Bro, do you even lift? Question about lift width

Hey kids,

I'm trying to get my new (to me) Challenger lift into position.. It's a 2-post baseplate lift. What I found is once I got the posts up, I don't quite have enough room. According to the manual, it's supposed to be 109" inside width.. I've got ~100 (as you can see in the photos).

I have a few options to make it a bit bigger, but nothing that'll get me the whole 109". What do you guys think about cutting ~2" into the I-beam bottom (indicated with the yellow arrow)? The left post is already ~1' away from the wall, I can fudge that in to be ~9", it'll just be annoying to work on.

That should get me to ~105 at best... How bad will it be to work with?

Thanks!

so wait....why can't you put the other post all the way up against the wall?

I certainly wouldn't cut into the I-Beam. Cutting that far into it will significantly affect its structural strength (not sure what the load on it is - upstairs bedrooms?)

What about placing it on the other side of the ibeam?

I would not cut into the beam.

The specs call for it to be a minimum of 2' from the edge of concrete, I'm already 1' from the inside of the wall, so I'm guessing I'm currently ~18" from the edge of the pad. I don't know that, because it's under-soil, but I figure it's a safe guess.. I'm looking at moving that side out about 2 or 3", so it'll be ~14" from the edge of the pad.

For the I-beam, there's a room upstairs, but it's just a storage area, it's not completely finished, no heat, etc. I'm only talking about cutting out a bit of the bottom of the _ part of the "I", not through the main "body" of the I or anything.. There's 3" from the middle of the I to the edge at the bottom, so I figure I could "dish" out ~2" and still leave a 1" flange at the bottom and be okay..

Slippery wrote: What about placing it on the other side of the ibeam? I would not cut into the beam.

That would put it into the wife's side, which would be worse than the beam collapsing...

Don't cut the beam.

Have a larger base plate welded under the original on the post and move it closer to the wall. Use the existing holes in the plate and add a couple more to the new part of the base plate.

If the posts are too close to one another (and too close to the car), you might have trouble swinging the arms in between the wheels to get to the jacking points.

You will also want to do a high lift conversion on that garage door.

It already has an extended base-plate, with 4' flyouts (front-to-back). So you're saying deal with only being able to get 103" or so between?

Woody wrote: You will also want to do a high lift conversion on that garage door.

That's on the list, obviously... I've been more worried about getting the posts up and into position.

WonkoTheSane wrote: It already has an extended base-plate, with 4' flyouts (front-to-back). So you're saying deal with only being able to get 103" or so between?

I'd add a big rectangular plate that's even with the outside edge of whatever's there, and have it extend a few inches wider (front to back) and a few inches further inward, for a much bigger footprint. Then mount it right up against the wall.

The upper and lower flanges are actually where a lot of the strength of the I beam comes from. The middle beam can be considered a "spacer" in some instances. That's why you see a lot of cross drilled beams in airplanes, the strength is in the flanges.

Call me crazy, but what about cutting the top off of the post so it fits under the beam? Are their any mechanical bits that go that high?

I thought about that too, but I think he has pulleys in there.

CGLockRacer wrote: The upper and lower flanges are actually where a lot of the strength of the I beam comes from. The middle beam can be considered a "spacer" in some instances. That's why you see a lot of cross drilled beams in airplanes, the strength is in the flanges. Call me crazy, but what about cutting the top off of the post so it fits under the beam? Are their any mechanical bits that go that high?

That's why I was hesitant to do it.. . I like your idea of cutting the post, though.. I think that one might be fair game...

That's a MaxJax garage right there.

Woody wrote:

WonkoTheSane wrote: It already has an extended base-plate, with 4' flyouts (front-to-back). So you're saying deal with only being able to get 103" or so between?

I'd add a big rectangular plate that's even with the outside edge of whatever's there, and have it extend a few inches wider (front to back) and a few inches further inward, for a much bigger footprint. Then mount it right up against the wall.

I think that would be overkill when it's already spread out about a foot longer than "stock" (or at least, the stock diagrams in the manual)..

Could you cut a big hole in the floor by the wall, dig down and key in a nice big footing to give enough strength to put the post closer to the wall?*

*I'm not a civil engineer, nor do I play one on TV.

Woody wrote:

WonkoTheSane wrote: It already has an extended base-plate, with 4' flyouts (front-to-back). So you're saying deal with only being able to get 103" or so between?

I'd add a big rectangular plate that's even with the outside edge of whatever's there, and have it extend a few inches wider (front to back) and a few inches further inward, for a much bigger footprint. Then mount it right up against the wall.

this is what I'd do as well. Distribute the load so it's not an issue with it being near the edge of the concrete slab.

That garage isn't big enough for it, but here's an alternate idea anyway... If cutting down the post (best option) won't work.

Cut the steel beam, but not the bottom flange. Cut a section out of the entire beam. Leave a gap just big enough for the lift. Then add a new steel post on each side of your lift, to support your TWO new beam spans.

the best solution is to move to the country where you can build a bigger shop- at least 60X60- that has side walls that are at least 12 feet high...

I like OHSCrifle's idea if you've already ruled out placing the lift post on the other side of the beam and cutting down the lift post won't work.

To cut that beam legally will probably involve approved engineer's drawings and putting in a footing below the posts. If it were my garage the hoist post would go on the other side of the beam and my wife would just have to learn to park without whacking my hoist, or else.

Ohsc- That's a great idea, but I think I'll be able to go for cutting down the lift.. I was taking a closer look at it. And I'm still a good 6" above the chain pulley.

Woody - I was looking into maxjax, but this lift became available for the right price locally, and all of the documentation I could find online showed the posts were about 3" thinner each... I guess info is spotty in a 1988 post in 2014...

Novaderrik - I got the country part down, I don't have the funds for the expansion yet... I'm hoping to do that in about 5 years or so.

So, I think the winners here are to move the other post way closer, and chop down the one under the beam by about 3"...

Cut the beam tight to the lift post and then weld both sides to it with a gusset on each side and a connecting plate across the back with a horizontal flange.

Now the lift is also a support.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Cut the beam tight to the lift post and then weld both sides to it with a gusset on each side and a connecting plate across the back with a horizontal flange. Now the lift is also a support.

Now that's an interesting idea...