QuickJacks

Seems to me that the product is not "quick" unless it's already in place - and in that case it could be in the way of doing other things. I guess it fits a niche and if your needs are for that, great, otherwise no.

For my needs I want a 2 post lift. Unfortunately I don't have the ceiling space. I need to get that.

I think it's quicker and probably a lot easier than using floor jacks and jackstands. I think the 5000 lb ones would be perfect for my Nomad and would just slide under the frame rails. My next shop (if I ever build one) will be a lot larger and a lot higher so I'll install a lift in it. But this really seems to fill the need to get under a car easily, although not from the sides. I don't really need one for my truck but it would help for tire rotations. Here's a review I found.

In 2000 I wanted to extend my garage at home attached to the house. I hired an architect to do drawings (was about $200) for design and part of that was to incorporate a lift. I opted for a 4 post due to space.

We constructed the addition with scissor truss' and extra deep footers at the corners. Because I wanted to separate this addition from the main garage internally, I left the wall separating the addition up and added pocket doors to enter. This essentially allowed the addition to separate from the main as a paint booth. The 2-post would have placed the post exactly where the pocket doors are. So scratch the 2-post.

The 4-post is fine for storage and exhaust and underneath floor work, but anything with wheels off really needs a pneumatic rail jack.

However CN to your point, my friend had a Snap-on mid-rise jack, similar to what you linked to. It had two larger rollers and had the ability to be moved but it wasn't necessarily that easy. He used it to do brake and wheel work but it wasn't great use for getting under the car at all. In fact jack stands probably are better if you are trying to scoot around underneath between the wheels.

Rick L is right, a quality 2-post is most versatile. The mid-rise isn't bad to get it up for wheel and brake stuff.

S

For low ceilings I always thought the MaxJack 4 foot 2 post lift looked like a good option. They are kinda portable. Although not as open underneath, I've made good use of my old Rotory cantilever 28 in lift that I bought 20 years ago for $600 used.



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Since I'm not going to go with a 2-post lift due to taking up so much space in my shop, I've been reading reviews and watching videos of the QuickJack online. I've also looked for other similar products and can't find any. I don't want a jack that takes up the whole space under the car like the one RD posted. While it has its limitations, the QuickJack seems like a better alternative than jacks and jack stands. To raise my car with floor jacks I'd need to raise the front and rear separately. That means going back and forth raising the jack stands. Also I don't really want to raise it from the front k-member as you would with a floor jack, nor do I want to raise one corner at a time....I think that twists the body and frame too much. The QuickJacks seem to be really easy to use, they raise the car evenly by the frame rails, and it looks to me like they raise it fairly high. I think it's a great alternative to a 2-post lift for less than half the cost, and they stow away easily so no shop space is lost. You can also lift the car outdoors if you want to, or anyplace it sits unlike a post lift. One of the complaints I've read about a 2-post lift is you can't open the doors easily. You can only access the underside of the car fron the front and rear with the QuickJacks, and they only raise the car to about 20" but other than that I don't see a lot of limitations. In any case, a 2-post lift isn't in the plans right now, no matter how much better it might be. I have yet to find any negative comments about the QuickJack online.

This 2-post lift claims to be "portable" but you have to bolt it to the shop floor to use it, then unbolt it to stow it. Seems like a hassle and very limited to me.

Thing is, you have a clear floor between the posts when you aren't using the lift. Where with the "quickjack" you don't, you have to move it out of the way.

I guess it all depends on what you have in mind for the lift, and whether you need the clear space requiring you to move the lift.

You still have to figure out where to store that "portable" lift if you need to move it.

Although 2 post is much better, the undercar access of the 28 inch low-rise Rotory I have actually is pretty good. It is pretty easy to work around on most of the car. I can spin it, or the car around, and put the lift cylinder part of it at the other end of the car too. It goes just high enough you can at least sit up under the car. Lying on your back just plain sucks anymore, and never was fun. In my early days I had to use a curb, or steep incline for undercar maintenance. You can't see in the pics, but the lift arms pivot, and slide on the main rails. It only uses one locking bar which is a little scary sometimes, but so far so good. With any lift you have to be very careful. You can tip a car off the best lift you can buy otherwise.
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I’ve been looking at going with the max Jax because I have a low 8’ ceiling... but if you do you will want the newer MX6 which is certified and doesn’t require you to insert “stop bars” for you to work underneath it. One way to make it less of a hassle is bolt one side of it on either end of your shop close to a wall.. so you’ll only need to unbolt 1 side if you need the space.

Looks like if would work nice for oil changes, brake work, tire rotations etc. Would be good for lowered cars (like mine) that are hard to get a floor jack under to a good lift point and then still be able to move the jack handle up and down. The one downside I see is access from the side of the car would be somewhat limited but you could always lower the car down on jackstands with the lift if you needed that access. I think the MaxJax would be a great option too if you have the room for it as it would be great for lifting a body on and off of a frame as well.

How can the Max Jack be portable? Don't you need anchors in the floor? If they are not needed, how do they get around that safely?

They use recessed anchors. It would be great to be able to have anchors outside in the driveway too. Eventually I will talk myself into a MaxJack unless someone comes up with a better homeowner style lift. Maybe I will, the next time I have a couple grand burning a hole in my pocket. I'm sure I could also justify it somehow to YKW.

Ok that makes sense.