Hydraulic driveway ramp, to buy or not to buy...

Kencollins · 14-07-2016 10:15AM #1

Hi all,

I am a DIY mechanic, look after the servicing and repairs for about 8 cars. 4 of these do a lot of mileage, so end up getting serviced every 4 months or so.

I will do repairs on brakes, suspension, exhaust etc when it is needed also.

Recently I came across this:

http://www.quick-jack.co.uk/bl-5000slx-dc-12-volt-complete-package

Am I crazy that I am contemplating spending 1500 having this delivered?!

I am sick of working under trolley jacks and axle stands, and the 2 foot of all round clearance that this lift would offer would certainly be helpful.

Having all 4 wheels off the ground at once would also help with checks, wheels, and brakes.

Am I crazy?

deandean · 15-07-2016 02:26AM

Aha, 'Jack Porn' LOL!
I reckon every DIY car person has looked at something like this. There are a few variants.
Me too. I came to the conclusion that any 'portable' zystem like this takes so long to setup and remove before & after use that you'd soon get fed up of it. They are heavy yokes too, and take up quite a lot of storage space.
I reckon that any car lift needs to be permanently installed. There are a couple of models that 'rise out' of your driveway.
That said, perhaps you could con saw two openings in your driveway to suit the lift in your link?

case_sensitive · 22-07-2016 11:48AM

I saw one of these in an Eric the car guy video, looks ok, but you don't get much more clearance than a good trolley jack and axel stands by the looks. You wouldn't be welding, riveting, using a breaker bar or a hammer under there :-/

For the money, something like this would be great
http://www.maxjaxusa.com/

You'd have to bolt it to the slab, I wouldn't rust any lift that wasn't secured.

Kencollins · 22-07-2016 03:30PM

Thanks for the replies guys!

It was actually the Ericthecarguy video that made me want one, it looked super convenient!

I was doing rear breaks, exhaust, and a cv joint on a Mondeo over the weekend, and it was a pain to keep jacking, jack standing, lowering, repeat!

The MaxJax is kind of lying when they say portable...you still have to drill it into the floor!

Ken

landmarkjohn · 26-07-2016 09:20PM

Local garage has a mobile car lift that that gets pulled around like pallet truck (might be under battery power) alongside the car and then the 4 jacking points extend underneath the car and you position them by hand, press the button and up she goes (I looked for a google image to no avail)

Mechanic said after initial reservations he really likes it. Quite big but a super handy bit of kit.

Hydraulic driveway ramp, to buy or not to buy...

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