Best 4 Post Lift For The Money

Best-Rated 4-Post Auto Lifts

Four-post lifts are built to support big and heavy vehicles. With four posts to bear vehicular weight, such assemblies consume larger amounts of workspace in comparison to two-post lifts. As such, users of four-post auto lifts generally work best in professional-sized garages, where mechanics can move around each vehicle while performing maintenance tasks.

The purpose of a four-post vehicle lift is to raise a vehicle to perform maintenance work on the tires, hubcaps, chassis, leaf springs and underside components of the engine tank. Due to the weight of four-post lifts, a thick concrete floor is required for such assemblies. An owner of a more conventional work area might need to repave the floor in advance of setting up a four-post lift.

Types of Four-Post Auto Lifts

Though designed in general for heavier vehicles, four-post auto lifts are made for a variety of weight capacities within the heavy realm. While two-post lifts are mostly made for smaller cars and pickup trucks, four-post lifts can handle everything from large vans and station wagons to SUVs and rolling stock.

Four-post lifts are equipped with on-ramps between the rear posts that allow you to drive a truck or van straight onto the assembly so that the vehicle can then be elevated. The tires of the vehicle sit on the horizontal beams that connect the front and back posts. For many users, the fact that all four tires are directly supported while the vehicle is raised makes the four-post a preferable type of auto lift.

Tires can be changed on a four-post lift with the use of a rolling bridge jack, which slots between the beams to raise the vehicle slightly higher.

There are two basic varieties of the four-post automotive lift — the open-front and the closed front. An open-front lift features a cutaway at the center of the cross-beam between the two front posts. This placement allows for greater access to the suspension system of a raised vehicle.

A closed-front auto lift simply features four closed beams between each of the posts with no cutaway. Though a closed-front lift features no special clearance for the suspension system, all types of work can still be performed on a vehicle's underside, even if certain tasks might require some users to duck at times.

Top-Rated Four-Post Lifts

Lifts	Weight Lift Capacity	Price
Universalift 8000 FP XLT	8,000 lb	$2,630.00
Universalift 8000 FP	8,000 lb	$2,325.00
X1-Easy Park	8,000 lb	$2,495.00
Atlas Garage Pro 9000 Portable Heavy Duty	9,000 lb	$3,495.00
Atlas 414 Commercial Grade 4 Post	14,000 lb	$4,645.00

Auto lifts are built to handle various vehicular widths, lengths and weight capacities. As such, some of the top-rated four-post auto lifts are only suitable for certain uses. The best-rated four-post lift for your needs will all depend on the weight and size of the vehicle that you intend to elevate.

Universalift 8000 FP XLT

One of the best-rated four-post auto lifts is the Universalift 8000 FP XLT, which is designed for home mechanics and smaller auto repair shops. The self-contained, free-standing assembly runs on a 110v electro-hydraulic power unit.

The free-standing design of the Universalift 8000 FP XLT makes it suitable for home use, where the lift can serve as a vehicle hoist for maintenance as well as parking purposes. As long as you have a flat concrete service and a large enough area in which to evenly situate the four posts, the Universalift 8000 FP XLT could be the best four-post lift for your vehicle-elevation needs. Specs of the Universalift 8000 FP XLT include the following:

Capacity — 8,000 lbs
Overall height of column — 94"
Overall length — 190"
Length of ramps — 36"
Overall width — 112"
Lifting height — 82"
Height under runway — 79"
Lifting speed — 40 seconds

The Universalift 8000 FP XLT is one of the top-rated four-post auto lifts on today's market.

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X1-Easy Park — Modular Auto Lift

With its portable, free-standing design, the X1 Easy Park is one of the best-rated four-post car lifts available today. Suitable for home use as well as for commercial work in smaller repair shops, the X1 Easy Park runs on a 110v electro-hydraulic power unit.

Equipped with a wheel kit, the X1 Easy Park can easily be moved and set into place by a single user. Assembly of the unit is easy, and it comes shipped in two 84-inch long by 20-inch wide by 30-inch tall crates. Specs of the X1 Easy Park include the following:

Capacity — 8,000 lbs
Overall height of column — 84"
Overall length — 175"
Length of ramps — 36"
Overall width — 106"
Lifting height — 72"
Lifting speed — 40 Seconds

The X1 Easy Park is one of the best four-post car lifts for home and light repair use.

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Atlas Garage Pro 9000 Portable Heavy Duty

Another top-rated four-post lift is the Atlas® Garage Pro 9000, which will elevate your vehicle up to 85 inches high. If you wish to maximize your parking space within the confines of a one-vehicle garage, you can use the Garage Pro 9000 to park one car or pickup truck over another.

Garage Pro 9000 runs on a 110-volt power unit. The assembly can be affixed with Atlas RAJ-6000 rolling bridges. Further specs include the following:

Capacity — 9,000 lb
Height to top of runway — 85" (7' 1")
Length with approach ramps — 227.5" (18' 11.5")
Overall length without approach ramps — 204" (17')
Length between columns — 184.5" (15' 4.5")
Overall width (with motor) — 131 1/2" (10' 11 1/2")

Approach ramps, rubber wheel chocks and four drip trays are all included in the Garage Pro 9000.

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Atlas 414 14,000-Pound Capacity, Commercial Grade Four-Post Lift

With its ability to provide years of lifting service for heavier vehicles, the Atlas® 414 14,000 is one of the best-rated four-post car lifts. Equipped with features that are usually reserved for high-cost, industrial-grade lifts, the Atlas® 414 is suitable for commercial repair work on larger trucks, vans and SUVs.

The Atlas® 414 runs on a 220-volt power unit and elevates vehicles with high-strength cables. Specs of the Atlas® 414 include the following:

Capacity — 14,000 lb
Lifting height — 74" (6' 2")
Width of columns without motor — 130.5" (10' 10.5")
Width of columns with motor — 142"
Height of columns — 86" (7' 2")

The Atlas® 414 is one of the best-rated four-post lift for home use and commercial work on larger passenger vehicles.

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Factors to Consider When Buying a Four-Post Lift

In a larger residential garage, a four-post lift can be used by any DIY handyman to perform work under an automobile. As long as you know how to complete maintenance and change out parts on an automobile, a four-post lift might free you from periodic stops to the service station in the future. If you plan to operate an auto-maintenance business from your garage, a four-post lift will be an essential purchase.

If your garage is built to accommodate two cars, you could park two vehicles above one another and use the additional space for a third car or even a boat. Even if you have only one car, the lift could be used to hoist the vehicle and free up garage space for other items.

Before you purchase a four-post auto lift, you will need to consider factors such as weight capacity and space requirements in relation to your intended usage of the lift, as these factors will determine which of the top-rated four-post car lifts will best suit your needs.

Service Work

The best-rated four-post auto lifts are most often used by professional auto maintenance and repair specialists. If you intend to purchase an auto lift for professional use, it is best to go with a four-post because of the strength and durability of such lifts. They are generally perceived as more professional lifting devices than two-posts in the eyes of the public. When customers bring their vehicles to you for service work, they will take you more seriously when they see that you use a four-post lift.

For professional work on automobiles, four-post lifts are generally better than two-posts lifts because the former makes it possible to service a wider range of vehicles. Whereas the latter will limit you to compact cars and smaller trucks, a four-post will allow you to work on long cars such as station wagons and estate cars, as well as regular-sized trucks, vans and SUVs. You can service the full range of passenger vehicles with a four-post auto lift.

The only advantage that two-post lifts have over four-posts when it comes to service work is that the former doesn't have cross beams. With a four-post lift, you have to be willing to duck under these beams to perform maintenance on the chassis. Granted, you can opt for an open-front lift for direct access to the suspension system, but you will still need to duck under the beams along the other sides of the lift assembly.

Weight Limit Need

Four-post automotive lifts range in terms of weight capacity. At the lower end are the lifts primarily designed for vehicles that carry a maximum weight of 9,000 pounds. For the home user or anyone who does light repair work within a small working space, auto lifts of this weight capacity are generally the most suitable and affordable option.

At the higher end of the spectrum are the four-post auto lifts that can handle vehicular weights as high as 40,000 pounds. Auto lifts of this capacity can be used to elevate the largest and heaviest passenger vehicles as well as some commercial trucks.

In terms of weight capacity, your own needs in an auto lift will depend on the type of vehicle or vehicles that you intend to elevate. Moreover, your overall purpose for owning an auto lift will play a factor. Do you wish to buy an auto lift to park your car off ground? If that is the case, you might be better off with a two-post car lift, especially if your car is small and the dimensions of your garage are narrow.

On the other hand, if you intend to use an auto lift to hoist a variety of passenger vehicles across the weight spectrum, a four-post lift would much better serve your needs. Even if you don't intend to use the lift to perform service work on other vehicles, a four-post auto lift could be the better choice — if your vehicle is large and your designated area for the lift is spacious enough.

Workshop Space

Four-post car lifts are the standard form of vehicle lift at professional service stations. In any garage with a high enough ceiling and sufficient dimensions, you can hoist one truck above another and effectively turn two parking spaces into one. When the time comes to work on the chassis of a vehicle or replace the leaf springs, access to these parts becomes easy with a four-post lift.

Granted, you will need to have ample workspace if you wish to set up a four-post lift. Consider the width and length of the average four-post car lift, which could be anywhere from 105 to 112 inches wide and 175 to 190 inches long for lifts in the 8,000- to 12,000-pound capacity range. Would your designated workspace have the room for a contraption of these dimensions?

In addition, you will need to have further room within your workspace to move around the lift. Due to these space requirements, people with conventional one-car garage spaces will often opt for the two-post lift.

Shop Online With North American Auto Equipment

There are many things that you can do with a four-post automotive lift. Whether you are a professional auto service specialist or a DIY handyman, you should know that a four-post lift can be used to elevate a vast range of passenger vehicles. Even if you don't perform vehicle maintenance of any kind, a lift can be useful for space-consolidation purposes inside your garage.

To make a sound choice from the variety of top-rated four-post auto lifts available on today's market, you need to know your height, width, length and weight-capacity requirements. To ensure that your auto lift meets these and other specifications, it's always best to purchase from a reputable seller.

At North American Auto Equipment, our team has provided customers with the best-rated four-post auto lifts for more than 30 years. Check out the selection of auto lifts in our catalog today and contact us to explore financing options or order.