then the opener, which would be against the ceiling, would need to be two feet longer. My ceiling is 11 feet and the doors eight feet tall. After I flung that regular door up while my kid's car was lifted, I realized it hit the SAT antenna on the boot. The paint got a bit scraped, but no further damage. I decided to pin a lock-out to the rail so I wouldn't do that again. It's a carabiner through the rail to prevent opening the door whis is installed BEFORE I raise anything.

 

Something I noticed about both of these fixes is they require you to activate them, but any safety device really should be automatic to remove the possibility of human error... the garage door is one thing, but the hoist safety catch not engaging could easily be fatal. If you could figure out a way to make these automatic it would eliminate two hazards from your workshop rather than relying on engineering solutions, but it's your workshop and I'm not your supervisor so you do you. Just something to consider if you're looking for a new project for the holidays

 

I was watching a YouTube video made a couple years ago by a fellow in the UK with an X100. He had it on a platform scissor lift, and as he started to raise the car I started shouting at the iPad "YOUR TRUNK IS OPEN!" Of course it hit the ceiling and bent the hinge because I yelled "trunk" rather than "boot" and the poor fellow didn't understand.

 

I know both of those are what they are. The door thing would maybe damage something especially since it's frikkin' COLD outside and I'll not open that door for quite awhile anyway, but the safety lock is somewhat a major concern. Sucks the 'authorized' fix is so massive a job. Ya know, I have thought about extending the adjustment screw past the longest setting possible with a piece of brake line to hold the pawl barely on the UNLOCKED setting. It's fiddly through such a small hole, but I will make myself do exactly that next time I'm out there.
Thanks for the butt-kick, man. I'm on it.

 

Yes, that was John on "To The Garage". He's had the damage to his boot/truck lid nicely repaired now but that was a heart-breaking scene. If I'd done that to my XK8, which I've lovingly cared for for over 23 years, I would have need professional counselling. 😢

Before I had my own full-height single-post lift installed, I had the garage roof replaced with a steel-braced one that does not need any joists across the top of the brickwork. It cost a fair amount but I assumed that if it were possible to lift a vehicle high enough to hit the ceiling, then it would happen eventually.

Richard

 

great, thanks for the info
WJ

 

I asked my contractor when I got my shop construction FINALLY started after the Covid about having the tracks higher. His sub the door guy gave me an estimate of $360 Extra for one door. I figured I could do it myself using all the extra door parts I have stored around so I declined. After construction was finished I went out to gather the stuff to complete the job, then looked at the opener hardware. Thought for about a minute then went back in the house to brain-power some remedies. I came up with either don't HAVE an opener on that side, or do some deeper thinking. I decided to wait awhile and see what I need for a year or so before I make a decision. The local Lexus dealership has some fancy powered roll-up sort of doors on the service bays. They are quick and take up very little space. I may just change the one door to something like that instead of all the mucking about.
EDIT:
I found those doors on the Webz... similar units start at $3,021 without install, with opener for a 9' x 8'.

 

an old friend of mine has retired and if finishing up his new home and 'shop'. Not roll up doors but this spring afair also works well.
wj

 

Nice and clean install there. Sadly traditional openers won't work on those either without drastic rework on the connection apparatus. I guess the pitched one would with the opener pitched. Not a fit for my install though.

 

That’s one heck of a ‘shop’! He could put basketball courts, tennis courts, hockey rink, football field, airplanes, or any number of things in that monster!

 

Yep two lifts are going in, he has several cars he wants to tinker with

WJ