Renting a car hoist???????

65fastbackresto · Aug 6, 2008

I`m probably stretching whats possible here, but I`ve got to ask.

Does anyone rent something I can put my car up on and work under it without being in danger of it falling on me?

runawayabc123 · Aug 6, 2008

Since you are asking about renting a car hoist, I have to ask, what do you think one would cost to rent?

About ~5 years ago my brother bought a "mobile" car hoist from car quest (not the cheapest place in town but he knew a guy and I think also got employee pricing) for around $1200 for my dad. Best investment ever. (Likely more now though)

Now, we took it home in a 1/2 ton pickup (it was likely overloaded) with no freeway driving. I think it weight around 1500lbs. Car quest put it in the pickup with a forklift arm type thing. We dropped (yes dropped) it out of the back of the pickup with all toes clear of the landing. (It was fine.)

It is a floor hoist that swings up kind of like a motorcycle lift (but this is either to the front or back of the car). Kind of tippy if you don't lift high enough (full to most lift puts the raised part square over the base). Never had a problem with the tippy part though. (Which could also be part of a non-level floor problem.)

"Mobile" I don't know what they really meant by this, other than by you "can" move it. It has 2 wheels on one end and the compressor part is on a stand that can "lift" up the other end to make it move-able. Not intended for moving between uses, but just so that you "can" move it. (We used it for moving between uses, lots of work, in the winter and it found a home under a car in the summer. Rustbelt, so didn't want snow/salt on it.)

Very happy with it, but you can't drop a gas tank with it unless it is a trunk tank (and than it likely doesn't "drop" anyway).

Lastly, the delivery cost to rent such an item (unless you can haul it and LOAD it from your house) would likely be better spent toward the purchase of the hoist.

Hope this helps. (Feel free to ask question about what we got for my dad, I don't have pictures, but will look on the internet for some.)

gtss · Aug 6, 2008

I don't think its likely that you can rent a hoist and take it home. But there used to be places around here that were set up for the do-it-yourself kind of guy where you could go to their shop and actually rent a bay by the hour....
perhaps something like that in your area?????

gtss

runawayabc123 · Aug 6, 2008

Sorry... no pics on the web from my searching... think of a scissors lift (so it is completely under the car like a normal lift), but instead it has one ram that swings the lift part forward as it raises.

P.S. I do not know if they still carry it or if it truly was offered to anyone (aka because my brother knew a guy from a business to business relationship from the company he worked for, it may have been a b2b item they sold him).

65fastbackresto · Aug 6, 2008

I kinda figured it was a stupid question

when I asked, but I`ve asked a bunch of stupid questions before, and I`m sure I will again. I would kinda like to do this c-4 to t-5 conversion myself, but I have a fear of this car falling on me when I`m pulling the old transmision out. I absolutely hate being under a car with it sitting on jack stands no matter how good it "feels".

runawayabc123 · Aug 6, 2008

Stupid questions are always better asked and answered before you put money down on them. (Then you don't feel as stupid at then end!)

I feel the same way about painting booths, wished they rented those out too. I would guess it is a liability problem, you lift your car and it falls on you. You sue them for not making sure you lifted it right.

truck90278 · Aug 7, 2008

I've seen in some of the street rod mags a ramp set-up that will get the vehicle a reasonable distance off the ground. You'll still be on your back but with more room to work. You can use a floor jack to raise the rear (ramp end) up so the vehicle is level. Not as great as a hoist which will raise the vehicle so you can walk under it, but it is safe.

I identify with your concern because one time - when i was younger, I was working under a car ('48 ford coupe) and the car did not have any suspension, I was laying under the engine and fortunately dropped a wrench where I coudn't reach it from below. I skinned out from under the vehicle and as i pulled my legs out from under it, the vehicle went flat on the ground with the engine oil pan in the grass, where my chest was within seconds before.

68RCodeConv · Aug 7, 2008

When I dropped my T5 I put both the front and rear wheels on ramps. That gave me enough clearance and obviously the car could not fall on me.

69gmachine · Aug 7, 2008

68RCodeConv said:
When I dropped my T5 I put both the front and rear wheels on ramps. That gave me enough clearance and obviously the car could not fall on me.

+1. I do this frequently as I'm constantly adding stuff or altering the design of something. It's dirt cheap and after a while it's not so painful.

65fastbackresto · Aug 7, 2008

I`ve got a little dinky set that about 7 inces high.

Where can I get some that are taller? Surely they got to be some taller right?

jimmyboy · Aug 7, 2008

How about renting a trailer with an open middle deck? Jim

65fastbackresto · Aug 8, 2008

I dont think the trailer thing would work very well.

If its the kind I`m thinking of, I`d still have to get under it to get to the car, and its even lower to the ground right?

Or are you talking about something else?

65ShelbyClone · Aug 8, 2008

Not all of them. There are lots of car/race car trailers that have an open middle. The problem is that many also have cross bars that would get in the way and yes, many are low profile and hard to crawl under.

When I have a 3000lb car in the air above me, I use a simple double redundancy method. I first put the car on solid jackstands under the frame rails. I leave the jack slightly under the side I'm working on so the car won't land completely on the ground if it falls off the stands. From there, I stack 2x12" boards under the wheels that are in the air. That way if the stands fail and the jack fails, the wheels will still be 6"+ above the ground and the car won't fall far enough to flatten me.

Something I wish I had was the hydraulic ramp lift(like the muffler/suspension shops use) one of the mobile oil change places around here used to have. It would put the car about 4' in the air even with the frame dropped on the ground(it was set up like a drop-bed utility trailer).

If it worries you that much, you can change the transmission from the engine bay, but the engine has to come out too.

68coupe351 · Aug 14, 2008

i have a hoist in my shop i would let you use but im in northern iowa so i probably can't do you any good

68coupe351 · Aug 14, 2008

View attachment 307808

65fastbackresto · Aug 14, 2008

I want to thank the guy that mentioned ....

renting a stall. The guy that put my mufflers on is up the road and has an outside rack he is gonna rent me to do this. I`d have never thought of it if he hadn`t mentioned it.

Thanks for the offer, but IA is long way from here....LOL Nice rack though......sounds kinda funny telling a guy that....

jcode68 · Aug 14, 2008

68Coupe351, how high are the ceilings in your garage?
Posted via Mobile Device

68coupe351 · Aug 21, 2008

jcode68 said:
68Coupe351, how high are the ceilings in your garage?
Posted via Mobile Device

i think it is like 12ft right there, i have plenty of room to put my 68 on the hoist and put our stock 66 fairlane under it

Nemesis67 · Aug 22, 2008

I built my own car rotisserie for my underbody work. It took about a week to build and around $500 or less for materials. I posted some pics of it on this forum a long time ago. I just wish I had it before I did my floorpans, it would have been a lot easier and cleaner.

tx65coupe · Sep 9, 2008

For added safety put extra jack stands as a back up. I do this alot. Position them so that if one stand fails the car will fall a short distance to the other stand.

Renting a car hoist???????

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