I'm 75% sold on the 10k Challenger Versymmetric 2 post lift, but still considering the ProKar 9k lift. The ProKar is about $1700 cheaper, which is about the bill for all the concrete work, and comes with similar warranty.

- Curious if anyone had any first hand experience with this lift and our trucks? Mainly curious if the verymmetric is gimmicky, or actually maybe it is a cool hybrid of the standard and asymmetric designs. Or maybe the door ends up right where the post is anyways?
- For those that have installed, what have you guys done as far as the concrete? I'm too close to a joint, so I have to re-pour something new anyways. I am 75% leaning towards a 4' x 15' pad, 12" deep with reebar and tieing into existing surrounding pad. Lift Manufacturers have different requirements depending on brand. Some just require 4'x4'x12" Piers / islands, and some recommend the full rectangular pad like I'm considering. The lift sales people and local concrete contractors say 4x4' x 6"-8", which I don't really see stated on any manufacture's website. The exact lift I'm eyeing doesn't have details so I'll be calling the mfg (and not sales people) directly tomorrow.

This is strictly for personal / hobby use, and will likely never pay for itself in jobs performed. I will be shocked if I use it more than once a month. I am looking at the verymmetric because of it's 3 stage arms, and how possibly it's pretty dang universal.

Here is list of potential things I'd be working on:
- Diesel 4x4 F250 as stated before
- side by sides
- Lowered track cars (5th gen ZL1 Camaro & BMW 3 series)
- Short wheel base 4x4's (FJ40 / SWB Jeep / Suzuki Samurai)
- Standard SUV's (FJ80 / Durango)
- If I can figure out a motorcycle adapter I'd probably lift that too eventually.

 

Check out the forums at Garage Journal. Those guys live for anything shop related

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

 

You can't go wrong by going heavier than you need.
Never heard of Prokar, but challenger has been around for a while.

 

Go with the Challenger. As stated above they've been around for years and you will be able to get parts in the future.
4' x 15' is more than enough for the concrete. You would be good with 8" deep and rebar tied into existing concrete. 12" is overkill, but it isn't much more expense to go deeper. We install lifts and ~8" deep pad would be typical.

 

Buy the heaviest, best quality lift you can afford, your widow won't care if you saved $2000 or not.

 

Go with one that is ALI/ETL certified and at least 12k for a super duty. JMHO

 

I put a 10K Danmar assymetric lift in my man cave. When I poured the concrete for the entire floor, I dug down an extra 8 inches and about 2 feet around at the mounting points on the floor, and put some rebar in the hole. Concrete is practically free, and nothing tests your nerves like lifting a Super Duty and listening for the floor to crack. Mine didn't.
Having a lift is awesome. I changed the motor mounts on my Mercedes in about 2 hours, and the dealer wanted over 2 grand. Changing leaky oil pan gaskets on a BMW is easy when you can walk under it.

 

I put a lift in my shop a few years ago (independent auto repair as a side gig) - only a 9K 2-post, but it fits the bill for 95% of my customer's vehicles.

I'll add my vote to the group of "get more lift than you need" - rather have a greater safety margin.

I got mine from these guys - mine is the cheaper version, but been running it for probably a good 5 years with no issues.

https://www.derekweaver.com/4-post-lifts/

 

Agree with this 100%. A friend of mine bought a Bendpak 10k and it was scary how much the uprights leaned in with an F250 on it. He ended up going to an 18k.

 

https://mohawklifts.com/automotive-l...s/model-lc-12/

American made.

 

The last time I dropped off scrap aluminum my crew cab, long bed, diesel F-350 weighed 9150 empty on the way out. (There’s a 60 gallon tank and toolbox in the back.) I’m with the others who would recommend 12k capacity for a lift. 10k just cuts it too close for me.

 

I have trust issues with 2 post lifts…

https://www.google.com/search?q=2+po...&bih=620&dpr=2

 

Yeah, there's always the horror stories about lift failure with a 2 post...

IMO, all too often people just sling the arms under and rack it up without any thought into the process. I've seen people rip up rocker panels, as well as tip a car when they remove substantial weight (like an engine).

Personally, no vehicle gets on my lift without a cursory look underneath to determine structural issues - big gaping rust holes? No go in my shop, have a nice day. Once on the lift, it doesn't get more than a few inches off the ground at first - grab car and give it a good shake, as well as an attempt at lifting up front and rear to ensure balance.

When doing an engine pull, vehicle gets moved further forward to maintain balance once the weight is removed - just recently did a engine swap on a 2015 Traverse, drop everything out the bottom - no issues.

Unfortunately, sometimes common sense isn't common enough.