{"title":"Car lifts","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003ePlanning car lifts properly for detailing and wheel service\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat does a car lift need to deliver for detailing? It has to carry the car safely, open up the underbody and fit into the space you've got. What matters is the lift type, lifting capacity, ceiling height and foundation. This page sorts out the planning figures before you pick a model.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCar lifts\u003c\/strong\u003e are lifting units that raise a complete vehicle and hold it at working height until the job underneath is done. The car is carried either on its frame via four lifting arms, under its wheels on runways, or across a platform. Four figures decide the choice: the lift type, the lifting capacity in tonnes, the available ceiling height and the load-bearing capacity of the floor. Without those four values, any model comparison is premature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe lift type follows the work, not the price.\u003c\/strong\u003e Two posts free up the wheels, four posts carry the car on its own wheels, a scissor lifts across a platform and then disappears into the floor. If you spend a lot of time on wheel arches and sills, you'll choose differently from someone who swaps wheels.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCalculate capacity with headroom, not to the limit.\u003c\/strong\u003e An electric compact SUV weighs between 2.0 and 2.5 tonnes empty these days, and a loaded van comes in above that. Around 20 per cent on top of the heaviest vehicle that will ever sit on it is the number you need when buying.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe floor is the hardest limit in the category.\u003c\/strong\u003e Manufacturers usually specify concrete of at least grade C20\/25 and 200 millimetres thick for two-post units, often a bit less for scissor types. Screed on a layer of insulation doesn't meet that, no matter how hard it feels.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote class=\"praxistipp\"\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetailing1's tip from the shop:\u003c\/strong\u003e We often get enquiries where the ceiling height has already been measured and the lift still doesn't fit. The reason is almost always the same detail: the measurement went up to the ceiling, but what's in the way is whatever hangs below it. The track of a sectional door runs right across the room, and lights, heating pipes and cable trunking eat up more centimetres. So don't measure the ceiling, measure the lowest component above the planned footprint, and subtract the height of your tallest vehicle. What's left is your actual usable lift height. A photo of the spot with a folding rule against the wall answers more questions than any data sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThree lift types for three different ways of working\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTwo-post, four-post and scissor lifts differ in where they pick up the car and what stays freely accessible as a result.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA two-post lift puts four arms under the lifting points on the vehicle's frame. The wheels hang free in the air, and wheel arches, brakes, sills and the entire underbody are wide open. For work on the wheels and for cleaning out the wheel arches, it's the most direct access there is.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA four-post lift works the other way round. The car drives onto two runways and stands on its own wheels the whole time. No positioning on defined points, driving on takes less than a minute, and the wheels stay loaded. If you do need them free, add a jacking beam that lifts the axles off the runway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eScissor lifts raise a platform on crossed lever arms. They don't need posts next to the car, can be sunk flush into the floor and free up the space again once they're down. They come as a short-rise version with about a metre of lift for wheel work, and as a full-rise version that goes up to standing height.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWithin scissor lifts there are two ways to install them. The flush-mounted version sits level with the floor and needs a recess in the concrete, so it's a decision that stays. The surface-mounted version stands on the floor and can be moved within limits, but the ramp and base frame form an edge that every wheel rolls over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor detailing, side access is what counts most. With a scissor you can walk freely around the car; with two posts you get the wheels at hand height instead. Both types work, they just spread the comfort differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a straight wheel swap you need none of these three. A trolley jack with matching axle stands does the job on the spot and then goes back in the corner. The models are under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/wagenheber\"\u003eCar jack\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCapacity with headroom, not at the limit\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLifting capacity isn't based on the car currently sitting on the drive, but on the heaviest one that will ever be lifted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe calculation starts with the kerb weight from the vehicle papers and ends with the gross vehicle weight. A mid-size estate weighs around 1.6 tonnes empty and can weigh over 2.2 tonnes loaded. You lift the car in the state it arrives in, and that's rarely empty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eElectric cars have shifted the maths. Depending on capacity, the battery adds 300 to 600 kilograms, spread across the floor of the car. An electric compact SUV that would have counted as a second car ten years ago now sits around 2.2 tonnes empty. For you, that means units with 2.5 tonnes of capacity are cutting it too fine for a mixed fleet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen there's load distribution. No car spreads its weight evenly across four points; front-wheel-drive cars carry much more at the front. That's why manufacturers state a permitted ratio, often 2:3 or 3:2 between the axles. Put a car on the wrong way round and you overload two arms while the other two are barely working.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe stated capacity also only applies with the arms in their intended position. Arms extended a long way act as a longer lever and put more load on carriages and spindle than short, retracted ones. Running close to the rated load all the time doesn't show up as a sudden failure but creeps in: the lift gets slower, the slide blocks wear in, the hydraulics visibly sink overnight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe lifting points themselves are the second half of the same question. They're in the vehicle's manual, not a matter of feel. On models with sill covers or a load-bearing battery housing you need adapters with the right support, otherwise the rubber pad presses in exactly where the repair gets most expensive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCeiling height and lift height narrow the choice\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUsable height comes from three values: the lowest component above the footprint, the height of the vehicle and the build height of the lift itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn estate measures around 1.50 metres, an SUV 1.70, a high-roof MPV over 1.90 metres. To stand upright underneath, you need about 1.90 metres of clearance under the car. Add both numbers together and you've got your requirement, which for an SUV is already around 3.60 metres.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith two-post units, the design adds to that. The common version connects both posts with an overhead beam that carries chains and lines. That keeps the floor clear but costs height. The alternative runs the connection along the bottom, via a flat drive-over plate or a base frame: the space above stays open, but there's a threshold between the posts that every wheel has to roll over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFour-post units are about as tall, because they also route their drive technology overhead or at the side. Scissor lifts have a clear advantage here: there's nothing above them eating up height, and short-rise models get by with far less ceiling height than any post-type lift.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBesides height, floor space counts. You want about a metre of room all round the car, otherwise you can't open a door or get a bucket to the side. Two-post units also need an approach path, because the car is positioned centrally between the posts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo if you're planning a lift for your own workshop space, measure three things before any price comparison: the clear height under the lowest obstacle, the width between the walls, and the length left over after the car.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe foundation decides before the lift does\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA lift transfers several tonnes into the floor through just a few anchor points. What that floor can take decides the lift type, often before a model is even in the running.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTypical specs are concrete of grade C20\/25 and at least 200 millimetres thick for post-type lifts; scissor types can get by with less, depending on the model. C20\/25 means the concrete withstands 20 newtons per square millimetre of pressure, measured on a core sample. In practice it simply means expansion anchors grip the material instead of breaking it out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eScreed is not a foundation. A floating screed over an insulation layer looks like a concrete slab, but under load it behaves as a separate layer. Underfloor heating rules out drilling anyway. If you don't know what the floor is made of, a core drilling gives you clarity, and it costs a fraction of the damage a ripped-out anchor does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith the fixings, details matter: enough distance from the slab edge, no anchor in an expansion joint, the tightening torque the manufacturer specifies, and re-tightening after the first few weeks of use. Chemical anchors hold more in concrete prone to cracking than pure expansion anchors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe floor also has to be level. Posts are set plumb and shimmed if needed, otherwise the carriages run stiff and the slide blocks wear unevenly. A fall towards a drain is fine, as long as the manufacturer allows it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWater belongs in the plan. If you work under the car with pressure, you'll send spray right into the drive unit and need a drain that can handle the volume. Which class of machine suits that is under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/hochdruckreiniger\"\u003eHigh pressure cleaner\u003c\/a\u003e. Power is the last item on the list: many post-type lifts run on 400-volt three-phase, some smaller scissor types on 230 volts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eMandatory inspections and servicing come with the lift\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA car lift is work equipment that must be inspected. If you lift commercially, build the inspections into your plan from day one, because they come round every year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor commercial use in Germany, the Betriebssicherheitsverordnung (Industrial Safety Regulation) applies. It requires an inspection before first use and regular inspections after that, in practice at least once a year, carried out by a person qualified to inspect. The results are documented, usually in an inspection log that stays with the lift.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat regulation doesn't apply in a private setting. The manufacturer's requirements are still binding, though, and your insurer will ask for exactly this proof if there's a claim. The effort is manageable; not having the proof isn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you buy, CE marking, a declaration of conformity and an operating manual in German come as part of the delivery. If any of them is missing, so is the basis for later inspection. Everyone who operates the lift gets briefed before first use, and that applies even if it's only two people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAdd to that the daily visual check before lifting: are the arm locks engaged, do the safety catches click in audibly, are chains and cables free of breaks, is hydraulic oil leaking anywhere. That half-minute is the difference between a component fault and an accident.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne buying criterion that isn't on any line of the data sheet is spare parts supply. A lift you can get seal kits, slide blocks and control parts for will run for fifteen years. One without a service partner within reach grinds to a halt at the first leak and is hard to get inspected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen the investment really pays off\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor detailing, the gain from a lift lies less in speed than in posture: what takes an hour kneeling on the floor, you do standing up in forty minutes, and you're still standing straight afterwards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRinsing out wheel arches, degreasing sills, protecting the underbody, sealing wheel wells, checking the car before handover. With the car on the ground these jobs are a slog and often get cut short. Raised up, they become routine, because the light gets in and both hands are free.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first few cars take longer than before. Finding lifting points, lining up arms, checking at half height that everything's seated: by the fifth time it takes no thought, at the start it costs five minutes every time. That's part of it and no sign that buying it was a mistake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf, on the other hand, you swap wheels twice a year and otherwise work on the car at ground level, you don't need a fixed lift. A trolley jack and axle stands cover that completely, and the rule is short: the jack is for lifting, the work happens on steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnce wheels come off more often, it's worth looking at the second half of that job. Fitting and balancing kit is under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/reifenmontiermaschinen\"\u003eTire changers\u003c\/a\u003e, and it needs planning for space together with the lift, not one after the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the order of a build-out, lifting kit is rarely right at the front. First come space, light, power and water, then the pre-wash, then the kit that moves cars and wheels. You'll find the overview of every block under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/werkstatteinrichtung\"\u003eWorkshop equipment\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd when it's decision time: send us the three numbers from this page, clear height, floor build-up and heaviest vehicle, plus a photo of the spot. We'll tell you which lift type fits your space, and just as clearly when a trolley jack is the more honest answer for you.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/detiiling1.com\/collections\/hebebuehne.oembed","provider":"Detailing1","version":"1.0","type":"link"}