Up And Away: Choosing The Best Car Lift To Increase Your Garage Storage Space

When it comes to garages and other car storage buildings one can never have too much space, and an excellent way to dramatically increase garage storage space is by installing a car lift. By storing one or more vehicles on a raised car lift you can free up enormous amounts of ground-level storage space, making them ideal for multi-car garages and multi-purpose buildings. Storing a vehicle on a car lift can also make maintaining it an easier prospect, especially when dealing with components on the underside of your vehicle.

However, not every car lift is constructed equally, and some types of car lift are not suitable at all for extended vehicle storage. To ensure that your prized vehicles receives maximum stability and protection when stored on a lift, be sure to bear the following guidelines in mind when purchasing a car storage lift.

What type of car lift is best for storage purposes?

Conventional, 2-post car lifts are a common sight in commercial garages everywhere, but they are not very suitable for holding a car for extended periods. This is because they suspend vehicles at the centre point between their front and back wheels as they lift them -- this point of a vehicle is relatively weak structurally, and keeping a car lifted by the centre for extended periods can cause chassis deformation and other structural damage. Portable scissor lifts are also unsuitable for these reasons.

For these reasons, a larger 4-post car lift is generally recommended for car storage purposes, as they provide equal support to all parts of the vehicle. 4-post lifts also provide excellent stability (some are rated to survive earthquakes), and driving vehicles on and off a 4-post lift is considerably easier for inexperienced lift users. Four-post lifts can also be fitted with solid lifting floors instead of simple wheel lifts, which makes inspecting and working on your vehicles while they are raised easier and safer.

How tall should your lift be?

Sizing your lift and the garage you intend to place it in is a vital step before any money changes hands, but you should also make sure to measure your vehicle's dimensions. Low slung sports cars are ideal for storing on car lifts, as they do not take up much vertical space and can even be stored in a raised position in single-storey garages -- if your vehicle is taller and bulkier, you will have more stringent size requirements to work with.

When specifying the size of your lift, you should also bear in mind what you intend to do underneath your raised vehicle. If you are installing a lift to free up working space underneath you vehicle, you will want a lift capable of providing you headroom when standing, while a lift designed to allow storage of another vehicle underneath it will need less vertical space.

What should my lift's weight capacity be?

This is probably the simplest question to answer, since all you have to do is choose a lift capable of bearing the weight of your vehicle. However, you should bear in mind that extended periods of storage can take their toll on any lift, so you may want to go for something a little sturdier than the weakest lift capable of lifting you car. For more information, talk to a professional like Forte Lift Services.