Installing a 2-Post Automotive Lift on the Cheap
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- Опубликовано: 17 июл 2024
- I have a go at installing a 2-post automotive lift that I purchased cheaply at an auction for only $900.
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When pouring concrete, start at one end and fill to the top of the form and screed as you go. Layering it for a 2 1/2 hour pour makes it very difficult to screed. Epoxy would be a better choice for the bolts, wedge anchors don't hold well in fresh concrete. You might want to add some cables or something to keep it from tipping over. If your truck can hold the load it might be a little light to hold the truck. Love your channel, not being critical, just want you to be safe.
Good advice. Merry Christmas.
I installed lifts and other garage equipment for a time in the 70s. We gave concrete about a month to cure before drilling for anchors. A couple times when we were pushed and attempted to install on maybe 2 week old floors we couldn't get anchors to tighten satisfactorily, had to quit and go back later to complete. Makes me suspicious that his torque wrench wouldn't click, I doubt it's the wrench.
@@billmiller7138 Exactly.
So much wrong with this. I hope
His lift doesn’t tip
Over.
@@cygnus1965just a terrible idea all around in my opinion…. If not gonna do it right, deep, full slab, rebar, cured well… Then just buy a scissor lift and compressor…
As an architect, I would recommend that you not use that for fear that the entire slab can rotate frontwards or backwards and drop a vehicle on you. You don't have enough mass to prevent rotation, nor do you have proper rebar to stop the slab from splitting apart. Best of luck.
nor did he even pack the dirt befor the pour this is a vid if do not do this
So architects are engineers now?
riight
my pads weighed more that the load, 1600kg pad under each column
@zomblake I would think they would dabble on the engineering side to preventing creating blueprints that create lawsuits. .
@@alfonz0010 It might be country dependant, but usually- not. Where I'm at, they work in tandem with a structural engineer where the architect takes all the money, while the engineer all the responsibility. But to be fair, you don't need either to understand that the slab's too small.
You need to adjust the cables, so that both the locks click at the same time. It’s unsafe when they are off set, seen many cars and trucks dropped because they were not adjusted properly. Additionally if you did not notice, the lifting feet can be stood up to avoid hitting body or running boards. Last thing once you get a vehicle off the deck, please go to the front or back and give it a shake test. It’s safer to have it fall off a few inches off the ground then when it’s feet in the air with you under it. While your working, shaking, prying, beating on something on the lift it can make it fall off if it’s not balanced right, hence the point to test it while it’s close to the ground first. Also a support stand at the back and sometimes the front is a really good idea for something long and heavy like a truck. Be safe and have fun!
Hi Waldo, Just a couple tips from someone who installed a two-post lift by themselves for home use. Your slab is fine IF you get your vehicles CG centered on the lift and verify the posts are still plumb after lifting. Your Duramax is a great example - very heavy diesel engine up front and no box to counterbalance, your CG is probably about the middle of the drivers door. Always put your CG in the middle of the lift and it will never tip!
However, even with the CG in the middle, sometimes heavy wrenching is necessary, like removing a stuck pitman arm nut, where you need to apply a lot of force at the end of the vehicle. Get a couple under hoist work stands from Harbor Freight and put one under each end of the truck. Could save your life.
Enjoy your lift - you'll soon wonder how you ever got along without it!!
I agree.. I'd tie the tops of those posts into the rafters to make sure they don't side load and lean--- because that concrete is not structural, and he has no footings..
I take my vehicles to closed highway scales on Sunday. They leave the scale on. There are also commercial scales. Weigh the front and rear axles and then you can figure the center of gravity. Use tall support jacks if removing heavy components or just to be more secure. The specs for my lift said 5" of concrete minimum. Lifting at the CG is very important for two post lifts.
Not sure I’d entrust my life to a pair of Harbor Freight stands…
@@froggionycwhy? Have you ever seen or used them? I have done both. Nothing wrong with a metal tripod only used to prevent a sudden weight change in either direction. Are you basing your comment on a reputation HF built up 25 years ago? They actually provide good quality nowadays to go along with their economic prices.
@@WindRider1 the business model of HF and other American marketing companies selling 'cheap' Chinese imports is to beat EVERYONE with the LOWEST price possible, they look for the lowest price possible they can find in the trade fairs in Shenzhen and other southern cities. That can only be achieved by cutting on something, somewhere, proven design, manufacturing process, quality control, materials used, etc at the point of origin, the manufacturer.
Having lived and worked in Shanghai for a bunch of years, I know that China can built lots of things just as well as anyone in the West, they are on par in super computers, civil engeeniring, electric vehicles etc, without mentioning their high speed rail network.
Im feeling a bit skeptical about the stability of that narrow slab, feels like its gonna allow the entire setup to tip over.
Agree, I would not feel safe with that setup.
That's what the manual calls for.
The manual also calls for jacks front and back to keep everything balanced when working underneath and the Center of gravity should be in between the post when lifting.
Yeah he definitely should have at least made some piers a couple feet deep and used rebar instead of that thin wire.
There is no way I would work under that. One the slab is way to small and the depth is to shallow for my liking. Definitely needs rebar.. I prefer going overkill just to be on the safe side
Extra precaution mount the top part to building. Prevents possible tipping and makes jacks more stable.
The cabling leveling system setup properly will keep the truck from lifting at an angle like that. An easy way to do that is to move the arms inwards as close as possible. Then place a long level across them to show the leveling. Then adjust the ends accordingly. When I worked for Nissan we had a lift do that exact same thing. If you don't level it properly. You risk the vehicle slipping and possibly falling on you. Stay safe and a good video.
The wire mesh you used is for controlling surface cracking and provides no structural strength for a slab on grade. Use rebar and set the rebar on inch and a half square concrete blocks (dobbies) with embedded tie wire to secure them to the rebar and keep it (rebar) out of the dirt. Rebar size and spacing should be available from the lift manufacturer as well as minimum concrete size, thickness and strength. You might want to contact them to verify what you constructed is adequate for their product. A little late now, but that's what renovation is for.
Thinking the same. Wire will do nothing for that slab, rebar a way better choice and it needs to above the ground. (I don't remember the exact dimensions).
@@jaymes7521
What are saying needs to be above the ground?
@@RalphSampson... not laying on the dirt below the concrete, but rather, embedded approx 1.5"up inside the slab.
@@rixtrix11 It should have read "off the ground".
Is wire mesh as good as rebar? No way. Is it worthless? Try breaking up the slab without cutters.
Make sure you get some of those large jack stands to put under the front and rear of the truck before you work on it, they will move around a lot on the lift, especially on the heavy one tons and mason dumps, or long bed crew cabs
There’s a lot of people congratulating this, but I feel like this is terribly sketchy, from the concrete slab to those spacers on the cables, even with it being temporary. Hopefully nothing bad happens.
The cable spacers are recommended by rotory the manufacturer. I install lifts as a job.
I agre, this slab is no way large enough for a 2 post lift!!!
The spacers on the cables are the way manufacturers create multi-height lifts. Whether the schedule 40 pipe is up the the task could be argued I suppose but I suspect the schedule 40 pipe under compression has a higher strength than cable under tension. That cable is only to keep the sides level with each other. I agree on the slab.
Yeah.. I can absolutely see the slab either breaking or just being moved depending on weight on the lift and movement... i wouldn't stand under it... thats for sure. Seems like a huge tipping hazard. Quikrete isn't very good stuff either.. It's like making pancakes with baking mix.. it'll work but it's not really the same.
@@mattiefattie3895 He loved the comment, so clearly he is reading and taking feedback. You'd be amazed how many of us will actually listen to commenters as long as they are respectful, informed, and aren't just stating the obvious.
A friend of one of my mates used to rent a workshop for his little custom exhaust business, and one of the big limitations he had there was not being allowed to bolt anything to the floor. When he got hold of a 2 post lift he ended up also buying some chunky steel I beams from a scrap metal dealer and welded up a platform to bolt the lift too. It was a pretty substantial slab of engineering at about 6" thick, and because he also had to make a long ramp to get lowered track day cars onto it, the whole lot took up a pretty significant amount of workshop space.
Even though steel prices have gone nuts everywhere lately, it might still have been a better option on that dirt floor than your narrow slab. You could still go with an alternative option of cutting some thick steel plates to go under the posts, then welding a couple length of I beam to those going fore and aft like outrigger support arms, just as a temporary safety measure until you rebuild your shop
The arms on these lifts are long enough that it would be relatively easy to accidentally lift something with the CoG beyond the edge of your slab, so please, be careful mate. A couple ton of car falling 6 feet won't take any prisoners.
14:19 I think there is to little concrete from the edge of that post to the edge of that slab. Looks like a super easy spot for cracking to occur, especially now that there’s 5/6 of the pad thickness holes drilled right there and one is within 4” of the edge.
Bendpak lifts call for a minimum 6" concrete on each side past the edge of the base plate.
@@rallydan31 And the slab s 5.5" thick.
This is correct. Its called edge distance and the minimum is determined by the number of anchors, the type of anchors and the slab. As this is a Rotary this calls for 4-1/4" of 3000 psi with Hilti kwik bolt 3 anchors and 4 inches of edge distance. The edge distance is also dependent on there being a full slab. This is dangerous for far more reasons than edge distance. That slab on a 2 post assymetrical lift is an accident waiting to kill someone.
Quick tip when using rotunda lifts shake the vehicle as soon as all wheels are off the ground, and to make sure that the vehicle is secure and level.
The front to back stability is sketchy in my opinion. Remember that the columns are long levers and the higher the weight, the more torque on the slab. I think at full height, you will be on dangerous ground of the whole thing tipping.
Yup. I hope he sees this and fixes it, I really dont want to see him get hurt or worse
I AGREE>.. . He should have dug 18" deep footers with lag bolts down into them.. Where at least the posts were being held in the ground well.. I already wrote him a long note about it.. If he would just tie in the top of the posts to the Rafters, it would make them much much stronger and keep them from leaning so easy.. It wouldn't take much off balance to side load that slab too much.. Even if it was reinforced with heavy re-bar, I'd still be a little worried, just by how close to the edge those posts are. I know of people who have died by cars falling on them- it's no joke.
Yeh that thing is not safe at all the way it is setup. I wouldnt get under that thing at all. Not to mention its poured with quickrete.
@@robsp32and not cured remotely long enough… this whole thing is a nope…
The ends of the pads flip up so they can be used as extensions to reach a frame if the lift arm would contact something (like low side steps) before the pads touch the frame. If you would do that make sure the pads are facing the opposite direction from each other on each side. Your best bet is get a set of extended height adapters. They're a better option over having the long end flipped up.
Hi Waldo! I have an idea for those cable spacers. Weld the nut onto the end of the pipe. On the other end of the pipe, weld on a larger nut that the cable end is able to pass through. Now you can use the flats on the larger nut to rotate the entire spacer, tightening up the cable.
Good idea! 👍
F’n brilliant, which is probably why I didn’t think of it.
Haha you wanna know the right way of doing it ?
Install spacer at the other end of the cable inside the column that’s the only right way lol 😢
Hey Wal just found your channel a few days ago. Awesome content. Your down to earth for the regular Joe content is what makes your channel great for those of us who aspire to do some of the things your doing for our shops as well.
I would be nervous that concrete pad would pull right out of the dirt and flip over
Recommended one foot deep with rebar. I'd feel all right with 5 or6 inch concrete. the steel foot displaces the wieght too
It's the flip over part. That pad should have been more like 12x12
The post pad need a minimum 48" deep and apx 2x2 wide.. please pray for this guy
4 ft deep? Wow. Do you mean if someone just puts pads in instead of a slab>@@joepaullawncare7222
Eh, it’s not lifting the vehicle very high… if you center the car well it’ll “probably” be ok…
Waldo, love the content 👌!! However, that is not in any way shape or form enough concrete to anchor the lift to. We have installed numerous lifts over the years and a 6in slab is the minimum requirement with number 4 bar in a 12-16in grid wired together. That minimum is with the slab being past the outermost edges of your load. Meaning front, back, side to side of the truck. When installing these in a retrofit situation we would anchor pin into the existing slab, dig and pour a 3ft by 3ft reinforced concrete footing under each leg of the lift.
yes, I would agree with everything you said. Semi-retired builder here. It's not too
difficult to calculate loads on those posts. But is amazing how so many amateurs simply don't understand this. The good news is that it is temporary.
I'm glad others are saying this there's no way I'd get underneath that, how much would that slab weigh? Seems like it could easily tip the slab if it doesn't brake it.. I suspect it will brake soon, many lifts also have spreader plated to support them on weaker floors would be easy to rig something up and extend the concrete pads
@@geek9642 3040 lbs for 38, 80lb bags. 5-600 lbs of lift. Bet that crew cab 4x4 Duramax goes 6500
Depot wedge anchors are good for shear loads. Not so good for withdrawal. not nearly enough concrete to withstand the tipping loads. Looks dangerous AF to me. Around here this is insufficient for a propane tank in an earthquake. quickcrete is very "optimistic" on strength values. "welded wire fabric" is to control shrinkage cracking not to transfer structural loads. But put all that "best practice" aside and assume those parts are strong enough to roll the slab. And they probably are!
Structurally lets imagine a 4 foot wide piece of cast iron weighing 3300 pounds and another piece weighing 6500lbs 20 feet long and them all bolted together with I beams 8 feet apart from each other, and it just sitting there in the middle of a parking lot. It does not pass the laugh test!
Say the vertical center of gravity with the truck in the air is 8 feet high. The 12" base plates' hinge point is 18" from the edge of the slab. assuming no compression or squeeze out at the soil then> 96"/18" equals a 5.3 to 1 levering action. 3300lbs. of concrete divided by 5.3 = 622 lbs to push it over at the top. ( didn't even use the back of an envelope. Does this mean a safe working load of 311 lbs of fore and aft on the truck. The truck weighs 6500lbs. And the whole thing is " bouncing around" - which is considered a "live load". No bueno!
I’m a county inspector, we pour our sidewalks stronger than that.
10 out of 10 for effort. I have done similar projects in the past like you did by mixing it by hand. I now own a cement mixer and would never go back to doing it by hand. It makes life so much easier.
This channel is great. Awesome content and ideas. The whole “buy unique machinery cheap and fix it up yourself” thing is fascinating to watch.
I moved to NH myself and started the daydreaming of “wish I had a backhoe, or excavator”. Then you start checking listings and wondering. Of course, I’m mechanically incompetent, but trying to learn now. Never too late to start. Great job here!
Hi, I know this video is 6 months old now, I hope you haven't had any problems with the hoist. Here in Australia, hoist manufacturers require a MINIMUM of 4" depth of 3,500psi concrete (not hand mixed) and to be bolted down to 20mm bolts tied into 3/4" rebar in the concrete. Using 'ramset' type fastners is not considered reliable as they can pull out, especially out of new concrete.. I also worry the slab you made is too short length ways, if you get too much weight to the rear, or to the front, it would be easy for the whole hoist, slab and all to tip to the heavy end. I think you should re mount it on a longer slab with bolts set in, with decent rebar in it, or at least put some cables from the top of the legs (or tie to the roof), forward and back... so if the slab begins to tilt, the cables will give you time to get out from under the vehicle. I am not sure of the regulations there, but the slab should really be long enough so the wheels of the vehicle are on it when ready to lift, so there is no way the slab can turn over. All the best mate... I enjoy your videos.
Nah, he's in New Hampshire who's state motto is, "Live Free or Die." Basically no regulation there. My wife is from NH. I drew "plans" for her parents' sunroom addition which were little more than a napkin sketch, and got approved & permitted for construction. What that process taught me is if the individual Building Department Rep. feels comfortable with you, you're golden. No need for a lot of details on paper like other states require.
I adjusted the balance cables with a car on the lift. The most crucial time is when you have something heavy and you start lowering a car down, it needs to be balanced or else your car will rock to one side because one cylinder will begin lowering than the other side. Usually it's the cylinder closest to the valve. Just FYI. I have the EXACT same lift I installed myself. Good job!! Huge benefit and back saver. Also you can use this lift to lift heavy stuff off your truck!!
Great job! Can’t wait to see the projects you accomplish now that you have a lift in your shop. I’m a tow truck driver for an auto shop at the moment so I can squeeze my toys on their lifts after hours but once I get my own place a lift will be one of my first tools I acquire. Keep up the quality videos, have fun and be safe!
Having a lift is huge. I have one in my shop and it has been a massive help. I went with a four post that I can move, but I'm in the process of adding on to my shop and I plan on a two post for help in lifting bodies off frames. Be vigilant when balancing the vehicle.
Nice job, you should definetly fix that garage fully. That would be an interesting project !
I'd for sure pour a full slab in there.. that would make all the difference.
Thank you!
I've poured concrete floors in old barns like that many times. There's no need to knock that thing down at all. Just take some time digging and leveling the floors, put some form boards along the open doors, lay out all your re-bar and a concrete truck can back right up to the door; it has a long shoot that can be extended off the back and can get to almost everywhere without much trouble.. You can wheel barrow some of it in the far corners. It would completely change your shop if you poured a whole floor... I've done it several times on old dirty horse stall/ hay pole Barns... Just pour your concrete right up to the wall that's there; even if your slab is high and the concrete flows into the studs, it's fine; You can usually rent a survey/ laser level from an equipment rental place (or just buy one).... I've done these with old barns that were literally falling down sideways and ready to collapse. We would just pull walls straight with a ratchet strap and beef it up with a few board here and there; Put in some X-braces in a few places-- and then just pour the floor-- which would have several of the telephone pole Posts just coming right through the concrete.. And then We would put new sheet metal on the outside and it would look like a new building from the outside.. and you could still see the old barn structure on the inside with the extra braces and new shelves, ect.. Your shop looks like it's in great shape. I wouldn't knock it down-- just add a floor, and then build an even bigger shop next to it if you need to.
We even did one that only had 8ft walls (was a 40 x 50 building), but the guy wanted 20ft tall side walls.. and it was pole barn that's taller in the center section, with a "lean-to" on each side of it.. We pulled the walls straight again, beefed it up with extra braces everywhere, jacked it up and put it on these long semi trailer frames-- and drug this barn across the pasture to the next mile road, and then we jacked it up and put new 20ft polls under it all around. lol.. So now the barn looked like it was on stilts, and we had to fill in the rest of the lower walls, and put all new metal walls and metal roof on the outside--- spray foamed the inside and poured a new floor inside 'AFTER" we did all that.. So again, my point is-- it's common to poor floors in existing pole barns/ shops with dirt floors; and it's well worth the upgrade. A lot of times, you can still get a skid steer in there to help with all the dirt work (if you have one)... You would be surprised at how easy it is to save an old rickety leaning barn that looks like it should be demolished......... I would pour a floor in your shop for sure.. tearing it down is never a good idea-- it ends up making an ENORMOUS mess and costs lots of money to tear down and clean up-- and that's before you ever get started on your new build; and then you just lost your old shop. If you build new, just start fresh in a new spot-- plus you'll still have this old shop as storage (with it's new concrete floor) lol.
Yeah, I totally agree. I can't physically get a concrete truck in there right now because it's so muddy (that's why I only poured a small slab by hand). I really need to do some work on the road first. Depending on how soon I plan on building a shop, I might pour a big slab next year after mud season comes to an end (IF it comes to an end -- we got so much rain this past summer that it stayed muddy all year!)
@@WaldosWorld Right on.. I vote SLAB.. sometime.. whenever. Rather than tearing it down. lol
@@golefevre I'm in Enid, Ok.. doing it up
One problem I see is that in old barns there might be a lot of organic material (ok manure) in the floor that should be removed and maybe some compacted limestone over it? I have that in a shed right now that was built over a tornado ripped off old barn.
Definitely an awesome score for the shop.
Next step is making that building weather proof.
You can always lift the roof a couple of feet before making it weather tight.
The lift is definitely going to make it a whole lot easier working on undercarriages.
Hi Waldo, first off I am looking forward to you building a new shop. I also love that your channel teaches that done is better than perfect because prefect may never get done. Enjoy your lift and a less sore back :)
Bro-- not to be a negative Nancy.. but, I would tie a little brace across the top of your posts, and tie it to the rafters--- like with a piece of angle iron or something. The problem is, if your truck ever gets a little off balance, there isn't much structure there to keep those towers from falling over. You should have dug 18" deep footers under your posts (like the size of a 5 gallon bucket basically)-- and had some long L-bolts stuck down into that footer and a little cage of rebar inside it.. That's why I mentioned in the last video to make sure you dig 'footers". But my point is now, if you Tie in the top of your post with a cross brace to those rafters, that will keep it from tipping over and make it much stronger.. it's not the "compression" load of the concrete that you have to worry about-- it's the side loading from an off balanced vehicle on the lift.. Again, if you just bolt a piece of angle iron across two rafters and weld it to your post.. That will have a lot of leverage holding the top of your post in place and keep it from leaning from a sketchy/ off balance load... I just gotta be honest; an Inspector would be losing his mind if he seen how under-built that concrete is.. I mean, think about a basket ball goal that has the little sand/ water tank at the bottom--- your slab is not a whole lot bigger than that-- compared to the massive loads you're asking it to keep from tipping over... Please just tie in the tops of your post for reinforcements, and It will be 100x safer.
Don’t know if you’ll see this, but if you get rubber bumpers for the bump stops it’ll raise the rear end of your truck up a good two inches, did it in a 99 f450 dump and it’s night and day. Seriously helps with bed clearance👍🏼
Thank you very much for putting the effort into converting the units to the international system during the video. I found your channel because youtube recommended the gooseneck trailer video some days ago and i could immediately see that your videos have really good quality!👌One video was enough for me to subscribe 😉
My 80+ year old grandpa and I layed a concrete floor 2 years ago in his garage. We used a lawn cart and mixed 3 bags at a time. It wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was gonna be.
Great job on the content and editing of your videos. I would suggest repairing and improving the barn - building new is always twice as expensive as you plan and anticipate. It will also give you a good space to store projects or have a second shop area for long term projects once you build a new building. If you are like me, you will never have enough storage space.
Merry Christmas to you and your family Waldo!🎄All your hard work really shows in the quality of your projects and videos.
Thank you, merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Waldo! Thanks for letting us tag along in your journey!
Great video as always, I’m sure you figured this out, but your steaks should be below the top of the form board. I worked as a carpenters helper for 2 years while working my way through college in 2014-2016, pouring concrete for roads, drinking water treatment plants, and a high pressure compressed natural gas (CNG) plant. If you start on one end and work to the other when pouring the concrete it makes a stronger more cohesive slab. When wet cement sets a little it makes what is called a cool joint and will not properly bond. Lastly concrete is considered “green” or too new for a week in south Louisiana (for industrial purposes) and should not be anchored to.
Now for my concern. Without a footing I’m concerned your slab could “walk” in comparison it’s not that heavy. I’ve always wanted a floor lift so I’m encouraged by this! Be safe and great work!
You can flip up the ends of the arms to give you extra reach on the frame. They are called flip up adapters. They are designed to be able to reach the frame if you have really low hanging running boards.
Clearly I’m late to the party, but want to toss in some more critical issues. Frankly, I am very concerned about the small slab dimensions and the lack of serious rebar reinforcement. I would not have gone with mesh wire, but would have used rebar. No welding necessary. You can tie it together with wire. You also need to elevate the rebar well above the ground. The rule is basically 1/3rd down from the top, so you would need some rebar ‘furniture’ to make sure the rebar is sufficiently elevated and depth consistent. Also, the overall size of the pad you are using just makes me nervous. I also would not be drilling holes into such green concrete. Of course, as you discovered, it was easy! The concrete in nowhere near cured. I would have also used structural yellow sand beneath the entire pour area. I would have used an electric mixer. You can mix and get a really good product as a pretty good clip. I applaud your getting help, because the last thing you wanted were any cold joints-you want as homogeneous a pour as possible. Do not drill into green concrete like you did here and expect those holes to be strong. I would have waited 30 days.tying it into the roof timber’s was a very good suggestion by another. With a two pole lift it is very important that you find the CG and keep in mind that the CG shifts as you may do some heavy torquing on your rig. I also agree with another about an epoxy to secure the bolts. But, it should be used in conjunction with well cured concrete. Do not rush this, particularly in NH where over night temps are impeding rapid curing-if you give it time. Do not rush!
Ok karen
Hey Waldo, another fab video of great content and very well presented. You are a natural in front of the camera and really are worthy of your own TV show. You have not said if you or someone else edits your videos but these are also very well done too.
PS however long it take between uploading your videos is fine by me, keep up with your projects and your workshop will take no time at all 👍🏻🏴
You can dig front and back Rectangles step as deep as you can stand comfortably throw stone crush as floor and you good to go. It’s easy I’m a Mechanical Engineer and 70 years old so I know. Built many engine and trans in my garage. Been there and done that.
Good work kid.
you better have that slab done right. you need 3000psi concrete. I had a lift pull out of the concrete and drop a car that almost killed me.
Think I would have dug down at least 30” at the two ends under the post positions to help prevent the whole slab tipping forward once there’s a unbalanced load on the lift surely there must be a engineered design for the foundation on the manufactures website.
Thanks for all the great vids this year Waldo hope You & Your family had a happy Xmas & happy new year from all in Liverpool UK..
With the relatively narrow 4' wide base be careful to not put too much load on the long arm past the edge of the concrete. Based on my quick calculation if you put 5000 lbs on arms extending 2' past the edge of the concrete the whole concrete base, lift and vehicle would be unstable and tip over. On your lift in this video you can see that the load was not balanced and the lift frame flexed about 1/2" (at head height) toward the rear of the truck.
Base is way too small
😳
I would be very concerned with how small of a footprint that little slab has. I would have made it with better footings and at least beams to act as outriggers. I would also be very cautious on torquing or loading up mechanical anchors in fresh concrete.
For the interim, maybe run tensioned cables from the masts to the shed structure.
You’re assuming the shed that he wants to replace would provide lateral support.
Ok karen
Yes I would place jack's at each corner of the vehicle , take no chances , just thinking of you ! After all I'd miss the excellent films !! thanks for sharing this interesting film Waldo !!
Thanks, Steve! I ordered a jack support today and I'll probably order another one if I like it 👍
Merry Christmas Waldo. I like, most of the comments have concerns with your pad, it's not anchored down, such as with pylons using rebar, not wire. Theres no real footer either. Instead of ripping it out may be you could drill into it from all four sides insert 1/2 inch rebar and let that rebar run outward another 2 feet or so, dig down for 4 pylons: 2 front 2 rear of the lift alighed with the post about 2 ft deep run rebar vertical and wire tie it to the horizontal rebar I mentioned earlier, make cross brace with more rebar. Then pour a new pad all around the existing pad, locking all together. Also for added stability tie in the top of the post to the rafters of the building, those rafters dont look strong but would have a huge amount of leverage against the load of the lift. I think these two modifications would secure the lift for years to come. I know you want to lift the 2 trucks you are building and there both very heavy trucks. Love the channel, just dont want you to get hurt, keep the content coming!
Hey Waldo, I really enjoy your videos. Just to pass along a suggestion... there are some good videos on YT on how to basically check your torque wrench for nominal calibration by using a vise and a luggage scale. It's not uber accurate but it does give you an idea for where your T. wrench is reading. It showed me how far off my cheap torque wrench was and motivated me to get a better one. Thanks again for the videos!
I've got a dirt floor in my shed and was thinking of doing the same thing. I think I would add more concrete under the posts. That narrow strip of concrete that you said weighs 3300 lbs seems a little light. I'm not an engineer so I'll keep watching to see how yours works. Thanks
It's not the weight that's the issue-- it's the fact that it's only lightly reinforced-- and it's not very wide front to back. He should tie the tops of the posts to those rafters above and that will make it 100x stronger.
I would make it "H" shaped. I feel it could tip over on that narrow shape. Lift and concrete together I mean.
@@spiloFTW H shaped, well reinforced, with the H extending to the furthest reach of the lift arms.
I would have dug 2-3 foot piers under the post for the lift. Then make sure that I didn’t get a cold joint between the piers and slab and rebar to hold it all together. This is scary.
Make a slab that the vehicle can park on or you will end up hurt or dead. THIS IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE.
And that right there is exactly why I had no problem paying a $100 short load fee for my concrete order haha.
I have to agree with many of the other comments on here, we enjoy your content and simply don't want you to die! That pad is in no way capable of supporting a load at full height while wrenching on it underneath a vehicle. please re-think this entire setup.
What's the difference in cost between a concrete delivery and this hand mix route, without even a mixer? There seems there would have to be a significant cost differential not to have a delivery of a uniform mix.
Good stuff. My partner and I bought a house earlier this year in south central Michigan. The couple that originally built the house in the mid 1980's were horse people, so we have 2 barns: a 2 level with 4 stalls on the bottom and a 28x40 pole barn. The larger barn is going to be a shop for me, but it is very raw: dirt floor, a single 20 amp power circuit, and one wall open to the elements that provided a shelter area for horses to come into from the pasture area. A lift is something I really want, but access to where the barn is is not great (narrow drive, lots of trees on each side), so a regular cement truck won't fit and a 28x40 slab is a lot of concrete and won't be cheap to pour. Plus it only has a single 20 amp circuit and I will have to build the 4th wall. A setup like yours is a very good temporary solution I think until to get a lift for a couple years as I improve the barn in stages to the shop I really want, proper power, heat, concrete floor, etc. One thing I would do differently is I think I would do a 10x10x6 pad with regular rebar vs hog wire panel. I don't really need a 6" slab for the size lift I want, but I think the extra weight is beneficial for stability. I have subscribed and look forward to checking out your other content.
What a steal of a deal. Also some really good feedback below about concrete and the lift itself.
Hey Waldo a friend taught me when pouring out of a wheelbarrow it’s easier to use a mortar hoe with 2 holes in it to inch your way to an evenly mixed pour each time. A lot less hassle and great for filling trenches
This video is the best Christmas present I got.
Merry Christmas to you and your family Waldo , really appreciate your content
I would think as a welder with a source of steel around to weld up a sub frame to be embedded in the concrete pour. No chance of the expansion bolt holes pulling out. Also could weld in those outriggers front and rear 8 feet or so and embed as well. With rebar added, that would be very safe and robust configuration.
Good job, I think it might be worth renting a cement mixer when you have a pallet of concrete to mix. There is a local company to me that will send out a concrete pumper truck, I had to use the after the sonnet tubes I mixed ended up not setting up for my deck, it wasn’t much more than doing the work myself.
I'm hoping to build a shop with a lift soon, so I've been watching install videos and reading specifications. Nearly every source recommended letting the concrete cure for 28 days, and BendPak's info said not to install on hand mixed concrete (not sure why). Anyhoo, you got a really good deal and did a really good job making the video - much appreciated by me - and I wish you the best. Please be careful, though! With the slab only 4 feet long, it may not take much force up or down on one end to tip the entire rig over. This will be more critical with long vehicles.
You can flip up the feet on the lift arms to accommodate trucks. Then the arms will clear your running boards. Nice work !
Keep it up, but like others I have a couple little suggestions. First off, always put the washer and nut on the anchor first and then drive it in with the hammer. Otherwise you can mess up the threads and will be stuck. Also they aren't the best choice for fresh concrete as someone else said. You want some cure time. The wire mesh is also not the right way to go on this. I know it's temporary, so hopefully it's fine, but wire mesh is for sidewalks, not slabs like this. And with a slab that small you could have used a steel trowel and made it pretty darn smooth. Keep it up but be safe.
This is a comment strictly about your safety and not critical at all. That doesn’t seem safe. I wouldn’t want be under a 5-6k# vehicle up on a 2 post lift on a 4’ wide slab. The slab isn’t heavy enough to keep the whole thing from tipping over if the weight gets too far forward or rearward, IMO. Don’t think the math works too well. Only about 3400# of concrete and no footer. Nothing to key the concrete in place. Thinking that the posts should be over a deeper footer with the anchors set in the concrete footer, like a j-bolt, to resist the upward force if the weight isn’t centered. The wedge anchors in green concrete are not going to resist much to pulling out. Just an opinion. Be safe.
Hand mixing all that concrete is serious effort, well done!
27:00 To get the lift to rest in the air, higher, you can raise the floor, in the spots where the lift sits, and pour a tall concrete pad there. Of course with the short ceiling, you're probably going to want to dig out much more of the floor, so that you have enough height clearance. Thanks for sharing!
Concrete needs at least a week of curing before drilling into it.
Also you should have the slab thicker, 4-6 inches is too thin, you should be at least 10-12 inches for load bearing slabs like this.
As another commenter said, you need to prevent the slab from rolling as narrow as it is. An H or X shaped slab would prevent it from rolling.
Another great episode from you Waldo, would love to see you clean up and organize your workshop now that the lift is installed! Can’t wait to build my own workshop and install a lift myself. But in the meantime it’s nice to watch your projects take form! Keep up the good work ☺️
I thank-you for taking the time to make the video and give me some ideas how to set my lifts up. I applaud your hard work. I would of went down with 2 piers under the posts about 3' but what you could do is yes tie the top to the rafters to give it some extra safety from tipping and get some good sturdy stands front and back while working underneath. I would not like to see you get injured be very aware of where your balance point is from front to rear. I too am in the same situation of setting a lift up on an old poured floor that is only about 3.5" thick. I was really amazed you stood those posts up by yourself if there is a will there is a way just be safe. Hope your lift is working fine yet.
I'm glad you talked about the torque spec bit. Not everyone really understands how torque wrenches work
Woha, Waldo, please, for the love of god, don’t crawl under any load on that lift. I was the one recommending flipping the gas struts on your trailer build. I did not see you compact the dirt you did disturb while shovelling out the ditch. Dirt ALWAYS needs to be compacted below any slab, especially if you did disturb it that much. With that loos stuff under this way to short slab, tipping is even easier! The way you set up, there will be no warnings! Just make a drawing, you could easily calculate how much you’d need as in an imbalance to tip it over while using a tranny or engine hoist and then you’ll do a very famous impression of a post stamp. You’d be flat like a pancake if your truck comes down. Just consider what 2 trucks of concrete cost and how much you’d spend on hospital or disabled. However there are ways to fix the situation. One would be to anchor the tips of the lift on each side down (forward/aft at atleast 45°). Each anchor point should at least provide the same pull force than the heaviest part you intend to lift. You would need four of those anchor points. One other option is to add I-beams to the side, they would need to be bolted to the lift as well as the slab, but you’d have to make sure they could not twist away and loose all axis strength by that motion. I personally would do a new slab, and just go 4" further down into the ground, use the full height of the lift, easier to work, safes your back. Also get a concrete mixer if you do it with bags again, your still young, but that work, it kills backs. Next time you bolt something down to a concrete part; give the concrete time to cure 28 days. Before that, concrete does not reach its full strength. And BTW, epoxy does not hold well on wet concrete, and concrete is considered wet for many days depending on weather. And, concrete does not dry, it cures, it’s a chemical reaction, it would even cure under water, sort of 🙂 And as an after thought, you could just use jacks to secure your car from tipping, 2 front and 2 in the back. Probably, since you said its temporary anyway, the best and cheapes solution. But never go under any load on that slab wothout securing the load against tipping.
Nice work and next time use a shop vac when drilling the holes.
Thanks for this video. Bought a Rotary lift 3 years ago and am installing this month. I, too, am leery of the narrow slab.
Great Video you are a one man wrecking crew. Rotary Hoists are some of the best
Please do not go underneath that truck on that lift, I pour concrete for a living and have poured many slabs for use with two post lifts. That is not near enough concrete and you have no reinforcement in the concrete. Please read these! Very dangerous situation.
First, Waldo, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Now on to business. I would absolutely build a much bigger shop with at least 14' walls. I am 6'3" and have worked daily for many years on lifts just like this and newer. So there are a few things to note and do. 1 unless you poured the slab three or four weeks ago, I would not put anything on the lift. That came from guys who install them. Only time you are ok to is if you use the quick set concrete. (I didn't see that on your bags). Next, you need to level the lift arms/locks. The lift should go up exactly level and the locks should lock exactly level. You have but one life. SAVE IT!!! More, You may be able to change the flip feet for drop in barrel type. If so you can buy extensions for trucks to get around the steps and running board issues. Last, If you find the size of this shop is (OK) for now but still want more height, you can probably lift the shed roof another 6"s or so without too much trouble. Then also blocking in the eaves is pretty easy. And if you decide to pour another slab, RENT A MIXER!!! It's cheap and will save you a lot of time and your back... Enjoy!!!!
Thank you, merry Christmas!
Hello enjoy the content. I install lifts for a living and just wanted to give you a couple of points to help. First you want your locks to click at the same time that means you have to tighten your cables. Second you want to make sure your lock cable is tight so you don't hang up on a lock.
Love the speed you work, also great 👍 job Waldro
Waldo... brother, please don't work under a vehicle with that lift/slab combo you have there. I understand your need for a temporary solution but this setup could end soooo badly...
1st, You have to tighten the cross cables, your truck was tipping way too much! When lifting a vehicle the cables should be tight to prevent the vehicle from tipping and both posts should click the safety's at the exact same time and if not loosen 1 cable and tighten the other. I have the exact same lift and it took a little time to adjust the cables perfect.
Also a pro tip, Drill the holes for mounting anchor bolts all the way through the concrete, A tip I received from an installer, if you have to move, replace or just take the lift out you can drive the anchor bolts down into the ground. When replacing or reinstalling the lift, then you can install new bolts...
Not sure why it isn't standard in the US of A, but Down Under we put little plastic chairs under the steel mesh to lift off the ground and keep it centred in slab. Strong enough to walk on during pour and hollow with cutouts so concrete flows through them, leaving no hollows when complete. I think a couple of beams at 90 degrees to what you did, one at either end on opposite sides, would add a lot of strength and stability for little extra cost. Worth it for safety.
The reason your drill had no problems drilling holes is the concrete was fresh (best time to drill or cut in control cracks).
Pretty intimidating project but you made it look easy, nice work!
changes every oil and filter on a rusty salvaged vehicle, skimping on a hydraulic lift that could literally end him... sounds about right
From the tests I've seen, the Icon torque wrench is actually really good even if the money for a tool truck brand isn't the problem.
Project farm just did a review and test of torque wrenches. including the Icon.
Anyone else check out of curiousity if he continued to post videos after this lift install? Waldo, glad to see you're still ok! Hand batching this and a lot of possible cold joints, a 4 x 12 x only 6" thick slab for a lift, wire-mesh, wedge-anchors in green concrete, etc had me concerned admittedly.
Great addition to the shop. Nice job 👍🏻
Congrats on the lift! There’s a way to adjust the posts so they hit the stops at the same time so you don’t have the mismatched heights.
If he gets a manual, it has all that information in there.
@@haroldphipps3457 yup…”if”…
Congratulations on a lift. Going to make working on cars so much easier. I had the same brand of torque wrenches and had the same issue.
I have a lot of their tools, and they're generally pretty good value. My torque wrenches are probably 2-3 years old now, so maybe they just need calibration
@@WaldosWorld I’d be more worried about using wedge anchors in green concrete than I would be about the torque wrench. The concrete is nowhere near being fully cured at this point, which is what wedge anchors are designed for.
The nice thing. your idea.
when you made the concrete as "rectangles".
Thank you for sharing this project with us. 🌷
Awesome job man
Really digging all of these truck videos
I'd love to see you building the new shop on your own with steel from scratch. That would be some content I wouldn't miss out on. Great video BTW :))
That's very tempting! Unfortunately, with building code requirements around here, I'd probably have to pay an engineer to design it. Going with an engineered steel building "kit" is probably cheaper and easier
@@WaldosWorld those steel building kits are insanely popular these days. A few videos modifying or upgrading a barebones steel shop would be excellent, such installing insulation/heat or automatic garage bay openers
Needed three times as much concrete for the lift. 6” is minimum, that’s spanning a floor with a much larger foot print( like your whole barn,) therefore spreading the load more.
ABSOLUTELY!
It's really awesome to watch your channel grow and all the things related to it I Will sure your vids as much as possible hope it helps
love the new lift! congrats
Let’s go he uploaded
Hi Waldo! I would higly recommend to enlarge the concrete fundament as Other persons also wrote. For safety.
Thank you for the video and Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Every time you upload I get so excited
Awesome video!!!! But from what I can tell. The steel mesh should have been lifted a bit off the dirt. So it supports the middle of the slab. But still thank you for the experience. Seems like now I have the confidence in me to do this myself now.
Not to worry, there isn't enough concrete there to keep the hoist from tipping either to front or back, so it'll tip over before the concrete fails due to wire mesh being installed improperly.
Im sure that the slab will hold the weight going up straight but if your vehicle has the weight on the front end or rear it could easily tip forward or back
Nice job. The reo bar (here in Australia at least) should be off the ground. When I was doing the reo we used chairs to keep it off the ground maybe 40-50mm high. I would say that one layer isn't enough to support a load but I'm not an engineer. We'd typically do mesh top and bottom with 12mm or 16mm extras or a 12mm or 16mm mat (a,b,c,d layer) tied together using tie wire. Gotta make sure you have enough cover on the reo so that it doesn't rust (50mm). Keep up the great work. 👌
Mixing and pouring that much concrete manually is a day’s work for sure. Merry Christmas 👍
Merry Christmas!
Looks good! Installing my 9K lbs. 2-post lift was a game changer for me. Makes working on any vehicle much easier!
You should get in the habit of raising the vehicle about a foot past where the tires lift, than push on the hood to make sure the vehicle won't topple.
For any work on the front end of a long vehicle, use a tripod to hold the rear end up and help prevent toppling.