Review of the MaxJax 2-Post Car Lift for a Home Garage (5 years later)
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- Опубліковано 18 чер 2024
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In this video we go over some of the pros and cons of the MaxJax lift and provide some installation pointers.
FORGOT TO MENTION: After you wash the holes for the wedge-it sleeves. Let them dry out or blow out with a hair dryer or compressed air. Holes must be clean and dry.
Also for clarification optional voltages are 120V or 208/230V. Single phase only. - Авто та транспорт
I drilled two extra sets of holes. One below the factory low position and one in between the two standard holes from the factory. It made the lift 100x better in terms of usability. Have had it now about 8ish years. Paid for it self many times over.
Nice to see an honest review in a normal garage. Most guy's can relate to having to share space with spare parts and kids bikes, too many videos are just bragging or trying to be an episode of "Cribs"!
It's not about the $$ any more for me. Not having to bend down, sit down, lay down, and get back up 20 times just to rotate tires and change the oil is more than worth it. Looking forward to purchasing one of these in the near future. Cheers.
Hahaha. What an oxymoron...
This is why America is so fat!
Excellent video. No cracking of the existing slab around the deeper sections - well done!
Great review. Always great to get an opinion on someone who has put it through its paces apposed to someone excited about their new purchase!
1q
Thanks for the 4" floor thickness requirement information. I'm getting one of these. Good video
Thanks for this honest review! I'm a die hard DIY and like to work on my own vehicles and want to do some sort of a restoration project in the future. I'm now of the age where it's not about money. It's about saving my body and I think this is going to be the perfect way to go for my home setup as well.
Great review I'm installing mine and can't wait to use it.
I have one, as well. Good recommendation to add another set of holes. Mine has paid for itself by allowing me to do work that would have been extremely difficult, if not dangerous, to do on jack stands. Very responsive customer service if you ever have any questions.
Yeah been had my max Jax for about 8 years now I love it man is it a life saver
Your freind was correct ! I did Commercial Contruction for over 20 years and have used hundreds of those fasteners without any failure we just kept a simple Turkey Baster style squeeze pump to clean out the holes and to wash them with water. In our Hammer drill kits worked everytime These days there are many two posts lifts for sale on the internet brand new for under $2,0000 .00 And it seems that many are built in the same Factory in China and rebranded with many names and colors
I've been using floor jacks and stands for 30 years in my garage. I didn't know these mini lifts existed. Could sure use one now i'm gettin' a bit long in the tooth.. Have to see if you get one of these in Australia!
Well done, well explained. Very thorough.
great review!! I just ordered one for black friday!!!
Thanks for this info!! Especially getting a used one!
Planning on purchasing one of these here in the next couple of months. Thank you for your great review.
love this jack... great review!
thanks for the honest long term review!
Thanks for the word buddy. Thinking to have one
Good job well explain video.You got me thinking now.
Thanks for review. I have this lift still sitting in the crate. I need to upgrade my floor like you did.
Mac Dawg, its not to bad. Me and a buddy knocked it out in a weekend. Looking back though i probably should have rented a gas concrete saw. I killed my buddy’s saw by the end. I think concrete had to cure 30 days so that sucked.
Nice review. I have one of the midrise or scissor lifts and accessing anything in the middle of the car is nearly impossible. However, I am putting 2 cars in the garage with my setup and the 2-post would drop that down to just 1 car. All that said, I appreciate the review of this lift since it might be a good option for me. Thanks for posting.
ThAts tragically why I had to rule this one out.
Great review - thank you.
Damn, thanks for getting me motivated and pumped on obtaining one of these in the near future!
Thanks for sharing. Great info!!!
my local K-Mart went out of business in the late 90s, 5 years prier they bought all new garage equipment all to shutdown in 5 years. smh. well, they actioned off the garage stuff, my bro and i both got the two 5 year old lifts. best money iv spent next to power tools. u can be 2 to 3x faster with a lift and power tools. and ofc muscle memory. good video.!
Nice Review, ive been looking for something like this. The extra depth of concrete is cheap insurance, each pad weighing approx 1200 lbs.
I’m very jealous of your garage. Lol.. i dont have one. Only suggestion i could make is i would have cut out a small section of concrete between both posts, set in a small piece of conduit and filled with new concrete. Use the conduit to run that hose underground and get it off the floor.. awesome job. Awesome garage. I wish it was mine...
The top structure on the conventional lifts would appear to serve the purpose of preventing collapse toward the center, so the stability of the bolts into concrete is less critical. There will be less torque on those bolts from lifting a heavy vehicle. You've anchored yours so solidly that it worked for you without the top brace, but it relies on high tech concrete and it's not forgiving of any weakness.
Almost all commercial grade lifts require 7in of reinforced concrete already and as you can see there’s 2 styles with same weight ratings
There’s a style with a floor panel and it doesn’t even bolt in just to cover the hydraulic lines
So I would believe he is correct
The heavier weight ones just have massive base plates not upper reinforcement
We own a shop and have full size 2 post lifts and one has the conduit up top and the other has it on the ground covered by a driver over plate. The upper conduit version is not bracing. The way it is assembled makes that very clear. I had a large Bendpak 6600 at home, I think MaxJax will be replacing it.
You probably could've cut a trench in the floor and ran the hydraulic hoses through some 2" PVC pipe. When I get a house, I'm definitely going to get some kind of lift. They make maintenance so much easier. I currently rely on a jack and jack stands.
Thank you for this brother
On the other lifts that you said the top bar or Chanel was just a conduit for wires and hoses, that is somewhat true. It also has a safety cut off switch connected to a bar that has padding on it so when the roof of the car hits the bar it activates the cut off switch so lift will not damage the vehicle if it is to high and the operator is not paying attention.
That wouldn't be a reason FOR the bar though. That would be BECAUSE of the bar. He is wrong about its purpose but that's not why.
Agreed, I've had my maxjax for 7 years now, it's in the top 5 best purchases of my life.
What are the other 4 if you dont mind me asking? Lol just a grease monkey looking to spend money
@@tylerneace8412 1. Investment 2. House 3. Plane 4. Yacht
@@addictedtopussy69 what kind of plane did you buy?
@@yogib37 Don't have a plane yet, was just giving Tyler Neace ideas to spend money on. Although i am very close to pulling the trigger on a Vans RV10 kit plane.
1:49. exactly right... A lot of people think that is a brace all it is, is a conduit for cables
I drilled numerous holes in mine for the varying heights.
The only problem I had with mine was the Chinese hydraulic hose blowing up due to salt penetration through the sheathing and rusting the steel braids. This phenomenon occurred as a result of running over the hose because that is where the rust was. I narrowly escaped disaster there.
It is mounted in only 3.5 inches of concrete, but I figured there to be a safety margin built in, and I don't have room for vehicles that weigh the 6,000 pound limit, so ... Fingers crossed. It hasn't been a problem in 5+ years so far.
Washing out your holes is always great advice lol
Yep. Never heard that before.
Good video, thank you sir!
Thank you for the reply.
Thanks for te nice video,where exactly did you measure the 9 inch between the post and can you pass on the hose with your car.
Great home garage lift
Great love it will get it
My goal is to eventually have one of these lifts (unless I ever reach my goal of building a big shop that can handle a standard 2 post lift). One thing I plan on doing is having a set of anchors in my garage as well as a set in my driveway. That way I can use it in either place (my garage is also my woodshop, so sometimes the car gets kicked outside).
Driveway just needs to be level
Lol paper football Champion man I remember playing that when I was little
Love mine!
How high from floor does it go?
Great video as well
Dig that lift. Nice post
Clean out the holes and then apply jb weld to the anchor to fill all the gaps and voids to increase holding power.
Jb weld !?% YOU ARE OUT
No respect
You should further explain how you installed the Wej-It bolt posts. I'm not sure I understand how you drilled the holes and how the bolt holders grip on the concrete enough to hold 5000-lbs and high torque on bolts (300 Ft-Lbs+)
Can you list the tools you used to drill, the tools and materials for making the 4" concrete.
Are there budget options for DIYers
This would obviously pay for itself with one car ownership. If your family had 2 cars and you did all the work on them because this lift allows you the ability to do so, the lift would be paid for in about 3 years time. It is super expensive to have a mechanic do anything on your car. This lift is an excellent idea. I just dont have the space for it. I have a single car garage. My ceilings in my garage are about 12 - 14 feet high, but the garage itself is only 11 feet wide.
Thank you! I love all your ideas. Do you think i can make a void in between the posts to hide the hose and maybe cover it with a plate?
Thanks, i dont see why not
how much was it for the rebar and concrete for the two square slabs?
Great review... And words to live by... "Always wash out your holes!" Hahahhaa
Will this run off a generator? What's the surge current requirement?
I have a multi-bay garage. How much does each of those towers weigh?
Most commercial lifts nowadays with the bar going across have safety technology in them preventing the car to stop when the top of the vehicle taps the foam pad on top of the lift
the only thing stopping me until further notice is the concrete depth. and redoing it. i really want this lift
Wiring it for 230v wouldn't have made it faster. Good review 👍
Did you get the wedge its after-market or from max jack?
I've been on the fence....I have 10 ft ceilings which would help. Have been thinking of doing my floor the same with one twist... Was considering integrating the (nut sleeve)??? Into a pre-welded rebar basket. I'd make a template for the layout... yada yada yada. There's a level of angst tied to those fastiners for me. Love the mods! Very worthy! Thanks.
Most rebar is not supposed to be welded. It becomes brittle and loses strength rating. That’s why they normally use tie wire. Weldable rebar is available but you probably won’t be able to find it at your local home center.
Thnx. Good video. A few questions: what's the clearance below at the highest setting? Can it b used to store a car on it for weeks at a time? What's the maintencae on it and have u seen any issues?
bakhteria 42” is the highest locking position for this version of the lift. Ive had cars up in the air for months. No maintenance other than maybe occasional bleeding(every few years). One of my cylinders just started leaking after i made this video 😕. But 8 years was a good run. New cylinder will cost me $295 delivered. I could rebuild it but i just dont have the time and i need as little down time as possible with this lift.
Diggin a channel between the two posts to pass the hose through in a conduit would be a design improvement.
Thank you sir. Can we get another review?
Did you have to get a longer hose to run it to the mounted reservoir tank. I’d like to mount it like that that’s pretty sweet.
rokan81 i used 1/2” galvanized pipe to extend down from the pump to the floor and connected a hose to that and ran over to the other column.
Great videos! What size hole do you have to drill for the locking pin? Do you just place those pads on the pinch weld area when jacking or some sort of pinch weld adapter?
lemmy999 the lift has the 2 holes already but if you want to make a third hole(which i did but do not recommend)...13/16 is exact but you could probably do 3/4 - 7/8. I just use the pads on the pinch welds typically or ill take 4” long pieces of 2x4 wood if i need a little bit of a gap. Some cars have body moldings over the rocker panel that hang down too low and will strike the yellow steel arms. Also there is a more expensive model that auto locks if you dont wanna mess around with locking pins.
@@ResurWreck Thanks. I had been thinking of getting the more expensive model that has 7 locking positions because I don't think I can use the tallest locking position on the one you have due to ceiling height. But I started seeing where people had just drilled an extra set of holes in them. You say you don't recommend, is that because you regret drilling the holes or is that just a disclaimer about it possibly weakening the tower a bit?
lemmy999 im just being cautious. its just because I’m taking an engineered product and butchering it with my drill. I am ok with taking the risk for myself but i dont want others to do something like this and either damage their lift or hurt themselves because I recommend it, thats all. But if you assume the risk you can see i did it and im still alive. What i forgot to do in the video is clarify why i did it. Its because when i work on tall vehicles, SUVS, or trucks, the highest setting is too high. For the average height car i can go all the way up and its no problem.
Hi Darryl. How deep did you have to install the rebar for the concrete holes?
MELCHOR16 it was probably about 1.5”-2” under the surface. My concrete was only 3-3.5” thick so i had to drill in to it about halfway and slide the rebar in the existing concrete and use an concrete epoxy in the holes. Idk if the epoxy was necessary but i wanted to make sure the rebar didn’t move.
The link do not work. Can you provide more information. I would like to buy this
I am trying to find out if with an M6k I can lift our mini van Chrysler Town and Country which gross weight is 6050 pounds, or would have to go with an M7K? the reason is right now there are couple places selling an M6K for $1300, dont know if they are scammer but those are actual shops with business addresses and the M7K on sale is $3350 listed at Lowes, all prices everywhere for everything are out of control and would probably get worst before it could get better so I am trying to save some, although the M7K is newer and the latest thing, if the M6K works safely for what I needed it I won't mind ordering for that relatively low price in comparison to the newer model
Thanks
Those any one know if there is a supplier of those jacks in euroip??
Your garage door motor does not look to be centered in the vid. Did you change its original setting for more clearance and how did you go about it? Also, how wide is the garage door?
Lou Polite it was centered originally but i just unbolted the whole assembly(mount,opener,track,etc) and attached over to the right a few feet so it would clear the vehicle but kept it as close to center as possible. I believe the garage door is 16’ wide.
On the dual voltage choice, does the manufacturer give the choice of 120/240 volts single phase or 208 volts derived from two phases of a three phase service? Cause that IS awesome.
Acording to the manual these are the options
For 110-120 volt, single phase, use a 30 amp breaker.
For 208 -230 volt, single phase, use a 25 amp breaker.
For 208-230 volt, three phase, use a 20 amp breaker.
For 380-440 volt, three phase, use a 15 amp breaker.
Daryl, is this lift rated as residential??? Or did you have to get a permitt???
Rex Aventuna my local building department doesn’t require. The lift is marketed to homeowners but is made pretty heavy duty. I don’t know if its rated residential or commercial but id imagine most commercial shops wouldn’t be interested in a lift like this.
How tall is your garage ceiling? And how much height do you use by the garage door opening
rpat312 8’ high ceiling, garage door height is 7’-6”.
Should have put a peace of conduit for a chase for hose before you poured concrete.
Excellent review. Would like to see a vehicle raised on the lift to see how much headroom below to work.
Apparently, you didn't watch the video.
Do you drive over the hydraulic hose when loading?
i do but you could also disconnect it and move it as there is a quick connect fitting. there is other ways to route the hose too or you could use pipe
good review, and thank you for the tips on the anchoring. how did you mount the pump? Did you look into making a longer hydraulic hose for the other side, and draping it over the roof?
cueballsi no problem. I drilled 4 holes in the post and used the pump mounting plate as a template. originally I wanted to throw the hose in the attic and go overhead but i chose to leave on the floor. When i need to i just disconnect the quick connection on the hose going to the column so i can roll around under the car easier once the lift is locked in position. In the attic would probably be more convenient but im used to the way it is now on the floor. I used 1/2” galvanized pipe and fittings to run down to the floor, then its joined to the hose on the floor and then over to the other side.
@ResurWreck You did the Cutting, Rebar and then bought the concrete and had it delivered?
I did it all, brother in law helped tho, never did it before. It wasn’t hard just watched some videos online. I dont know the exact amount I bought but there are calculators online you can use. Under $500 but i don’t remember exact cost
@@ResurWreckAwesome! Were you able to do it all with one load of concrete?
So that hose you have going along the floor I would have routed up to the ceiling. But I also work a job where i can make hydralic hoses so maybe i just have an advantage there.
on the wedgit system. why wouldn't you put them down in the cement while its wet instead of drilling out the cement?
imaspacewoman the simple answer is that the manual says to drill the holes in cured concrete and then install the wedge it sleeves. The real answer (i think) is that the wedge-it sleeves expand when you tighten them in hard concrete, they expand inside the hole and grab on to the walls of the hole and are permanently stuck. If you stuck them in the wet concrete you couldn’t tighten/expand them until the concrete cured. But if you had any air pockets between the sleeve and the concrete at all there is the possibility that it wouldn’t grab the walls of the concrete properly and they would just spin in the hole and never expand. If you put them in the wet concrete and didn’t expand the sleeves they would definitely come out of the concrete when any weight was applied on the lift and the lift would definitely fall over.
how tall are you personally?
If you move the lifts all the way to one side, would you still be able to park another car in it? Or does the lift take up too much width already in a small 2 car garage?
Possibly but it would be hard to pull the wheels off if it was that close to the wall
How well does it work on low cars? I have a 2014 mustang and it’s a major pain to jack up. Also have a lowered F100 that’s also a pain.
Chuck's Truck the lowest cars ive worked on with this lift is a C5 corvette and a lowered BMW 3 series. So far no issues. the profile of the lift arms are lower than most hydraulic jacks ive seen
ResurWreck thanks.
How did you get the anchors out to clean the holes? Were you able to just pull them out? a couple of mine have lifted out torquing against the base plate, but i am worried about trying to crank them out and setting them with the top about the concrete.
did you torque the sleeves before you installed the column with the hardware included in the wedj-it box?
@@ResurWreck Yes, I installed the anchors according to the instruction manual (set 5/8"' in and turned nut 3 turns while holding bolt head). The 3 turns was harder to obtain on some of the anchors than others. When torquing the columns down (90 ft-lbs) 2 of the anchors lifted up against the base plate.
I used a brush, compressed air and water to clean the holes prior to the install. Now I'm not sure how to deal with the anchors that didn't set.Trying to decide if I should try pulling them out, risking them setting above the level of the concrete or hammer them back down (possibly deeper than 5/8") and trying again.
I drilled the holes to about 6". Concrete is 12" thick & 4600 psi.
@@smitter113 hmm, maybe there was some variance with the holes. If it were me id rather have them grab at the right depth then grab too close to the surface. maybe try to reset and tighten more. You can also check with wedjit or maxjax support too.
to answer your original question i had so much dust in the hole they slid out fairly easily. in your case the holes are clean so might not work out the same. make sure the holes are dry too, if there was moisture use a hairdryer and try again later
@@ResurWreck I def could not get the anchors out, but I was able to reset them. They're a bit deeper now (about 1/2" below surface) but at least I know they're set. Gotta grab a couple longer bolts now. Thx a lot for the responses!
9:54 “it is well worth it.”
“Worth” what? How much?
“Now I bought mine secondhand so I got a little bit better deal but had I spent the full retail price on it I could have easily paid for that on my first project.” What is “full retail price?” Who even sells it? I’m sure it costs more today but this is still the kind of info I hoped to hear!
Thanks for the video! How far apart did you decide to set the columns, was that based on the vehicles you expected to work on? If you had to set the columns again, would you make any changes?
Tom Diederich its exactly 109”. Ive done cars as small as a Mini Cooper to as big as a Ford F150 crew cab. I have tool boxes, tables, shelves and equipment on every wall, so it was important that I preserved side space between the lift and the walls. It is really difficult sometimes for me to squeeze into the interior of the car depending on the position of the doors. I wouldn’t change anything because I need to cram my shop with things to get my rebuilds done but if I didn’t need so much stuff I might go 112” or so. A few inches might help getting in and out of the car. You could also put extra fasteners in the floor to get two different positions or more if you needed to though.
@@ResurWreck thanks a bunch for the additional info! Installing mine right now :-)
@@ResurWreck I was thinking of having one near a wall and then to center it up to the garage door opening it leaves me with the other column spaced at 126" (distance between the rear of each base plate as shown in the manual). That gives me around 100" between the columns (from front of base plate to front of base plate). I do not have any vehicles that big but I would like to have one column as far to the side as reasonable and the space between the columns centered. Since the arms extend to 40" I think I would still be able to lift Miatas and Mini Coopers. I think the worst case scenario would be a long, narrow car like the old 280Z 2+2, but even that looks doable. Do you see any negatives of having them spaced that far apart?
109 from back base plate to back base plate ?????
How much weight can the lift hold?
disarmyou84 6000lbs
What about a single post, mobile lift?
How did you mount the pump to the post?
rottdogsparky i just drilled 8 holes in the post and used regular lock nuts and bolts. I used the pump and the other part that goes on the cart (not sure what its called, maybe a hydraulic distributor?) as a template.
@@davidandresjr2050 how did it go? What parts did you need and was it difficult? Any thoughts of going overhead with the hoses?
The big question is how high can you lift a car in a garage with an 8 foot ceiling and the garage door opener motor in the middle?
Not very high, you will have to move the motor and track off center
Do regular transmission jacks fit under this lift or did you have to make custom tools to take a trans out?
TheGaragemahal i don’t use transmission jacks. i use a lift table. it will bring the car 44” off the ground
Do you or did you when you first got the lift, worry about properly balancing a vehicle? As I look at lifts, this is a concern for me, but maybe I am just overly concerned
If you know and use recommended jack points usually not an issue. If/When you remove an engine just need to be mindful of the weight shift. I just lift a few inches off the floor and use my body weight on the front and back to check this.
What about instead of just cutting the concrete in two squares you cut a rectangle across where the two beams are going and put in an I beam all the way across so the uprights will bolt on to a solid steel base connecting both of them. Them youll wont have to even worry about the concrete been too thin or cracking. The beam will be incase with rebar and stuff in concrete.
That has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever read.
Let me guess you got your idea from a comic book.
Damn! I like that idea. It wouldn’t be cheap, but neither are funerals!
My whole thing with these is do u have enough room to stand up under the car while on the lift...I’m guessing they only lift 3 or 4 ft
NightMusic1 no cant stand, unless you’re really short. But you can sit on a rolling stool. Still 1 million times better, faster, and safer than jacks and stands
NightMusic1 if you have the height there is no real reason to a buy maxjax
@@ResurWreck I think you're forgetting that they are portable. You can move them out of the way when not used, or mount on the driveway for taller vehicles.
Would love to put this in my garage but it would make my 2 car into a 1 car only. My wife would hate that lmao.
well the whole idea behind this lift is that it unbolts and rolls away on the attached wheels when not in use. As opposed to a traditional 2 post lift which is unmovable with one guy.
What would say about using it for storage of other cars, like one on the lift and one below?
If the car was low/small enough its probably possible
Could you put this in a driveway and roll it away when not in Use? No garage
I don't see why not not, lift might wear quicker outside but if you stored inside shouldn't make a big difference. If it rains might have to cover the electrical and keep wedgit holes plugged up for sure.
ResurWreck how heavy is each post, I wonder if you could put casters on each post mount corner and roll it away. Oh nm I see it has small weeks already.
6.000lbs weight limit is 3 Tons ? not sure what you were saying about 3/4 ton trucks. enough for most vehicles
1 ton and 3/4 are too heavy. 1/2 ton trucks are at the limit. 1 ton truck weighs about 10K lbs. The tons refers to the payload, not truck weight.
If any body plans on doing this and doing new concrete simply wet set anchor bolts and about dealing with wedge bolts. Your life could depend on this.
I would think if you're pouring a new pad, why not embed a plate with welded nuts in the concrete? MUCH safer!
That method might work fine but what we did was recommend by MaxJax as the solution for concrete floors not meeting minimum thickness. Their engineers came up with this solution not me.