If the 'mid-rise lift' is that one with the two rubber topped flat
platforms that hydraulically come up under the car, that will work a
lot better for tire and brake work.  But it would still be a pain
getting to the middle of the car - grease the U-joints, no way.  

 With the Kwiklift ramps, even if you jack up the wheel to work on
brakes you still have the ramp in the way.  And with ramps you always
have the choice of too (SIC) work heights - too low, or too high.

 Myself, if I do anything like this I'm looking at a good old
fashioned two-post lift.  It would be a bunch of work to raise the
roof two feet on the garage, but by no means impossible.

 Or if you have a side yard you can pour a slab and install the lift
outside, put a small carport over it to keep the worst of the weather
off.

 --<< Bruce >>--

Like Bruce has alluded to... either it's a lift... or it ain't.... Back when
I had my own shop, I looked at many alternatives to a proper above ground
hoist... Most weren't worth the time spent considering them and some were
just downright scarey...

One might say that they are "better" than a jack and jackstands but after
that, they can start to get in their own way... Any time saved lifting might
be wasted (in spades) working around them. After this many years, I've
become rather spoiled and don't even own a creeper any more.

When purchasing something like this, there are a lot of considerations...
First should be the lifts capacity... length and width, certainly - but most
important is the weight it is going to deal with... Yes... there is an
engineered in "fudge factor"... but it is unwise and unsafe to depend on the
fudge factor for added weight capacity - the idea is convenience and not
heroism.

Is it going to do what is needed or is it going to be a "kinda/sorta" deal
having the purchaser wish he'd save his scratch a little longer and got
something a little better (there's been too many times I've wasted money
buying something that would almost do what I needed it to - never again!!!).

FWIW... I'm currently looking around for the "right" deal on two above
ground six or eight thousand pound two post lifts for friends personal use.
One has a garage high enough for the hoist but we will have to take out part
of the floor and repour it to gain sufficient depth for the anchor bolts.
The other has a good pad... but we will have to raise the building and build
pony walls to raise the roof.

The crystal ball is .... Once again, correct!    I plan to use the
lift for "general maintenance", lube, brakes, misc. repairs,
detailing. I know the Kwiklift is a set of "large ramps" but you can
jack the wheels up once it is on the lift. Does anyone have one? How
do you like it? Would you rather have a mid rise lift? Both of these
are in the same price range.

On Mar 22, 4:36 pm, "Jim Warman" <mecha...@telusplanet.net> wrote: