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I have super low ceilings and would like some kind of a lift. I was looking at the max jax but as it turns out that I only have 43" of room above my Camaro (which obviously has a low roof line) and that's with relocating the garage door opener. The Max Jax has a lift height of 48". My stupid ceiling is 7'10" which is disappointing as I think the Max Jax is out. It only has two safety stops and the upper one is too high to utilize.
Does anyone have any input of another product or have any actual experience with the max jax? I thought about maybe drilling out another safety stop spot in the posts. The safety stops are just hardened steel rods that you manually place in the posts.
The other two options Im currently looking at are the kwik lift, or ranger quick jacks. I like the quick jacks because it rules out having to jack anything up anymore which is one of the benefits of a lift. The kwik lift is cool because I could do suspension loaded stuff but you still have to jack the car up and put it on stands on the lift which is kind of annoying, and its super bulky.
I vote MaxJax. I don't like any kind of drive on lift if you need to do suspension/brake work. Plus getting under the car from the side with lifts like that are a hassle.
If the ONLY issue you have with the MaxJax is the upper safety lock hole...then hell yes redrill another hole to meet your needs. Install lift, raise car to max height, mark a hole 1" under the arms and drill the hole there for the pin. Plus you can unbolt the MaxJax and push it into the corner when not in use if needed.
I just installed the MaxJax and love it. That being said, it only goes like 51 inches max and with my TA on the hoist, I still have about 2 feet of extra space (9.5 foot ceilings) that I'm not utilizing.
Honestly though, it was alot of work for me. I found out my concrete was only 3 inches deep and should have been 4 (min for the MaxJax). So, I had to cut out slabs and repour the concrete thicker which wasn't fun.
If I had to do it all over again, I would probably just get the Harbor Freight scissor lift. It lifts higher and is only about $1200 shipped after the 20% coupon.
Cant you just get a base plate lift like the one in the link? I have the pv-9p 2 post atlas lift and love it.
I dont see the appeal with the max jax over a base plate 2 post. Do people really unbolt them from the floor when not in use? Why not leave them in, or get a regular 2 post and just park between the posts when now in use?
The lift posts are 9' tall, but can still work with your low ceiling unless you have a flat roof. Just position the posts between the trusses, and cut holes in the ceiling for them if needed. People do it everyday.
Last edited by onebadbowtie86; 12-06-2015 at 04:34 PM.
I just installed the MaxJax and love it. That being said, it only goes like 51 inches max and with my TA on the hoist, I still have about 2 feet of extra space (9.5 foot ceilings) that I'm not utilizing.
Honestly though, it was alot of work for me. I found out my concrete was only 3 inches deep and should have been 4 (min for the MaxJax). So, I had to cut out slabs and repour the concrete thicker which wasn't fun.
If I had to do it all over again, I would probably just get the Harbor Freight scissor lift. It lifts higher and is only about $1200 shipped after the 20% coupon.
Cant you just get a base plate lift like the one in the link? I have the pv-9p 2 post atlas lift and love it.
I dont see the appeal with the max jax over a base plate 2 post. Do people really unbolt them from the floor when not in use? Why not leave them in, or get a regular 2 post and just park between the posts when now in use?
The lift posts are 9' tall, but can still work with your low ceiling unless you have a flat roof. Just position the posts between the trusses, and cut holes in the ceiling for them if needed. People do it everyday.
My ceiling is only 7'10" I would need over a foot into the ceiling. Plus I could only end up lifting my car 43" so its probably not even worth it. Like I said Im probably going to just go with the quick jacks just for ease and the height restrictions.
I just installed the MaxJax and love it. That being said, it only goes like 51 inches max and with my TA on the hoist, I still have about 2 feet of extra space (9.5 foot ceilings) that I'm not utilizing.
Honestly though, it was alot of work for me. I found out my concrete was only 3 inches deep and should have been 4 (min for the MaxJax). So, I had to cut out slabs and repour the concrete thicker which wasn't fun.
If I had to do it all over again, I would probably just get the Harbor Freight scissor lift. It lifts higher and is only about $1200 shipped after the 20% coupon.
Pardon the mess, I'm in the middle of replacing the fuel pump on my 98'
If you only did brake jobs I see that lift working. I hate scissor lifts because it takes up so much room in the middle of the car. I don't see how you can do a clutch job or transmission work with a lift like that. The 2 post style lifts allow the most access to the car.
Cant you just get a base plate lift like the one in the link? I have the pv-9p 2 post atlas lift and love it.
I dont see the appeal with the max jax over a base plate 2 post. Do people really unbolt them from the floor when not in use? Why not leave them in, or get a regular 2 post and just park between the posts when now in use?
The lift posts are 9' tall, but can still work with your low ceiling unless you have a flat roof. Just position the posts between the trusses, and cut holes in the ceiling for them if needed. People do it everyday.
If I was to get a lift I would get the MaxJax and unbolt it to move it out of the way. I have a 2 car attached garage with 7'10" - 8' ceilings as well. When I work on my truck I need to move both cars out of the garage and pull the truck in the middle to make life easy. If I left the post installed I could not get the truck in and have ample room...well I COULD but I like having more space. If I work on my camaro (as I just finished motor mounts) I put it on jack stands on "my side" of the garage with my wife's car in there also.
Cant you just get a base plate lift like the one in the link? I have the pv-9p 2 post atlas lift and love it.
I dont see the appeal with the max jax over a base plate 2 post. Do people really unbolt them from the floor when not in use? Why not leave them in, or get a regular 2 post and just park between the posts when now in use?
The lift posts are 9' tall, but can still work with your low ceiling unless you have a flat roof. Just position the posts between the trusses, and cut holes in the ceiling for them if needed. People do it everyday.
If I had a 3 car garage I would have definitely gone with the ATLAS BP8000 since it fits in 9ft celings.
However, to answer your question - YES I do unbolt my MAXJAX and it is a matter of a few minutes. Unbolt the hydraulic line and use my impact gun to remove 5 bolts and it rolls out of the way (I usually only move the left post so I can pull another car in my garage.
Like I said, if I had a 3 car I would have dedicated one "bay" to my lift. I think what you need to compare the MAXJAX to is jack and jackstands. Don't try to compare it to a lift that you can stand under.
12-04-2015, 07:13 AM
Lift options with low ceilings 
