Vehicle lifts can be one of the most important investments you can make for your auto shop or garage. If you don’t have access to a specialist and need to come up with a way to differentiate from the different types of lifts available, let JMC Automotive Equipment help guide you through the learning and selection process.

What is a Vehicle Lift?

A vehicle lift is one of the most important items of display of most service and repair bays. They are an integral part of vehicle maintenance and repair tasks; they are used more times per day than just about any other piece of equipment in your shop. The market’s need for lift production has led to many different types of lifts all serving different types of shops as well as clients. The brand you decide to go to is open for discussion but for now, here are the different types of lifts and their uses.

Two Post Lifts

Often cited as the most common type of auto lifts available, two post lifts are known for their two incredibly sturdy posts and supportive stabilization arms. Two post lifts are basically a more cost effective alternative for small shops or amateurs just getting into the repair industry. They are also great considering the small footprint they leave in your garage for space saving convenience.

Now, there are different types of two post lifts  as well so it is important to learn the difference between them. For starters, two post lifts  can be considered symmetrical, asymmetrical or versymmetrical.  Symmetrical lifts are easier to identify because their posts face each other directly and the support arms assemblies each hold about 50% of the load. While asymmetrical lifts have swing arms that are not the same length in the front and back and even have a rotated post design. The third option available is the versymmetrical lift and these provide users with the ability to take advantage of being both asymmetric and symmetric simultaneously. Many argue that versymmetrical lifts can be seen as two lifts in one allowing operators to properly accommodate cars, trucks, SUVs and vans all within the same service bay.  Versymmetric two post lifts  are capable of safely lifting all 20 of the most popular service vehicles including: Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado, Nissan Altima and the GMC Sierra among others.

Other types of two post lifts include overhead lifts and floorplate lifts. Overhead lifts have the hydraulic hose and equalization cables running through the top of the lift while such cables run on the bottom in floorplate lifts.

Four Post Lifts

For most heavy vehicle lifting, chances are you will see a four post lift being used. These lifts can hold higher capacities compared to their two post counterparts because of the obvious additional support columns. JMC Automotive Equipment has over 50 different types of four post lifts from companies such as Bendpak, Tuxedo, Hofmann, Dannmarand Challenger Lifts.

Four post lifts are very user friendly and have a wider range of clientele but are especially popular among hobbyists; home garages and any size shop because these lifts don’t require floor anchors. However, as with everything, there are flaws in four post lifts the most obvious being that if you plan to use this type of lift for wheel service, you will also want to invest in sliding bridge jacks to lift said wheels off the runway.

With four post lifts you also get variety as well as lifting capacity which pretty much narrows down your search to a more specific weight group. The first type of four post lift is the open front liftwhich comes without a front cross bar allowing operators to easily enter and exit from beneath the vehicle. This makes front end adjustment fast and trouble free. The second option is the closed front four post lift which means that the front of the lift has the aforementioned bar in the front. It all depends on the type of work you’ll be doing on your vehicles.

Another important characteristic found in four post lifts is the lifting capacity available. For most small vehicles such as midsized sedans and small trucks a lift with a capacity up to 9,000 lbs. will do but there are four post lifts that range from 6,000lb. lifting capacity up to even 40,000 lb. lifting capacity! JMC has a wide variety of four post lifts currently on sale with up to 30% off on selected brands and products.

Four posts lifts may be a tad pricier but if you’re looking for mobility, capacity and storage, you can’t go wrong with a four post liftand JMC supplies them at the best prices.

Scissor Car Lifts

Scissor vehicle lifts is a rather broad term but the word encompasses any type of lift that raises their vehicles with accordion like mechanisms beneath the runways. Depending on the configuration of the cylinders and raising rods, scissor lifts can be described as either drive-on or four arm style lift. Scissor lifts are commonly used as a midlift style hoist and are mainly used for wheel service where lifting your vehicle to great heights is not required.

Scissor Lifts can also be divided into three groups: X type, parallelogram type and pantograph lifts. Like four post lifts,scissor lifts also come in a wide range of heights and capacities to suit the needs of either professional shops or hobbyists. Low rise scissor lifts are known for raising up to 36 inches off the ground, mid-rise lifts can raise between 36 and 48 inches and full rise scissor lifts can go anywhere above that. You might imagine all scissor lifts as small but parallelogram style lifts particularly are known to be some of the heaviest lifters on the market. In fact, scissor lifts exponentially increase in size in higher weight categories.

These lifts are also known for keeping a low profile which makes mounting pretty much hassle free. Very little is required beyond positioning your vehicle over the scissor lift.