alanr wrote:
Hi Stu,
I have a concern though....
Your idea of lifting pins fitted in a 2x8 plank presumably at 63inches apart this obviously puts them over the ends of the frame which maybe isn't a problem I don't know, but having read the Quickjack manual it specifically says not to use the actual frame part of the Quickjack for lifting? Are you aware of this?
Will this be a problem do you think?
Maybe your plywood underneath the 2x8 needs to be thicker so that this plank with the jacking pins is not actually sitting on the frame at all? Problem is that then puts the 2x8 plank in suspension above the Quickjack platform frame which maybe is of concern seeing as the jacking points are longer that the Quickjack maximum lifting spread?
Perhaps I am overthinking this however safety is always my main thought with lifts/jacks etc.
Alan.
Yes, bolts are 63” and 62 3/4” apart respectively. Strange they are different side to side. Not sure of the rocker rail brand used as the PO installed them.
I did see that in the manual.
You are correct the plywood pads are too shallow to engage the heavy steel platforms that they recommend using for the supplied rubber spacer blocks. The reason I did it this way is stupidly simple; I ran out of plywood!
Anyway, the steel frame is very robust, made of ~1 1/4” square tubing that is welded to the steel plates, forming a kind of well. The welds make it a bit more difficult to size a second set of pads; they will need to be say 1/4” smaller than the first pads, which fit snug to the tubing.
I can’t see a problem taking the weight on the frame, but will see when I carefully raise the car for the first time. I think what the QuickJack folks are concerned about is someone stacking a bunch of blocks on the frames with no way to prevent movement or slippage.
One thing I didn’t appreciate with this type of lift is the top platform moves for and aft a lot as the thing is raised. At least on my Plus 2, the rear is sitting considerably higher than the front, particularly without a ton of stuff in the boot. Truth be known I would adjust the rear ride height down quite a bit if I had adjustable perches. I think the safety issue for QuickJack is if blocks are placed directly on the frames they could move as the platform rises and engages with the car unevenly.
I agree with you the extenders will not fit within the Plus 2 wheelbase. It is even more apparent when you take into account the ~ 6” that the platform moves before contacting the car (6” is a guess; I will actually measure when I raise the car).
Note regarding the bolt lengths. From memory the QuickJack platforms are about 2” or 3” high on the floor. Add in the 1 1/2” thickness of the 2x8 and we are getting close to the front ride height. I have done some sums and think the boards will fit with the car on the garage floor, but that has not been tested yet as the car is presently resting on its tires on four large blocks. Mitigation if things don’t fit is to use a floor jack to temporarily raise the front of the car on the crossmember or place my tire jack roller skates to get the car up an inch or two. Hopefully everything fits though, as that is a fair pain. Anyway, if making any kind of pad board you will have to tailor it to your car’s ride height.
Thinking MBell is also resting his pad board on the frames but not sure.
All a bit of a work in progress. Will post an update when I get it sorted.
The platforms are very heavy, which is a good thing but makes them awkward to handle.
I really like the Kwiklift. Had not seen that one before I bought. Pictures on the Plus 2 would be cool when available. Not sure how low the crossbar goes though; worried the exhaust will be in the way of that? But I do like the idea of the car resting on four tires for jobs that might get a bit argy bargy, like removing the engine and transmission.
Decisions Decisions I guess. Suppose we can all get whatever to work though.
Cheers! Interesting discussion.